126 Best Restaurants in Portland, Oregon

This narrow, bi-level space with exposed-brick walls, rustic chandeliers, and tall windows overlooking a busy Downtown space ranks among the more sophisticated and romantic dinner spots in the city. Charming chef-owner and Roman expat Simone Savaiano prepares complex modern Italian dishes using mostly local and organic produce and meats, in everything from the selection of cured meats to Dungeness crab salad with endive, arugula, apple, marcona almonds, and champagne vinaigrette. Handmade pastas, including an outstanding maltagliati with rabbit, olives, and pine nuts, are another strength.

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.

The flagship restaurant of one of the country's leading sources of artisanal charcuterie, such as smoked chorizo, pepper-coated capicola, and pork-pistachio pâté, Olympia Provisions serves gorgeous platters of meats and cheeses along with more eclectic seasonal Mediterranean-influenced fare like eggplant à la plancha with pine nuts and lemon vinaigrette, and pan-roasted black cod with stewed chickpeas. The setting is a smartly designed warehouse space and features a glowing "Meat" sign which quite simply says it all. There's also a pub and a Spanish-inspired tavern, Bar Casa Vale, which are both also in Southeast.

Colorful lights, floral-print tablecloths, and lush plants provide a bit of tropical flair to this festive culinary homage to the hawker foods of Singapore and Malaysia, such as corn fritters with sweet-chili peanut sauce, charred-pineapple salad with chili-shrimp sauce, and sour-tamarind baby-back ribs with fish sauce. Save room for a Fruity Pebble rice crispy treat.

Specializing in "Argentine-inspired Portland food," Ox is all about prime cuts of meat—along with flavorful garden-fresh side dishes—prepared to perfection. In a dimly lit dining room with hardwood floors, exposed brick walls, and a bar against the front window, the flannel-shirt-and-white-apron-clad waitstaff serves beef, lamb, pork, and fish dishes cooked over flames in a large, hand-cranked grill.

At this trendy restaurant inside the hip KEX hotel, the menu showcases not only delectable foods of the entire Pacific Coast, including the Northwest but also California (try the steamed and then chilled Castroville artichoke with umami mayo and garlic butter) and even Baja (the Tijuana-style whole-leaf Caesar salad is spot on). The warmly lighted, atmospheric seating in the dining room–cum–lobby is at tables or the long, elliptical bar, a space that encourages lingering and socializing over an Oregon berry cast-iron crumble and rosé negroni.

Launched in 2009 in Melbourne, Australia, this third-wave coffeehouse that sources its beans sustainably from around the world opened a U.S. location on Alberta Street in 2017. In this light-filled postindustrial space, you can savor perfectly prepared espresso drinks alongside tasty breakfast and lunch fare, such as Korean fried chicken sandwiches and grilled croissant brioches with cured ham, blackened corn, and poached egg.

The flagship restaurant of a fast-growing, nationally acclaimed group of sensational Latin American–inspired bars and eateries that include Lilia Comedor, Comala, and several others, this high-ceilinged, unpretentiously elegant spot serves prix-fixe tasting menus of gorgeously plated dishes that often utilize Pacific Northwest ingredients. The nightly offers change according to what's in season but might feature venison with Oaxacan chiles, king trumpet mushrooms, pears, and walnuts, or albacore with avocado and chile de agua.

The line that forms outside this Southern-cooking restaurant during weekend brunch and dinner is as epic as the food itself, but you can more easily score a table if you come for weekday brunch, and it's easier to find seating at the newer Pearl District location. A large, packed dining room with canned pickles and peppers along the walls, this Portland hot spot does justice to authentic Southern cooking, especially when it comes to the crispy buttermilk-battered fried chicken with creamy mashed potatoes and collard greens cooked in bacon fat. Or choose the Screen Door plate with your choice of four sides (consider the mac and cheese, creamy grits, and most any of the salads on the rotating seasonal menu).

At the center of Portland’s locally steeped tea scene is Smith Teamaker, founded by the late entrepreneur Steven Smith, who the New York Times said “helped transform the nation’s tea-drinking habits.” Duck inside to learn about the tea’s origin stories, sample different varieties at the tea bar, and leave with a few gift boxes.

