Visiting Portland (2022)

more food.....

Higgins is always great, and has a very very solid beer/wine/whiskey list.

Por Que No has delicious tacos/mexican food (2 locations)

the little corridor from Apex up to Imperial tap room (12th-30th on Division) has a slew of food an drink options that is fun to walk if the weather is cooperative. Bollywood theatre, Lawless BBQ, Kim Jong Grillin cart (on 46th), Olympia Provisions, matts bbq tacos ( on 50th), little beast brewing, etc. etc.

 

Masshole here, though with a somewhat expiring registration. I moved to the West Coast in 2001 but still make it back frequently. Hopefully the Celtics are still cracking while you're in town.

Most of the recommendations are spot on I don't see Horse Brass Pub mentioned. If you head to Belmont Station, you should absolutely head there too. It's just a few minutes walk away. Both are excellent. Really with everything in this thread and an admiration for beer, you're going to have a hard time not enjoying yourself.

Republica is the best Mexican restaurant in town, located in the Pearl District. They do reservation-only tasting menu dinners that while not cheap, are incredibly worth the money. They are also more casually open for later breakfast (post 9am) and lunch too. I have not had problems just walking in then.

 

@AlcahueteJ --

Your brewery list looks good, especially if you follow the priority suggested earlier in the thread by @DefenCorps. Since you enjoy lagers and UK ales, I'd recommend ForeLand Beer's new taproom, The Study. It's located in a cozy old Craftsman bungalow and offers a good selection of terrific beers from one of Oregon's best new breweries.

(Example: About an hour ago they announced on Facebook that their new best bitter, Gatehouse, is now on the beer engine at The Study.)

For indoor options in the event of rainy weather, I think the Oregon Historical Society museum is pretty great, and it's not far from the Kimpton Hotel Vintage (if that's the Kimpton you're talking about). I also think a visit to Portland isn't complete without a stop at Powell's City of Books on Burnside. It's the world's largest independent bookstore.

Finally, you can add my name to the list of folks who have already recommended the food at Wayfinder and Lardo for casual options and Higgins for the nice dinner at the end of your visit.

Hope you have a great visit!

 

Thanks for all the recommendations everyone!

Few caveats/notes:

• We arrive around midnight Monday (might swing by VooDoo then head to bed). We're there Tuesday - Friday morning (flight leaves in the afternoon).
• Yes, staying at the Kimpton Vintage (Mon-Wed night and Courtyard Downtown Thursday night).
• Tuesday will be the brewery heavy day. Hair of the Dog is a must, and will definitely visit on Thursday. Cascade will be Wednesday or Thursday if we have time.
  • Basically, I'll have one full day for beer (beer bars and breweries) and then can sprinkle in some additional visits on Wed/Thurs as time allows.
• The wine tour is Wednesday 10:30 - 5 pm. So this will take up most of that day.
• Thursday we want to do some non food/drink activity. Japanese Gardens will be the go-to, if the weather sucks maybe the museum/bookstore.
• Places bunched together within walking distance (1 mile or less) would be preferable to save time.

Rough itinerary:


Tuesday: Kimpton Vintage is the home base

Breakfast - The Daily Feast

Lunch - Lardo

Dinner - Nothing picked yet. Thinking one of these options:

• Baerlic Brewing - Ranch Pizza
• Wayfinder
• Ken's Pizza
• Would love to do Belmont Station or Horse Brass for dinner for convenience, but also don't want to waste a meal if there's better options.

Wednesday: Kimpton Vintage is the home base

Breakfast - Screen Door Pearl District

Lunch - will have lunch on the wine tour.

Dinner - Nothing concrete yet. Were thinking either Ken's or Apizza Scholls, but we're not married to these ideas.

Thursday: Checking in at Courtyard Downtown, this will be the home base.

Breakfast: Nothing picked. Maybe just grab VooDoo donuts? It will be Cince de Mayo, so maybe Republica could be a good option?

Lunch: Again, not really sure since we'll be at the Japanese Gardens. Open for suggestions.

Dinner: Olympia Provisions, 7:30 reservation. Higgins does look good too, but it's further away.

Night time activities:

• This is a catch-all and could be a combo of breweries or beer bars not visited, but we'd also like to hit up some cocktail bars.
• We want to check out Scotch Lodge (I also love whiskey) and Ravens Manor (looks cool).
• So again here, recommendations are welcome. Thursday night we'll probably take it easier though.

Thanks again everyone. And again, if you ever visit Portland Maine, I have a whole word document set up with all recommendations and options. I typically bang out 30+ establishments in three days there (and on most short trips). Probably won't be that aggressive here, but who knows!

