Welcome to Portland!

I have to say, Portland is definitely one of the more stranger cities I have ever been too, oddly cheap, a real foodie town, and overall surprising in every aspect! I hope you take this guide and enjoy Portland as much as I did.

• Por Que No? / Tacos! There are two locations, Mississippi St and Hawthorne St. We went to Mississippi because that street is also a must explore. We almost missed the train for these tacos and I’ll say they were definitely worth it. Be careful though they are spicy!

• Piazza Italia / Italian. Classically delicious Italian food with great pastas.

• Mediterranean Exploration Co. / Mediterranean, middle eastern. The most incredible mediterranean food complete with homemade pita bread perfectly baked in the fire oven.

• Screen Door / Brunch. we didn’t actually make it here but it was the number one suggestion for brunch. Make sure to get there early because it’s a small restaurant and they don’t take reservations but they say the Chicken N’ Waffles is worth the wait.

• Montage Bistro / Cajon-Creole. This restaurant that was a recommendation by an Uber driver as one of her favorite places, and she was from New Orleans.

• Nimble Fish / Asian. is amazing sushi!

• Cartopia / Food trucks. is an area that has a few food trucks, although there aren’t many trucks the food is incredible.

• St. Honore Boulangerie / Sandwiches. has the most incredible sandwiches, pastries and coffees. If you’re looking to head to the park on the waterfront make sure you grab one of these sandwiches for your picnic.

• Tasty n Sons / Tasty n Alder / Brunch. this became a running joke of our group because we kept getting confused between the two. Regardless, both are great brunch spots!

• Tilt / Americana. Hand crafted burgers and really good pizzas!

• Cubo de Cuba / Cuban. Is a must! This was recommended by an Uber driver who had only just moved to Portland from Cuba and he said it is the best Cuban food! The patio is adorable and quaint, and the Mojitos are traditional and to die for.

• Pizza Scmitza / Late Night. this is a later in the night kind of place, order at the counter pizza then go up and sing karaoke! It is definitely really fun!

• Besaws / Brunch. fantastic brunch, seasonal french toast of homemade breads like banana, zucchini, pumpkin and complete with a little side restaurant called Solo Club where you can wait for your table with a mimosa or Bloody Mary and biscuits.

• Portland City Grill / American. just down right great food but definitely a little on the fancy side

• Il Solito / Italian. although our server definitely judged us hard core on our wine choice the food was really amazing, the garlic knots were cheesy, garlicy, and buttery and all the pasta was homemade and fantastic.

• Wolf & Bear / Middle Eastern, Mediterranean. A cute little food truck on Mississippi St. with great Middle Eastern food.

• Poq Poq / Vietnamese. I put this at the end because although the food is good it is definitely one of the more overrated places to go in Portland. However, the food is still good so it should be on the list!

• The Piddoc Mansion a French mansion built in 1914 this is a historic house and museum great for families and a quick history lesson in the beginning building of Portland

• The Japanese Gardens these are the famous rose gardens of Portland and a MUST SEE, especially if you are there in the summer, you will so overwhelmed by all the beautiful roses.

• The Zoo just a fun family activity and it actually has a train that takes you to the gardens so two birds one stone!

• Waterfront Park a fantastic view of the city right on the water. Grab a sandwich and a sneak your bottle of wine in a water bottle and enjoy a nice picnic in the park.

• Mississippi Street this one of the cooler streets and areas that I really liked, lots of restaurants and shops.

• Portland Spirit River Cruise so this can get kinda pricy but the view is well worth if its in your budget. It is about a 2 hour boat cruise where you can have dinner if you want or just take the scenic tour that drives you out around the river to a beautiful view of the city.

• Tope

• White Owl

• Jack Knife

• Century

• Revolution Hall

• Pizza Shmitza KARAOKEEE! They have a fog machine. I don’t think I need to say anything else.

• 19th Hole is an outdoor bar that is only open in the summer (obviously). They have a full bar and while you can pay just $6 to play as many rounds of putt putt golf as you like there is also free games like giant Jenga, Connect Four and the mini basketball hoops.

• Ground Control old school arcade games and ping pong! I’m not joking when we said “I want to play ping pong” our Portland local took us straight here

• Social Club a cute little spot to get craft cocktails.

• 21st Ave Bar is an after hours, late late night spot.

Did you know Portland has the most strip clubs per capita? Yeah, neither did I. Anyway, I don’t do strip clubs but I also don’t judge and got all the best recommendations for you all so here they are…

• Casa Diablo

• Sassy’s

• Spice

I know nothing about them but if you’re into it I’ll just leave that up to you;)

Public Transportation in Portland you have a lot of options. There is a great bus system, cable cars, and a train called the Max all of which are easy to use but will take a little bit of getting used too. Because you have a lot of options its easy to get tangled in the lines. Take a couple minutes before you embark on your trip to study up on the best method for what you want to do!

Favorite Neighborhoods I touched on this in the “What to do” section but Mississippi St. is definitely a very cool vibe. there are tons of restaurants with outdoor seating (if you’re there in the summer) It is just over the river and it’s really fun to just stroll down the street popping in and out of shops and breweries until your heart is content.

Outside of Portland keep in mind that Portland is a city surrounded by water and mountains. It is just a little ways away from the coast where you can see some incredible rock formations, surfing, and just a beautiful coast.

• Bottomville Damn this is a great family activity, you can take the old highway scenic route to the damn, experience the formation, see fish ladders, and all kinds of wild life then venture onto the trails where you can see massive beautiful waterfalls. This truly is a site and if you are spending some time I would recommend this day trip.

• The Gorge most people know the Gorge as a concert venue, which, in the summer there are some amazing people who preform in The Gorge, you can camp out, listen to music, and experience the natural acoustics. But there are also some amazing hikes that take you up to overlook the entire thing. If you drive a little bit further you can cross into Washington and do the Beacon Rock hike which is really cool little houses and old villages that are built into the rock and overlooking the gorge.