Little Bird Bistro goes back to its no-rules roots this year with the launch of new menus, a new happy hour and welcomes a brand new chef de cuisine—a seven-year veteran of sister restaurant Le Pigeon. The restaurant reopens on Tuesday, January 8th with a refreshed look, after a winter break. Opened in 2010 to critical acclaim, Little Bird Bistro has been a mainstay of Portland dining ever since, offering up creative, rule-bending, French-inspired fare, viewed through the lens of two-time James Beard Award-winning chef Gabriel Rucker and co-owner Andy Fortgang. Alongside Little Bird Bistro, the duo also owns the acclaimed and boundary-pushing Le Pigeon and newly opened Canard, a playground of food and drink.

At Little Bird Bistro, Rucker and newly appointed chef de cuisine Alexander “Xan” Gilmartin work closely on a menu of bistro fare that doesn’t play by the rule book. The new menus harken back to Le Pigeon’s early days, with more creativity and Gaelic inspiration. Gilmartin takes the reigns of the acclaimed downtown French bistro after working closely with Rucker at Le Pigeon for the past seven years. A graduate of the Oregon Culinary Institute and Clyde Common alum, Gilmartin’s determination to grow as a chef led him to Rucker and Le Pigeon. Rucker became a mentor for Gilmartin, and the two struck up a close rapport as they worked elbow-to-elbow. In the New Year, Little Bird Bistro launches new dinner and lunch menus. The restaurant becomes a more all-day affair, with full menus available from open until close. The new lunch menu, available 11:30 am to 4:30 pm, is designed to be lighter and quicker, catering to both the leisurely lunch goer and the more hurried downtown crowd.

Little Bird Bistro also reopens with an expanded beverage program, including a completely new happy hour, offering half-off bottles of wine both early and late, daily. Wine director Sergio Licea has worked closely with co-owner Andy Fortgang to redesign and expand the wine menu, focusing on terroir and mirroring the bistro’s French inspiration. Cocktails from bar manager Miram Portnoy are also new and French-led. Little Bird Bistro’s new half-off bottles of wine happy hour will join the restaurant’s existing happy hour, offered Monday through Friday, 2:30 to 5:00pm (till 6:00 pm in the bar area), nightly from 10:00 to 11:00 pm, and all night on Sundays in the bar area. Additionally the half-off bottles will be offered in the entire dining room all night Sunday. One of the best happy hours in Portland, it features food and drink specials like a $7 Double Brie Burger, named one of the best burgers in the country, and $3 off cocktails.

Little Bird’s Happy Hour (including half-off bottles):

Monday – Friday

2:30 to 5:00 in the dining room, and till 6:00 pm in the bar area

10:00 to 11:00 pm

Saturday

10:00 to 11:00pm

Sunday

5:00 to 11:00pm, in the bar

5:00 to 10:00pm, in the dining room (half-off bottles only)

10:00 to 11:00pm, in the dining room (full happy hour menu)