Discover A Foodie’s Guide to Portland, Oregon - Where to Eat in PDX
Find out about the best places to eat in Portland, Oregon with this full eater’s guide to the foodie capital of the United States.
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📍- Portland, Oregon
The biggest city in Oregan thrives under the watchful gaze of the snow-capped Mount Hood. Bustling along the Willamette and Columbia Rivers intersection, Portland is stitched together by an overabundance of architecturally impressive bridges that transport art and culture to every corner of the city. An hour's drive from both the beach and the mountains, Portland serves as a convenient hub stuffed with performing arts, boutique fashion stores, gourmet coffee shops, hipster bookstores, and every other strange and unusual thing you can possibly think of. But despite all of this, before landing in this quirky city, Drew and I were most interested in trying the food.
Portland has long claimed the national bragging rights as the foodie capital of the United States. With its affordability, authenticity, breadth of cuisines, and density of restaurants, it seems clear that Portlandians know a thing or two about palatability. Still, after spending the last year traveling across the country, Drew and I approached our stop in Portland quite eager to assess the validity of this declaration, eating our way through the city while comparing its food scene to its toughest rivals in Charleston, South Carolina and Austin, Texas.
At the risk of spoiling the results of this experiment of ours, oh, Mama, did Portland take it home!
We lost all self-control during our time here, scouring the internet in search of the city’s best dishes and committing ourselves to the quest of sampling the finest foods that help make Bridge City internationally famous. And hey, if you’re headed to Portland anytime soon, we think you deserve the same experience. Lucky for you, we did all the hard work for you, and now we’re serving up our finest secrets for you to enjoy. So, without further ado, keep reading to discover the best restaurants in Portland, Oregon in this foodie’s guide to PDX. Grab a fork, bring your appetite, and let’s dig in!
Grab a fork, bring your appetite, and let’s dig in.
A Foodie's Guide to Portland, Oregon
Let’s start out with a banger if I’ve ever tasted one. The shining star that is Eem is a modern Thai restaurant serving modern barbeque creations of tiki-inspired cocktails. Literally translated to mean “satiated”, Eem promises that you will leave feeling perfectly full, and quite possibly sweating from overconsumption of chili oil. Their intimate menu is packed full of only delicious options, and accompanied by creative cocktails that help you quench your thirst after trying their spicier fare.
Our personal favorites include the fried hot cauliflower, tossed in a perfect umami fish sauce and topped with peanuts and green onions to give it a bit of extra crunch, it even kept Drew coming back for more despite his typical disdain of cauliflower. Their smoked pork krapao was the star of the night though, which we gobbled up so fast we completely forgot to take a picture of it. Slow roasted until it is falling apart, it is then cubed and fried in hot chili oil until slightly crunchy and served aside a runny egg to balance out the spice. As kindly as I can put this, it’ll punch you in the face and then leave you crawling back to the table and asking for more.
As a strange and random bonus, their Instagram page is hilarious and worth checking out if you like casually drooling as you scroll through your feed.
As for our cocktail selections, Drew went with the “Acid Test” left, made with bourbon, hibiscus, and hazelnut, while I chose the “Joan Wilder”, a delicious drink with melon liqueur, gin, and fresh ginger.
Casual and classic, Lil’ Shalom has an intimate kitchen that concocts modern takes on traditional Mediterranean dishes. Their happy hour is superb, offering diners their choice of pita sandwich and a mug of beer for $12. We both opted for this deal, trying their tangy and sweet Hawaiian fried chicken sandwich and their crispy and fresh falafel sandwich, a perfect combination for sharing. Allowing our eyes to grow bigger than our stomachs, we couldn’t help but add an order of Pitriyot hummus topped with wild mushrooms, garlic, dill, and lemon. Deliciously creamy atop their freshly baked pita bread, it melts in your mouth and was undeniably the best hummus that I have ever had the pleasure of tasting.
In all it’s creamy glory, here is the beautiful serving of Pitriyot photographed before we dug in.
Admittedly, Drew and I are a bit obsessed with sushi, and with the sushi on the west coast being some of the best we have ever tried, we were on the lookout for some authentic Japanese cousin while tasting our way through Portland. Bluefin Tuna & Sushi satisfied our every request, starting with their refreshing cocktail spritzers, and ending with a dry ice show to accompany their presentation of their prized sashimi.
With the cost of fresh fish typically being quite expensive, Bluefin had several multi-course dinner options at affordable options including their Bluefin Special which I opted for before being treated to a miso soup, ceviche salad, temari nigiri and hosomaki box, and a side of tempura prawns and vegetables. Drew couldn’t help himself from ordering a sashimi board, which came with more fresh, high-quality fish than I ever thought would be possible to eat in one sitting. Somehow we managed, leaving the restaurant wondering if we would ever find a casual sushi restaurant of that caliber again.
