Search Central Eastside
Across the Willamette River from downtown, this area blends industrial Portland with new restaurants, microbreweries and riverside recreation.
Criss-crossed with train tracks and lined with old industrial factories, some of Portland’s favorite restaurants, boutiques and events call the Central Eastside home. Read on for our recommended things to do and see in Portland’s Central Eastside.
Where to Stay in the Central Eastside
Across the Willamette River from downtown, the Central Eastside area blends industrial Portland with new restaurants, microbreweries and riverside recreation and offers easy access to other central-city and eastside districts.
Place to Eat and Drink in the Central Eastside
You’ll want to start early if you’re looking to try Southeast Portland’s Delicious Donuts. Often selling out before closing, this low-key, family-owned doughnut shop sneaks under the radar in Portland’s food scene. With their flagship coffee shop in the Central Eastside, Water Avenue Coffee roasts interesting blends and single-origin coffee beans, making you an excellent cup.
Credit: James Berrier
With a year-round patio, live music and DJ, and weekend brunch Produce Row Cafe is a gastro-pub you don’t want to miss. A champion of craft beer in Portland since 1978, pair beer with whiskey and a great meal.
One of the neighborhood’s pioneering restaurants, clarklewis makes the most of its light-filled former-loading-dock location, turning out wood-fired delicacies like oak-grilled rib-eye steak served with local chard, creamed corn and oyster mushrooms.
Kachka brings a little bit of the old world to Portland with traditional Russian cuisine (their dumplings are incredible) and vodka samplers where you can try house-infused vodkas in flavors like horseradish and chamomile. Recently, they’ve opened Lavka, as a market with a deli counter daily, though still continuing their fine-dining by evening — so be sure to make a reservation.
For Italian classics and thin-crust pizza, Nostrana brings complex flavors to simple dishes.
With its own creative take on ramen — think rich, meaty broths with fried chicken, oysters and fresh noodles — Boke Bowl has also earned a devoted following. But despite their meaty servings, vegetarians can get in on the action here too, with Korean fried tofu and eggplant — and everyone loves Boke’s daring miso-butterscotch twinkies for dessert.
Perhaps the most nationally recognized name in the neighborhood, Le Pigeon, turns out French-based dishes with a local twist, like the Paris mushroom carpaccio starter and the entrée of smoked scallops with spaghetti and pig’s ear. Guests sit elbow-to-elbow at communal tables here, packing in for a crack at James Beard Award-winning chef Gabriel Rucker’s ever-changing menu.
When night falls, the Central Eastside offers plenty of entertainment. Hipster biker bar White Owl Social Club serves shoestring fries and rave-worthy beet burgers on its expansive patio, where patrons can roast s’mores on tabletop campfires.
What to Do in the Central Eastside
The Central Eastside knows how to have fun any time of day—even if you’re in the office enjoying one of our convenient coworking spaces. Head to Water Avenue, which runs along the Willamette River, and find shops, restaurants and an old — and renewed — business district, which is easy to reach by public transportation, including Portland Streetcar or the MAX Orange Line. Tucked under the Marquam Bridge, OMSI promises fun for all ages, with permanent draws like a four-story movie theater, a planetarium, high-profile traveling exhibitions like Body Worlds and Mythbusters, or special exhibits on everything from retro video games to nanotechnology.
Central Eastside Attractions
Explore five of this district’s distinguishing landmarks and places to visit.
And those who love trains shouldn’t miss the nearby Oregon Rail Heritage Center, which features three steam locomotives and other train antiquities.
If you want to spend more time outdoors, Kerr Bikes rents any style of bike, including a surrey that will hold the whole family. With nearby trails to explore, bike along the Springwater Corridor or Eastbank Esplanade.
The traditional bowling alley gets a reboot at Grand Central Restaurant & Bowling. Giant projection screens play B movies and music videos to accompany the crashing pins and classic arcade games, air hockey and billiards. Order pub grub and signature mojitos straight from a comfy couch by your lane.
Top Attractions and Things to Do
Find a fun way to spend a few hours — or a whole day — in the Central Eastside.
Latino Arts Shine at Milagro in Portland
Milagro Theatre in Portland’s Central Eastside has been home to Latiné-American arts and culture for over 30 years.
Oregon Rail Heritage Center
The free museum features three vintage steam locomotives, including the one that pulled the U.S. Bicentennial Freedom Train in 1976.
OMSI: Portland’s Interactive Science Museum
With its huge exhibit halls, interactive science labs, multiple auditoriums, “After Dark” events and more, the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI) lures visitors of all ages.
You can sing your heart out at Voicebox, a karaoke bar with private rooms, so even shy crooners can slam the door on stage fright thanks to private, soundproof suites. Confidence-boosting beverages like sake cocktails along with pita pizzas and tater tot nachos help feed the need to belt out “Bohemian Rhapsody” until the wee hours. Singers can even order gummy worms and M&Ms by the half-pound — virtually guaranteeing a sweet note to end on.
If you’re in the mood for live music, Central Eastside has many world-class venues from Doug Fir to Holocene. Bunk Bar on Water Avenue, is an intimate, converted warehouse with eclectic bands, pinball, beer and Bunk sandwiches.
Nightlife in the Central Eastside
This area of Portland is a hub for late-night attractions, including cool bars and dance spots.
Shopping in Central Eastside
Fashion Finds
Look out, downtown — East Burnside is beginning to rival the city center as Portland’s fashion hub. Inside a hip, minimalist space, Machus, a tightly curated boutique for men, carries high-end designers from Saturdays NYC to Naked & Famous. Nearby, Una offers a collection of exotic knickknacks, indie clothing and local housewares sourced by thrift-store whiz Giovanna Parolari.
Check out OKO in its new East Burnside location. This small shop specializes in vintage and antique jewelry. It also sells new jewelry by Portland designers, art, a small selection of magical skincare potions and other antiques and rarities.
Books and Trinkets
With plenty of boutiques and small storefronts, Central Eastside provides trinkets of all kinds. The distinctive 811 E. Burnside building, with exposed iron beams and loads of glass storefronts, is home to a handful of fittingly unique shops. Complete a new look at xobruno, which offers one-of-a-kind leather bags. Coy & Co., the city’s first sustainably certified florist shop, is equipped to handle all your floral design needs. It sells hand-tied bouquets, flower subscriptions, robust arrangements and more.
With apparel for hard-working folks, Red Cloud Collective — a group of artists, designers, musicians, woodworkers, motorcycle mechanics, skateboarders and photographers — is full of locally hand-crafted clothing, leather and products.
Mother Foucault’s is a stunning used bookstore, with old-world charms and occasional readings by local or touring independent authors.
More Central Eastside Events
Get to know the Central Eastside neighborhood at these upcoming events.
Portland's Central City
There's a lot more to Portland's urban core than Downtown, a center for retail, restaurants and cultural attractions. Goose Hollow is home to Providence Park soccer stadium, while the Pearl District is famous for upscale bars, boutiques and galleries. Old Town Chinatown offers streetwear shops, Saturday Market and Lan Su Chinese Garden and Northwest/Nob Hill boasts shopping, dining and access to Forest Park and the historic Pittock Mansion. East of the Willamette River, the Central Eastside offers family-friendly attractions, shopping and nightlife, while Lloyd is home to the Oregon Convention Center and the Portland Trail Blazers.
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