North Portland is one of the six areas of the Oregon city and is a diverse mixture of residential, commercial, and industrial areas with plenty of great restaurants to choose from.
From authentic Mexican to noodle bars, there’s something for everyone in North Portland. Here are the best restaurants in North Portland, Oregon for you to try something new…
1. The Bye and Bye – a cool hipster bar serving Southern-inspired Vegan food until late
Bye and Bye is a late-night hipster bar that serves vegan food inspired by Southern traditions.
Stationed in the King neighborhood of North Portland, you can enjoy the Bye and Bye signature cocktail and 10 other options.
Start with delicious appetizers including pretzel knots and sesame-garlic edamame.
All of their “meaty” sandwiches such as the Weeping Tiger Sandwich are made with tofu or tempeh: some type of vegan meat substitute.
What makes Bye and Bye one of the best restaurants in North Portland is that they welcome four-legged friends as well. Dine on Bye and Bye’s patio area and bring Fido along for a tasty meal spent with your furry companion.
Address: 1011 NE Alberta St, Portland, OR 97211
2. ¿Por Qué No? – affordable and authentic Mexican food in North Portland
¿Por Qué No? is a Mexican food fare hotspot in the Sunnyside neighborhood of North Portland that offers tacos, chips, salsa, quesadillas, ceviche, and more!
You will love visiting ¿Por Qué No? because of their famous taco selection in North Portland. Choose from carnitas, pollo verde, chicken, verduras, hongos y papas, chorizo, carne asada, and more.
For the kids, there is even a child’s portion of a bean and cheese taco. If you visit for dine-in on Tuesdays, the tacos are 10% off for Taco Tuesday!
Happy Hour is Monday through Friday from 2:30 pm to 5 pm, which features discounted margaritas, sangria, and margaritas. The brunch menu is featured on Saturdays and Sundays from 11 am to 3 pm.
Address: 4635 SE Hawthorne Blvd, Portland, OR 97215
3. Blossoming Lotus – a North Portland restaurant serving organic vegan fusion dishes, including some raw foods
Blossoming Lotus is a full-service restaurant that offers vegan fusion dishes as tasty as regular dishes. There are even some raw vegan dishes on the menu.
Stationed in the Irvington neighborhood, you can get mainstream dishes that are vegan-style such as mac and cheese, raw cheesecake, and taco salad.
A small perk about visiting this restaurant is that you can request compostable silverware with your order so that you know you are doing great for the Earth by not only eating vegan food but also by composting your silverware after eating at Blossoming Lotus.
Address: 1713 NE 15th Ave, Portland, OR 97212
4. Prost! – a popular pub serving German beers, sausages and pretzels
Prost! is a German pub located in the Mississippi District of North Portland specializing in beers from its homeland, pretzels, and sausages.
While the ingredients are sourced from local Portland sources, their food is cooked in a traditional German fashion with each “bier” poured and served in the German way.
They operate every day from 11:00 am to 2:30 am and minors are allowed in the pub before 8 pm. Hence, they are a family-friendly establishment by day and act like an adult pub by night.
Address: 4237 N Mississippi Ave, Portland, OR 97217
5. South x Northwest – a great plant-based southern and southwestern fare
South x Northwest is another vegan restaurant in North Portland that is located in the Mississippi District.
Serving Southwestern and Southern vegan food, the popular items on their menu are vegan country fried chicken, fried chick’n sandwich, and Nashville hot chicken sandwich.
They even have cocktails for two for a couple to enjoy such as My Chemical Romance for Two and Holiday Sangria for Two and Rachel’s Mule for Two.
It’s cheaper per cocktail by ordering one of the “for two” options, which is one of the reasons that South x Northwest is one of the best for discount cocktails in North Portland.
Address: 3928 N Mississippi Ave, Portland, OR 97227
6. Moberi – awesome plant Based and dairy Free Acai Bowls and Smoothies in North Portland
Moberi is an acai bowl and smoothie restaurant in the Northwest District.
It’s worth a visit to Moberi because it’s a great place for vegans, raw vegans, and anyone in North Portland to dine on fresh cuisine and feel healthy doing it!
Enjoy dishes such as a variety of oatmeals with fresh-cut and delicious and funnily named smoothies such as Fresh Prince of Brazil that features acai and goji berries.
Take it a step up with the acai bowls by trying their layered bowls which include chia and granola for added nutritional value.
Address: 1755 NW 23rd Ave, Portland, OR 97210
7. Top Burmese Burma Joy – a vegan Friendly serving delicious and authentic cuisine of Myanmar
Top Burmese is a Burmese restaurant offering authentic Myanmar dishes unlike any other in the Northwest District of North Portland. The restaurant is known as the best new restaurant according to The Oregonian and OregonLive.
You will be thrilled visiting Top Burmese so you can see their autonomous robots handling food clean up at guest tables and doing other tasks while the humans are handling the hospitality aspect of food service in the restaurant.
Try delicious vegan options such as coconut rice with ginger, samosas, or ginger salad. Nan Ghi Thoke, Pan-Toasted Paratas, and Oh No to Oh Yes are a few of the new dishes featured on the menu.
Address: 1305 NW 23rd Ave, Portland, OR 97210
8. XLB – a cool, casual eatery offering Chinese soup dumplings and comfort dishes
XLB is a Chinese restaurant in the Williams district that features high-quality Chinese dumplings and comfort food and beer and wine.
Xiao Long Bao is their most popular dumplings dish hence their restaurant name XLB, which is the best reason to visit this restaurant.
The dish is made with eight soup dumplings soaked in a chicken and pork broth filled with pork inside. Besides their signature dumplings dishes, you can also enjoy delicious noodle dishes, vegetable-based appetizers, and Taiwan beer.
