Portland.
The city where we ate, drank, ate, drank, and ate some more. So many good places to enjoy brunch, a crafty cocktail or a delicious maple & bacon donut. Yes Voodoo, I’m talking about you. Full disclosure, this is really going to be a blog post more focused on the restaurants we ate at and the bars we went to, as we didn’t have a car to go outside the city to enjoy the more naturesque side of Portland. We probably came home 5lbs heavier, but everything we ate was worth it. I mean, the breakfast corn dog at Screen Door……enough said. All in all, we thoroughly enjoyed walking around and experiencing all the “weirdness” Portland had to offer.
(By the way, I’m totally ok with the extra 5lbs. We can go back a hike another time.)
Where We Stayed In Portland:
We stayed at the gorgeous Hilton Portland and Executive Tower hotel which was centrally located, clean & spacious, with a large bar and grocery mart inside. We were able to walk to everything from the hotel and would stay here again without question. Also, everyone was so nice, friendly and helpful. Thank you Hilton Portland!
( Striped Top – also similar here | Bag | Jeans | Shoes )
Where We Ate In Portland:
Voodoo Doughnut : Such a “touristy” place to go, but hey, I’m a tourist. There was NO way I wasn’t visiting Voodoo Doughnuts and getting a bright pink Instagramable box of goodness during our trip. To be honest, this place really didn’t disappoint. I kept feeling like I was in a life-size game of Candyland. Pink everything (including the pink glitter walls on the outside of the building), funky decor and hundreds of different doughnuts to choose from. Including the “Man With No Face” doughnut, which you would only understand if you watch Game of Thrones. If you are going to Portland, wait in the 20 minute line. It’s a fun atmosphere and the doughnuts are definitely worth the wait. (p.s. CASH ONLY. Trust me, you probably don’t want to use the ATM machines that are around this location. Just a little warning).
Tasty n Alder : Such an amazing spot for brunch! We enjoyed brunch here with my cousins who just recently moved to Portland and loved that they recommended this spot. Family-style servings, with a fun cocktail list but better yet, delicious food. Everything we ate here was GOOD. And to top it off, I had the “Elizabeth Taylor” champagne cocktail with my brunch. It was purple, pretty and right up my alley. (Tip: They do not take reservations ahead of time, so wait across the street at Heart Coffee Roasters and enjoy a warm cup of coffee while you wait for your table.)
Screen Door : To say we ate our hearts out here for brunch would be an understatement. We waited about an hour for our table (a little hint on how you know the place is a HIT) so by the time we got to sit down, we were hungry. We enjoyed a veggie scramble, their famous breakfast corn dog and their classic southern style biscuits and gravy. Oh and a huge mimosa. It was ALL delicious! So worth the wait! (Tip: this place was located across the water so it took us a 10 minute Uber ride to get there.) You COULD walk it, if you wanted, but we were hungry.
(the breakfast corn dog at Screen Door – AMAZE.)
( Shoes )
Old Town Pizza Haunted Taproom : Although we didn’t eat here, we did stop here on our BrewCycle tour for a beer. I just loved the vibes of this place. It use to be an old hotel that they have turned into this vintage looking pizza restaurant. Some say it’s haunted, I say it’s cool. I had the DELICIOUS mint mojito beer. Yes, you read that right. It was AMAZE.
Piattino Restaurant : Bryan & I stumbled across this little Italian restaurant during one of our walks where we were looking for a small bite to eat and a glass of wine. This spot was perfect for just that. Filled with Italian charm, we enjoyed a glass of wine and a cheese & meat platter. By the time we left, the place was packed. Might definitely need to engage in the homemade pasta next time we are there.
Stumptown Coffee Roasters : Yum. Yum. Yum. You know I love my coffee and I’ve had Stumptown before in the bottle from Whole Foods, but nothing beats the real stuff. Great mid day pick me up!
