A 2022 addition to the neighborhood, the Shaku Bar is a labor of love from chef Matt Odama and former Trader Joe’s store managers Mark Tucker and Trent Brown. Taking over a former Wasabi Sushi location, the trio have transformed the space into an inviting neighborhood bar, with a food menu pulling inspiration from the Pacific Rim — barbacoa tacos, noodle salads, and pork katsu sandwiches — and a lively cocktail menu. Shaku frequently hosts musical acts on the patio, food pop-ups, fundraisers for causes like Planned Parenthood, and weekly trivia nights on Tuesday. The cool AC makes it a particularly irresistible oasis on scorching summer days.

Taking farm-to-table quite literally, Piccone’s Corner is a butcher shop, deli, and bar specializing in pork directly from owner Austin Piccone’s Wallow & Root Pasture Farm. With beef, lamb, and chicken from other Oregon farms, Piccone’s offers one of the city’s most comprehensive butcher shops, along with a full bar and a kitchen offering breakfast, lunch, and dinner. A breakfast highlight is grain bowl with chorizo, but for lunch try a sandwich featuring their house-cured porchetta. When dinner rolls around, spring for the beef and lamb ragu bolognese. Piccone’s has a handful of salads and other no-meat options, but vegans and vegetarians are advised to look elsewhere.

In an ultra-wired city, there’s something refreshingly timeless about the low-tech joys of pinball. Even for those who don’t play, the gleaming chrome and neon, and the thumps and pings of flippers and plungers create a more intoxicating atmosphere to the uninitiated than, say, a video arcade or sports bar. WedgeHead may not house the highest volume of machines in town, but with solid food, a creative drink menu, $12 for unlimited play, and an unforced eclectic vibe, many swear by it as the best pinball bar in town. For those seeking a quieter night, the food and cocktail menus are still available to-go.

Little sister Oma’s Hideaway may be the recipient of especially splashy praise of late, but this original restaurant from Mariah and Thomas Pisha-Duffly hasn’t faltered as one of Portland’s stellar destination restaurants. Reserve ahead for the restaurant’s rice table service, a 12-plus-course, freewheeling, pseudo-Indonesian feast that could feature delights like shrimp ceviche, coconut tomato curry, and orange cardamom apple cider donuts for dessert. Or dive into the frequently-changing a la carte menu; a recent highlight is the charcoal-grilled albacore in a coconut broth. Note: the potentially life-altering Singapore chili crab is available only on Sunday and Mondays, with a minimum 24-hour preorder requirement.

Portland is no stranger to Francophile bakeries and cafes, and Fleur De Lis has held down this critical role for Hollywood since 2005. Founded by baker Greg Mistell, the heart of Fleur De Lis is its bread, made with the choicest flours and expertly baked with crisp, chewy crusts. Its breads — including baguettes, Parisiennes, levain, and multi-grain — elevate the cafe’s breakfast and lunch sandwiches. The pastries are excellent as well, with the croissants ranking among Portland’s best. Fleur De Lis’s large patio and dining room — once the Hollywood’s city library — are open for breakfast and lunch Tuesday through Saturday.

In a neighborhood full of chain coffee and bustling cafes, the tiny Bitter Rose is a serene gem for neighborhood coffee lovers. Featuring a few tasty food treats from Sparrow and Farina Bakeries, the coffee and tea drinks here are the main draw, prepared by top-notch baristas. Sip beverages hot and cold inside their tasteful modern café or in limited outdoor seating seven days a week.

In recent years, Korean fried chicken has exploded from a rare import in Portland restaurants to a familiar component of the city’s culinary ecosystem. In 2021, Hollywood joined the increasing number of neighborhoods with their own Korean fried chicken restaurant to brag about, thanks to an outpost of Beaverton’s Chimking. Whole chickens are available here, but wings are the primary focus, with four flavors: original, soy garlic, hot king, and extra-hot king. All are are available bone-in or boneless. Simple sides to cool the palate include potato wedges, pickled radish, and coleslaw. Dine in the spacious indoor dining room — with a surprisingly deep tap list — or grab a bucket of wings to go.

For more than 70 years, Chin’s Kitchen has served Chinese food in the Hollywood District, but when owners Wendy and Cindy Li took over the restaurant in 2017, the restaurant expanded its menu to include a wide range of rarer dishes from the Lis’ childhood in the Dongbei region of China. During Portland’s long rainy season, regulars stop in for steamy containers of sha guo suan cai dun fen tiao, a hearty potato noodle stew with Chinese sauerkraut and savory pork belly, as well as knobby dumplings stuffed with leeks and pork. On hot summer days, it’s all about the restaurant’s la pi, a colorful salad with a core of tangy, translucent noodles. It’s open for takeout.

The Portland sister to the original restaurant in Salem, Happy Bibimbap brings Korean comfort food and soju just steps from the Hollywood’s busy Max station. Encompassing Korean barbecue, sushi, ramen, hot pot, and much more, the food menu can be overwhelming, making it daunting for solo diners but ideal for larger parties with a diversity of tastes. The spacious dining room features a large sake bar, big screen TVs playing the latest K-pop hits, and a baby grand piano for the musically brave. Happy is open Tuesday through Sunday for dining inside, on their small patio, or for takeout.

The Moon, as regulars affectionately dub it, is one of Portland’s few remaining English-style pubs, complete with its name in honor of a century-old Somerset Maugham novel. Warm, polished wood surroundings, heavy polished tap handles, side-by-side dart boards, and a conspicuous absence of TVs make the Moon and Sixpence a pub traditionalist’s dream. The tap list is wide-ranging, with a plurality of American micros. The food menu, for better or worse, is more narrowly English, including fish and chips, Welsh rarebit, cottage pie, and bangers and mash. Grab a pint before a film at the Hollywood or settle in for the night with a ripping mystery novel — the Moon and Sixpence is open daily.

Now that venerable Korean restaurant Du Kuh Bee has departed from Beaverton, Hollywood relative the Bulgogi is the last remaining vestige of the DKB legacy. The restaurant’s hand-pulled noodles are the true draw here, finished in a wok with crunchy cabbage and carrot. However, for those seeking something a little different, the restaurant’s rainbow of a bibimbap is another standout.