Kachka to Launch an Open-Air Dining Room on Its Second Floor Parking Garage This Week

Kachka may just be Portland's master of the restaurant spinoff.

After launching its sister program, Kachinka, in Kachka's original building in 2018, then opening the grocery store Lavka last year, the Russian food purveyor is now steering itself through the pandemic with Kachka Alfresca.

Many eateries are shifting their focus to outdoor dining by rushing to set up picnic tables and canopies as a way to keep customers and staff safe from COVID-19. But Kachka's James Beard Award-nominated chef, Bonnie Morales, is taking open-air meals to the next level.

The restaurant's second-floor parking lot will be outfitted with 29 private cabanas—an aesthetically pleasing means of keeping guests separated.

Kachka Alfresca will serve some of the iconic dishes that have secured its status as America's premier Russian restaurant, including its supple dumplings and the multilayered Herring Under a Fur Coat. But Morales has created a largely new menu, inspired by her upbringing in Chicago in the 1990s, as well as her favorite American comfort foods. Expect items like stuffed potato skins, spinach-artichoke dip and molten chocolate cake—all made from scratch, with a Kachka twist.

All ordering will be done online or by phone, with servers only dropping off food at tables in order to minimize contact. During Phase 1, customers will not be allowed in the building, which means you'll need to plan on using the public restrooms across the street in the Goat Blocks.

Reservations can be made on Kachka Alfesca's website for service that begins Friday, June 25.

Related: 20 Awesome Meals for Takeout and Delivery in Portland Right Now.