Look for the leaf symbol for vegan and vegetarian options. If you see the icon that is wheat with a slash over it, that means the dish is gluten-free.
Address: 4090 N Williams Ave, Portland, OR 97227
9. Sweedeedee – a cozy cafe offering homestyle breakfast and lunch fare
Sweedeedee is a cafe that serves homestyle breakfast and lunch dishes in their Humboldt District establishment.
Their menu updates every week, which is the greatest reason to visit as there is always something new to try. Breakfast is served the entire day from 9 am to 3 pm and lunch starts being served at 11 am daily.
Breakfast dishes usually include an upscale yogurt dish, french toast, and scrambled eggs. Lunch dishes usually feature vegetable-based soup and different types of sandwiches.
There’s even a variety of delicious raw salads and snacks such as olives, cheeses, and other meats to try.
Address: 5202 N Albina Ave, Portland, OR 97217
10. Tin Shed Garden Cafe – a family and dog-friendly place with a covered patio specializing in American food
Located in the King neighborhood, Tin Shed Garden Cafe offers American food fare and is even canine-friendly, allowing four-legged friends to join their owners when they dine at the cafe’s patio.
Fido Food and Doggy Dessert are the two menu items available for canines when owners bring them to the cafe. There is also a kids’ menu.
Hence, this is a family-friendly establishment that welcomes children and pets.
Try a Big Hit Burrito for breakfast or a Classic Burger for lunch with many other breakfast and lunch options to choose from.
Address: 1438 NE Alberta St, Portland, OR 97211
11. Farmhouse Kitchen Thai Cuisine – a rustic-chic Thai North Portland eatery offering curries and noodles
Farmhouse Kitchen Thai Cuisine is located in the Richmond District and offers delicious curry dishes and noodle bowls.
Known as a Thai New Generation, they present Thai food in North Portland unlike other Thai restaurants in the area!
Try crispy calamari or moo ping as appetizers. Indulge in entrees such as red curry or yellow curry and pad kee mow or pad thai. The “Ruk Na” dessert platter is great for people at large parties that wish to enjoy dessert after their meals.
Address: 3354 SE Hawthorne Blvd, Portland, OR 97214
12. Gabagool – casual handcrafted Italian food in the St. Johns neighborhood restaurant
Gabagool is located in the St. Johns District of North Portland. The name of the restaurant is the Italian pronunciation for the word “capicola”. What started as a food truck in Eastern PA by its two owners graduated to a restaurant in Portland.
The best perk of visiting Gabagool is because of their handmade pasta and delicious sandwiches. Their housemade pasta is made into delicious spaghetti and ravioli dishes.
The signature Gabagool flatbread sandwich features capicola ham, marinated tomatoes, mozzarella, romaine, hot peppers, finocchiona salami, vinegar, and oil.
Address: 7955 N Lombard St, Portland, OR 97203
13. Hail Snail – Portland’s only vegan cinnamon roll shop with gluten and soy free options
Hail Snail is a dessert cafe that has customizable desserts that are made with all-natural vegan ingredients including fair-trade chocolate.
Located in the Arbor Lodge District, the desserts they serve are called snails and almost look like a cinnamon bun pastry. You will love visiting Hail Snail because you cannot get these snail confections anywhere else in the nation.
You can customize your snail or choose from one of the handcrafted snails on the menu. It’s a delicious and unique “dessert phenomenon” as Hail Snail calls it that has taken North Portland by storm.
If you want everyone in your friends or family circle to try these delicious snail confections, you can try the Snail Fight which has 15 snails and 4 toppings of your choice on one tray.
Address: 6550 N Interstate Ave, Portland, OR 97217
14. Swift and Union – a gastropub offering refined, seasonal New American plates, craft beer and house cocktails
Swift and Union is a gastropub located in the Kent District that serves New American dishes, housemade cocktails, and craft beers.
It’s worth a visit to Swift and Union because of their weekday happy hours from 3:30 pm to 5:30 pm. The well liquors cost $4.50 and the cocktail of the week is only $5 during happy hour.
Beers are $5 and house wines are $6 when ordered during happy hour. Choose delicious eats from the $3, $5, and $8 menu.
Address: 8103 N Denver Ave, Portland, OR 97217
15. Spitz – a funky chain restaurant in North Portland for doner kebabs, fries and other Turkish food
Doner kebabs and other Turkish dishes are the main highlights at Spitz located in the Overlook neighborhood of North Portland.
This Mediterranean restaurant will have you excited to visit because it’s known as the best kebab spot in Portland. Other house favorites include doquitos, street cart fries, Berliner fries, and doner baskets.
If you follow a vegan or gluten-free diet, there are even menu options that accommodate these diet plans, too.
Address: 2103 N Killingsworth St, Portland, OR 97217
We also have posts on…
- Cool and Unusual restaurants in Portland
- Best Vegan Restaurants in Portland
- Best Downtown Restaurants in Portland
- Best Restaurants in SouthWest Portland
- Best Pearl District Restaurants in Portland
- Best Italian restaurants in Portland
- Best waterfront restaurants in Portland
Scott started his travelling life back in 1999, when he headed off on a solo jaunt to South Africa, Australia, New Zealand and South East Asia with just a backpack, a camera and a spirit for adventure. After that, the travel bug bit hard and now he is always seeking to head off somewhere new. Over the years he has lived in Italy, Qatar, Ireland, UK and the US but his spiritual home will always be Rome as this is the city which most satisfies his unrelenting craving for culture, good food and great football. Scott loves nothing better than to be behind the camera and also runs his own blog and Instagram page. He also counts Melbourne, Cape Town and Tel Aviv among his favourite places. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram at @scottbalaam