Food and Drinks in Portland

We Portlanders rely on our local coffee houses to get us through the rainy fall and winter days. Portland is home to a number of independent roasters and an army of baristas who can craft the perfect lotus leaf on your latte. PDX originals like Stumptown Coffee Roasters are still going strong, while newcomers like Coava Coffee have burst onto the scene with beautiful spaces and an elevated tasting experience.

Nothing hits the spot after a hike in the woods or a long day at work like a crisp IPA! Portland boasts over 80 breweries within the city limits, which is the second most breweries per capita in the country. McMenamins opened the first brewpub in Portland in 1985. Since then, several breweries like Deschutes, Stormbreaker, 10 Barrell, and Migration have emerged as Portland stalwarts.

If beer isn’t your thing, there are plenty of options to to enjoy craft cocktails and artisan spirits. Choose from 2,000 spirits at the Multnomah Whiskey Library, and more adventurous drinkers can try the volcano bowl from Hale Pele, or the Spanish coffee from Huber’s, Portland’s oldest bar. If you want the cocktail experience without the alcohol, several restaurants offer a full menu of NA “mocktails.”

Oregon’s fertile Willamette Valley grows some of the best wine grapes in the world. We’re famous for our pinot noir, but Oregon also produces other varieties like chardonnay, pinot gris, and cabernet sauvignon. A trip to wine country should be on everyone’s to-do list, but you can also visit a number of tasting rooms and wineries in the city. Hip Chicks Do Wine is Portland’s first urban winery, and newer wineries like Seven Bridges and Fullerton Wines have helped cement the city’s reputation as a wine tasting destination.

Portland’s independent spirit is exemplified in the prevalence of food carts throughout the city. Food carts serve a huge variety of delicious cuisine from around the world at cheaper prices than you’d find in a brick-and-mortar restaurant. You can find food cart “pods” throughout the city where carts are parked permanently that usually include seating and a bar cart. Cartopia, Hawthorne Asylum, Prost Marketplace, the St. John’s Beer Porch and the Portland Mercado are just a few of the many pods you need to check out.

Several of the country’s top chefs call Portland home. Portland is uniquely located near the coast and within minutes of farms that produce top quality vegetables and meats. Fresh, local ingredients make our city a magnet for world-class restaurants. Reservations can be hard to come by for more exclusive restaurants like Top Chef’s Gregory Gordet’s Kaan, and James Beard winner Langbaan, it’s well worth the wait! While you’re waiting on your reservations to come through, check out Urdaneta, Dame, Coquine, Quaintrelle, and Jacqueline.