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
At a recent dinner there–the first in nearly two years, having taken the usual Covid hiatus–I had one of the best dinners since the team took over the former Caiola’s restaurant in 2017.
From Left clockwise: Ilma Lopez chatting with diners; the very able bartender and the kitchen staff at their stations
Now, with a full dining schedule, the place is in full swing, beyond the igloos, al fresco tables, patio, etcetera used for dining during the pandemic when indoor dining was not offered. The bar is fully open for dining, one of my favorite spots in the restaurant. And the beloved weekend brunch will resume later this spring. I look forward to pulling up to the bar to order some delicious brunch devise of bacon and eggs. or whatever else the Chaval team conjures up.
My dinner started off with an impeccable cream of leek soup. The silken texture was achieved in the classic way but enlivened with mustard seed and smoked paprika, and with dabs of infused oils that topped the soup. It looked like a Monet canvas and tasted as divinely as it looked.
Cream of leek
The main course was seared pork belly. It was trimmed to look like a chop, browned on the plancha grill emerging as the most succulent piece of pork. It’s a rich dish indeed, but my normally finicky digestive system didn’t flinch in the least.
Seared, roast pork belly
The angel-arm bartender made excellent cocktails, too, commanding his turf like a Norse Viking. My cocktail order is perhaps contrived: I ask for a vodka martini, instructing to hold the vermouth and shake it vigorously with ice so that the cubes become somewhat crackled.
Mock martini
Dessert was the caramel machiato, a creation from pastry chef Ilma that’s so good. It’s made with white chocolate cremeaux, pecan clusters, speckled ax coffee-pecan mousse and sea salt. It was dessert gloire in a coupe.
Pecan white-chocolate cremeaux
In these days where it costs $50 to fill up an ordinary 4-cylinder car and diner sandwiches like tuna melts are $25, dining at Chaval is worth the treat. A few entrees are still under $30 and small plates have seen the biggest rise in the $15 to $20 range. My meal for one was $100, before tip, which included 3 courses and 2 cocktails.
Not all restaurants have re-emerged as well as pre-pandemic. Chefs have moved on, staffing is tight and many have closed altogether, but Chaval is a guiding light for others to follow if only as good.
Chaval, 58 Pine St., Portland, ME 207-772-1110 www.chavalmainne.com
Rating: 5-star wonderful
Seating: In dining room, bar, garden, private dining rooms, outside seating
Parking: Small parking lot
Service: Excellent
$$$ Moderately expensive’
