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A fried tofu sandwich sits next to a cocktail garnished with starfruit at Jojo.
A tofu sandwich and cocktail from Jojo.
Dina Avila/Eater Portland

16 Portland Restaurants Open for Lunch and Dinner Every Day

The back-pocket restaurants that are a sure bet for any last-minute dinner or lunch

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A tofu sandwich and cocktail from Jojo.
| Dina Avila/Eater Portland

Finding restaurants open for lunch and dinner every day would have sounded incredibly simple just a few years ago, but as the pandemic has shifted the way restaurants operate, the concept has become somewhat rarefied. Many of Portland’s dining establishments are closed on Mondays and Tuesdays, while others opt to only open for dinner service mid-week, eschewing the possibility of slow weekday lunches in favor of weekend-only brunch.

Here, one can find 16 sure bets for a great meal, all day, every day. For this map, we chose to go pretty literal with the word “restaurants,” focusing only on brick-and-mortar locations with ample seating, rather than food carts, stalls, or places that encourage grab-and-go. We also chose not to overlap with our list of date-worthy restaurants open on Mondays or open 24 hours, which, for the most part, follow the same guidelines.

Note: Health experts consider dining out to be a high-risk activity for the unvaccinated; it may pose a risk for the vaccinated, especially in areas with substantial COVID transmission. The latest CDC guidance is here; find a COVID-19 vaccination site here.

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Eater maps are curated by editors and aim to reflect a diversity of neighborhoods, cuisines, and prices. Learn more about our editorial process. If you buy something or book a reservation from an Eater link, Vox Media may earn a commission. See our ethics policy.

Life of Pie

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Both the Northwest 23rd and North Williams locations of this wood-fired pizza joint are open for lunch and dinner all week long, with personal-sized pies all under $20 making for a great deal at any time of day. The small menu isn’t as simple as it seems: Life of Pie is notable for is curated selection of upscale, locally sourced toppings and potential for creative combinations. Preset pies include bacon with goat cheese and roasted leeks or seasonal mushrooms with a truffle oil. One can go wild in the build-your-own section, where any pizza can be topped with fennel sausage, garlic confit, anchovies, or honey.

Thai Bloom!

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This takeout staple, with locations in Beaverton and on Northwest 23rd Avenue, serves great renditions of all the hits. But a few things separate Thai Bloom from the pack, with extravagant seasonal dishes like the fisherman’s fried rice with calamari, scallops, and crispy basil, or lamb shank braised in massaman curry. Another highlight is the wild, retro dessert cocktail menu, complete with Godiva chocolate martinis, Thai White Russians, and tom yum vodka.

Goose Hollow Inn

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This Portland institution, opened by former mayor Bud Clark in 1967, is known for its cozy vibe, 18 beers and ciders on tap, and its popular Reuben. The historic sauerkraut sandwich arrives hot: dark toasted rye bread with tender corned beef, melty Swiss cheese, and tangy house sauce. The menu also includes classic deli staples that can be difficult to find elsewhere in Portland, like braunschweiger, and Pacific Northwest staples like Dungeness crab or bay shrimp melts with Tillamook cheddar.

Christmas lights hang from the rafters at the Goose Hollow Inn, in front of a neon sign that reads “Best Reuben on the Planet.”
The bar at the Goose Hollow Inn
Brooke Jackson-Glidden/Eater Portland

The brick-and-mortar outpost of one of Portland’s hottest food carts, Jojo is the spot for Instagram-worthy burgers and juicy chicken sandwiches with a reliable, shatteringly-crunchy crust. Spice-tossed crispy jojo potatoes dunked in house ranch pair well with popcorn chicken and hot honey Brussels sprouts any time of day. Lunch-goers on the way back to work may opt for a triple-berry oat milkshake or flavored “soadies” like pineapple cream root beer, while the dinner crowd is more likely to be found sipping on spicy passionfruit margaritas made with house pepper relish.

Jake's Famous Crawfish

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A Portland institution, Jake’s Famous Crawfish has served local seafood dishes since 1892. Still a coveted evening reservation during the bustling dinner hours, a quiet lunch at Jake’s is severely underrated, particularly in the corner bar section with its enormous windows offering prime people watching on Southwest Harvey Milk Street. While sipping on a blueberry Arnold Palmer or a cucumber mint lemonade, daytime diners can enjoy Dungeness crab and bay shrimp cakes with jalapeno and ginger aioli, a classic crispy cod sandwich, or a cool Caesar salad with a filet of blackened salmon.

Oven and Shaker

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From six-time James Beard-nominated chef Cathy Whims, Oven and Shaker serves wood-fired Neapolitan pizzas topped with house mozzarella, pistachio pesto, and fried sage, on crust made using a decades-old sourdough starter. Years of trips to Italy inspire Italian street food selections like saffron arancini and crispy salted chickpeas with rosemary. Both Portland and Lake Oswego locations are open for lunch and dinner daily.

