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QuickTake:
A restaurant in Eugene gains national attention.
The New York Times published its annual list of Top 50 restaurants in America on Sept. 9, and a Eugene establishment, Yardy Rum Bar, made the cut. The Times’ article stated, in part, “When you think Oregon, the first flavor that jumps to mind is probably not Caribbean spice. But it should be.”
Yardy describes itself as a “Caribbean restaurant and rum bar celebrating the food and drinking cultures of the West Indies using seasonal ingredients from the Pacific Northwest.” The restaurant opened in a brick and mortar location in Eugene in February 2024 after years of successful operation as a food truck, which was primarily parked at ColdFire Brewing.
Chef and owner Isaiah Martinez was born in New York and has family roots in Puerto Rico and Grenada. In January, Martinez was named a semifinalist for the 2025 James Beard Award for Best Chef: Northwest & Pacific. Martinez’s signature dishes include doubles, which are curried chickpeas served on two fried flatbreads, as well as his pan-fried chicken. The Times also cited Yardy’s “Jibarito No. 2, griyo pork zinged with Scotch bonnets and Haitian pikliz slaw nestled between two twice-fried plantains.”
Yardy is one of two Oregon restaurants on the list. The other is The Paper Bridge, a Northern Vietnamese restaurant in Portland. The Times’ 50 list includes restaurants from 28 states and the District of Columbia; California topped the list with six of the 50 restaurants.
Yardy Rum Bar
837 Lincoln St.
(458) 240-7564
