: Joey Hamilton

Guide to Outdoor Dining in Oregon

July 30, 2020 (Updated April 11, 2022)

From scenic picnics to rustic campouts, spring and summer have always been about outdoor dining. This season, locals and visitors to Oregon can enjoy more ways to dine al fresco than ever before, thanks to the innovations of cities and local businesses over the past couple of years. Patios, sidewalk seating, parking spaces-turned dining plazas have been a boon to hungry diners everywhere.

As you set out to enjoy these spaces, just remember that restaurant front-line workers are working as hard as they can, but short staffing and other issues often cause longer-than-usual wait times. Please plan ahead: Make a reservation when possible; be patient, kind and flexible; go earlier or midweek for fewer crowds. Don’t forget to show your appreciation to staff and tip well! 

This is by no means representative of the entire state’s outdoor dining options. See our related trip ideas below for more inspiration.

Plates of food with tiny umbrellas on an outdoor table
Shark's Cove offers vegan Hawaiian fare at Portland's newest outdoor food cart pod, CORE PDX. (Courtesy of Shark's Cove)
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Portland

All year round, Portland’s famous food carts and outdoor-dining spots are part of the city’s culinary identity, so more sidewalk and patio seating during the lovely summer and fall weather makes perfect sense. Try the Portland Food Cart Finder to search for businesses by type of cuisine, dish, dietary need and proximity. Whether it’s food-cart fare you’re craving or a brick-and-mortar restaurant you’re visiting, here are some of the top spots.

North Portland: In St. Johns, Stormbreaker Brewing has blocked off a side street and filled it with large tables and benches for guests to drink pints of the signature Cloud Ripper IPA. On North Mississippi, sidle up to the new sidewalk seating with beer, brats and pretzels at German biergarten Prost!. Or head one block over and visit sister bar Interurban, which has a couple of additional tables streetside so you can enjoy your fancy cocktail while people- and pet-watching.  

Belmont: Beloved Russian restaurant Kachka has transformed into Kachka Alfresca by adding tables to the upstairs parking lot, and it is now serving a new ’90s-inspired menu with fun, snacky dishes like jalapeno popper chicken Kiev and Totino’s Pizza Roll vareniki. Vegan-friendly Bare Bones Cafe & Bar has broken out the slushie machine and commandeered space in front and on the side of the corner building for wooden picnic tables.

Southeast 82nd: Portland’s newest outdoor food cart pod, CORE (Collective Oregon Eateries) showcases many of the city’s enormously rich BIPOC-owned businesses and cuisines. Dig into favorite your comfort foods at Papi Sal’s and Chicken and Guns or try a new experience with Shark’s Cove vegan Hawaiian food or a messily delicious seafood boil at The Drip’N Crab. Grab a beer on tap at Breakside Brewery‘s latest location, their mobile taproom (on site Thursdays through Sundays) in a converted Winnebago.

Division: A pioneer of Portland’s urban wine-tasting culture, the expanded Southeast Wine Collective will welcome visitors to sip a flight and nosh on a cheese and snack plate on their outdoor patio, which overlooks downtown. Bollywood Theater, an Indian street-food restaurant, serves up its tasty biryanis and kati rolls for takeout orders on the patio. The same goes for Olympia Provisions Public House, where visitors can enjoy locally made sausages and other meaty delights at tables expanded into their parking lot.

Beaverton

Portland’s closest-in westside suburb is rapidly expanding its Restaurant Row with creative with outdoor seating. Syndicate Wine Bar has sidewalk seating and umbrella-topped tables in the adjacent parking lot, and Ickabods Bar & Grill offers a roped-off seating section in the parking lot with picnic tables. Just a few blocks away, Boriken Restaurant, one of the only full-service Puerto Rican restaurants in the region, is also doing expanded sidewalk seating. Bistro RoyaleRaindrop Taphouse and Afuri have also expanded their dining area into parking spaces.

Beaverton’s 1st Street Dining Commons is another option, where you can order takeout (including closed containers of alcohol) from any downtown business and enjoy it at the covered tables in the closed-off block of Southwest 1st Street, between Southwest Watson and Washington Avenues.

A few blocks north, across Oregon Route 8/TV Highway, BG Food Cartel is a year-round favorite for locals and visitors alike, with dozens of picnic tables, a beer garden, a covered open-air space and more than 30 food carts with tasty cuisines from all over the world. Public parking is available in Beaverton City Library parking lot, nearby.

Hillsboro

Hillsboro’s first-ever food cart pod, Carts on Main, is also worth the drive. Located in the lot between Amelia’s Exquisite Mexican Dining and Hillsboro Bar and Grill on East Main Street downtown, the new space includes heaters, lighting, plenty of covered tables and room for five food carts. Currently, diners can feast on Mad Greek Deli, Kama’aina Hawaiian plate lunches and Up ’N Smoke BBQ Pit.

people sit and stand at tables in front of large wooden barn
The Barn in Sisters is a gathering place for enjoying local craft brews and sampling from the on-site food trucks. Go for wood-fired pizza sourced from local organic ingredients, Southern barbeque, authentic Mexican food and internationally inspired wraps. Courtesy of The Barn.

Sisters

In this high-desert haven, Daniel St. Lawrence and his wife, Kelly, a community gathering space called The Barn in Sisters in 2021. It features barn design with an indoor, heated seating area, four food trucks and outdoor entertainment spaces. Indulge in Texas-style Pop’s Southern BBQChulitas for Mexican, Wrap Star, with its Asian-Indo wraps, and the owners’ Boone Dog Pizza, which focuses on hyperlocal ingredient sourcing for mouthwatering pies.