Luc Lac Vietnamese Kitchen

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A former hotspot for the late-night set, Luc Lac has scaled back to closing at 11 p.m. since the pandemic began, but lunch or dinner under the umbrellas in the dining room remains as exciting as ever. Enormous bowls of rejuvenating tom yum tofu pho with avocado and tomato, minty fresh spring rolls with shrimp, and charbroiled lemongrass chicken banh mi pair well with house-made beverages like the durian horchata with honeydew, pandan, and jasmine rice milk; the Thai tea creamosa with makrut lime syrup and whipped salty coconut cream; and ginger ale with roasted coconut water and passionfruit juice.

Dough Zone

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This Seattle-based chain now serves a wide array of house dumplings and dim sum within a sprawling Portland waterfront restaurant. Scallion pancakes arrive rolled with spicy, saucy beef and shredded lettuce; Berkshire-Duroc pork wontons come tossed in chile oil; and dan dan noodles get a numbing tingle from Sichuan peppercorn. All can be washed down with an iced passionfruit green tea or sour plum juice at lunch or dinner, and most dishes cost less than $10.

Hat Yai Belmont

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The only thing better than ordering Hat Yai’s fried shallot-topped, Thai herb-spiced birds — they come whole, halved, by leg, or by wing — is ordering them in the combo, complete with sticky rice, flaky layered roti, and creamy curry, a rich dipping sauce for all of the above. The combo is, in a word, iconic. Hat Yai’s chicken pairs well with cooling cucumber salad and cocktails such as the nutmeg-spiced coconut mango horchata or tamarind whiskey smash. Locations on both Killingsworth and Belmont are open for lunch and dinner daily.

Danwei Canting

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This airy and spacious restaurant on Southeast Stark features Beijing-style dishes from chef and Chopped contestant Kyo Koo. Sichuan pork wontons filled with ginger and scallions are dressed in a chile vinegar sauce or served in a savory house broth for noodle soup, and Ota tofu is wok-seared with green beans in fermented bean paste, and some interpretations. Chinese-American dishes, like sesame chicken and crispy fried spring rolls, are also available. All are best paired with a Beijing lychee-lime mojito, made with Vinn Baijiu, the Oregon-based take on the national liquor of China.

Yama Sushi & Izakaya

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With locations in the Pearl and on Southeast Clinton, Yama is a great place to slow down and enjoy some of Portland’s most fun and creative sushi rolls, like the Mardi Gras roll with spicy baked crawfish or the Flaming Jack with asparagus and salmon, which arrives on fire. The show-stopping ahi tuna tower is a playful rejection of the bounds of the average roll: a stacked cylinder of rice, topped with spicy ahi tuna, crab salad, and sliced avocado on a kaleidoscopic array of sauces, which you’re encouraged to smash and mix together before diving in with a spoon.

Screen Door Eastside

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Southern cuisine heavyweight Screen Door’s original east side location is known for having lines down the block for bananas foster french toast and sweet potato waffles weekend brunch, but diners can get in with relative ease on weekdays. At dinner, the boneless buttermilk fried chicken is the main attraction: enormous chicken breasts and thighs with a shatteringly-crisp, black pepper-heavy crust served alongside mashed potatoes with tasso ham gravy and the option of either collard greens or coleslaw. The banoffee pie, a chilled caramel and banana cream number with pecan shortbread crust, is a great way to end a meal at any time of day.

Mirisata

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This BIPOC worker-owned, vegan, tipless restaurant on Belmont serves spicy Sri Lankan food for lunch and dinner seven days a week. Starters like jackfruit croquettes and spiced banana blossom empanadas give way to ever-changing curry options, like cassava root in creamy coconut gravy, served with paper-thin roti for scooping and dipping. Diners can finish with sweets like cardamom flan and fluffy chocolate pudding.

Rukdiew Cafe

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This Buckman Thai restaurant from the family behind Khao Moo Dang and Thai Peacock is a pastel pink and green oasis, decorated with quirky prints and hanging ornaments. Fresh rolls with tofu and peanut sauce, generously-stuffed yellow curry crab rangoon, and green papaya salad with shrimp crackers make a great lunch. For dinner, rich curries like the smoky and pickle-y khao soi with thin fried noodles or the herbal panang with basil and makrut lime make for deep and complex entrees. Upon leaving, in-the-know guests can spin their own cotton candy for free at a machine tucked in a corner by the door.

