16 Essential Vegan and Vegetarian Restaurants in Portland (2024)

Waz Wu/Eater Portland

Seitan tacos, miso onigiri, jackfruit curry, fermented cashew cheese, and more

by Waz Wu Updated Jan 5, 2024, 9:51am PST

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| Waz Wu/Eater Portland

Killingsworth’s all-vegan taqueria serves Los Angeles-meets-Baja California style tacos, tortas, nachos, and burritos. Filled with extra juicy made-from-scratch seitan, the trio of cilantro lime, al pastor, and asada tacos— served hand-pressed-to-order Three Sisters Nixtamal tortillas — is one of the shop’s tried-and-true items. Other highlights include elote empanadas drizzled with garlic cashew crema, quesadillas with gooey vegan quesillo, asada-stuffed chimichangas, and cinnamon-dusted buñelos with dulce de leche. Customers will also find La Casa De Mama conchas and Xicha Brewing beers at the taqueria. As a way of giving back to the vegan and LGBTQ communities that supported them since their pop-up days, Polo Bañuelos and Carlos Reynoso offer a pay-it-forward program and free meals for trans people of color.

• Open in Google Maps
• Foursquare

Mis Tacones

As it settles into its Killingsworth space, this former pop-up is quickly becoming one of Portland’s most compelling vegan restaurants. Small plates like deep fried kimchi with botanical pear “honey” and fennel tartar sauce make prime drinking snacks. Meanwhile, the other half of Feral’s menu consists of chefs August Winningham and Ryan Koger’s vegetable-laden comfort fare, such as hand-rolled noodles with spicy lacto-fermented squash ragu and lemony-savory seitan piccata with chanterelles, hakurei turnips, and cabbage-celeriac puree. Helmed by Soul & Craft’s Kianna Bell, the bar program includes many highlights like the bold rye whiskey based Rich Mahogany that arrives with a sprig of torched rosemary and the tropical Chasing the Sun made with coconut fat-washed cachaca and pineapple rum.

• Open in Google Maps

Both Guns Blazing Media

Those in the know have stocked up on Orange & Blossom’s cardamom carrot cakes and rosemary focaccia at farmers markets long before it landed a spot on Killingsworth. The gleaming pastry case is filled with vegan treats like brioche buns swirled with miso butterscotch caramel, chewy-crunchy matcha sugar cookies, and super fudgy buckwheat chocolate truffles. Customers can enjoy slices of buttercream-topped pistachio olive oil cake in the patisserie’s gorgeous nook, with vintage bentwood chairs, a plush burnt orange couch, and dramatic floral wallpaper. Desserts rotate with the seasons as pastry chef Marisa Kroes sources produce, like winter citrus and rhubarb, from Oregon and Washington farms.

• Open in Google Maps

Orange & Blossom

Mississippi’s vegan and gluten-free scoop shop, Kate’s Ice Cream has accrued a following for its coconut cream-based creations, like marionberry cobbler, salted peanut butter brittle, and triple chocolate brownie. If the flavors don’t evoke childhood nostalgia, the cheery pastel-hued shop, complete with rosy ombre tiling and a sunshine yellow door, will. Customers can enjoy scoops in house-made cones, ice cream cookie sandwiches, and warm brownie sundaes topped with rainbow sprinkles and vegan marshmallows. Pick up pints of seasonal flavors and host birthday parties with ice cream cakes at the shop, too.

• Open in Google Maps
• Foursquare

Kate’s Ice Cream

Hailing from Mississippi, Alkebulan Moroskiserves entirely vegan Southern comfort foods made with Moroski’s own shockingly meaty seitan — that come in the form of well spiced crispy-fried “chicken” and breaded “catfish” strips — that will even leave meat eaters mystified. Tangy barbecue ribs and Louisiana “seafood” boils arrive alongside equally delicious sides, like jalapeno poppers, mac and cheese, black-eyed peas, and red beans and rice. The Fremont restaurant also serves as a vegan corner store, carrying Dirty Lettuce’s cornbread mix and coffee blends, as well as snacks, home goods, and pottery from local makers.

