One of Portland's Hottest Chefs Is Bringing a Filipino Restaurant to RiNo

Carlo Lamagna is a 2022 James Beard Finalist for Best Chef: Northwest and Pacific and was named one of Food & Wine’s Best New Chefs in 2021. Now, he's planning to bring his take on Filipino fare to Denver.

Lamagna, who was born in the Philippines and attended both high school and college there, opened his Portland, Oregon, eatery Magna Kusina in 2019, serving up modern takes on classic Filipino dishes like sinagang and siopao. Its sister concept, Magna Kainan, is set to debut at NOVEL RiNo, a 483-unit mixed-use apartment community at 40th and Walnut Streets, in 2024.

Lmagna partnered with local restaurant group Culinary Creative on the endeavor. "You can expect all the greatest hits [from Magna Kusina]," says Juan Padró, founder and CEO of the restaurant group, which also includes A5 Steakhouse, Bar Dough, Senõr Bear, Mister Oso, Ash'Kara and Forget me Not. "People don't realize that chef Carlo has a Michelin pedigree and gave all that up to showcase his culture. It's an amazing story," Padró adds.

After college, Lamagna moved to Detroit, then enrolled at the Culinary Institute of America in Chicago. There he met, worked with and learned from chef Paul Virant, whose restaurant Vie was awarded a Michelin Star in 2004. A job opportunity took Lamagna to Oregon, but a promise made to his father before he passed away prompted him to venture out on his own.
At Kainan (which means "eatery" in Tagalog), Lamagna says he will use recipes from his relatives and hopes to educate diners about traditional Filipino fare along the way.

My daughter, Sofia, is half Filipino, and I am excited to see more representation of the Filipino community downtown. While there are a handful of Filipino restaurant in the area, like Manila Bay in Aurora, the fact that this will be so close to home is comforting, because it will offer Sofia the chance to eat all her favorites, even while she's from away from her lola (grandma).

"I just hope the city likes me," says Lamagna, who will not be relocating permanently to the Mile High. "I love Denver. I'm just looking to add another option in the city's growing food scene. ... I'm looking to share my take on [Filipino food] to whomever wants to try it."

This is just one of a number of projects in the works for the Culinary Creative group, which will also add Detroit-style pizza concept Red Tops Rendezvous, Fox and the Hen from chef Carrie Baird, an unnamed second bar in Cherry Creek and a Japanese eatery in the former Tony P's space in LoHi in the coming months.