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  • Things to Do in Portland
    • Close Menu
      • three women walk through rows of rosesView All Things to Do in Portland
      • Parks & Gardens
      • Kid-Friendly Activities
      • Shopping
      • Food Carts & Pods Finder
      • On a Budget
      • EVEN MORE THINGS TO DO
  • Culture
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      • a person in bright clothes and high-heeled boots vogues in front of a park fountain, surrounded by manicured rose bushesView All Culture
      • Arts
      • Beer
      • Biking
      • Cannabis
      • Cultural Communities
      • Craft Spirits
      • Food
      • Makers
      • Music
      • Nightlife
      • Outdoors
      • Sports
      • Weird
      • Wine
      • MORE CULTURE
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      • aerial view of downtown area with buildings and roadways, bridges crossing a river to a smaller set of buildings that expand into the distanceView All Neighborhoods
      • Alberta Arts District
      • Belmont
      • Central Eastside
      • Division/Clinton
      • Downtown
      • Hawthorne
      • Lloyd
      • Mississippi
      • Northwest / Nob Hill
      • Old Town Chinatown
      • Pearl District
      • St. Johns
      • Sellwood-Moreland
      • Williams
      • ALL NEIGHBORHOODS
  • Region
    • Close Menu
      • aerial view of the countryside and coastal range with an old rail bridge turned bike and walking pathView All Region
      • Near the City
      • Columbia River Gorge
      • Mount Hood
      • Oregon Coast
      • Willamette Valley
      • ALL REGIONS
  • Plan Your Trip
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      • Portland Maps
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      • Where to Stay in Portland
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Emilly Prado

Emilly Prado

Emilly Prado is a writer, award-winning journalist and consultant living in Portland. Read More

a sunlit and orderly store is filled with food items
i
Find African culinary souvenirs from tinned fish to imported sodas and satisfy even the most discerning foodies at Mama Pauline’s in the Alberta Arts District.
Credit: Emily Prado
Culture / Food

A Guide to Specialty Groceries in Portland

These local grocers specializing in vegan hot dogs, chef-made hummus, imported sea salt and more showcase the distinct quality and range that can be found in Portland’s specialty products.

Updated Dec. 31, 2024 4 min read
Emilly Prado

Emilly Prado

Emilly Prado is a writer, award-winning journalist and consultant living in Portland. Read More

In Portland, where neighborhood delis, mom-and-pop shops and retailers abound, small and slow boutique food shopping can feel refreshing, comforting and even revolutionary in a landscape of ever-enlarging big-box grocery stores. These specialty grocers, with their focus on quality and ethical ingredients, make the case that bigger isn’t always better. Grab a bite to eat, pack your own artisanal charcuterie board for a picnic, or pick up some gourmet gifts for foodies.

The Meadow

A bite of steak sprinkled with finishing salt planted the seed for what would later become The Meadow, a charming artisan goods shop created by Mark Bitterman in 2006 — a whopping two decades after that bite of steak. Bitterman’s fateful experience blended with his passion for travel, and he journeyed to meet salt makers around the globe. Today he’s an award-winning author of several books, including Salted: A Manifesto on the World’s Most Essential Mineral with Recipes. He still operates The Meadow, which has since grown to three locations in Portland (Mississippi, Hawthorne and NW 23rd) and another in New York City.

No matter which Meadow location you pop into, enthusiastic shopkeepers will guide you through their stock: salts, chocolate, bitters and flowers. But be warned: The Meadow, akin to the salt bite, can feel transcendental, leaving you with sudden expertise on the versatility of salt block cooking and the impact on farmers and shoppers alike from direct-trade retail. If you want to buy it all but aren’t sure where to start, you can’t go wrong with their curated gift boxes, with themes like “Oregon foodie,” “pantry essentials,” and cocktail kits.

Providore Fine Foods

At first glance, Providore Fine Foods might appear to be an ordinary (albeit strikingly elegant and friendly) neighborhood grocer, but a closer look reveals this Portland institution, which opened in 2016, is actually a collective of several businesses — each bringing their expertise and artistry to the floor.

Pastaworks, a European-inspired market that has flourished in Portland since 1983, is the central tenant at Providore, and they stock an array of fresh pasta and excellently prepared salads in the deli case. Rubinette Produce brings in fruits and vegetables from local farms, Revel Meat Co. runs the locally sourced butcher shop, and bouquets by Hilary Horvath Flowers line the check-out counter. Providore’s footprint nearly doubled in 2021 with additional market space housing an expansive wine bar and bottle shop. There’s more to the store; an in-person peruse is the best way to fully take in Providore’s mouthwatering stock of imported and regional pantry goods.

The collaborative approach to curation makes for an exquisite experience for visitors and the perfect place to stock up for a picnic at your favorite Portland park. We suggest pairing the experience with Comedy in the Park at Laurelhurst Park or a hike to Mount Tabor, a dormant volcano with sweeping city views.

two hands pull apart a savory pastry over a plate of food
Indulge in the chef-run deli at World Foods in the Pearl District and savor flaky Mediterranean pastries, falafel and fresh-made hummus.

