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Meat, cheese, pickles, and tinned fish in a takeout box
A Providore takeout charcuterie box, specifically designed for picnics.
Providore / Official

The Ideal Portland Spots to Load Up on Picnic Supplies

Delis, bakeries, charcuterie, and more

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A Providore takeout charcuterie box, specifically designed for picnics.
| Providore / Official

As COVID-19 cases continue to rise in Oregon, indoor parties and dinners are still basically off the table. The good news: Outdoor events — as long as they are socially distanced — pose fewer risks than indoor hangouts, and Oregon absolutely shows off in the spring and summer. The green of the parks, buttes, and riverside esplanades absolutely glows, and with a number of Portland delis, markets, and restaurants supplying house-made charcuterie and Oregon-made cheeses, the picnic potential is limitless.

Now, picnic options span far beyond the map below: A brunch box from Toki will hold up swimmingly on a trip to Tom McCall Waterfront Park, one of Portland’s numerous sandwich shops will pack you something nice to stash in a backpack post-hike, and bento was absolutely born for picnic lunches. This map is simply a starting point, with markets sporting stellar delis and dry goods, restaurants specializing in travel-friendly sandwiches and salads, bakeries with everything from empanadas to cannolis, and more. For something a little more intimate, our solo picnic map may be a better fit. Remember, these lists are not ranked; rather, they’re organized geographically.

For updated information on coronavirus cases in your area, please visit the Oregon Health Authority’s COVID update page. Studies indicate that there is a lower exposure risk when outdoors, but the level of risk involved with patio (or picnic) dining is contingent on restaurants following strict social distancing and other safety guidelines.

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The Meating Place

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In the far reaches of Hillsboro, the Meating Place is a neighborhood butcher and market with one heck of a deli. Customers can stop in to grab roast beef sandwiches, gouda mac salad, breakfast burritos, and chips from Pacific Northwestern standbys like Tim’s. The Meating Place offers online ordering, too, for people who just want to grab an order and hit the road; Noble Woods Park is a nice spot for a picnic nearby, for those looking for a place to land.

Chop St. Johns

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Once a deli counter within a market, Chop St. Johns offers a wide array of breakfast and lunch sandwiches, salads, and breakfast burritos to take to the nearby Cathedral Park. Italian sub aficionados will find a number of options on the menu, from the Sofia Loren with mortadella, Mama Lil’s, and coppa, to the Italian Stallion with ham, salami, and roasted

red peppers. Order ahead by calling.

The Mercato at Caffe Mingo

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This longstanding Italian spot in Northwest Portland has transformed its neighboring Bar Mingo into the Mercato, a little lunch counter and market with fruit, salads, ciabatta panini, and a cold case full of olives, prosciutto, and marinated burrata. Bonus: The market often has a couple of hard-to-find Italian sodas on the shelves to throw in the picnic basket. Pop over to Lower Macleay for a nearby picnic spot.

St. Barbra Pinoy Bakery

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This Filipino bakery is a haven for empanadas, ensaymadas, and everything in between, just a stone’s throw from the Duniway Park Lilac Garden. A visit to St. Barbra should involve both sweet and savory pastries and treats, ranging from banana-leaf-wrapped, coconut-milk-laden suman, a few flaky empanadas, a beef bun, and a bao-like siapao. And if you see a slice of ube cheesecake, you’ve struck gold.

DarSalam

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This Iraqi restaurant’s Pearl District location is right off the Fields Park, a pretty spot to sit and snack on dolmas or a shredded lamb sandwich. The restaurant’s sampler platter packs — which come with things like baba ghanoush, hummus, and pickled mango salad — seem absolutely designed for a parkside picnic. Order online or stop in.

World Foods

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This small international market on NW Everett is a killer spot to grab some chocolate bars, jars of olives or pickles, Oregon cheeses, and even poke, but some of the real winners come from Ya Hala chef Mirna Attar, who makes things like house-made pita, hummus, the Lebanese flatbread man’oushe, and tabbouli. The one essential order: a few pieces of pistachio or walnut baklava for dessert. Stop in, or order online for curbside pickup.

Kachka Lavka

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For something Slavic, Kachka’s small market and deli is certainly the go-to move for countless Portlanders. Kachka packs quite a bit into such a tiny space: Here, Portlanders can find Russian cured meats, cheeses, house-made pickles, house-baked breads and pastries, and a wide assortment of preserved fish and roe. The best one-and-done picnic option is likely the Ruskie Zakuski Experience, which comes with everything from herring under a fur coat to salat Olivier. Order it ahead online or visit in person.

