Jenni Moore

Jenni is an Alaska-born, Oregon-raised writer living in Portland. Read More

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The Sudra serves plant-based Indian food.

Credit: Justin Katigbak, Travel Portland

Vegan Guide to Portland

From vegan ice cream to fine dining, Portland’s vegan restaurants and businesses make the city a herbivore haven.

Updated Nov. 21, 2023

Jenni Moore

Jenni is an Alaska-born, Oregon-raised writer living in Portland. Read More

When it comes to vegan food — and many special diets — visitors to Portland are spoiled for choice, surrounded by dozens of accommodating food carts, bars and restaurants. And with good reason. More and more people are choosing to go vegan, and many others are incorporating plant-based food into their diets, motivated by animal welfare, health or environmental impact. Unsurprisingly, progressive, sustainable Portland has repeatedly been named one of the best cities for vegans by sources like WalletHub, VegOut and Frommer’s.

Ready to try some of the incredible vegan restaurants Portland has to offer — plus vegan food carts, bakeries, beverages and more? Here’s where to start.

Vegan Pizza in Portland

When it comes to vegan pizza in Portland, you’ll see plant-based pies at non-vegan spots like Sizzle Pie and Hot Lips, but you’ll also find a number of outstanding vegan-only pizzerias. Handcrafted pizza (and ice cream!) are on offer at the Central Eastside’s hip Virtuous Pie.

The personal-sized pies from Secret Pizza Society all feature sauces and cheeses made in-house — nothing’s processed here — and they have fun names like Chalupa Batman and Unruly Child.

For irresistible vegan cheese pulls, hit up Boxcar Pizza, serving Detroit-style pizza with crispy edges of burnt house-made cheese and vegan wings. Boxcar has limited counter seating inside, but it’s located in The Zipper, a food court with indoor and outdoor seating and fire pits. Order your Boxcar pizza, a slice of cake for dessert and play the free “The Simpsons” arcade game or peruse the kitschy vending machine prizes out back while you wait for your order.

Credit: Jenni Moore

Healthy Vegan Food in Portland

With three locations in Portland and one in Lake Oswego, Kure Superfood Cafe is the perfect one-stop shop for a little pick-me-up. From green juices and smoothies to meal shakes and bowls, Kure will load your order with nutrient-dense ingredients like blue spirulina, flax seed, kale, avocado, ginger and coconut water. Try the simple perfection of Lady of the Day: strawberries, pineapple, banana, orange juice, dates and ice.

For a healthy, flavorful meal, look no further than Native Bowl food cart, which uses all vegan, organic and locally sourced ingredients for its Asian-inspired bowls. The real draw is the sauce: bowls come garnished with house-made condiments like lemon-garlic tahini, peanut-ginger sauce and sriracha-lime-Buffalo sauce.

Specializing in all things fermentation, Fermenter serves dishes like fried jojos with koji (a type of edible mold grown on fermented soybeans or rice), a koji beet Rueben with kraut, miso garlic toast and potato salad. Try the Fermenter burger: The house-made millet and black lentil tempeh patty comes slathered with smoked onion shio koji. There’s also a remarkable selection of beer, wine and delicious house beverages like Kefir Kola, kombucha and ginger beer. The space itself — cool and clean, with plenty of patio seating — is the cherry on top.

Credit: Courtesy of Fermenter

Vegan Comfort Food in Portland

Native to Mississippi, Dirty Lettuce chef and owner Alkebulan Moroski offers an entirely vegan menu of Southern comfort foods like Cajun Mac ‘n’ Cheeze, seitan catfish, crispy konjac root bayou fried shrimp and addicting fried cauliflower bites that are reminiscent of popcorn chicken. After an upgrade from a food cart to a brick-and-mortar, the location’s interior was designed as an ode to a Southern general store. No wonder it’s one of the vegan restaurants Portland has fallen in love with.

Located in a white truck in the St. Johns Beer Porch food cart pod, Flourish serves various comfort food fusion dishes, like the Un-Beetable Burger made with beets and lentils, the caprese panini with cashew mozzarella and the Chicky Parm sandwich with marinara, arugula and pesto. (It would behoove you to look out for the next time Nutella doughnuts make an appearance; they are irresistible.) 

