Will be visiting Portland and the Willamette Valley (McMinnville) in a few weeks. Looking forward to it as this is our first time in Oregon. Would very much appreciate some Restaurant Rec’s for lunch and dinner. Staying downtown at Sentinel Hotel. We like lively places with great food and wine (also cocktails). We often prefer to eat at the bar, we like to meet interesting people while traveling. No specific food preferences, but we like small plate/Tapas type restaurants, but open to cuisine and style. In Portland we have read about Mucca Osteria and Veritable Quandary, also Merriwether’s, but have no idea if they are worth a visit. We don’t know of any places in McMinnville or surrounding areas. Lastly, we are staying one night in Cannon Beach if you know of any good places there.
Thanks in advance for any guidance you can provide!
I was recently BLOWN AWAY by the food at Shalom Y’all in the Pine Street Market. Some of the best Israeli food I’ve had (including in Israel itself). Everything we had was incredible, and they have a very small, but well-curated and reasonably priced wine selection as well.
Pine Street Market in general is a great spot for lunch (probably dinner too), with lots of different stalls with good food, and Shalom Y’all was best by far.
Ataula in Portland is an amazing Tapas spot. Mucca is excellent Italian. Pigeon is rich and decadent and teeny tiny. I always will push Higgins and I have at least 1,000 meals under my belt to support my case. Paley’s has dialed it up lately with a new chef and the food there is amazing again. Pok Pok is great but I prefer it for lunch and it can be difficult to get into without a wait. Roe is a beautiful spot if you love fish and can get in (tiny). Same for Langbaan (haute cuisine Thai?) but you would have to call and hope to get lucky. Taylor Railworks has been a recent favorite with tremendous food and a great environment. Superbite is owned by the same people who have Ox so it’s insanely good and has long waits but it’s worth it. That’s, I don’t know, like a dozen. Go for it.
Don’t forget to hit Oregon Wines on Broadway for pre-dinner fun and amazing glass wine selection. Jim’s list is great. Another consideration is Davenport - fine, restrained, delicious food.
Lunch in Mac at Community Plate, dinner at Thistle or Nick’s.
Wow! Taking me back. We went to Nick’s back in 1986 for a first (never repeated, unfortunately) visit to WV. Glad to see some things haven’t changed. Nick’s is quite an institution - goes back to the days when there were a lot less wineries and Amity’s “tasting room” was a folding card table outside the barn-converted-to-winery.
There is lots of information if you do a search in the Epicurean Exploits thread. Most people tend to discuss restaurants there more often than in Travel, because you have more locals posting about food. To them, it isn’t travel, after all.
In McMinnville earlier this year I enjoyed:
Thistle - highly recommend the bar if you’re into cocktails
Pura Vida - great, fresh ceviche
Valley Commissary - perfect for lunch, and super close to wineries (Matello/Goodfellow being a must-stop)
