227 Best Restaurants in Oregon, USA

Acclaimed Japanese ramen chain Afuri decided to open an outpost in the United States in 2016, choosing this modern, high-ceilinged dining room in food-obsessed Portland in part because the exacting culinary team appreciated the city's pristine, glacially fed water supply, which plays a significant part in the steaming, savory portions of yuzu shio (with chicken broth, yuzu citrus, shimeji mushrooms, seasoned egg, chashu, endive, and nori), one of a half dozen deeply satisfying ramen bowls. The kitchen also turns out flavorful skewers of shishito peppers and chicken thighs, pork dumplings, sushi, and other izakaya-style fare, all of it consistently exceptional.

Verdant plants hang from the timber beams and high, pitched ceiling of this outstanding West African restaurant founded by chef-owner Fatou Ouattara, who grew up in Cote D'Ivoire and learned to cook using clay ovens and wood fires from her grandmother. Akadi's menu draws on traditional recipes like street-style grilled goat with a mustard sauce and plantains, and palm butter stew with shrimp, gambas, crab, fish, and spices. There's a full bar.

This sophisticated spot tucked inside a Craftsman bungalow has drawn national acclaim for its European-inspired fare, available à la carte and in the form of an ever-evolving six-course tasting menu.

A frequent winner at American beer festivals, Barley Brown's is just as famous in the area for its food, which is prepared with locally sourced ingredients and hormone-free beef for burgers and other tasty grub. The "Shredders Wheat" American Wheat Ale has beaten out international contenders for a gold at the World Beer Cup. You can watch the process behind glass windows as they brew some of the more than three dozen beers available. The adjacent taproom is open daily.

This seasonal outdoor seafood-in-the-rough beer garden with a live-music stage and cornhole games sits directly on Winchester Bay, overlooking the marina whose fishing boats supply the fresh-caught, sustainable crab, bay shrimp, albacore tuna, and clams that appear on the short but sweet menu. Bands entertain the crowd many evenings, and families are welcome, along with well-behaved dogs. It's just outside Reedsport, in the heart of Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area, and about midway between Florence and Coos Bay.

This adorable neighborhood café—one of the most outstanding brunch spots in town—serves fresh and delicious Scandinavian food with fun-to-pronounce names like friterade applen (apple fritter) and aebleskivers (Danish pancakes). All the food—the hashes, lefse potato crepes, the baked egg scrambles, the Swedish breakfast boards—is delicious, with the Swedish meatballs in sherry cream sauce and salmon fish cakes with caraway vinaigrette being especially tasty among the midday choices. There are additional locations in North Portland, Southwest Portland, and Hood River in the Columbia Gorge.

One of the most acclaimed craft brewers on the coast, Buoy Beer also serves exceptionally tasty contemporary pub fare in its warm and inviting taproom, which is normally set in a converted 1920s grain warehouse (at 1 8th St.) on Astoria's riverfront walk, but following a massive building collapse in summer 2022, the restaurant has temporarily moved a few blocks away (call ahead to confirm the current location). Seafood figures prominently in many dishes, including rockfish-and-chips and bacon-clam chowder, but you'll also find delicious burgers and meat and cheese boards.

At the north end of town, making it a perfect drop-in after a hike at Ecola State Park, this colorfully decorated spot with its own little tiki bar serves big portions of creatively prepared Caribbean and Creole fare, along with a fittingly extensive selection of tropical cocktails (the Yellowbird, with fresh-squeezed tangerine and lime juice and Tia Maria, is a favorite). Kick things off with Dungeness crab fritters with mango salsa and Bahamian brown stew, before savoring a heartier main dish, perhaps braised pork tenderloin in a rich mushroom-Marsala sauce or New Orleans–style jambalaya with smoked pork shoulder.

Have a seat at a picnic table overlooking Haynes Inlet at Oregon's largest oyster farm, which dates to 1981 and is located a few miles north of North Bend proper and fairly close to the Horsfall area of Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area. At this picturesque, laid-back restaurant, bivalves are the star attraction and are available served raw, in a chowder with smoked bacon, in tacos, chicken-fried, and in po'boys. Salmon burgers, albacore ahi, and other fresh-caught fish are served as well, and you can also buy your seafood and other snacks to go from the on-site market and deli. 

Home to the sunny neighborhood-oriented Market Cafe, which serves brunch daily, Coquine blossoms into a romantic, sophisticated French–Pacific Northwest bistro in the evening. Early in the day, feast on sourdough pancakes with huckleberry compote, or black cod–based fisherman's stew with garlic toast, while in the evening, you might encounter pappardelle noodles with pork ragu or roasted whole chicken with hand-cut fries. The unfussy storefront space is just steps from Mt. Tabor Park, making it a lovely spot for a meal before or after a leafy stroll.

Salem politicos flock to this two-story downtown gathering spot for Italian-inspired dishes cooked in a wood-burning oven. No shortcuts are taken in the preparation, so don't come if you're in a rush. But if you're in the mood to linger over seafood and fresh pasta that's made on the premises, this may be your place. The wine list features a wide selection from the Northwest and Italy, and includes a good selection of wines by the glass. 

A stylish setting and a taste of impressively authentic Spanish fare—these are the draws of this handsome tapas restaurant in downtown Medford's turn-of-the-20th-century "Goldy" building. Pass around plates of mussels in romesco sauce, apricot-braised-pork empanadas, chorizo-studded Andalusian paella, and lamb-sausage flatbread, while sampling selections from the lengthy beer and cocktail menus.

