Best Restaurants in Portland
Portland’s food scene is built on two pillars: food carts and independent restaurants. The city has 500+ food carts organized into pods, over 70 craft breweries, and a culture that celebrates weird, creative, locally-sourced cooking.
Food Carts
Nong’s Khao Man Gai — Poached chicken over rice with a garlic-ginger sauce. That’s it. One dish. Perfected. $10. The cart that proved food carts can compete with restaurants.
Viking Soul Food — Norwegian-inspired lefse wraps (potato flatbread with fillings). The meatball wrap and the smoked salmon are outstanding.
Matt’s BBQ — Texas-style BBQ from a cart. The brisket is some of the best in the Pacific Northwest.
Cartlandia (SE 82nd Ave) — One of the largest food cart pods in Portland. Mexican, Thai, Hawaiian, Filipino, and more. Over 30 carts.
Restaurants
Canard (downtown) — Wine bar with outstanding small plates. The duck liver mousse and the skin-on frites are perfect. From the Tusk/Le Pigeon team.
Pok Pok (SE Division — check status) — Andy Ricker’s northern Thai restaurant that put Portland on the national food map. Vietnamese fish sauce chicken wings that changed how America thinks about Thai food.
Lardo (multiple locations) — Sandwiches. The Dirty Fries (pork scraps, herbs, Parmesan) and the pork meatball banh mi are outstanding.
Screen Door (Buckman) — Southern-influenced brunch. Fried chicken, praline bacon, and hush puppies. Weekend brunch line is legendary — go weekday if possible.
Craft Beer
Portland has 70+ breweries within the city limits.
Great Notion Brewing — Hazy IPAs and fruit sours. The smoothie-style beers are polarizing and popular.
Breakside Brewery — Nationally awarded. Their IPA won a GABF gold. Consistent excellence across styles.
Hair of the Dog — Belgian-inspired ales and barrel-aged beers. One of Portland’s original craft breweries.
McMenamins (multiple locations) — The Portland institution that turns historic buildings (hotels, schools, movie theaters) into brewpub-entertainment venues. The beer is decent; the atmosphere is the draw.