New Things to Get Excited About in Tualatin Valley
With 2020 well behind us, we’re excited to experience all the new things Oregon’s Tualatin Valley has to offer in 2021. Our area has seen an encouraging emergence of new restaurants, wine tasting rooms and experiences in the past few months.
Mamancy Tea & Chocolate in Beaverton and Hillsboro features hand-crafted chocolates and coffee sourced from around the globe.
Culinary
Two new food cart pods have emerged in recent months, bringing a new type of dining scene to Hillsboro and Forest Grove. Carts on Main opened this winter in downtown Hillsboro. There are currently three carts, Mad Greek Deli, Kama’aina and Up ‘N Smoke BBQ Pit, with more slated to join. At Zesti Food Carts in Forest Grove, you’ll find a great selection including Korean, Thai and Indian food. Both locations have plenty of covered outdoor seating.
The Venetian is another exiting addition to Hillsboro’s Main Street. The former theater in a 140-year-old building has been revitalized into a fine dining restaurant featuring small plates and dinner. The menu includes complex dishes like the signature creamy cauliflower bisque, duck confit, roasted beet risotto and more alongside a large cocktail, wine and spirits list.
New Wineries & Tasting Rooms
Barking Frog Winery winery has been producing small batches of Pinot Noir, Syrah, Sangiovese and Cabernet Sauvignon for years and we’re excited they’ve branched out into Tualatin Valley with a new tasting room in Old Town Sherwood.
Alloro Vineyards opened a new Tasting House, a gorgeous new tasting facility overlooking the vines and valley below, while Hawks View Winery opened a new members-owner tasting room and rooftop terrace.
Lodging
My Tiny House Village is a “village” of tiny homes, nestled in the Sherwood Forest (in southern Tualatin Valley), close to wineries and farms. The village is relatively new and opened to visitors sometime in late-2019 or early-2020.
In addition to My Tiny House Village, a couple of new branded hotels also opened in Tualatin Valley: Hampton Inn Sherwood, the first-ever hotel in the small city of Sherwood, and Staybridge Suites Orenco Station, an extended-stay hotel in Hillsboro. Hyatt House Beaverton is the newest hotel, which opened this month and features 125-room hotels in the heart of Beaverton, walking distance from popular restaurants, food carts and the MAX light rail.
Activities
Go back in time at Arcade 2084. This ’80s themed bar and arcade opened in Downtown Hillsboro, bringing a fun and retro experience to Main Street. The arcade includes your favorite old-school games like Jr. Pac-Man and Robotron 2084, ’80s music at all times and specialty themed cocktails to sip while you play.
Get fancy with an English style high tea at Mamancy Tea Shop. Owner Anne Johnson is a certified tea sommelier and chocolatier, so you know you’re getting top quality flavor. Tea includes unlimited hot tea, a selection of savory sandwiches and a variety of sweet treats including truffles, scones, mini cakes and cookies.
Beer Boom
Beaverton is already known for its growing food scene with “Restaurant Row,” but soon it’s going to have a whole new reputation as a major beer town. Four local breweries are opening pubs in Beaverton in 2021, including three in Downtown Beaverton near Restaurant Row.
- Breakside Brewing is turning an empty lot into the beer garden of our dreams. The Munich Oktoberfest style beer garden will have outdoor benches, string lights, fire fits and a bar built out of a shipping container. Coming in 2021.
- Binary Brewing is bringing new life to the site of a former beloved bakery with its first pub. Binary is upgrading its production to keep up with demand and creating a fun space with a pinball hall, lounge areas and a patio. Coming mid-late summer 2021.
- Stickmen, whose Tualatin Beer Hall is already a local favorite with amazing wood-fired pizza, is spreading the love to Beaverton with a third location in the Cedar Mill neighborhood. Scheduled to open fall 2021.
- Loyal Legion is expanding into a historic Spanish Colonial style building formerly used as a dance studio. The beer hall will have 250 seats including an outdoor beer garden and up to 99 taps of Oregon beers, meads, ciders and wines. Scheduled to open by July 4, 2021.
