Magna Kubo
Defunct Filipino restaurant in Beaverton, Oregon, U.S.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Magna Kubo was a Filipino restaurant in Beaverton, Oregon.[1] Owner Carlo Lamagna and chef Kevin Balonso opened the restaurant in 2023, as an off-shoot of Lamagna's Portland eatery Magna Kusina. Magna Kubo specialized in rotisserie-style meats and also served bistek, chicken wings, laing, and halo-halo. Despite garnering a positive reception and being named one of the metropolitan area's best new restaurants by The Oregonian, Magna Kubo closed in 2024.
| Magna Kubo | |
|---|---|
| |
 Interactive map of Magna Kubo | |
| Restaurant information | |
| Established | June 2023 |
| Closed | 2024 |
| Owner | Carlo Lamagna |
| Chef | Kevin Balonso |
| Food type | Filipino |
| Location | 12406 Southwest Broadway Street, Beaverton, Oregon, 97005, United States |
| Coordinates | 45.4873°N 122.8042°W |
Description
The lechonería Magna Kubo operated at the intersection of Southwest Broadway Street and Southwest Hall Boulevard in Beaverton.[2][3] Magna Kubo served Filipino cuisine such as rotisserie-style meats[4] (including liempo, or pork belly), rice, and atchara with pickled carrot, onion, and garlic. The menu has also included barbecue ribs,[5] bistek (marinated beef shoulder with star anise and garlic),[6] wagyu beef sliders, laing (coconut milk-braised vegetables with shallots and chiles),[7][8] fish,[9] chicken wings, and halo-halo.[10]
For Beaverton Restaurant Week in 2023, Magna Kuba collaborated with Hapa Pizza to serve a pizza with shredded pork, Brussels sprouts, mozzarella, red sauce, cilantro, Thai basil, XO sauce and Caesar dressing.[11][12] For Thanksgiving, a take-out menu included turkey breast marinated in lemongrass and annatto, adobo-braised, crab fat fried rice, sisig-style Brussels sprouts, and gailan with fermented shrimp paste.[13]
History
Magna Kubo opened in June 2023, as a spin-off of the Portland restaurant Magna Kusina.[14][15] Carlo Lamagna was a co-owner, and Kevin Balonso was the chef.[16] Magna Kubo was among several new Filipino restaurants in the Portland metropolitan area.[17][18][19]
In 2024, Magna Kubo participated in Sobrang Sarap, a tour of sixteen Filipino food businesses in the area,[20][21][22] and was a vendor at the Oregon AAPI Food and Wine Fest in Dayton, Oregon.[23]
After initially going on a lengthy hiatus, Magna Kubo closed permanently in mid 2024.[2][24] Lamagna later attributed the closure to issues with staffing and other logistical challenges, including patron parking.[25][26]
Reception
Magna Kubo ranked ninth in The Oregonian's list of best new restaurants of 2023.[16][27] The newspaper's Michael Russell called the halo-halo "outrageously good".[28] Katherine Chew Hamilton included the halo-halo in Portland Monthly's overview of the city's ten best dishes of 2023.[29] Krista Garcia included Magna Kubo in Eater Portland's 2024 list of recommended eateries for Filipino food in the metropolitan area.[10] She and Janey Wong also included Magna Kubo in a 2024 list of nineteen Beaverton eateries "making the Portland suburb a dining destination".[5]
