16 Best Restaurants in Portland, Oregon

This unpretentious and airy neighborhood spot with wooden booths and whimsical fire-engine-red chairs is really two delicious dining options in one: the dining room serves inventively topped, crisp, wood-fired pizzas, and a small takeout counter dispenses homemade hard and soft-serve organic ice cream with flavors like hazelnut toffee and candied kumquat. Pizza toppings change seasonally and might include homemade fennel sausage with lacinato kale, or rainbow chard with fermented tomatoes and chilis.

Described by baker-owner Kristen Murray as a "modern pastry luncheonette," this dainty West End café has just a handful of wooden booth and counter seats and a minimalist-inspired white-on-white aesthetic. The menu features exquisite French–Scandinavian pastries, cakes, and sandwiches, as well as a full gamut of drinks, including wine (interesting flights are offered), beer, cocktails, teas, and coffee.

You'll find some of the tastiest sweets—including heavenly pistachio-rose croissants and blueberry-blackberry scones—in town at this cozy patisserie and café a few blocks south of Jamison Square. Be sure to check out the ever-changing selection of fluffy macarons.

This now nationally known artisanal ice-cream shop began here with this still always-packed café in the Alberta Arts District and continues to wow the public with its wildly inventive classics as well as seasonal flavors (freckled-chocolate zucchini bread and green fennel and maple are a couple of recent examples). Locally produced Woodblock chocolate bars and homemade salted-caramel sauce are among the toppings. Expect a long line, but take heart in knowing that the patient staff works fast and cheerfully encourages patrons to sample the different flavors.

The long lines outside this late-night Old Town doughnut shop, marked by its distinctive pink-neon sign, attest to the fact that this irreverent bakery is almost as famous a Portland landmark as Powell's Books. The aforementioned sign depicts one of the shop's biggest sellers, a raspberry jelly–topped chocolate voodoo-doll doughnut, but all the creations here, some of them witty, some ribald, bring smiles to the faces of customers—even those who have waited 30 minutes in the rain. The Loop (covered in Fruit Loops cereal), Grape Ape (vanilla frosting, grape dust, and lavender sprinkles), and Dirty Snowballs (marshmallow topping, dipped in coconut, with peanut butter center) are other faves. The location in a slightly seedy section of Old Town makes this a not-quite-appropriate venue for very young kids—plus some of the more amusing doughnuts are adult themed.  A second location in Northeast tends to be a bit less crowded.

If you have time for just one Portland doughnut shop, choose this wildly popular local chainlet with several locations, including this convivial spot on North Mississippi. From the moment Blue Star opens at 7:30 am, loyal fans flock here to stock up on popular flavors like blueberry-bourbon-basil, passionfruit, and chocolate-almond ganache. There are additiona locations in Southeast, Downtown, South Waterfront, and Portland International Airport.

If you're seeking a comfy spot serving great local coffee brands and exceptional baked goods—both savory and sweet—consider this light-filled bakery-café in the bustling Burnside and 28th section of Buckman. Drawing young families, laptop-toting freelancers, and hoodied hipsters, the kitchen turns out delicious breakfast sandwiches with candied bacon in the morning, and a wide range of sandwiches at lunchtime. There's a newer branch in Inner Northeast's Burnside Bridgehead development.

Inside this sleek Woodstock café, with additional locations Downtown and on East Burnside, patrons sip fine coffees sourced from Central America, South America, and Africa, and indulge in breakfast and lunch fare, such as savory and sweet porridges, granola, toasts, and salads. Finnish owner Wille Yli-Luoma brings a modern, minimalist aesthetic to this striking space with plenty of tables for working and socializing.

Golden crusts are the trademark of Ken's rustic breads, croissants, tarts, and puff pastries, perfect for breakfast and lunch. Sandwiches, barbecue pulled pork, and croque monsieur are served on thick slabs of freshly baked bread, and local berries fill the flaky pastries. If the dozen tables inside the vibrant blue bakery are crammed (they usually are), you can sit outside at one of the sidewalk tables.

This tiny creperie just outside the hubbub of the Pearl District can serve as a romantic dinner-date spot or just a cozy place to enjoy a cocktail and a late-night snack. You can get sweet crepes with fruit, cheese, chocolate, and cream or savory ones with meats and cheeses; in addition, the dinner menu is rounded out with salads and steaks.

Painted in bright purples, pinks, and greens, this festive spot offers traditional Cuban fare: slow-roasted meats, tropical root vegetables, hearty stews, rice, and beans. The meat plates—featuring slow-roasted pork, oxtail, shredded beef, rubbed chicken, or giant prawns—with various rich and saucy accompaniments, are all tasty and best enjoyed with a side of fried plantains.

There's one reason people frequent this buzzy 23rd Avenue bistro: its luscious desserts, like the banana coconut cream pie, the berry cobblers, and the boccone dolce (Swiss meringues layered with whipped cream and seasonal fruit and drizzled with semi-sweet chocolate).

On the 30th floor of the U.S. Bank Tower, the Portland City Grill has bragging rights for best dinner view in town, which makes up for the rather unremarkable steakhouse fare. Gaze over the city skyline and the distant Cascade and Coast mountains from a window table. The adjoining bar and lounge has comfortable armchairs along its windowed walls, which are nearly always occupied.