Want to go to town on some zesty, filling and flavorful vegan food? Look no further than Plant Based Papi, Jewan Manuel’s wildly popular vegan food-cart-turned-restaurant-pop-up. Try his Nashville Crispy Chick’n Sandwich, Out-N-In Burger or breakfast sandwiches complete with hash browns. Plant Based Papi is currently operating as a residency out of the popular nightclub Fortune’s kitchen while the restaurant space on Morrison undergoes construction. 

Notable for its staggering variety of burger patty and fixings options, Next Level Burger is a fast food joint serving high-quality vegan burgers, fries and coconut milkshakes. Another vegan restaurant doing burgers well is GNARLYS, which also serves classic sides like potato wedges and mozzarella sticks.

Vegan Bars

Originally started in Kapa’a on the island of Kauai in Hawaii, Blossoming Lotus has two locations: a full-service restaurant in Northeast Portland and a counter-style café and juice bar inside the Root Whole Body wellness center in Slabtown. Come here for a fancy brunch that focuses on local, organic ingredients and farm-to-table cooking. 

Inspired by the Andes region, Epif serves up South American cuisine and pisco cocktails — think sopaipillas (fried pumpkin bread), empanadas, soup, polenta cake and quiche. Try the classic pisco sour; Herself the Elf, showcasing cucumber-infused pisco and Ver herbal liqueur; or the curiously named Kitten Snuggles with Capel Pisco, mango and elderflower liqueur. 

Named after a traditional dance reserved for special gatherings in Southern Thailand, where co-owners Nan Chaison and Prae Nobnorb grew up, Norah does vegan and Pan-Asian food with a modern twist. Starting things off with drinks is an already exciting, if a somewhat overwhelming task, whether you’re going for a gin-forward Ty-Basil, or a zero-proof Norah Sour. In fact, it’s hard to say which shines brighter here: the beverages or the food.

Vegans love the Bye and Bye on Northeast Alberta Street for its expansive, thoroughly heated patio and offerings like a meatball sub with almond parmesan, a spicy tofu Weeping Tiger Sandwich and a chili pie served over Fritos. Their weekend brunch boasts waffles, tofu, soyrizo-infused scrambles and a breakfast sausage sandwich. 

In addition to the cozy, dimly lit ambiance, happy hour at Sweet Hearafter includes extensive wine and beer lists, craft cocktails and an all-vegan food menu. Try the lemongrass tofu banh mi or the grilled cheese with added pesto and tomato.

Vegan Bakeries and Sweets

The vegan food Portland offers goes far beyond restaurants — bakeries and other dessert spots get in on the fun too. Gluten-free vegans get their share of sweets in Portland: Petunia’s Pies & Pastries runs a gluten- and animal-free kitchen. Their menu sports savory lunch options and dreamy vegan ice cream sundaes as well as plenty of cupcakes, cookies and doughnuts.

Credit: Travel Portland

The all-vegan doughnut shop and ice creamery Doe Donuts has become a bit of a sensation in Portland. The shop slings rotating seasonal doughnuts like their namesake flavor, Doe, a strawberry glazed doughnut with sprinkles and signature Portland Fog with an Earl Grey glaze. Rotating options have included strawberry shortcake, German chocolate doughnuts, cookies and cream fritters, and matcha cream-filled bomboloni topped with fresh raspberries.

Ice Queen specializes in vegan frozen desserts — paletas (ice pops) in flavors like oat milk horchata, strawberry and mango chamoy. They’ve also got options like “Thiccflurries,” made with soft serve and homemade Rice Krispies treats. 

Head to popular local ice creamery Kate’s Ice Cream for 100% vegan and gluten-free ice cream — scoops, sandwiches and cakes — made with coconut milk.

Vegan Sweetpea Baking Company also offers a terrific savory lunch menu — think hot seitan-stacked sandwiches and cheesy bacon croissants — in addition to an extensive list of pastries and baked goods.

