72 Best Restaurants in Portland, Oregon

Acclaimed Japanese ramen chain Afuri decided to open an outpost in the United States in 2016, choosing this modern, high-ceilinged dining room in food-obsessed Portland in part because the exacting culinary team appreciated the city's pristine, glacially fed water supply, which plays a significant part in the steaming, savory portions of yuzu shio (with chicken broth, yuzu citrus, shimeji mushrooms, seasoned egg, chashu, endive, and nori), one of a half dozen deeply satisfying ramen bowls. The kitchen also turns out flavorful skewers of shishito peppers and chicken thighs, pork dumplings, sushi, and other izakaya-style fare, all of it consistently exceptional.

Verdant plants hang from the timber beams and high, pitched ceiling of this outstanding West African restaurant founded by chef-owner Fatou Ouattara, who grew up in Cote D'Ivoire and learned to cook using clay ovens and wood fires from her grandmother. Akadi's menu draws on traditional recipes like street-style grilled goat with a mustard sauce and plantains, and palm butter stew with shrimp, gambas, crab, fish, and spices. There's a full bar.

Operated by the acclaimed chef behind Langbaan and Eem, this cozy and casual counter-service eatery takes its name from a small Thai city near the Malaysian border and its concept from that region's spicy and delicious fried chicken with sticky rice and rich Malayu-style curries with panfried roti bread. Other treats here uncommon to Thai restaurant culture in the States include fiery turmeric curry with mussels and heady oxtail soup with lemongrass. There's a second location on Belmont Street in Southeast.

A laid-back North Mississippi gastropub with an L-shaped indoor bar and a bi-level back patio with lush landscaping and a shaded pergola, Interurban is both a convivial drinkery and a fine spot for affordable, well-crafted American fare served from late afternoon until 2 am. The kitchen creates consistently good and creative food, such as risotto with seasonal vegetables and smoked-trout BLT sandwiches, and there's an extensive selection of cocktails and microbrews.

This Central East Side establishment decorated to resemble a dacha (a Russian country/vacation house) turns out wonderfully creative and often quite light Russian fare, including plenty of shareable small plates, like crispy beef tongue with sweet onion sauce, orange, and pomegranate; panfried sour-cherry vareniki (Ukrainian dumplings), and—of course—caviar with blini and all the usual accompaniments. Another crowd-pleaser on the menu is the classic chicken Kiev, prepared the old-fashioned way, oozing with butter. The owners also run Lavka, a market and deli above the restaurant.

Top Chef celebrity Gregory Gourdet looked to his heritage (he was raised in New York City by parents who had immigrated from Haiti) in developing this beautifully designed restaurant that, thanks to a tidal wave of critical acclaim, is now one of the most sought-after reservations on the West Coast. Everything that comes out of Kann's kitchen bursts with flavor and color—think lightly seared butterfish with lemongrass, mint, and green-apple shaved ice, and cane syrup–glazed breast and leg of duck with pineapple and tamarind. Reservations are a must, and it's advisable to book at least a couple of months in advance. 

Douglas-fir beams, old wine barrels, and hungry crowds surround the glowing, beehive-shaped wood oven in the open kitchen of this thin-crust pizza joint. Ken Forkish, also of Ken's Artisan Bakery, uses fresh, organic ingredients for the dough, sauces, and toppings of his pies, which include a Margherita with arugula, a hand-pressed fennel sausage with onion, and a soppressata with basil.

Guests reach this tiny 24-seat spot with an open kitchen by walking through the Phuket Cafe, which is itself a wonderful option for flavorful Asian cuisine. The restaurant serves the most interesting and consistently delicious Southeast Asian food in Portland via a weekly changing 10-course tasting menu that features unusual dishes like pickled mackerel with melon, sumac, and Thai chilies, and oxtail with bone marrow, chanterelle mushrooms, lentils, and tendon chips.

Specializing in adventurous Northwest-influenced French dishes of extraordinary quality, this cozy and unassuming restaurant consistently ranks among the city's most acclaimed dining venues. James Beard award–winning chef Gabriel Rucker presents a five-course tasting menu ($135), with a vegetarian option available as well, and although the lineup changes nightly, dishes like Iberico pork jowl and tenderloin and gnocchi with lobster and black truffle are typical.

This unpretentious and airy neighborhood spot with wooden booths and whimsical fire-engine-red chairs is really two delicious dining options in one: the dining room serves inventively topped, crisp, wood-fired pizzas, and a small takeout counter dispenses homemade hard and soft-serve organic ice cream with flavors like hazelnut toffee and candied kumquat. Pizza toppings change seasonally and might include homemade fennel sausage with lacinato kale, or rainbow chard with fermented tomatoes and chilis.

At this high-ceilinged, mod-industrial space in Slabtown, it's all about the free-range, pineapple-brined, wood-fired chicken, which you can order as a quarter, half, of whole bird paired with your choice of sauces—favorites include smoked-garlic miso and Thai fish sauce. Make it a true feast by ordering a couple of the enticing sides, maybe cornbread with whipped-honey chili butter, grilled Brussels sprouts with grilled lemon–Calabrian chili oil and confit or garlic puree.

This vegetarian-friendly tribute to Mediterranean cuisine occupies a handsome former warehouse on historic 13th Avenue in the Pearl. MEC (for short) is an energy-filled, open space with a mix of communal and individual tables (the food is served family-style)—it's surprisingly affordable considering the extraordinary quality and generous portions.

Beloved chef and cookbook author Lisa Schroeder dedicates her home-style, made-with-love approach to food to the comforting foods prepared by mothers everywhere. Clearly the theme resonates, as evidenced by the long waits on weekends, and even some weekday mornings for breakfast, which is arguably the best time of the day to sample Schroeder's hearty cooking; try the wild salmon hash with leeks or the French toast with a crunchy cornflake crust. Reservations are recommended on weekends.

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.

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.

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).

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.

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.

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.