Portland Restaurants I Keep Going Back To

Let’s try all the Portland Restaurants I keep going back to everytime I’m in town! This weekend, we are running the Portland Marathon. It’s the perfect excuse to revisit every Portland restaurant we loved from our trip here! From James Beard-nominated fusion Indonesian at Gado Gado to Dom Kameron’s seafood feasts, Portland’s food scene is literally packed with incredible local gems that bring so much heart, flavor, and deep tradition to every single bite. Join Dom and I on a weekend around some of my favorite Portland restaurants!

Visiting Must Try Portland Restaurants on Marathon Weekend

This weekend, Dom and I are running the Portland Half Marathon! This isn’t our first time in Portland. But, fun fact, Portland’s actually the first place Dom and I have ever traveled to together as a couple! We haven’t been back in years, and we’re so excited!

One thing I do remember about Portland is that the food is absolutely delicious here. So, not only are we going to be carb loading around the city, we’re also going to visit as many delicious restaurants as we can. Let’s see if you’ve tried these delicious Portland restaurants!

Mother’s Bistro and Bar

For our first breakfast in Portland, we are at Mother’s Bistro and Bar. It’s not surprising for a place named “Mother’s” to be well own for their classic, home-style American comfort food. Fun story, the first time Dom and I came to Portland, we wanted to come here for brunch. But Dom and I are not morning people at all. So, we slept in and we end up coming for their happy hour. It was still very delicious. But, it’s always been a dream of mine to try their brunch and breakfast menu. So, we’re finally here!

Everything actually looks so so good. I cannot wait to dig in. For our breakfast, Dom ordered the Corned Beef Hash ($20), with onions, potatoes, spinach, horseradish, eggs, and whole wheat toast. It was my first time trying corn beef hash, and I loved the horseradish cream with a nice tanginess that cuts down on the savory flavor.

Next up, is my Breakfast Nachos ($14), a bed of roasted potatoes topped with bacon, caramelized onions, cream, cheddar, sour cream, and green onion. This tastes like one of those things you’ll be craving the next day if you went out the night before.. It is so savory. The potatoes are perfectly cooked, and the bits of bacon inside are nice as well. They both taste delicious, but I’m still more of a breakfast nacho person!

On the side, we also ordered some homemade pierogis ($15), with caramelized onions on top and a generous amount of sour cream. Dom is not the biggest fan of sour cream, but with pierogis, it’s a must-have even for him. When I was in college, my roommate’s mom would make us homemade pierogis every Christmas. This tastes exactly like the homemade ones that I was obsessed with! This was an amazing start to our carb-loading journey here in Portland!

Gado Gado

Gado Gado was probably the most anticipated place that we want to try in Portland this trip. I’ve been wanting to come here since my friend Tom recommended to us a few years ago. Known for their Indonesian-inspired fusion Asian dishes, this James Beard Nominee restaurant is almost impossible to get a table at. So, this trip, we were excited to visit! It smells amazing walking in, and got us so excited to enjoy our dinner.

Since we waited four years for this moment, we obviously have to order a little bit of everything. Here’s what we started with

• Roti Canai ($16), a super flaky handmade Malaysian flatbread served with flaky salt and smoky blistered tomato curry.
• Charcoal grilled chicken satay ($16) topped with crispy rice and a savory peanut sauce.
• Chinese sausage and shrimp siu-mai ($17) with red yuzu kosho aioli, black fungus, smoked trout roe, togarashi

Everything was packed with so much flavor, but surprisingly the Chinese sausage and shrimp siu-mai was definitely one of my favorites.

Next came the bay scallop crudo ($26), which ended up being our favorite dish of the entire night. It’s cured in white shoyu & kombu with melon & apricot nectar, coconut pandan cream, candied anchovy, turmeric & squid ink krupuk. It had a really subtle coconut curry flavor, but it was still so light and refreshing. Finally, we got the Sumatran-Style beef rendang ($32) with crispy fried egg, green mango, sambal, and shrimp chips, with some scented rice on the side.

Because Dom and I have been lucky enough to eat our way through Southeast Asia, the dishes here felt more playful and fusion forward than we expected. But honestly, that felt very, very Portland. They took familiar flavors, made it their own, and kept things just a little weird in the best way possible. The vibes were great, the service was amazing, and Dom and I had the best time just hanging out, chatting, and trying everything together. It was the perfect date night to end our first day here in Portland! Make sure to book a reservation early if you want to visit Gado Gado!