Though the cooks at this lively counter-service restaurant are adept at preparing tamales—both the Oaxacan style wrapped in banana leaves and the more conventional style wrapped in corn husks (try the version filled with roasted pasilla peppers, onions, corn kernels, and queso fresco)—the kitchen also turns out fabulous seafood burritos and grilled-corn esquites. Be sure to check out the colorful murals that decorate the space and don't miss the chance to dine on the spacious side patio. There's an additional location on North Russell Street.

Established by the team behind the vaunted weekend dinner house, Han Oak, this cozy, casually minimalist spot in the trendy West End doles out inventive modern Korean bites, from savory bay shrimp pancakes with a soy-vinegar dipping sauce to Manila clams with miso butter and ginger sake. A highly popular brunch is served Friday–Sunday and is especially known for its twisted donuts in tantalizing flavors like milk tea and toasted coconut.

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.

While this upscale tavern serves fine dinner plates, it's happy hour and brunch that draws scene-y Nob Hill revelers to 23Hoyt. With a cool, clean ambience and the owner's private collection of contemporary art on the walls, this corner establishment makes an excellent place to partake in early-evening or weekend noshing.

Three doors down a side street from the bustling Hawthorne Boulevard, this small restaurant is known for its high-quality Italian food and extensive happy hour list. The intimate, unpretentious trattoria has built a reliable clientele with consistently well-crafted plates like lemon-zest-and-ricotta-stuffed eggplant with marinara, panko-crusted Oregon fried oysters and aioli, and a risotto of sautéed kale, sweet corn, and aged Gouda. There's a good list of reasonably priced wines, too.

This popular upscale Pearl District restaurant offers an inventive menu—a combination of traditional Peruvian and contemporary "Novoandina" cuisines—served in a large but nook-filled space that features live music most evenings. The extensive seafood offerings include several ceviches, grilled octopus, and a Peruvian-style paella that abounds with shellfish. A late-night bar offers sangria, small plates, and cocktails. 

The pies here—which have been lauded by Anthony Bourdain, Rachael Ray, and thousands of everyday pizza lovers—deserve the first-class reputation they enjoy. The greatness of the pies rests not in innovation or complexity, but in the simple quality of the ingredients, such as dough made by hand in small batches and baked to crispy-outside, tender-inside perfection and toppings—including basil, pecorino romano, and house-cured bacon—that are fresh and delicious. Although the decor is rather plain and you'll likely have to wait for a table, you'll forget all once you take your first bite and start basking in the glory of some of the best pizza in the city.

Claiming to be the world’s first certified sustainable sushi restaurant, this Portland-based chainlet partners with nonprofits such as the Marine Stewardship Council and Monterey Bay Aquarium to ensure it sources its seafood from eco-conscious fishing operations. Bamboo has five locations throughout the metro area, including this stylish branch in Downtown's West End, where the counter seating fills for the weekday happy hour, served until 6 pm.

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.

Set beneath a soaring beamed ceiling, and with a welcoming mix of worn wooden seating, kitschy decor, bright fabrics, and intoxicating smells, this lively restaurant along Division Street's hoppin' restaurant row specializes in Indian street food. Order at the counter, and your food—perhaps vada pav (spicy potato dumplings with chutney), gobi Manchurian (Indo-Chinese fried cauliflower with lemon, curry leaves, and sweet-and-sour sauce), or Goan-style shrimp served with a full complement of chutneys, paratha bread, and dal—will be brought out to you. The smaller original location is in the Alberta Arts District.

This often crowded and convivial ramen shop, at the entrance of the Union Alley shopping arcade across from the Ace Hotel, is tiny in size and menu, but popular for its quick-service soups, including spicy red miso with pork belly and egg, and shiitake mushroom shoyu. Seating is at a few small wooden tables and a short bar, so prepare for a wait at lunchtime or on weekend evenings. Boxer Ramen has four additional locations in the Alberta Arts District, Sellwood, Nob Hill, on East Burnside.

Focusing on both craft cocktails and the exceptionally delicious sandwiches that Portland's local Bunk chainlet has become justly known for, this trendy spot in the Central East Side has an industrial vibe with soaring ceilings, exposed ducts, and concrete beams. It's a great lunch option by day, and more of a drinking spot in the evenings, when you might also catch live bands playing, but anytime you visit you can sink your teeth into a pork-belly Cubano, fried chicken, or double cheeseburger. The other locations are in Inner Northeast, Alberta, and Downtown's West End.