Gabriel Rucker’s Oregon City outpost of Canard brings big city sophistication to the suburbs while managing to be family-friendly. Like the original restaurant, diners can expect French onion steam burgers and indulgent duck gravy pancakes, plus playful dishes like French toast sticks, beet jojos, and soft serve sundaes sporting uncommon toppings like pine cone fudge or pandan whip. The kid’s menu is also packed with winners, like chicken tenders, funfetti pancakes, and macaroni and cheese.

This stylish brewery’s selection of draft beers, like the refreshing Clackamette Kolsch or malty 1st City Festbier, is best paired with food from the onsite carts, eaten inside or on the pod and brewery’s shared, covered patio. Choose from Chulo’s Birria, thick slabs of pizza from Ranch PDX, Mediterranean fare from Alani, jaw-dropping sandwiches from Jackpot, and more. Non-drinkers should try the brewery’s Olallie Pops, house-made sodas in flavors like lemon-lime and cream soda.

Family-owned since 1936, Tony’s Fish Market specializes in quality smoked fish and seafood, all prepared in an Enviro-Pak smokehouse. A “lunch menu” that spans most of the day offers smoked salmon chowder, oyster shooters, and fish baskets, and diners can enjoy the meals within the market’s outdoor seating. The market also sells freshly canned and jarred seafood products, and will smoke, filet, or can fish products brought in by customers.

Steps away from the Arch Bridge, Bistro Cubano is a local mainstay for Caribbean-ish brunch, hearty sandwiches, and flavorful plates of Cuban standards. The titular Cubano is a faithful rendition of the Floridian sandwich, which comes with fries — although a small up-charge will get you a side of tostones or sweet plantains instead. Another must-try menu item is the quintessential Cuban dish ropa vieja, slow-roasted beef stewed in white wine sofrito; it’s available as an entree or in an island bowl with saffron rice, black beans, roasted pepper garbanzo salad, and sweet plantains. Stop in during the bistro’s daily happy hour from 3 to 6 p.m. for discounts on tapas like papitas and mojo wings. 

If it’s a heaping bowl of pho you’re after, this understated Vietnamese restaurant makes flavorful noodle soups, in addition to rice dishes and vermicelli noodle bowls. The menu also includes a selection of Thai noodle and curry meals, and there’s a discounted lunch special during the week with select menu items.

Homestyle Mexican food can be found at this deceptively large restaurant with a second dining room in the back. Request a complimentary salsa sampler, which arrives with a basket of chips and takes diners through a Hot Ones-like gauntlet of house-made salsas at a variety of heat levels — from the mild salsa verde to the medium creamy chipotle to the strikingly hot Black Mamba. Temper the spice with a creamy horchata and order one of the house specialties; the pollo en mole and puerco en chile verde both pack flavor and arrive with tortillas for sopping up sauce. 

While the Portland food cart located at the now-shuttered Tidbit Food Farm has closed for good, that craving for Norwegian meatballs and lefse wraps can be appeased at the brick and mortar in Oregon City, in the historic Bank of Commerce building. The restaurant also has a cocktail list of Scandinavian-inspired drinks that heavily features aquavit. Diners have the option to either eat in the restaurant or have food brought over to the adjoining Arch Bridge Taphouse when it’s open.

Dubbed the “newest old bar in Clackamas County,” the Thirsty Duck Saloon opened in 2017 but with a cozy neighborhood bar vibe that makes it feel much older. The long narrow room displays prints of birds on its wall, and there are enough televisions set up to catch the game of your choosing. Order the half-pound beef burger, a brisket and short rib patty that comes with all the fixings, topped with house-made thousand island sauce and Tillamook cheddar, sandwiched between an onion bun.

A cozy space decked with vertical gardens both inside and on the back patio, the atmosphere at Singer Hill Cafe is just as comforting as its meals. The cafe offers pastries, soups, salads, and hearty breakfast fare, such as quiches, bagel sandwiches, and scrambled eggs. Lunch options include hot or cold sandwiches. Check out the art gallery and gift shop inside the cafe, operated by an artist co-op.

Just around the corner from the historic Stevens-Crawford House, this chandelier-lit restaurant has become an all-day favorite for date nights and friendly get-togethers. At brunch, start with small plates like ebleskivers or cheesy croquettes served with yellow curry before tucking into the Bloody Mary Benedict — bloody mary-braised short rib, mushrooms, and Fresno chile oil; alternatively, the fried chicken and waffle is a strong choice, accompanied by bourbon maple syrup and sweet potato whipped cream. By dinner, the restaurant switches over to dishes like seared sockeye salmon with toum mashed potatoes and a chile crisp burger packing two patties and fried onions on a cheese bun.

This old-fashioned drive-in has been serving burger combos in Oregon City since 1988, with locations in Milwaukie and Tigard, as well. Mike’s is known for its hamburgers, but the drive-in menu also incorporates everything from fish-and-chips to battered onion rings. Perhaps the ultimate move at Mike’s is to opt for a milkshake — the restaurant offers more than 30, including ones made with Oregon berries.