Whether you’re looking to fill your day, schedule a group outing or are kicking back after the conference winds down, you’ll find plenty to love about Portland’s lauded food-and-drink scene. The fun here ranges from down-home steakhouses to cutting-edge eateries, from stylish coffee shops to neighborhood watering holes — and many are owned by Black entrepreneurs across the city.

Here’s how to make the most of your free time in Portland — for breakfast, lunch, dinner and a nightcap (or two).

A busy day can’t begin without a piping-hot cup of coffee or tea. You’ll find both at Black-owned cafés in Portland’s Old Town Chinatown neighborhood.

The hip Deadstock Coffee roasts its own beans and serves all manner of steaming beverages in a cozy, locker room-inspired café. Here, you'll see sneakers on display, lockers stuffed with merch and works from local artists.

A few blocks away, the elegant Barnes and Morgan is less a straightforward tea shop than a community gathering space that just so happens to serve some of the city’s best teas. Choose among several globetrotting tea blends, browse a curated selection of trendy threads and bask in the shop’s cozy vibes on its plush couches.

Kick Back With Local Beer and Spirits

All over Portland, passionate producers craft spirits and brew award-winning ales and lagers — while creative mixologists relentlessly pursue the perfect cocktail. Sip your way through our nightlife scene at these charming stops.

In Portland’s Foster-Powell neighborhood, Royalty Spirits Distillery is the first Black, woman-owned liquor company in the Pacific Northwest — and serves its whiskey, flavored vodkas, cocktails and more in a relaxed tasting room.

Just down the street sits Assembly Brewing Company . The state’s first Black-owned-and-operated brewery offers an ever-changing lineup of easy-drinking beers alongside a food menu that leans heavily on Detroit-style pizza (a nod to founder George Johnson’s Detroit roots). In early 2024, Assembly opened its second location on Alberta Street in Northeast Portland; several historical markers along the corridor celebrate the people, places and communities that made Alberta a hub of Black business and culture for much of the 20th century.

Across the city, Olive Or Twist is one of Portland’s oldest Black-owned businesses. The chic cocktail lounge, founded by Sam Fowler, sits in the heart of Portland's fashionable Pearl District. There, you'll choose from a lineup of stellar martinis, locally inspired cocktails and a food menu of light Mediterranean bites.

Savor the Flavors of Portland’s Culinary Scene

Portland has changed dramatically in recent years — but you'll still find plenty of old-school cool at Clyde's Prime Rib in the city's Hollywood neighborhood. Open since 1955, the elegant eatery’s fun doesn’t end with a classic steakhouse menu. On weekends, Clyde’s hosts live sets from some of Portland’s jazz and R&B luminaries. For more, watch this video on how the Albina Music Trust is preserving the work of the city's Black musical pioneers — many of whom have performed at Clyde’s.

If you’re hungry for a taste of the city’s modern culinary scene, try for a reservation at the buzzy Kann — the brainchild of James Beard Award-winning chef Gregory Gourdet. Kann opened in 2022, dishing diri ak sos pwa (jasmine rice topped with a red kidney bean sauce), espageti (a hand-made pasta dish most commonly eaten for breakfast) and other iconic Haitian dishes in Southeast Portland.

Once you know the dates of your visit, you’ll want to start planning for a night at Kann; reservations open up at noon Pacific on the first of each month — and are for the following month. (If you want to visit at any point in July, you’ll want to make a reservation on June 1, if possible.) If you miss out, Gourdet's underground lounge Sousòl resides below Kann — and pairs a Caribbean- and Latin American-inspired food menu with flavorful cocktails and expertly crafted non-alcoholic beverages; Sousòl accepts reservations and walk-ins.

For a more laid-back experience, revel in the flavors of Portland’s legendary food-cart scene. The appropriately named J's Cuts & Wraps resides in a cozy pod along Mississippi Avenue — itself a bustling neighborhood teeming with restaurants, bars, boutiques and more — and dishes a hearty blend of burgers, sandwiches and a trio of po'boys — topped with shrimp, catfish or basa fish.

Learn more about Travel Portland.