Bon Appétit has included Oun Lido’s (website, instagram) in their short list of the Most Anticipated Restaurant Openings of 2024.
The opening of Oun Lidos, the second restaurant from the team behind popular Portland Vietnamese mainstay Cong Tu Bot, is a good enough reason to book a trip to Maine this spring. Oun Lidos will be a multi-level restaurant in Old Port, with an all-day takeout counter offering Chinatown-style baked goods, rice plates, and boba to-go. Chef Bounahcree Kim will move over from Cong Tu Bot to helm the kitchen and serve the Khmer-Chinese food of his childhood, with dishes like iced jello salad with coconut sauce and mi ka thung—a fresh wide noodle stir fry with shredded beef, five spice gravy, and pickled mustard greens.
The list includes just nine featured restaurants. The others are located in Ashville, Atlanta, Denver, Detroit, New Orleans, New York, San Francisco and Seattle.
First word on Oun Lido’s (originally to be named Lido’s 2) broke in May of last year and the restaurant is under construction at 30 Market Street (former home to Pat’s Pizza). Plans are for it to launch in February for takeout and with limited seating and with the full launch of it’s dining room and expanded menu in the spring.