P's & Q's Market

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P’s & Q’s seems like it was built in a lab to be the ideal picnic pit stop: Perched right on the edge of Woodlawn Park, P’s & Q’s offers sandwiches (including a very smart vegetarian beet reuben), deli staples like mac salad, sides like deviled eggs and slaw, plus a full market’s worth of snacks, cheese, non-alcoholic drinks like kombucha, and desserts like banana pudding. It takes online orders and walk-ins.

Mama Dut

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Vegans already know this one was coming: Mama Dút’s menu of Vietnamese sandwiches, snacks, desserts, and ferments work particularly well for a picnic at Buckman Field Park or the green at Revolution Hall. While Mama Dút’s menu changes periodically, the move is to go for a bao bun, banh mi, kimchi, and dessert, swapping in for things like turmeric waffle sandwiches or phish sauce noodle salads if available. The shop’s Vietnamese coffee and passionfruit limeade are nice accompaniments, as well. Order ahead online.

Providore Fine Foods

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It is extremely difficult to beat the deli at Providore: Walking from one end of the deli counter to the other, one can stock up on fresh-baked bread from Little T American Baker, myriad pickles and charcuterie, one of the city’s best cheese selections, and an array of house deli salads. Add a full selection of local fruit, imported candies, and rare sodas and seltzers, and you’ve got an A-grade picnic going. Oregon Park is very close to Providore,

Lokanta

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The meze game of this SE Clinton Turkish restaurant is simply unparalleled. The tangy beet-pink tarator, chili-spiked muhammara, silken fava bean pate, and stuffed pide make for an exceptional picnic spread, especially when joined by a cup of the shop’s Şalgam, a purple fermented carrot juice. Order it ahead of time online.

Laurelhurst Market

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It would feel wrong to leave Laurelhurst Market off of a picnic map, especially considering its proximity to the breathtaking Laurelhurst Park. For a lunchtime picnic, Laurelhurst sells an array of sandwiches made with things like house-cured bacon, deli salads like potato salad, and picnic-friendly snacks like pickled eggs and house beef jerky. For dinner, go for things like the house charcuterie, pickle plate, mac and cheese, and roasted veggies, packaged to go. Plus, the butcher counter is stocked with pates, salami, smoked meats, and mac and cheese. Order by calling ahead.

Olympia Provisions Public House

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This famed Portland charcuterie’s public house is probably the ideal OP locale for picnic shopping: The restaurant’s takeout menu includes its celebrated charcuterie and cheese boards, plus a number of sausages, sandwiches, salads, and more. Customers can also pick out retail salami, pickles, and other snacks if they feel less interested in waiting for a takeout order. Order ahead online, or just drop in.

Dirty Lettuce

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For a Cajun picnic that happens to be vegan friendly, Dirty Lettuce delivers the goods: The food cart sells po’ boys loaded with oyster mushrooms, a spicy mac and cheese loaded with faux sausage, and seitan rib plates served alongside sour cream and onion mashed potatoes, all ready for a takeout picnic. Order it online and walk it over to Fernhill Park.

Otto's Sausage Kitchen & Meat Market

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For those partial to pork, Otto’s on Woodstock has a serious supply of snacking sausages, salami, deli salads, and sandwiches. The shop also sells grilled wieners, franks, and links, served on buns with toppings like jalapeno mustard and sauerkraut. There are plenty of pretty spots to snack nearby, from the Reed campus to Woodstock Park.

Samo's Bistro

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This Prescott market is a veritable meze heaven, with everything from house-made dolmas to bowls of beef-topped hummus. For those looking for something more substantial than a few containers of tzatziki, falafel, and labneh, the shop also sells kebabs, gyros, and a one-of-a-kind “falafel burger.” The Roseway Parkway is just across the street and lined with cherry trees.

A white plate is covered in a red chili oil and beef pieces
Hummus from Samo’s Bistro
Kara Stokes/EPDX

Sebastiano's

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This Montavilla Italian market is just packed with picnic winners: The city’s best muffuletta sandwich, house-baked focaccia to pair with the shop’s selection of salami and cheese, and truly a stunning showing of pastries like biscotti, cannoli, and brioche. Order ahead online, keep an eye out for one-off brunch boxes or “community supporting deli kits,” and take your loot to a sunny spot on Mt. Tabor.

Bella's Italian Bakery

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This charming Lents bakery sells everything from cold cut grinders to jam tarts to pepperoni rolls for takeout. There are any number of avenues for a primo picnic experience, but here’s one we love: Order house focaccia, an antipasti platter, and a bag of amaretti to enjoy over at the nearby Lents Park. Order online or call ahead for a speedier pickup.

Lily Market

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For Lao salads, hard-to-find Thai chips, pastries, salad rolls, Thai sausages, kimchi, senbei, bao, and fried bananas, Lily Market is a beacon on Halsey. No visit is complete, however, without a pint of that papaya salad. Knott City Park is nearby, for those seeking a setting for their Southeast Asian feast.

