Off the sprawling Woodlawn Park, the lengthy bar at Campana is a fine setting for bowls of no-nonsense Italian comfort food: Hearty bowls of spaghetti and meatballs, cavatelli in pork ragu, rigatoni with braised lamb and gremolata. The happy hour runs all night at the bar, with $7 Americanos and $12 bowls of penne alla vodka — extremely hard to beat, considering the quality. The restaurant is open for indoor dining with proof of vaccination.

Best known as a haven for cocktail lovers, this collaboration between then-Beast (and now-Ripe Cooperative) impresario Naomi Pomeroy and her bartender husband Kyle Webster boasts a small but mighty food menu. Snack on a dizzyingly herbal tea leaf salad and an elegantly simple onion and butter sandwich (with no crust), or make it a meal with a spicy fried chicken sandwich or a plate of two the best burgers in town. The eclectic décor evokes an early 20th century spy novel, and the turntable plays Nixon-era classic LPs through the warmest of sound systems.

Perhaps no kitchen voyeurism is quite as rewarding as watching a top-notch sushi chef slice, brush, and roll maki and nigiri. Many modes of cooking require scalding pans, wafts of steam, and flurries of action, but gazing on the knifework of sushi creation in process can be a meditative experience, especially when dining alone. Zilla Sake House on Northeast Alberta specializes in immaculately prepared seasonal fish, as well as an eye-popping selection of sake (latest count: 90 different bottles). Note: Zilla offers seating at two bars on opposite ends of the establishment, but only one features sushi chefs in action — the other is a cocktail bar, though ordering food here is welcome.

Ample bar seating wraps around three sides of Grain & Gristle’s central bar, though patrons on the far ends may need to lean a bit to glean the full chalkboard menu. This relaxed tavern on Northeast Prescott highlights rotating drafts from Upright Brewing on its tap list, and the food menu emphasizes fresh seafood and locally sourced meats. Chat with friendly bartenders on slower evenings, or trade gardening tips with a neighborhood regular on a nearby stool. The wood-heavy décor evokes the inside of a barn, or — on particularly dark and rainy Portland nights — the lower deck of a schooner.

Perhaps the biggest draw on an especially energetic block of North Williams, Eem fuses the succulent Texas-style barbecue from Matt’s BBQ’s Matt Vicedomini with vibrant Thai constructions of Langbaan and Hat Yai’s Akkapong Earl Ninsom. The relatively small menu is built on the foundation of its anything-but-simple green, white, and red curry offerings, though the electric papaya salad is not to be missed for heat-lovers. Dine counter-side on bright yellow high chairs or facing the street along one of Eem’s large, garage-door windows.

This neon-electric, cyberpunk Hello Kitty noodle bar is the place to go when you want to feel like you’re a part of the party. The warmth of the entire staff is evident, especially when witnessed from the counter. Visitors sip on passionfruit margaritas and roasted corn infused Old Fashioneds while waiting for bowls of Phnom Penh noodles, served dry with coin purse dumplings and fat shrimp, or beef noodle stew, brimming with wide rice noodles and fall-apart tender brisket. For a sweet finish, the restaurant offers a number of sundaes, topped with charred marshmallows or mochi. It’s open for walk-ins, as well as takeout and delivery.

In one of the toniest parts of Portland, Northwest’s Stepping Stone Cafe is an oasis of low-key funky charm and comfort food. Action figures dangle from the ceiling and descend each time the door opens through some complicated mechanism long-time patrons will be happy to diagram on the back of a napkin, and the vintage steel-and-vinyl lunch counter seats may in fact be time machines to the pre-Portlandia era. Stepping Stone’s motto, “You eat here because we let you,” epitomizes the tough-exterior with a heart of gold service. Brunch is primetime, offering a wide range of non-nonsense scrambles, omelets, and massive pancakes dubbed “mancakes.” At the moment Stepping Stone is open for lunch but not dinner, and offers a small selection of beer, wine, and classic wake-up cocktails.

On a trapezoidal block kitty-corner from the mammoth Powell’s City of Books, the tiny nearly all-white Maurice manages to be both delicate and rustic at the same time. Intimate waist-level counter seating conjures the experience of joining a multi-generational family at a Breton farmhouse for an exquisite déjeuner. In 2022, Maurice moved to reservation-only prix-fixe dining for both lunch and dinner — seven courses each of their Norwegian-French concoctions, with optional wine or tea pairings. Menus change frequently; a recent one included lion’s mane tart with poached egg, striped bass with rhubarb-wrapped carrot, and Norwegian meatballs with poached quince. All bookings currently require up-to-date vaccination or recent proof of negative COVID test.

Inside the low-lit, intimate quarters of this subterranean bar, visitors sip drams of rare whiskies while waiting for plates of fried brie with verjus or arancini with avocado crema. Grab a seat at the bar and chat with the A-Team of bartenders, who are generous with their advice when it comes to whiskey or cocktail choices. While the menu is stacked with exceptional small plates, there are quite a few one-and-done meals that work well for a single diner: The soft-shell crab sandwich with white kimchi and shallots retains a cult following, and Scotch Lodge might be one of the city’s most underrated spots for pasta. The bar takes reservations and walk-ins, with proof of vaccination.

Vast ceilings and exposed steel venting give Afuri’s inner-Southeast location the feeling of an industrial music video, particularly at night when hunched over a steaming bowl of ramen alongside a dozen others. Afuri offers a respectable sushi menu, but the main attraction here is the astonishing ramen broth, served with expertly balanced ingredients dropped into the bowls with impeccable timing. The busy open kitchen and abounding hard surfaces might make a quiet intro to a neighboring diner challenging, but the creative highball cocktails from seasoned bartenders might bolster courage.

For those fairly new to the cuisine of the former Soviet republics (Ukraine, Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, and more), Kachka’s modest bar seating is the perfect spot to chat with staff and learn about the histories and nuances of menu items like Herring Under a Fur Coat or sour cherry vareniki dumplings, as well as ideal pairings from Kachka’s staggering vodka menu. And the deep counter will allow plenty of simultaneous dishes at-hand. For non-vodka drinkers, a wine list centering central Europe as well as a small beer list and excellent tea list are worthwhile. The lively décor walks treads a careful balance between nostalgia and kitsch.

A sister restaurant to Northwest’s celebrated St. Jack (itself a recommended solo dining option) and SE Division’s seafood-centric La Moule, Lac St. Jack brings a taste of classy-but-businesslike Lyon to the leafy suburb of Lake Oswego. The elegant bar top is open to walk-in guests only, but the reward is well worth it. Rub elbows with a Trailblazer or a Thorn and dine on timeless classics like salade Lyonnaise and duck a l’orange or contemporary creations like Périgord black truffle and onion dip with crudités, rustic bread, and pommes gaufrette. The wine list features some eye-popping labels (and prices to boot) along with a strong selection of affordable wines by the glass — the staff will be happy to recommend sound pairings. Note: bar seating currently requires proof of vaccination.