Güero’s dining room is bright, lively, and decorated with colorful foliage — a sunshine-y paradise in often-gray Portland. Sourcing responsibly-raised meat, Megan Sanchez and Alec Morrison stack carnitas-laden tortas ahogadas with habanero slaw, drenching the whole thing in smoky, acidic achiote-tomato sauce. The hamburguesa’s charred patty and American cheese pair well with pickled jalapenos and chipotle mayo. Order when you walk in, then grab a seat at one of the tables or at the vibrant bar adorned with beautiful flower vases.

Khao Moo Dang

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This sibling restaurant of Thai Peacock specializes in its namesake Thai dish of pork cooked two ways, served over rice with a sweet reddish gravy, Chinese sausage, and soft-boiled egg. It’s a meal that’s otherwise hard to come by in Portland, and the dynamic duo of shatteringly crisp pork belly and melt-in-your-mouth tenderloin is a special experience. Other menu highlights include khao soi with egg noodles, pork dumplings with yu-choy and vinegar, and the lychee hibiscus iced tea.

Life of Pie

Both the Northwest 23rd and North Williams locations of this wood-fired pizza joint are open for lunch and dinner all week long, with personal-sized pies all under $20 making for a great deal at any time of day. The small menu isn’t as simple as it seems: Life of Pie is notable for is curated selection of upscale, locally sourced toppings and potential for creative combinations. Preset pies include bacon with goat cheese and roasted leeks or seasonal mushrooms with a truffle oil. One can go wild in the build-your-own section, where any pizza can be topped with fennel sausage, garlic confit, anchovies, or honey.

Thai Bloom!

This takeout staple, with locations in Beaverton and on Northwest 23rd Avenue, serves great renditions of all the hits. But a few things separate Thai Bloom from the pack, with extravagant seasonal dishes like the fisherman’s fried rice with calamari, scallops, and crispy basil, or lamb shank braised in massaman curry. Another highlight is the wild, retro dessert cocktail menu, complete with Godiva chocolate martinis, Thai White Russians, and tom yum vodka.

Goose Hollow Inn

This Portland institution, opened by former mayor Bud Clark in 1967, is known for its cozy vibe, 18 beers and ciders on tap, and its popular Reuben. The historic sauerkraut sandwich arrives hot: dark toasted rye bread with tender corned beef, melty Swiss cheese, and tangy house sauce. The menu also includes classic deli staples that can be difficult to find elsewhere in Portland, like braunschweiger, and Pacific Northwest staples like Dungeness crab or bay shrimp melts with Tillamook cheddar.

Christmas lights hang from the rafters at the Goose Hollow Inn, in front of a neon sign that reads “Best Reuben on the Planet.”
The bar at the Goose Hollow Inn
Brooke Jackson-Glidden/Eater Portland

Jojo

The brick-and-mortar outpost of one of Portland’s hottest food carts, Jojo is the spot for Instagram-worthy burgers and juicy chicken sandwiches with a reliable, shatteringly-crunchy crust. Spice-tossed crispy jojo potatoes dunked in house ranch pair well with popcorn chicken and hot honey Brussels sprouts any time of day. Lunch-goers on the way back to work may opt for a triple-berry oat milkshake or flavored “soadies” like pineapple cream root beer, while the dinner crowd is more likely to be found sipping on spicy passionfruit margaritas made with house pepper relish.

Jake's Famous Crawfish

A Portland institution, Jake’s Famous Crawfish has served local seafood dishes since 1892. Still a coveted evening reservation during the bustling dinner hours, a quiet lunch at Jake’s is severely underrated, particularly in the corner bar section with its enormous windows offering prime people watching on Southwest Harvey Milk Street. While sipping on a blueberry Arnold Palmer or a cucumber mint lemonade, daytime diners can enjoy Dungeness crab and bay shrimp cakes with jalapeno and ginger aioli, a classic crispy cod sandwich, or a cool Caesar salad with a filet of blackened salmon.

Oven and Shaker

From six-time James Beard-nominated chef Cathy Whims, Oven and Shaker serves wood-fired Neapolitan pizzas topped with house mozzarella, pistachio pesto, and fried sage, on crust made using a decades-old sourdough starter. Years of trips to Italy inspire Italian street food selections like saffron arancini and crispy salted chickpeas with rosemary. Both Portland and Lake Oswego locations are open for lunch and dinner daily.

Luc Lac Vietnamese Kitchen

A former hotspot for the late-night set, Luc Lac has scaled back to closing at 11 p.m. since the pandemic began, but lunch or dinner under the umbrellas in the dining room remains as exciting as ever. Enormous bowls of rejuvenating tom yum tofu pho with avocado and tomato, minty fresh spring rolls with shrimp, and charbroiled lemongrass chicken banh mi pair well with house-made beverages like the durian horchata with honeydew, pandan, and jasmine rice milk; the Thai tea creamosa with makrut lime syrup and whipped salty coconut cream; and ginger ale with roasted coconut water and passionfruit juice.

