Benjamin Tepler

Benjamin Tepler is Portland Monthly magazine's associate editor. Read More

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Diners enjoy authentic Japanese ramen at Marukin, inside Pine Street Market.

Credit: Alan Weiner

Pine Street Market

This chef-driven food hall brings diverse dining options to Old Town.

Updated Oct. 20, 2019 2 min read Downtown

Benjamin Tepler

Benjamin Tepler is Portland Monthly magazine's associate editor. Read More

Portland may not invent every foodie trend — but we do tend to perfect them. Take Pine Street Market, opened in May 2016, for example. Set in Old Town Chinatown, downtown’s oldest quarter, this chef-driven emporium is Portland’s answer to the kind of modern “food halls” that have drawn gastronomic raves in New York City, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C.

Open from early morning to late night every day, Pine Street makes a great lunch stop for visitors staying in downtown hotels or exploring the nearby Portland Saturday Market, Voodoo Doughnut or Stumptown Coffee.

Among the market’s tenants, you can delight in a new soft-serve ice cream venture from Salt & Straw (called Wiz Bang Bar), savor Olympia Provisions’ classic bratwurst or a German pretzel at their new annex, and sip meticulously roasted coffee from Barista’s Brass Bar. Checkerboard Pizza, helmed by James Beard Award-winning author and baker Ken Forkish, offers croissants, breads and pizza while Kim Jong Smokehouse, a star-st\udded collaboration between Kim Jong Grillin’s Han Ly Huang, BJ Smith (formerly of now-closed Smokehouse Tavern) and Earl Ninsom of acclaimed Thai eatery Langbaan, serves up a smokey twist on Korean BBQ.

Pine Street’s culinary curator (yes, that’s a real job in Portland), Mike Thelin, who co-founded the city’s popular Feast Portland festival, has also wooed far-flung talent, including legendary Tokyo-based ramen shop Marukin. It all adds up to what feels like a kind of permanent food festival. Best of all: It’s good for the city.

“Pine Street marks the beginning of a total reimagining for the most iconic and historic heart of Portland,” says Thelin.

That makes Pine Street’s story all the more delicious.