Looking for a place to post up and work remotely from your laptop? Located beside Food Fight Grocery, cozy and bright vegan café Jet Black Coffee Company serves up drinks made with Water Avenue Coffee beans and organic syrups. They also offer baked goods from Shoofly Vegan Bakery, another bakery worth visiting, and non-coffee drinks like Tanglewood Ginger Spiced Chai, kombucha, tea and five different plant-based milks to choose from.

Global Vegan Eats

For the last decade, The Sudra has been serving vegan Indian fusion for Portland’s plant-based community. Diners can choose from a vast vegan menu of sweet and spicy soy “chicken” drumsticks, lentil kofta, chickpea cutlets and pakoras filled with a medley of vegetables. 

Mirisata is trailblazing the city’s vegan Sri Lankan cuisine game. Come here for an assortment of roti, rice and curry bowls and Sri Lankan-Chinese dishes like the Deviled Chick’n, vegan pork or locally made Ota Tofu.

Nestled on the corner of Northeast 17th Avenue and Northeast Killingsworth Street, all-vegan taqueria Mis Tacones plates up succulent made-from-scratch seitan for dishes like their flagship taco trio: cilantro lime, carne asada and al pastor on locally made Three Sisters Nixtamal tortillas, which are hand-pressed-to-order and garnished with pico de gallo and cashew crema. They’ve also got plenty of other options, from empanadas and burritos to chimichangas and nachos. Wash it all down with a margarita, horchata or a Lyn May cocktail made with rum, tequila, grapefruit, pineapple and coconut cream. Paying it forward to the community that uplifted them, Mis Tacones has a free meal program for transgender people of color.

Craving classic submarine sandwiches but with all-vegan ingredients? Head to Rad Magic Subs, another sweet grab-and-go lunch spot sharing a parking lot with Jet Black Coffee Company and Food Fight! Grocery in East Portland. There are plenty of options for traditionalists, like a meatball sub with cashew cream and parmesan or a classic deli-style hoagie, while other sandwiches make use of thick grilled mushrooms and seitan or za’atar-seasoned Ota Tofu. Other non-sandwich items worth trying are the vegan bacon-wrapped dates and skillet-fried polenta cakes. 

Vegan-Friendly Restaurants in Portland

Serving mostly plant-based cuisine alongside a couple of non-vegan options, Victoria Bar has become a hot spot for vegans and non-vegans alike — basically, anyone who loves a spacious patio, Cajun-informed fare and a Princess Bride-themed cocktail. Try their Buffalo cauliflower bites, the vegan fried chicken sandwich and the spicy, effervescent, gin-forward Fire Swamp cocktail.

Southeast Division vegan and vegetarian haunt Kati Portland is a must-visit when you’re craving dairy-free Thai iced tea with coconut milk, vegan pad thai, coconut-forward tom kha soup, street fried rice or garlic pepper tofu. 

Credit: Jenni Moore

Stretch the Noodle food cart’s only vegan option, chao mian with fried Ota Tofu, is worth standing in line for on a weekday afternoon (even in the rain). Inspired by owner Xue Mei’s upbringing in Northern China, Stretch the Noodle’s cuisine is simple, artisanal and mind-blowingly tasty. Watch Mei hand-stretch large hunks of noodle dough to order right in front of you. The noodles are then tossed in a wok with a rainbow of veggies, chili paste and their secret stir-fry sauce. Massive portions make this a perfect meal to share. 

Although it’s located right next to mega-popular fried chicken spot Screen Door, Kopi Coffee House feels like a hidden gem on East Burnside Street. They’re known for their super smooth coconut milks and Southeast Asian coffees like the bestselling Kedai Susu latte with condensed coconut cream, matcha, masala chai and ube lattes. Don’t sleep on other unique drinks like their Cereal Toast Cold Brew. 

Jam on Hawthorne has several vegan bread options and a menu that goes from breakfast wraps to vegan tofu scrambles. Their barbecue tempeh is delicious, and the oatmeal chai blueberry pancakes are indulgent yet nourishing.

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