Cheers!

 

Hair of the Dog is only open Thursday to Sunday. And they close at 7PM.

 

Yup! We saw that, going to hit that up on Thursday before 7 pm. That's a must stop, so that's happening.

 

Does HotD still have a dinner menu? The food options at HotD looked a lot more abbreviated the last time I was there, a couple weekends ago.

 

You mention pizza, and well, Apizza Scholls, often held up as one of the best pizzerias in the nation, should be a goal. But, they only make so much dough a day, and when it's gone, it's gone: http://apizzascholls.com/

 

We want to have a “nice” dinner the last night. So no pub grub, pizza…etc.

We looked at Le Pigeon and Canards, but the menus didn’t really speak to us. We’re both not big into French Cuisine. Higgins did look good too.

Since we’ll be brewery hopping all day Tuesday and wine touring all day Wednesday, we wanted to keep the nice dinner for the last night.

 

Just bring a rain jacket and Japanese garden should be fine.

What's you transportation situation for your visit? Uber/Lyft, public transit, car rental? The traffic situation isn't terrible here so Uber/Lyft won't be astronomical. But if you're bouncing between west and east sides it'll be annoying-ish $15-$20 each way.

If Tuesday is a nice day and you don't mind spending the day hoofing around SE, you can start your day at Lardo and then either take the bus or walk to Mt. Tabor (approx 3 miles).

If it's especially clear you'll be able to sneak a peak of Hood from the east side (not the best place to get a nice view) but from west side of Tabor you can great views of downtown and West Hills.

After Tabor you can walk/bus/Uber to Horse Brass Pub (1 mile), Belmont Station (1.5 miles) or Ken's Pizza (2.5 miles)

 

Thanks!

Transportation would be walking/Uber. I do both all the time around here up to a 5 mile radius. $15-20 each way is totally cool with me. Did that about four times last weekend alone on top of about 20 miles of walking.

Tuesday we definitely want to be brewery/beer bar heavy. So that sounds like it could work. We had planned Lardo for lunch Tuesday too.

 

Ken's. The place you're looking for is Ken's.

 

If you end up going to Ken’s for dinner and aren’t ready to crash for the night there are a few overtime options.

About 1-2 blocks north of Ken’s is a “food pod” with a crêperie food truck. There’s also a “beer bus” with 8-10 tap handles pouring. There’s a bunch of picnic tables and usually a fire pit going if weather is nice.

Or just a couple blocks north of the pod is Fifty Licks ice cream. It’s on the pricier spectrum like Jeni’s or Salt & Straw but very good nonetheless.

If Ken’s was an early dinner or you’re looking to explore more there is a strip of bars and restaurants north of Burnside on 28th. Stammtisch which is mentioned on the 1st page is the place for a liter of bier for definite nightcap.

 

Thanks!

We had Stammtisch on the list since I'm a huge lager guy and love German food. That would be another option for dinner on Tuesday or Wednesday.

The ice cream after dinner is a much appreciated recommendation as well.

 

Awesome info in here. I'll be there in a couple weeks. Randomly booked the Fred Fest weekend before they announced it. Main reason for the trip is to pay last respects. Thought it would be chill, but i'll takes the Fred Fest. I assume it's going to be a pretty crazy in there? How's Don tasting?
I've been up to Portland many times, but first since the pandemic.
Couple questions:
If we have a car for a day and need to kill time before checking in, is it worth driving south of Ruse for anything? Scenery or food?
And good cocktail/speakeasy/tiki places worth checking out?
Any of you feel like letting some of is watch a pizza fight? Apizza vs. Ken's vs. ???
(I haven't been to Ken's and love Apizza)

I'll make one contribution:
Awesome Cuban food at Pambiche and you can wait for your table at Stammtisch.
I also have a soft spot for Katie O'Briens over on that side.

 

Hale Pele is a great tiki bar. I haven’t been since 2019 but I’m sure it’s still churning out A+ cocktails.

 

Acropolis Steakhouse. Great tap list and affordable steaks.

Voysey - cool speakeasy vibe that’s in the basement under Loyal Legion (which itself is excellent place to grab a beer).

Hale Pale - as mentioned by @gregoryG , excellent tiki bar between the decor and drinks. Make sure to make a reservation as it’s not the largest place and fills up.

Double Dragon - Large(r) patio and decent space inside with excellent menu of cocktails. Also a fan of their house ramen.

Sweet Hereafter - nice cocktail place with their own creations and nail the basics too that serves vegan food.

The above are primarily in SE. There are many other options in other areas but I haven’t been