The scenic waterfront location by the Columbia River is Salty’s most famous attribute, but it also brings a wide array of seafood to the table, particularly at the well-known weekend brunch. The brunch spread includes salmon lox, chilled peel-and-eat prawns, oysters, mussels, seafood paella, and two types of crab. Wash it down with bloody marys and bottomless mimosas. Salty’s offers takeout as well as indoor dining or dining on heated patios with gorgeous river views.

Don’t be fooled by the humble exterior — the inside of Fishwife feels like it has been lifted from a charming village on the Oregon coast, and this hidden gem of a neighborhood restaurant has been serving seafood for casual lunches and dinners for more than 25 years. Baskets are the centerpiece, with options such as Alaskan halibut or cod served fish-and-chips style, grilled, blackened, or poached; be sure to check out the specials board for surprises like grilled rainbow trout from Idaho, blue marlin from Hawaii, or Steelhead trout served with creamy polenta and a sundried tomato pesto. Fishwife is open for dinner four days per week, dine-in or takeout.

Like Oregon, Peru is a land of tall mountains, rain-drenched forests, and a spectacular coastline, and it’s a gift to Portlanders that Casa Zoraya’s owners offer Portland its creative, affordable Peruvian cuisine that fuses land and sea, Old World and New, tradition and invention. Highlights of the menu are the fresh ceviche bowls with spicy, tangy leche de tigre (“Tiger’s milk” made from fish stock, lime, and chiles) and sweet potatoes. Those dining in can enjoy frothy pisco sours and other specialty cocktails.

This bistro-style restaurant is a little off the beaten path, but it still delivers solid seafood dishes, obtained fresh from local fishers. The menu offers sophisticated seafood dishes like mussels with chorizo, saffron, and borlotti beans or basil-and-phyllo-wrapped white shrimp, as well as comforting dishes like the the rich, tomato-based cioppino generously loaded with seafood (including Dungeness many times of year). Cabezon is seating outdoors for heated sidewalk dining; reservations and walk-ins welcome. Takeout, of course, is also available.

Flying Fish’s fresh market has been a cult favorite among home cooks for years, thanks to its impeccably well-sourced fish. Since graduating from seafood shack to stand-alone storefront, Flying Fish is home to lovely seafood luncheonette, serving standards like shucked-to-order oysters and fish-and-chips alongside clam noodle soup and seared sea scallops with chanterelles. A particular standout is the restaurant’s salmon crudo, drizzled in ponzu and chili oil with the added brightness of apple, shiso, and cucumber. And every Saturday Flying Fish’s “Chef Shack” food cart on its patio spotlights a rotating guest chef’s unique takes on fresh seafood. Flying Fish is open for walk-up orders and patio dining.

Take a trip to the early days of Portland inside the iconic Dan & Louis Oyster Bar, a bedrock of downtown Portland since 1907. The walls are packed with nautical paraphernalia, and the menu is packed with so-old-it’s-new seafood dishes like Louie salad and oysters Rockefeller. This is no novelty magnet for tourists, however — the seafood is fresh, well-sourced, and prepared with confidence. Oyster happy hours are particularly recommended, with bartenders pouring generous drinks alongside cold plates of briny half-shell oysters. Dine inside Dan & Louis’s expansive main dining room, in the cozy oyster bar, or people-watch outside on the patio.

In the parking lot of a grocery liquidator near the invisible border between East Portland and Gresham sits a food cart decorated with the colors of a neon highlighter four-pack that just happens to serve some of the best aguachiles in the Pacific Northwest. A cousin of the Peruvian ceviche, aguachile (literally “chile water”) hails from the west coast of Mexico and spends less time marinating in lime juice before serving. Mariscos Tinto del Mar serves its aguachiles with ample amounts of avocado, onion, and cucumber. Other highlights include crispy fried shrimp tacos, shrimp-topped micheladas, and fiery shrimp ala diabla. The cart is open from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. six days per week.

Blocks away from the Portland Art Museum, Southpark is committed to sustainable seafood, including fish approved by the Seafood Watch list. The restaurant serves lunch and dinner from a menu that includes a popular clam chowder with gnocchi and bacon, Dungeness crab roll with lobster aioli, spicy shrimp and grits, and rarer fish offerings like sablefish, striped bass, and branzino. Dinner offers a prix fixe menu that’s a terrific value. Southpark is now open for indoor dining, as well as takeout and make-at-home meal kits for two — including the clam chowder and other popular menu items.

Much of the high quality fish used at this Edomae-style sushi standout is flown in from Japanese markets, and the focus is on showcasing the fish first — so, no ingredient-heavy rolls here. After a period of takeout during the peak of the pandemic, Nimblefish has refocused on in-person omakase dinners along the 12-person counter. Seats are available by reservation only.

This Cajun soul food spot located in a mini-mall on East 82nd Avenue has earned its legion of superfans. The restaurant is known for its popular seafood boils, po’boys, and fried or blackened seafood (which the restaurant will gladly smother in etouffee sauce for $5); however, the restaurant’s crawfish etouffee —crawfish tail meat swimming in a buttery sauce of onions, peppers, celery, and garlic — may be the underrated hit on the menu. It goes particularly well with a starter of fried green tomatoes or fried soft-shell crab. My Brother’s Crawfish is currently open for dining in and takeout.

Steps away from Quaintrelle on SE Clinton, Jacqueline offers an equally fervent commitment to fresh seafood in a Wes Anderson-inspired bistro setting. The $1 oyster happy hour draws in newcomers, but the fresh crudos and Dungeness crab toast — with generous hunks of crab, hollandaise, and chiles — will convert more than a few into regulars. A full bar offers lively cocktails, a seafood-friendly wine list, and Rainier tall boys. Jacqueline is open for indoor dining six nights per week; dollar oysters available from 5-6pm each day.

La Moule (“The Mussel” in French) bills itself as European-inspired, but doesn’t let tradition get in the way of the opportunities fresh local produce and proteins provide. The menu ranges from gnocchi to beef tongue pastries, but seafood is a particular strength. Highlights include moules marinière in a garlicky, white-wine sauce and a hearty roast sturgeon on a bed of lentils. The full bar offers a limited but excellent selection of wines by the glass, a particularly Francophile bottle list, terrific non-alcoholic mocktails, and a surprisingly robust selection of Belgian ales. La Moule is offers takeout and is open for indoor dining six nights per week.

Portland Fish Market doesn’t sell any farmed fish, holding the wild-only standard to both its seafood market and its fish-and-chips counter. Fried fish baskets come with a customer’s choice of either cod, ling cod, halibut, salmon, rockfish, oyster, or shrimp. Go online to order fish-and-chips or various pieces of fresh seafood to-go — everything from ahi tuna and lobster tails to king crab legs, scallops, clams, and steelhead. The counter offers select beer and wine by the can, as well as Topo Chico.

SE 82nd’s loss became Sellwood’s gain when La Camel owner Karim Baziou moved his Moroccan food cart to the Sellwood Corner Food Carts pod. Alongside North African favorites like gyros, couscous, and lentil soup, La Camel offers a rich, piquant shrimp paella and a tender salmon tagine slow-cooked in a clay pot. The cart is open for lunch and dinner five nights per week.

What makes Dublin-by-way-of-LA transplant Jason Killalee’s fish-and-chips cart stand out is its attention to detail in the frying department, along with flavored batters that give his dishes a little something extra. The formula is simple: Clean, wild-caught unfrozen cod or Alaska salmon dipped in lemon basil, curry, or garlic and ginger batters, and fried in hot oil. And the “and chips” is no afterthought — Killalee’s hand-cut potato slices are thick, crisp, and flavorful.