Dough Zone

This Seattle-based chain now serves a wide array of house dumplings and dim sum within a sprawling Portland waterfront restaurant. Scallion pancakes arrive rolled with spicy, saucy beef and shredded lettuce; Berkshire-Duroc pork wontons come tossed in chile oil; and dan dan noodles get a numbing tingle from Sichuan peppercorn. All can be washed down with an iced passionfruit green tea or sour plum juice at lunch or dinner, and most dishes cost less than $10.

Hat Yai Belmont

The only thing better than ordering Hat Yai’s fried shallot-topped, Thai herb-spiced birds — they come whole, halved, by leg, or by wing — is ordering them in the combo, complete with sticky rice, flaky layered roti, and creamy curry, a rich dipping sauce for all of the above. The combo is, in a word, iconic. Hat Yai’s chicken pairs well with cooling cucumber salad and cocktails such as the nutmeg-spiced coconut mango horchata or tamarind whiskey smash. Locations on both Killingsworth and Belmont are open for lunch and dinner daily.

Danwei Canting

This airy and spacious restaurant on Southeast Stark features Beijing-style dishes from chef and Chopped contestant Kyo Koo. Sichuan pork wontons filled with ginger and scallions are dressed in a chile vinegar sauce or served in a savory house broth for noodle soup, and Ota tofu is wok-seared with green beans in fermented bean paste, and some interpretations. Chinese-American dishes, like sesame chicken and crispy fried spring rolls, are also available. All are best paired with a Beijing lychee-lime mojito, made with Vinn Baijiu, the Oregon-based take on the national liquor of China.

Yama Sushi & Izakaya

With locations in the Pearl and on Southeast Clinton, Yama is a great place to slow down and enjoy some of Portland’s most fun and creative sushi rolls, like the Mardi Gras roll with spicy baked crawfish or the Flaming Jack with asparagus and salmon, which arrives on fire. The show-stopping ahi tuna tower is a playful rejection of the bounds of the average roll: a stacked cylinder of rice, topped with spicy ahi tuna, crab salad, and sliced avocado on a kaleidoscopic array of sauces, which you’re encouraged to smash and mix together before diving in with a spoon.

Screen Door Eastside

Southern cuisine heavyweight Screen Door’s original east side location is known for having lines down the block for bananas foster french toast and sweet potato waffles weekend brunch, but diners can get in with relative ease on weekdays. At dinner, the boneless buttermilk fried chicken is the main attraction: enormous chicken breasts and thighs with a shatteringly-crisp, black pepper-heavy crust served alongside mashed potatoes with tasso ham gravy and the option of either collard greens or coleslaw. The banoffee pie, a chilled caramel and banana cream number with pecan shortbread crust, is a great way to end a meal at any time of day.

Mirisata

This BIPOC worker-owned, vegan, tipless restaurant on Belmont serves spicy Sri Lankan food for lunch and dinner seven days a week. Starters like jackfruit croquettes and spiced banana blossom empanadas give way to ever-changing curry options, like cassava root in creamy coconut gravy, served with paper-thin roti for scooping and dipping. Diners can finish with sweets like cardamom flan and fluffy chocolate pudding.

Rukdiew Cafe

This Buckman Thai restaurant from the family behind Khao Moo Dang and Thai Peacock is a pastel pink and green oasis, decorated with quirky prints and hanging ornaments. Fresh rolls with tofu and peanut sauce, generously-stuffed yellow curry crab rangoon, and green papaya salad with shrimp crackers make a great lunch. For dinner, rich curries like the smoky and pickle-y khao soi with thin fried noodles or the herbal panang with basil and makrut lime make for deep and complex entrees. Upon leaving, in-the-know guests can spin their own cotton candy for free at a machine tucked in a corner by the door.

Güero

Güero’s dining room is bright, lively, and decorated with colorful foliage — a sunshine-y paradise in often-gray Portland. Sourcing responsibly-raised meat, Megan Sanchez and Alec Morrison stack carnitas-laden tortas ahogadas with habanero slaw, drenching the whole thing in smoky, acidic achiote-tomato sauce. The hamburguesa’s charred patty and American cheese pair well with pickled jalapenos and chipotle mayo. Order when you walk in, then grab a seat at one of the tables or at the vibrant bar adorned with beautiful flower vases.

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Khao Moo Dang

This sibling restaurant of Thai Peacock specializes in its namesake Thai dish of pork cooked two ways, served over rice with a sweet reddish gravy, Chinese sausage, and soft-boiled egg. It’s a meal that’s otherwise hard to come by in Portland, and the dynamic duo of shatteringly crisp pork belly and melt-in-your-mouth tenderloin is a special experience. Other menu highlights include khao soi with egg noodles, pork dumplings with yu-choy and vinegar, and the lychee hibiscus iced tea.

Related Maps