Credit: Emily Prado

Mama Pauline’s African Market

Every inch of Mama Pauline’s African Market is packed with global products from Ethiopia to the Ivory Coast and Cameroon to the Caribbean. The main room of the store is lined with floor-to-ceiling shelves of spices, condiments and tomato- and olive-oil-drowned tinned fish. A small but mighty selection of produce brims with fresh plantains, yams, cassava and more. Cool off with chilled imported drinks like Jamaican citrus soda Ting or UK-made Lucozade, and find specialty meat and fish items like cubed goat, cow skin and tilapia in the freezer.

In the back, a gorgeous array of bangles and vibrant clothing is displayed next to impressive sky-high racks of high-quality, hard-to-find staple grains and flours — including the owner’s own brand — like parboiled rice, garri, banku mix (a blend of fermented white corn and cassava flour) and egusi.

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World Foods

World Foods is a grocery store made for getting lost in. It isn’t a maze, by any means, but rather the wide variety of products, commercial orange juice squeezer, and an entire aisle dedicated to chocolate are experiences meant to be savored. You can settle in for a glass of wine from a bountiful selection, sip kombucha on tap, or warm yourself up with a golden milk latte. But perhaps all the aforementioned activities are best spent leading up to a trip to the chef-run deli, which features countless savory and sweet hot and cold case options created by chef Mirna Attar — the same chef and owner of Portland’s famed Ya Hala Lebanese restaurant. The saying goes, “If a tree falls in a forest, and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?” but I wonder instead, “If a shopper makes a trip to World Foods but doesn’t stop by the deli counter, does it even count as a visit?”

Food, Shopping

Even More Specialty Grocers

Continue your international food tour by making stops at these destinations:

  • La Oaxaqueña

    After picking up Southern Mexican staples like queso Oaxaca and prepared mole at this specialty store focusing on goods from the state of Oaxaca, top off your visit with a delectable regional meal of handmade corn tortillas, fresh salsas and exceptionally moist, steamy banana-leaf-wrapped tamales.

  • Roman Russian Food Store

    This market focusing on Eastern European fare has a robust assortment of produce and frozen goods like dumplings, but the prepared foods section is a cut above the rest. Stock up on fresh-baked rye, hot piroshki, house-smoked salmon and deli case staples like cabbage salad, sauerkraut and maraschino cherry-topped cakes.

  • Tang Sang Tropical Fruit

    You can eat the international rainbow at this fresh tropical fruit shop. Check their Facebook page, updated almost daily, to see the latest produce shipments, which range from Malaysian rambutan and Hawaiian papaya to colossal, never-frozen Thai durian.

  • La Bouffe International Gourmet

    This cozy family-owned market in Montavilla is known for an excellent selection of European and South American wines and beer, fresh flatbread, delicacies like labneh, and a robust assortment of Spanish extra virgin olive oil varieties.

  • Food Fight Grocery

    An all-vegan grocery store specializing in vegan junk food like chips, cheese, meat alternatives, candy and soft-serve, Food Fight also has small produce and bulk sections.

  • Cowbell

    Behind an unassuming garage door lies Cowbell, a small cheese shop that packs a powerful punch. Cowbell stocks 75 cheeses by the best cheesemongers in the world plus baguettes, olive oils, jams and international sweets.

  • Hong Phat

    In this popular Asian grocery store find fresh and live seafood, a large selection of fresh tropical fruits and herbs, and a deli serving up Asian smoothies, Bahn mi, and more.

  • Kachka Lavka

    Nestled above popular Central Eastside spot Kachka, this market and deli counter serves breakfast, brunch and lunch. When you’ve eaten your fill, peruse their extensive selection of wine, cheese, bread and more.

  • Lily Market

    Open since 1983, this family-owned grocery store is stocked with Asian favorites, gifts and household items. The deli boasts house made hot dishes like pad Thai and fried rice, prepared daily in small batches.

  • Wellspent Market

    What started with a search for olive oil has grown into today’s Wellspent Market, a unique “supply room” for stocking your pantry with the very best cooking ingredients sourced from around the world.

Finding Good Eats in Portland

Eating well in the Rose City is a given, it's just a matter of choosing.

a chef stands in a small open kitchen

James Beard Award-Winning Chefs

With such a highly praised and delicious food scene, it comes as no surprise that Portland chefs have racked up a few James Beard Awards over the years.

two people eating food and drinking wine at a picnic table during a busy food festival

Portland for Foodies: Three Days of Dining

There’s a reason foodies flock to Portland restaurants and bars — follow our three-day tour de fork for an ample taste of the best food city in America.

A biscuit sandwich on a plate

Portland’s Favorite Dishes

This guide to the best of Portland food gives details about the city’s most iconic dishes. Savor each of these local-favorite foods one bite at a time.

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