Berlu: the pandan honeycomb cake, now on Belmont

Berlu has moved into a bigger home just around the corner from its old address on Southeast Belmont. When chef Vince Nguyen stopped doing tasting menus, people in Portland wondered what he'd do next, and in late June 2025 he answered with a standalone bakery at 661 Southeast Belmont. Nguyen won a James Beard Award for the restaurant work and then turned the whole project into a dedicated gluten-free, dairy-free Vietnamese bakery. The case now holds tarts, roll cakes, waffles and night-market plates, but the thing to come for is the pandan bánh bò nướng, a springy, holey green honeycomb cake he's been making since the pandemic pop-ups, and you'll want to get there before it sells out.

The old Berlu was a squeeze. The new shop has real seating and a longer case, and the whole place is built around that one beloved cake, to the point that a cartoon slice of it shows up in the wall art and on the merch, and the bathroom wallpaper is an extreme close-up of its glossy, hole-filled crumb. The cake is also a paler green than it used to be, because Nguyen now steeps fresh pandan leaves grown in Hawaii in coconut milk, blends the mixture and strains it, so the batter comes out a softer, leafier color with the jasmine-and-vanilla notes of the leaves. Inside it's chewy, springy and full of tunnels, and it comes with a little cup of slightly salty coconut cream to pour over the top. Some days there are coffee and banana versions with the same honeycomb texture.

Everything else in the case is Vietnamese dessert too. Pandan waffles come out soft and pale green, coconut egg custard tarts sit in shiny shells, and bánh da lợn comes in pandan and tamarind layers. Past bakes have included mango roll cakes, nectarine tarts, pineapple-cardamom cake, clove canelés, and a chè (Vietnamese dessert soup) with coconut milk, ice, green cendol jellies and fruit from the market. On the savory side there's bánh bò nướng avocado toast, a thick grilled slice of the coconut cake topped with ripe avocado, sprouts, fried shallots, chile oil, and salted coconut cream tinted with fig-leaf oil. Nguyen recommends a "one of everything" box, and on a first visit it's a delicious way to try the whole range.

The bakery bakes Thursday through Sunday, roughly 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. or until it sells out, and every pastry order is taken in person, with no pre-orders. On Thursday nights there's a walk-in-only Night Market with a modern take on Vietnamese street food, and that savory menu can include dairy even though the pastries don't, so ask if it's a concern for you. Whole cakes are arranged by email. Get there at opening, because the honeycomb cake sells out.

Regulars keep coming back for the Vietnamese desserts, and it helps that they're safe for a lot of people who'd gotten used to skipping dessert altogether. Order the pandan bánh bò nướng, add a tart if there's one left, and try the avocado toast if you want that chewy cake in a savory dish. Once the trays are empty there usually isn't another bake, so don't hang around waiting for one.

The essentials are on the Berlu Bakery page.