Isabel Pearl

Chef and cookbook author, Isabel Cruz brings a warm and creative combination of Latin flavor with Asian accents to Portland’s Pearl district. Her trademark blend of Puerto Rican, Cuban, Mexican, Japanese, and Thai cooking allows her to cut some of the calories and fat so often found in Latin food without ever sacrificing taste. In Isabel’s recently released book, Isabel’s Cantina, the L.A. raised Latin chef and restaurateur shares deceptively simple recipes that make her five West Coast restaurants so popular, as well as many of her own personal favorites.

Isabel Pearl is a stunning, fresh, modern and spacious neighborhood eatery where sunlight streams through the windows even on the cloudiest of days. Isabel Pearl’s comfortable ambiance is a popular spot for breakfast meetings, lunch breaks, and romantic dinners; all the while providing nourishment with bold, healthy, flavorful meals. Isabel Cruz serves up food for the body and soul.

Some Customer Comments:

“Dear Isabel’s , Your food is a concoction of aesthetically pleasing vegetable colors and a smell that ignites the nasal passages and brings forth thoughts of Costa Rican home cooking and fresh Asian cuisine fused together in a beautiful delicious medley that all should enjoy. The cooks were so handsome I could not keep my eyes off of any of them! I would encourage Mohawks and more piercings, considering you are in the pearl. – Nuevo yum yum”

“We had a great experience at Isabel’s for dinner. The atmosphere was hip, but not stuffy. The food was fresh and tasty. The menu had a great mix of unique and standard dishes. Best of all, the service was excellent! The staff was friendly, knowledgeable and prompt – not always found in the pearl. We will definitely be going back.”

“We arrived about 20 minutes prior to opening and the staff allowed us to sit at a table and read our newspaper while they opened up. Everything else went just as smoothly, and the food was really excellent. It was fresh, quite unique (there was a good size menu section filled with eggwhite and brown rice options, as well as heartier fare for my husband) and delicious. I ordered the pesto eggwhite ‘omelet’ and my husband ordered blackberry banana pancakes. Both were quite good, and enough to fill us up but not leave the restaurant nauseatingly full! Also, the location is right in the Pearl, with an open-space feel and large windows. Highly recommended!”

“I really like the food here. It’s very healthy and well thought out. It’s a nice atmosphere, too – the location was an excellent choice. It’s easy to find vegetarian or even vegan food here, and our three visits all had excellent service. In fact, the servers are usually glad to explain all sorts of things about the dishes, the business, and the history. I love that stuff.”