Tortilleria Y Tienda De Leon

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This NE Glisan mercado is known for its guisados, stuffed into burritos, folded into quesadillas, or tucked into tacos. For picnicking purposes, the move is to get a few containers of various guisados, a quart of the cactus salad, a pile of tortillas, and a few of the shop’s house salsas, plus an assortment of chips, candies, and sodas from the tienda. For those intimidated by a build-your-own-taco station at a casual picnic, the shop’s tamales are, by nature, travel-friendly.

Sugarpine Drive-In

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This Troutdale drive-in is beloved as a spot to pick up soft-serve, pulled pork sandwiches, and dazzling salads before heading into the Columbia River Gorge, but the beaches of the Sandy River — just a few steps away — make for a lovely picnic setting. Sugarpine can be extremely busy on the weekends, so be sure to order ahead.

The Meating Place

In the far reaches of Hillsboro, the Meating Place is a neighborhood butcher and market with one heck of a deli. Customers can stop in to grab roast beef sandwiches, gouda mac salad, breakfast burritos, and chips from Pacific Northwestern standbys like Tim’s. The Meating Place offers online ordering, too, for people who just want to grab an order and hit the road; Noble Woods Park is a nice spot for a picnic nearby, for those looking for a place to land.

Chop St. Johns

Once a deli counter within a market, Chop St. Johns offers a wide array of breakfast and lunch sandwiches, salads, and breakfast burritos to take to the nearby Cathedral Park. Italian sub aficionados will find a number of options on the menu, from the Sofia Loren with mortadella, Mama Lil’s, and coppa, to the Italian Stallion with ham, salami, and roasted

red peppers. Order ahead by calling.

The Mercato at Caffe Mingo

This longstanding Italian spot in Northwest Portland has transformed its neighboring Bar Mingo into the Mercato, a little lunch counter and market with fruit, salads, ciabatta panini, and a cold case full of olives, prosciutto, and marinated burrata. Bonus: The market often has a couple of hard-to-find Italian sodas on the shelves to throw in the picnic basket. Pop over to Lower Macleay for a nearby picnic spot.

St. Barbra Pinoy Bakery

This Filipino bakery is a haven for empanadas, ensaymadas, and everything in between, just a stone’s throw from the Duniway Park Lilac Garden. A visit to St. Barbra should involve both sweet and savory pastries and treats, ranging from banana-leaf-wrapped, coconut-milk-laden suman, a few flaky empanadas, a beef bun, and a bao-like siapao. And if you see a slice of ube cheesecake, you’ve struck gold.

DarSalam

This Iraqi restaurant’s Pearl District location is right off the Fields Park, a pretty spot to sit and snack on dolmas or a shredded lamb sandwich. The restaurant’s sampler platter packs — which come with things like baba ghanoush, hummus, and pickled mango salad — seem absolutely designed for a parkside picnic. Order online or stop in.

World Foods

This small international market on NW Everett is a killer spot to grab some chocolate bars, jars of olives or pickles, Oregon cheeses, and even poke, but some of the real winners come from Ya Hala chef Mirna Attar, who makes things like house-made pita, hummus, the Lebanese flatbread man’oushe, and tabbouli. The one essential order: a few pieces of pistachio or walnut baklava for dessert. Stop in, or order online for curbside pickup.

Kachka Lavka

For something Slavic, Kachka’s small market and deli is certainly the go-to move for countless Portlanders. Kachka packs quite a bit into such a tiny space: Here, Portlanders can find Russian cured meats, cheeses, house-made pickles, house-baked breads and pastries, and a wide assortment of preserved fish and roe. The best one-and-done picnic option is likely the Ruskie Zakuski Experience, which comes with everything from herring under a fur coat to salat Olivier. Order it ahead online or visit in person.

P's & Q's Market

P’s & Q’s seems like it was built in a lab to be the ideal picnic pit stop: Perched right on the edge of Woodlawn Park, P’s & Q’s offers sandwiches (including a very smart vegetarian beet reuben), deli staples like mac salad, sides like deviled eggs and slaw, plus a full market’s worth of snacks, cheese, non-alcoholic drinks like kombucha, and desserts like banana pudding. It takes online orders and walk-ins.

Mama Dut

Vegans already know this one was coming: Mama Dút’s menu of Vietnamese sandwiches, snacks, desserts, and ferments work particularly well for a picnic at Buckman Field Park or the green at Revolution Hall. While Mama Dút’s menu changes periodically, the move is to go for a bao bun, banh mi, kimchi, and dessert, swapping in for things like turmeric waffle sandwiches or phish sauce noodle salads if available. The shop’s Vietnamese coffee and passionfruit limeade are nice accompaniments, as well. Order ahead online.

