As Astoria’s food scene continues to grow, the port town has added its own communal food hall. At the moment, Astoria Food Hub is home only to Buoy Beer, which moved its hospitality operations to the spacious warehouse after its own facilities collapsed. For now, visitors can snag a hearty sandwich, fish and chips, or beer-simmered bratwurst to go with the many ales and lagers on draught and by the bottle. Expect farmers’ market goods, a cafe, and a flower shop down the line.

While Astoria has a fair amount of cafes, including the excellent bakery Blue Scorcher, the Astoria Coffee House fills that small town niche of the eclectically decorated cafe with all-day menus. Tourists and residents visit this open-walled bistro for its morning pastries and coffee, casual lunch menu of sandwiches and other fare, and expansive dinner menu that features a varied selection of dishes. There’s always burgers, salads, and pasta, but night-to-night diners can find stir fries, curries, tacos, poke bowls, shrimp and grits, and pork chops. It’s all a bit chaotic, but it means there’s something there for everyone.

Astoria, with its two colossal breweries, is generally known as a beer town, but wine fans have a haven at Brut Wine Bar. This quiet and cozy shop is nestled downtown — like many wine bars, it spent most of 2020 as retail only, but today is open indoors, as well as out on its new patio seating area. There, visitors can sip on the thoughtfully curated list of wines by the glass and bottle that emphasizes fun, affordable wines — think: European rosés and Oregon pinot. Diners can find cheese boards, Olympia Provisions charcuterie platters, and other wine-friendly snacks, and those who are hungrier can find burgers and other pub food across the street at the Merry Time Bar and Grill.

A literal hole-in-the-wall, Busu operates out of a single window with a few stools outside, mainly for takeout. The menu features a small selection of Japanese comfort dishes that change regularly, with the owner posting updates on Instagram. Generally, visitors can find a soup or two, okonomiyaki, and yakisoba, but specials like curry, chicken karaage, and udon have made appearances. Whatever the case, it’s always rich, flavorful, and filling.

Astoria’s first Italian market, Gaetano’s operates primarily as a deli with grab-and-go options. In the inviting, window-lined shop, visitors can find Italian sundries and pantry items, cured meats, cheeses, and olive oils, as well as excellent bake-at-home lasagnas and ziti dishes. Those looking for something fast and filling should head to the deli counter for a sandwich: Cold sandwiches include an Italian grinder with salty, rich cured meats balanced by creamy mozzarella and arugula; a lighter turkey sandwich with provolone and sun-dried tomatoes on crispy ciabatta; and a lovely caprese sandwich as a vegetarian option. Hot sandwiches include meatball subs, pastrami and havarti, and various panini.

While Astoria is well-known for its breweries and Northwestern seafood, it’s also home to Drina Daisy, which serves cuisine from the Bosnian heartland in a homey and elegant space filled with white tablecloths and tchotkes. Alongside Turkish coffee served in elaborately carved cezveler, diners can find platters of cold-smoked beef sausage, red pepper spreads with crusty bread, stuffed cabbage, and a selection of pitas. Unlike the fluffy flatbread or pockets commonly associated with pitas, Bosnian pita are pies made with golden, flaky phyllo, baked to order with stuffed ingredients like beef, spinach, or cheese.

A cute and charming tiny shop at the edge of the main strip, the Naked Lemon is one of the city’s only dedicated patisseries. Its specialities are mainly fluffy and crispy array of macarons with flavors like birthday cake and passionfruit, massive chocolate chip cookies, and decadent “celebration” cakes that come in classic chocolate and vanilla flavors. It’s all made by the baker and owner Aleesha Serrita Nedd. The small space isn’t conducive for on-premise dining, but those dropping in can grab a cup of hot tea with their confections.

Sitting in a nearly empty lot across the street from the famed Bowpicker, the Pelayo’s Taqueria truck is unmistakable thanks to its vivid red-and-orange paint job. The food truck serves a large menu of Mexican staples from its small window, but the main draw are the birria tacos. Cheesy, rich, and bold, they’re served with a bowl of meaty broth, optionally with ramen noodles. Other offerings include a variety of taco fillings — including pescado, lengua, and chorizo — as well as hearty burritos, tortas, and even breakfast plates.

One of a number of food carts in the evolving Astoria food cart scene, Sasquatch Sandwich serves sandwiches that can easily compete with those coming from larger cities. They tend toward the meatier side, with staples like a Korean pork belly sandwich, a knockout Reuben, and an even more knockout Reuben with the addition of pepper jack, kimchi slaw, and spicy mayo — a third reuben is a veggie option, with thick mushrooms instead of beef. There’s not a lot of dining space in the food cart lot, but visitors can bring it a few blocks over to the lot outside of Reach Break Brewing and Reveille Cider. 

Soul food is hard to come by in Astoria, but luckily, Surf 2 Soul delivers. The food cart has a limited menu that regularly changes up and adds daily specials, but the menu often includes its most popular dish, “chicken n the biscuit” — a Tillamook cheddar biscuit with fried chicken and gravy, all made in house. Chicken and waffles, shrimp and grits, and po’ boys often grace the menu, as well.

Fort George, one of Astoria’s two biggest breweries, offers numerous dining rooms in a vaulted, industrial space. The main floor sports the brewpub, with a menu of staples like burgers and seafood, while a spiral iron staircase leads to an upper floor with more casual seating and Astoria’s best pizza. The brewpub offered its food exclusively to-go during the winter of the pandemic, and expanded its outdoor seating area for dining in the warmer months. It’s currently open for full service.

One could be forgiven for wandering into Blaylock’s and thinking they just entered a smaller version of the Multnomah Whiskey Library — with tufted leather chairs and an emerald green tiled back bar, the Astoria lounge was clearly inspired by the Portland mainstay. But as the town’s first dedicated whiskey bar, Blaylock’s stands on its own, with a list of well-executed cocktails and a robust menu of almost 200 whiskeys from around the world. And, like Portland bars, there’s now outdoor dining options, as well as indoor dining.

Offering zero pretense, affordable drinks, and solid bar food, the Portway is the resident not-quite-a-dive bar. There’s the requisite video poker machines, friendly service, cheap wells, and mix of local and domestic beers, but this local local haunt improves on the standard dive bar food, including some golden-fried fish and chips served with waffle fries, and a stand-out patty melt with high-quality beef and caramelized onions. Dining is available indoors and out on the patio deck under umbrellas.