Multnomah Whiskey Library : SUCH AN AMAZING SPOT. We unfortunately didn’t get to enjoy a cocktail here because the wait to even get a drink was over an hour. But you know exactly why once you get into the bar. It has two beautiful beautiful bars, one located downstairs and one upstairs. The one upstairs has a gorgeous library feel to it. I recommend putting your name in and then walking around for an hour or so. We couldn’t wait because we had dinner reservations somewhere else but the craft cocktails are suppose to be out of this world!
Imperial Restaurant : Such a great spot for dinner in Portland. Located inside Hotel Lucia, this restaurant gives off a very cool vibe. We loved everything we ate and totally recommend starting with the oysters and a glass of bubbles or Pinot. Would definitely go back.
Bamboo Sushi : If you’re a sushi lover, this place is for you! Super fresh sushi with a huge menu and an open outside restaurant feel. We tried sushi we had never had before and loved everything.
Fat Head’s Brewery : What a fun spot! There are tons of breweries in Portland but this one happened to be another stop on our BrewCycle tour. A huge spot that serves food and tons of different types of beer. I had the blueberry beer here. Yes blueberry. It was right up my alley with floating blueberries and all!
10 Barrel Brewing : Another awesome spot if you want a little rooftop brewery action. Tons of beers on tap and an amazing outdoor rooftop patio with tons of tables. If the weather is nice, definitely go here!
Base Camp Brewery : Another great spot to grab a beer or a fun beer flight. We actually walked here after eating our amazing brunch at Screen Door (talked about above). Outdoor patio and tons of table inside, we really loved the “camping” vibe we got from this place. (Tip: whatever you do, at least get a sample of the s’mores beer. They literally roast a mini marshmallow and place it on the side of your glass. It’s delicious.)
Deschutes Brewery : If you were to ask Bryan what he loved about Portland, he would definitely say Deschutes! Not only is their beer list amazing, their food is also VERY good. You would never think bar or pub food if you ate here. Definitely more restaurant style with a huge open area that leads outside with tables all around the brewery. Loved the atmosphere!
(Base Camp Brewery)
(Deschutes Brewery)
What We Explored in Portland:
( Shoes )
Like I said earlier, we really just walked, ate, drank and explored the city. We didn’t have many activities planned as we knew we wouldn’t have a car to drive outside the city. But don’t get me wrong, we always love just walking and exploring! If you don’t do well with roaming around or shopping for a couple of hours, then I recommend renting a car and driving to some of the gorgeous hiking locations around Portland.
BrewCycle Bike Tours : Ok, first off, I have ALWAYS wanted to do this. So when I was researching “fun things to do in Portland” I came across the brewery cycle tour and booked two tickets immediately. You can choose from three different tours depending on what type of breweries you want to go to. You then hop on board and cycle your way from spot to spot. We got about 30 minutes at each brewery which was plenty of time to enjoy a beer. Highly recommend doing this as you get to see different parts of the city and enjoy craft beers. Warning: if you think you are going to get on this bike bus and not work, you are wrong. You TOTALLY have to petal in order to keep moving. There is no engine. But it’s definitely fun….and the more you drink, the easier the pedaling gets. How funny is that?!
City Home : We stumbled upon this place during one of our adventurous walks and ended up spending over an hour roaming around in this beautiful store. It’s basically a warehouse full of vintage chic home decor that makes you REALLY want to re-decorate your entire home. I loved a huge vintage “Fresh Flower” sign so much, I took the risk and bought it and carried it home on the airplane. Such a fun place to walk around and explore or get ideas for decorating your home. (Tip: this is located on the other side of the water next to Base Camp brewery and Screen Door.)
Overall, Portland was such a fun and interesting city. If you like beer and breweries, this is definitely a good spot for you to visit. If you love food, you’ll definitely enjoy Portland. We didn’t even get to touch the surface of all the great restaurants & breweries, so I guess we will just have to make another trip back one day. I’m not complaining.
Have any questions about Portland or traveling in general? Leave me a comment in the comment section. I would love to hear from you!
Thanks for reading!
