Food Cart Culture
Your guide to the food carts and trucks that make Portland a foodie paradise.
Around the world, foodies revere Portland for its legendary cuisine — making it one of the most attractive cities for meeting planners and attendees who seek unique culinary experiences. But in addition to our acclaimed restaurants and James Beard Award-winning chefs, one thing sets our food scene apart.
Well … more like 500 things.
From fried egg sandwiches to hand-pulled noodles, BBQ tacos to wood-fired pizza, Portland’s 500+ food carts and food trucks provide visitors and locals with an astonishing array of unforgettable dining options. There’s a reason Food & Wine crowned Portland the #1 Food Truck City in the U.S. in April 2023! No matter what you’re craving — from grilled cheese to Filipino cuisine — you’ll almost certainly find a unique and affordable take at one of Portland’s many food trucks.
Portland’s food carts pepper the city, with some flying solo on street corners and in parking lots and others coming together to form “food cart pods” that host multiple carts and plenty of places to sit. These pods aren’t just places to eat — they’re also vital parts of Portland’s culture, bringing together diverse neighborhoods, providing venues for community events and strengthening international connections.
Looking to explore Portland’s legendary street food scene or bring carts directly to your event?
Start with Travel Portland’s Food Cart Finder, which makes it easy to find carts by location, cuisine type and dietary need. No matter where you are in the city — and regardless of whether you’re vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free or looking for food that’s kosher or halal — Portland’s Food Cart Finder helps you find the nearest carts and pods. You can also scope out which pods are best for groups, which ones offer heated and covered seating areas, and where you can find pods that serve adult beverages.
Food walking tours are another fun way to discover our food carts and pods. Whether as a group outing or as a break from a meeting, participants can visit a curated selection of popular carts — and get a few bites of unforgettable street food along the way.
While traveling to Portland’s food carts is a delicious way to explore the city, meeting planners can also bring food carts directly to attendees at the outdoor plaza of the Oregon Convention Center. And because the convention center lets meeting planners connect with dozens of food cart owners through a single contact, it’s easy to arrange unique food options for any meeting.
Those staying at hotels in downtown Portland will find themselves just blocks from some of the most popular food cart pods and their dizzying array of food and drink options, including the Third Avenue Food Cart Pod, The Cart Blocks, Carts on the Square at Pioneer Courthouse Square and the Midtown Beer Garden. And those venturing farther can discover the cozy fire pits at pods like Cartopia and the Hawthorne Asylum Food Cart Pod in Southeast Portland, the relaxing vibe of the St. John’s Beer Porch, and the beloved, Latinx-owned Portland Mercado, which offers Cuban, Peruvian, Mayan and Oaxacan cuisine. The long-standing Prost Marketplace food cart pod in the Mississippi neighborhood is beloved by everyone from locals to Condé Nast writers and features a collection of carts including the famed Matt’s BBQ and Koi Fusion.
Whether you’re eating your way across the city or sampling from food carts brought to your event at the Oregon Convention Center, you’ll have an unforgettable culinary experience. Just be warned: Once you discover your new favorite food, Portland cannot be held responsible for future cravings.
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