This beautiful array of fish was almost too gorgeous to eat, but if you can believe it, it tasted even better than it looks here.
As a self-certified taco connoisseur, there was simply no chance that we would leave Portland before trying some tasty tacos, and the casual Mexican restaurant of Taquería Los Puñales has to be serving up some of the best in the city. Their menu features a long list of tender steak, pork, chicken, and vegetarian tacos, each uniquely marinated, prepared, and dressed to actual perfection alongside traditional sides and fresh margaritas. All of their tortillas are made fresh in-house, an added detail that takes their tacos from great to woah-baby-that’s-good! Don’t expect to come here and order an enchilada though. This place is a taco restaurant, so tacos you shall get.
While we didn’t taste a taco we didn’t thoroughly enjoy here, our personal recommendations include their shrimp taco, the Adobado taco, and their barbacoa - Jalisco style.
Crispy, tender, and ever so juicy, all of these tacos were delicious in their own way.
Admittedly, this one might not be up everybody’s alley, but it had one of the best dishes I tasted during our Portland foodie tour, so it had to be included in this list. Located in the industrial district, Olympic Provisions is a haven for lovers of wine, charcuterie, and experimental food. My advice would be to come here with an open mind, a curious palate, and ready to share some small plates to have the best experience.
Choosing first from their list of charcuterie plates, we asked for a recommendation on their intimidatingly long wine list, and the waitress was kind enough to first ask what price range we were interested in before leading us through some tastings to find the perfect Italian red pairing. We added a couple of pickled eggs, some of the creamiest oysters I’ve ever slurped, and an order of *gasp* beef tartar to go with it. I don’t think I ever imagined I would enjoy a plate of minced raw beef so much, but I can feel myself salivating just remembering how good it was. Served with toast points, and mixed with chopped olives, lemon, and egg yolk, it was perfectly balanced and almost had me licking the plate when it was all gone.
I know that dishes like this can be intimidating, but the staff at Olympic Provisions do a really great job at explaining all of their offerings and allowing you to ask questions without making you feel like an uncultured dummy. Having previously been shamed in some snooty restaurants before, that’s something I deeply appreciate.
Everything they serve at Olympic Provisions is hand selected and high quality, elevating their seemingly simple meat boards like this one.
Honorable Mentions
None of the restaurants tickling your fancy? Here are a few more you might consider trying.
Collective Oregon Eateries
Aside from its abundant array of sit-down restaurants, Portland is also known for having one of the best food truck scenes in the country, with the Collective Oregon Eateries (CORE) hosting an assortment of some of the best. This food truck pod offers something for everyone, letting you choose between Mediterranean, Russian, Hawaiian, Thai, seafood boils, and sandwich shops before grabbing a cold, local beer to wash it all down. If you’re interested in trying the local Dungeness crab, be sure to try The Drip’N Crab for a spicy low country boil that draws people in from all over the Pacific Northwest.
Basilisk
Who doesn’t love a good fried chicken sandwich? Well, if you have a hankering for a crispy, juicy, and flavorful slice of chicken while in Portland, you’ll do well to make a stop at Basilisk. Their legendary chicken sandwiches are stacked so high with crunchy thigh meat, you’ll have a hard time wrapping your mouth around the honey brioche bun for your first bite. Dressed with house-made cabbage slaw, buttermilk dressing, and fresh pickles, there’s nothing not to love about the Basilisk chicken sandwich. They even make fried tofu sandwiches to give everyone a bit to enjoy.
Sugarpine Drive-In
Self-described as “Portland’s premier destination drive-in restaurant”, Sugarpine Drive-in is a place for wicked ice cream sundaes and warm snacks if you are headed in for a day of exploration in The Columbia River Gorge. It’s located right at mile marker one on the Historic Columbia River Highway and serves customers on a walk-up or drive-thru basis. Besides their unique ice cream flavors that will surely help you replenish your calorie reserves after a day of hiking, they also have the best grilled cheese sandwich in the city which is served overflowing with melted cheese after being pressed to perfection in a waffle iron.
With views as gorgeous as this in the Columbia River Gorge, it’s the drive to see the scenery, then stop by Sugarpine Drive-in on our way back to Portland.
We hope you enjoyed reading this foodie’s guide to Portland, Oregon. If you have a favorite restaurant in Portland that you think should be added to this list, be sure to leave a comment so that we can help future travelers together!
Thank you for joining us at Discovery Detour, where the destination is always unknown.