Set inside a stylishly adapted former gas station, this airy and contemporary café serves exceptional espresso and tea drinks, from cardamom-rose lattes to sweetly spicy chais. The pork belly egg sandwich makes a deliciously savory start to the day.

This low-key favorite among foodies and locals lies just down the hill from Britt Gardens and serves sophisticated contemporary cuisine and a discerning selection of local and international wines. The menu changes regularly, but might feature salmon tartare with preserved lemon and furikake; or cider-brined pork chop with smoked-cheddar polenta and pomegranate pan sauce.

This humble, no-frills banh mi shop amid the many cheap and authentic Asian restaurants on S.E. 82nd stands out not just for its filling sandwiches (these crispy-bread creations come with fillings like spicy Chinese sausage, pork meat loaf, or sardines) but also for the daily featured soup, such as peppery pork-ball noodle soup on Wednesday and Vietnamese turmeric soup, with shrimp cake and sliced pork, on Sunday. There's also a diverse selection of thick milk shakes—top flavors include avocado, mango, and durian. The owners also operate Rose VL Deli nearby, which offers a more extensive soup menu.

Operated by the acclaimed chef behind Langbaan and Eem, this cozy and casual counter-service eatery takes its name from a small Thai city near the Malaysian border and its concept from that region's spicy and delicious fried chicken with sticky rice and rich Malayu-style curries with panfried roti bread. Other treats here uncommon to Thai restaurant culture in the States include fiery turmeric curry with mussels and heady oxtail soup with lemongrass. There's a second location on Belmont Street in Southeast.

A laid-back North Mississippi gastropub with an L-shaped indoor bar and a bi-level back patio with lush landscaping and a shaded pergola, Interurban is both a convivial drinkery and a fine spot for affordable, well-crafted American fare served from late afternoon until 2 am. The kitchen creates consistently good and creative food, such as risotto with seasonal vegetables and smoked-trout BLT sandwiches, and there's an extensive selection of cocktails and microbrews.

This exquisite hotel dining room is named after one of the soils in the Oregon wine country. The kitchen source the majority of their ingredients locally, and many of the vegetables come straight from the on-site garden. The menu changes according to season, but always features fresh seafood and an abundance of local veggies. Ask for a seat at the counter overlooking the open kitchen if you want to see the chefs in action. Naturally, the restaurant has an expansive wine list focused on Oregon wines.

This Central East Side establishment decorated to resemble a dacha (a Russian country/vacation house) turns out wonderfully creative and often quite light Russian fare, including plenty of shareable small plates, like crispy beef tongue with sweet onion sauce, orange, and pomegranate; panfried sour-cherry vareniki (Ukrainian dumplings), and—of course—caviar with blini and all the usual accompaniments. Another crowd-pleaser on the menu is the classic chicken Kiev, prepared the old-fashioned way, oozing with butter. The owners also run Lavka, a market and deli above the restaurant.

Top Chef celebrity Gregory Gourdet looked to his heritage (he was raised in New York City by parents who had immigrated from Haiti) in developing this beautifully designed restaurant that, thanks to a tidal wave of critical acclaim, is now one of the most sought-after reservations on the West Coast. Everything that comes out of Kann's kitchen bursts with flavor and color—think lightly seared butterfish with lemongrass, mint, and green-apple shaved ice, and cane syrup–glazed breast and leg of duck with pineapple and tamarind. Reservations are a must, and it's advisable to book at least a couple of months in advance. 

Douglas-fir beams, old wine barrels, and hungry crowds surround the glowing, beehive-shaped wood oven in the open kitchen of this thin-crust pizza joint. Ken Forkish, also of Ken's Artisan Bakery, uses fresh, organic ingredients for the dough, sauces, and toppings of his pies, which include a Margherita with arugula, a hand-pressed fennel sausage with onion, and a soppressata with basil.

Guests reach this tiny 24-seat spot with an open kitchen by walking through the Phuket Cafe, which is itself a wonderful option for flavorful Asian cuisine. The restaurant serves the most interesting and consistently delicious Southeast Asian food in Portland via a weekly changing 10-course tasting menu that features unusual dishes like pickled mackerel with melon, sumac, and Thai chilies, and oxtail with bone marrow, chanterelle mushrooms, lentils, and tendon chips.

This pie-focused operation began as a stall at Portland's Saturday Farmers Market at PSU and is now a charming, homey, brick-and-mortar café along Division Street in Southeast. Though it's the delicious pies—with feathery-light crusts and delicious fillings like tart cherry, salted pecan, and chocolate-banana cream—that have made Lauretta Jean's a foodie icon in Portland, this cheerful eatery also serves exceptional brunch fare, including the LJ Classic, a fluffy biscuit topped with an over-easy egg, Jack cheese, bacon, and strawberry jam. In the evening, it's a popular spot for desserts and coffee, or even cocktails.

Specializing in adventurous Northwest-influenced French dishes of extraordinary quality, this cozy and unassuming restaurant consistently ranks among the city's most acclaimed dining venues. James Beard award–winning chef Gabriel Rucker presents a five-course tasting menu ($135), with a vegetarian option available as well, and although the lineup changes nightly, dishes like Iberico pork jowl and tenderloin and gnocchi with lobster and black truffle are typical.

Set in an airy, high-ceilinged space on the ground floor of the architecturally noteworthy Clinton Condominiums building, this sleek operation serves delectable breakfast and lunch sandwiches and sweets that are nearly impossible to pass up, like the lemon-curd-and-currant scones and sea-salt chocolate brownies.