Sincerely Bagels

We picked up some breakfast for race day tomorrow at Sincerely Bagels, a neighborhood bagel shop in Eastside Portland. I know it’s not a sit-down type restaurant, but I keep going back in line for their bagels. They’re known for their slow-rise sour dough bagels made fresh every single day. When you walk in, the whole place smells unreal, and the bagels look so, so good. We’ve been to New York and Montreal, and to all the famous bagel shops. So, I’m really excited to see how this compares.

Dom got the plain bagel with Oregan raspberry jam ($6.50) to enjoy now and a plain bagel ($3) for tomorrow, because he wants to keep it really simple. Jam is a really, really good carb when it comes to carb loading. And, they REALLY loaded you up on jam here at Sincerely Bagels. The bagel is light and fluffy, and with the jam is really, really good.

I’ve ordered a kimchi cheddar bagel ($4) for tomorrow, and a chili crisp bagel sandwich ($10) with souffle eggs, pork rolls, and cucumbers. The souffle egg is perfectly fluffy. The chili powder on top of the bagel kind of reminds me of those spicy chili powders that you get at those popcorn places. This is so good. This might be one of my favorite things I’ve had so far on this trip.

It was so good, I ran back In to buy more. We got here at 11:00 and a lot of the most popular ones, like rosemary, were sold out already. When I checked online, they said you should come before 10:30 to make sure they’re fully stocked. But, we still got some really delicious options!

Nong’s Khao Man Gai

It’s the night before the race, and we’re now at Nong’s Khao Man Gai, known for exactly one thing: Thai-style poached chicken and rice. Dom and I came here the first night when we came from Seattle. We’re back again because it’ just so good. Originally a food cart, Nong’s Khao Man Gai is now one of downtown Portland’s top spots!

Of course, we had to get the poached chicken and rice plates ($17) they’re known for. Each set comes with their special sauce and a bowl of soup. The poached chicken is very simple, with super super clean and delicate flavors. The rice, cooked in chicken broth, was packed with meaty flavors! What makes this place really special though is their secret sauce: gingery, savory, and slightly sweet. It pairs really well with the clean chicken flavor. Put together with a sip of the hot broth, it’s the perfect meal to eat any time of the day.

If you’re like a brothy rice lover like me, the Super Soup is must-try for you. This is basically the chicken rice plate dumped into a big bowl of hot broth. And it’s just so, so comforting. We also got a plate of crispy chicken skin to snack on. It was crunchy, fragrant, and so, so good.

I know some people have mixed reviews when it comes to poached chicken. The common complaint is that it’s not flavorful enough. But I like to say if the chef knows what they’re doing, poached chicken rice is one of the best ways to cook chicken. I feel like every bite can really be customized to your own preferences! Nong’s will always be my go-to spot here in Portland!

Don Kameron

We were so tired after our race, we almost skipped dinner, too. But instead, we decided to rally and head over to our favorite restaurant in Portland: Don Kameron. If you love seafood, this restaurant specializes in homey Mexican seafood dishes. They make everything fresh to order. I literally have to physically stop myself from ordering the entire menu every time I am there. If they say food can heal you, this meal healed us.

Of course, we had to try a little of everything here too! We started with a yummy shrimp ceviche ($25), which was super fresh, with crunchy bites of cucumber and onion. We also shared a plate of 3 steak tacos, which were simple, but so, so good dipped in that delicious salsa. Then, it’s time for the seafood mains. First, their signature Sarandeados-Botana ($32). Head-on shrimp marinated in their spicy in-house sauce, then grilled to a perfect crispy char. And, the Mojarra-Frita ($25), or Fried Tilapia, which was crispy, but had delicate meaty bites of fish. It was so, so good.

Even though the race may not have gone how I imagined, and the day definitely didn’t go according to plan, we somehow still got our happy ending in the end. I’ve been here four times. This is my TOP recommendation to everyone who visits Portland, from my parents to my friends. It is so so delicious. The energy there is absolutely amazing every time. Dom and I are not drinking this trip so we can prioritize recovery. But, the margaritas there are delicious as well!