Bend

Ah, that fresh high-desert air and blue sky make for an inviting atmosphere for outdoor dining in the warmer months. There’s no lack of options in Bend, a hub of culinary delights to rival any city in the Northwest. Find plenty of family- and pet-friendly indoor/outdoor spaces at a half-dozen food-cart pods including Midtown Yacht Club, Crosscut Warming Hut No. 5, The Podski, River’s Place, On Tap Bend, and The Lot. One thing you can be sure to find at each pod is an amazing selection of local beer, cider and other craft beverages.

McMinnville

In the heart of Oregon wine country, McMinnville has introduced Dine Out(Side), closing 3rd Street to car traffic every weekend (starting at 5 p.m. on Fridays). The downtown avenue transforms into an outdoor dining plaza, with 20 restaurants serving their favorite dishes al fresco including local gems like Nick’s Italian Cafe and Gem Creole Saloon. Nearby the shaded patio and garden of Bistro Maison is another choice for outdoor dining.

Salem

On weekends Oregon’s capital city is closing portions of three streets in the downtown core to allow for more dining space. On State Street, you’ll find local favorites like Ritter’s Housemade Foods, which has added more outdoor sidewalk tables to enjoy an “Oregonzola” burger with rosemary fries. There’s also Wild Pear, for its reliable Northwest cuisine with Asian influences. Taproot Lounge & Cafe — known for healthy bowls, salads and smoothies — has expanded into parking spaces out front and has even added a DJ for a street-party atmosphere. Nearby Court Street is home to brunch destination The Kitchen on Court Street and Venti’s Cafe, where both have placed metal tables and chairs under the illuminated awnings that line the historic district.

Corvallis

Corvallis is home to oodles of fantastic outdoor dining options, and now there is one more. Common Fields is a new food cart pod offering up tasty Mediterranean food, barbecue and baked goods and traditional New Mexican cuisine along with with a kids’ play area, heated covered seating and a bar featuring $5 pours of wine, Oregon craft beer, cider and kombucha. Sustainability is key here, as the vendors source as many local ingredients as possible from the community and required to use only compostable containers and utensils.

Also in Corvallis, you can sit down to a plate of smoked barbecue wings and barbecue street tacos on the large back patio at at Cascade BBQ. You can enjoy some of the best handmade pizza in the state at American Dream Pizza‘s rooftop patio, at the downtown location. And you can see what local ingredients are starring on the menu at Asian-fusion Magenta Restaurant and Bar, run by chef/owner Kimber Hoang.

 

People eat at shaded socially distanced picnic tables.
All year round, Beergarden in Eugene is a tented, family-friendly space to enjoy fare from food trucks and beer taps. (Photo by Melanie Griffin / Eugene, Cascades & Coast)

Eugene

Dozens of downtown Eugene cafes, pubs and wine bars offer cozy seating on sidewalks or former parking spaces surrounded by colorful planter boxes as part of the city’s Streatery program. During the warmer months, get your fill of urban bliss at Streatery locations including Off the Waffle, Tacovore (also locations in Corvallis and Portland) and 16 Tons Cafe. Also in Eugene, 5th Street Public Market is a must-visit spot with plenty of courtyard seating. Grab lunch or a snack from NorthWest Burgers or Handel’s Ice Cream, or classics like Marchė & Le Bar and its sister, Provisions Market Hall. All year round, Beergarden in Eugene is a tented, family-friendly space to enjoy fare from four food trucks (and 42 taps of craft beverages) with contactless service. Come early, as tables fill quickly. 

Springfield, Junction City and Cottage Grove

There’s plenty of outdoor dining outside the city of Eugene, too. Public House in Springfield used to be a church; it’s now a gorgeous pet-friendly space for food pods, a beer hall, an outdoor bar and a whiskey bar. Beer Station in Junction City is a family-friendly brewpub with an array of food trucks outside in their garden area — don’t miss the house-made margarita from their tequila bar. In Cottage Grove, the two outdoor seating areas at Covered Bridge Brewing Group are a welcome retreat, a community gathering space for the brewing as well as Laurel Mountain Coffee, which roasts its small-batch coffee on-site. The ample patio space in front includes custom bike racks; the beer garden in back houses local food trucks for plenty of dining options.

A white tent and iron tables are spaced across a neatly mowed lawn surrounded by flowering trees.
The manicured gardens and romantic decor of Peerless Restaurant will make your outdoor meal feel extra special. (Photo courtesy of Peerless Restaurant)

Grants Pass

As part of Grants Pass’ “Dine in the District” program, the city on the Rogue River is erecting barriers in parking spots downtown to create protected space for more outdoor tables. The summertime initiative is benefiting restaurants like Bohemian Bar & Bistro, a great spot for a glass of Rogue Valley wine on the outdoor patio. Wine bar The Twisted Cork and The Haul, a gastropub around the corner, are also both great spots with expanded outdoor space. 

Ashland

Just south on Interstate 5, you can find plenty of ways to support local businesses in Ashland. Dine and sip in the sunshine with stunning views at Belle Fiore Winery‘s outdoor patio, or in the tented English garden at Ashland Springs Hotel, with dishes from Larks Home Kitchen Cuisine. Peerless Restaurant & Bar is a great spot with manicured gardens, a shaded deck, umbrella tables, a fountain and romantic lighting after dark.

 

About The
Author

Krista Garcia
Krista Garcia is a writer who grew up in Portland and is rediscovering the city after 20 years in New York City. Her work has appeared in Eater, Fodor’s, Serious Eats, The Washington Post and more.

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