Providore Fine Foods

It is extremely difficult to beat the deli at Providore: Walking from one end of the deli counter to the other, one can stock up on fresh-baked bread from Little T American Baker, myriad pickles and charcuterie, one of the city’s best cheese selections, and an array of house deli salads. Add a full selection of local fruit, imported candies, and rare sodas and seltzers, and you’ve got an A-grade picnic going. Oregon Park is very close to Providore,

Lokanta

The meze game of this SE Clinton Turkish restaurant is simply unparalleled. The tangy beet-pink tarator, chili-spiked muhammara, silken fava bean pate, and stuffed pide make for an exceptional picnic spread, especially when joined by a cup of the shop’s Şalgam, a purple fermented carrot juice. Order it ahead of time online.

Laurelhurst Market

It would feel wrong to leave Laurelhurst Market off of a picnic map, especially considering its proximity to the breathtaking Laurelhurst Park. For a lunchtime picnic, Laurelhurst sells an array of sandwiches made with things like house-cured bacon, deli salads like potato salad, and picnic-friendly snacks like pickled eggs and house beef jerky. For dinner, go for things like the house charcuterie, pickle plate, mac and cheese, and roasted veggies, packaged to go. Plus, the butcher counter is stocked with pates, salami, smoked meats, and mac and cheese. Order by calling ahead.

Olympia Provisions Public House

This famed Portland charcuterie’s public house is probably the ideal OP locale for picnic shopping: The restaurant’s takeout menu includes its celebrated charcuterie and cheese boards, plus a number of sausages, sandwiches, salads, and more. Customers can also pick out retail salami, pickles, and other snacks if they feel less interested in waiting for a takeout order. Order ahead online, or just drop in.

Dirty Lettuce

For a Cajun picnic that happens to be vegan friendly, Dirty Lettuce delivers the goods: The food cart sells po’ boys loaded with oyster mushrooms, a spicy mac and cheese loaded with faux sausage, and seitan rib plates served alongside sour cream and onion mashed potatoes, all ready for a takeout picnic. Order it online and walk it over to Fernhill Park.

Otto's Sausage Kitchen & Meat Market

For those partial to pork, Otto’s on Woodstock has a serious supply of snacking sausages, salami, deli salads, and sandwiches. The shop also sells grilled wieners, franks, and links, served on buns with toppings like jalapeno mustard and sauerkraut. There are plenty of pretty spots to snack nearby, from the Reed campus to Woodstock Park.

Related Maps

Samo's Bistro

This Prescott market is a veritable meze heaven, with everything from house-made dolmas to bowls of beef-topped hummus. For those looking for something more substantial than a few containers of tzatziki, falafel, and labneh, the shop also sells kebabs, gyros, and a one-of-a-kind “falafel burger.” The Roseway Parkway is just across the street and lined with cherry trees.

A white plate is covered in a red chili oil and beef pieces
Hummus from Samo’s Bistro
Kara Stokes/EPDX

Sebastiano's

This Montavilla Italian market is just packed with picnic winners: The city’s best muffuletta sandwich, house-baked focaccia to pair with the shop’s selection of salami and cheese, and truly a stunning showing of pastries like biscotti, cannoli, and brioche. Order ahead online, keep an eye out for one-off brunch boxes or “community supporting deli kits,” and take your loot to a sunny spot on Mt. Tabor.

Bella's Italian Bakery

This charming Lents bakery sells everything from cold cut grinders to jam tarts to pepperoni rolls for takeout. There are any number of avenues for a primo picnic experience, but here’s one we love: Order house focaccia, an antipasti platter, and a bag of amaretti to enjoy over at the nearby Lents Park. Order online or call ahead for a speedier pickup.

Lily Market

For Lao salads, hard-to-find Thai chips, pastries, salad rolls, Thai sausages, kimchi, senbei, bao, and fried bananas, Lily Market is a beacon on Halsey. No visit is complete, however, without a pint of that papaya salad. Knott City Park is nearby, for those seeking a setting for their Southeast Asian feast.

Tortilleria Y Tienda De Leon

This NE Glisan mercado is known for its guisados, stuffed into burritos, folded into quesadillas, or tucked into tacos. For picnicking purposes, the move is to get a few containers of various guisados, a quart of the cactus salad, a pile of tortillas, and a few of the shop’s house salsas, plus an assortment of chips, candies, and sodas from the tienda. For those intimidated by a build-your-own-taco station at a casual picnic, the shop’s tamales are, by nature, travel-friendly.

Sugarpine Drive-In

This Troutdale drive-in is beloved as a spot to pick up soft-serve, pulled pork sandwiches, and dazzling salads before heading into the Columbia River Gorge, but the beaches of the Sandy River — just a few steps away — make for a lovely picnic setting. Sugarpine can be extremely busy on the weekends, so be sure to order ahead.

Related Maps