22 Best Restaurants in Portland, Oregon

At this Bay Area import, the rambling old Hawthorne house setting feels a touch country-chic, and the friendly servers deliver platters of almost gorgeous, colorful Thai food—mounds of florid jasmine blue rice, spicy Esan-style tuna larb, wagyu beef lettuce rolls, and crispy pork belly with garden veggies. Locally sourced and often organic produce and meats are favored, and quite a few of the dishes pack serious heat (but can be tamed a bit on request). There's a second location Downtown.

Bold colors play a central role in the look and culinary approach of this trendy restaurant, from the tropical-print wallpaper to the ornately ornamented tableware, and above all else in the consistently delicious Indonesian fare. Roti with coconut-cream corn, braised-beef rendang with kumquats, and Coca-Cola clams steamed with chilis and lemongrass reflect the kitchen's creative and sometimes surprising interpretation of a cuisine that gets very little play in Portland.

Diners have been enjoying fresh Pacific Northwest seafood in Jake's warren of wood-paneled dining rooms for more than a century. The back bar came around Cape Horn during the 1880s, and the chandeliers hanging from the high ceilings date from 1881. The restaurant, now operated by the McCormick & Schmick's chain, gained a national reputation in 1920, when crawfish was added to the menu. White-coated waiters take your order from an almost endless sheet of daily seafood specials—which can include cedar-plank-roasted salmon, pecan-crusted catfish, Dungeness crab, and Bay shrimp cakes. If you're dining during crawfish season (May–September), sample the tasty crustacean in pie, cooked creole style, or in a Cajun-style stew over rice. The daily happy hour in the bar is one of the best deals in town, with handcrafted drinks, $4 cheeseburgers, $5 fish tacos, and other toothsome bargains.

Along quaintly hip Clinton Street, in a fanciful red-roof building, cozy La Moule serves a perfectly prepared rendition of the dish for which it's named, with a classic marinière sauce and crispy baguettes. But there are also steak frites, whole-roasted branzino with fennel ragout, and other French-Belgian specialties.

A veteran of TV's Top Chef Masters, co-owner Jenn Louis serves exemplary modern Pacific Northwest fare in this contemporary, conversation-filled spot along the increasingly trendy North Williams restaurant strip. The stew of clams, ocean steelhead, and Burgundy snails with shiso and Calabrian chilies is a winner, and there are always three or four fresh-made pastas on the menu, such as bucatini with an octopus Bolognese sauce and mint, plus locally sourced grills and inventive salads. Louis and her husband, David Welch, also run the more casual Sunshine Tavern on Division Street in Southeast.

This cozy and colorfully decorated corner space has a near-fanatical following for flavorful Filipino-fusion food prepared by the restaurant's renowned classically trained chef-owner. Expect creative, artfully prepared renditions of classics like squid-ink crab-fat noodles with peppers and corn, pork-skin cracklings with spiced coconut vinegar, and tender pork adobo.

It's easy to miss this intimate storefront space whose kitchen produces stellar Spanish, French, Italian, and Croatian food, but don't miss it. The menu changes daily and specials are written in red ink on the front window and always include some sensational seasonal dishes, from a simple summery radish-and-sweet-pea salad to lamb carpaccio with horseradish-celery root. Olive oils, dressings, sauces, and other gourmet goods for sale are displayed on the back wall.  If there's a wait for a table, head next door to the Navarre's sophisticated sister bar, Angel Face, which features raw oysters, charcuterie, and cocktails.

Perched atop a four-story building on the Central East Side, this polished wine bistro offers expansive views of the river and Downtown skyline from its outdoor patio and large south- and west-facing windows, an extensive wine list, and creative food prepared by celebrated chef-owner Leather Storrs. Many of the produce and herbs used in creative salads and grills are raised in the restaurant's rooftop garden.

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).