If Chaval is the ultimate Mom and Pop West End Portland restaurant, then proprietors husband and wife team Damian Sansonetti and Ilma Lopez have achieved the pinnacle of success through sheer drive and talent.
During the Covid years, they strove to stay in business with a brisk take-out menu with dishes like coq a vin and any one of Ilma’s desserts. But they’ve looked past the pre-pandemic rah-rah of Portland’s much chronicled ascent as dining wunderkind. And they’ve emerged better than ever crafting their menu of seasonal French and Spanish cooking with a bit of American bistro fusion for good measure.
The space still epitomizes the core of an urbane dining room. What’s more, Chaval has grown grown into more than a neighborhood spot to garner a crowd that’s more than just locals. In the process they’ve emerged with a James Beard Foundation nomination for best chef (Sansonetti) in the Northeast.
Chaval circa 2017