• Open in Google Maps
• Foursquare

The former Sudra space at Fremont-Mississippi is now a tropical oasis known as XO Bar. Here, Regi Carter slings whimsical co*cktails with ingredients like butterfly pea gin, cachaça, toasted sesame, and all sorts of tropical fruits — think: passionfruit, lychee, and guava. While the stellar co*cktails alone are worth a visit to XO, Sanjay Chandrasekaran’s drinking snacks — such as jackfruit vindaloo spring rolls and fried misozuke tofu — round out the experience. A good move is to order small plates to share, but hungrier visitors will find heartier options like a barbecue sambol-slathered, tempura-battered “chicken” sandwich. Weekend brunch includes halo halo style breakfast bowl and fried cauliflower and waffles.

• Open in Google Maps

Brooke Jackson-Glidden/Eater Portland

Located within the Zipper, Boxcar Pizza is Portland’s only all-vegan Detroit-style pizzeria serving square pies with a pillowy focaccia-like crust, gooey coconut-based mozzarella, and crispy, caramelized edges. The pies come with marinated “steak,” roasted tomatoes, and house-made chimichurri, or Buffalo “chicken” with generous dollops of dairy-free blue cheese. The shop offers kale Caesar salads and soy drumsticks prime for pairing with pizza, as well as a weekday slice and soda lunch combo. Watch Instagram for specials like the Chiky Parm made with Dirty Lettuce seitan fried chicken and the occasional “return of the rounds” pop-up from Baby Blue Pizza — owner Odie O’Connor’s now-closed wood-fired pizza venture.

• Open in Google Maps

Portland’s only fully vegan dim sum house has now settled permanently into Aimsir Distilling’s Emerald Room, where Cyrus Ichiza serves a Pan-Asian menu representing his multicultural heritage. Diners perched at the U-shaped bar of white marble and turquoise tiles nibble on chile oil wontons, char siu bao, and bunny-shaped bawan dumplings that are almost indistinguishable from their meaty counterparts thanks to fermented soy protein. In addition to traditional gaiwan oolong tea service, the drink menu includes aquavit-rhubarb Negronis, gin and tonics tinged with pink peppercorn, and pours of junmai sake. Those looking for larger dishes can choose from mapo tofu, adobo chicken, and a 13-herb noodle soup before digging into chewy five spice mochi doughnuts for dessert.

• Open in Google Maps

Built around a giant tree limb, Epif offers a vegan twist on traditionally meat- and seafood-heavy South American fare. Pepe Arancibia slings small plates like baked empanadas with house ají verde salsa, pimentones rellenos (stuffed pickled sweet peppers), and sopaipillas, fried pumpkin bread drizzled with apple juice-based vegan apple honey. The bar program focuses on infused pisco co*cktails, but also includes thoughtfully balanced mocktails, like the pineapple-ginger-lime Tropic Topic. The warm, intimate dining room — accented with repurposed materials, an antique front door from Peru, and a colorful mural depicting a magical llama —makes for an excellent date night spot on 28th Avenue’s restaurant row.

• Open in Google Maps
• Foursquare

Waz Wu/Eater Portland

Wrapped in floral wallpaper that channels a moody Palm Springs vibe, Fortune is the place to catch vegan co*cktails and snacks, while DJs spin tunes beneath the neon “We Back” sign. The downtown nightclub offers Buddy’s Steaks mozzarella sticks with marinara, Thrilling Foods bacon-wrapped dates, In-N-Out style burgers, and rosemary garlic shoestring fries to pair with co*cktails like serrano-infused Oaxacan Garden and blackberry-rosemary-mezcal Condessa Shuffle. The winter menu includes ultra creamy vegan mac and cheeses — available as classic, pesto, and chipotle bacon — from former food cart Macaroni in a Pot.

• Open in Google Maps
• Foursquare

Waz Wu/Eater Portland

Obon Shokudo found success at farmers markets before opening its restaurant on Grand Avenue. Humiko Hozumi and Jason Duffany specialize in vegan Japanese homestyle fare, like bouncy handmade udon noodles (including a gluten-free version) and kenchinjiru miso vegetable stew. One of the restaurant’s greatest hits is its Japanese vegetable curry, served with sprouted brown rice and panko-breaded tofu katsu. However, another great way to experience Obon is to nibble through a bento of curried korokke, kakiage fritter, extra large panko-crusted tater tot, and umeboshi pickled plum onigiri, while sipping on a sake flight. And the dog sushi freebie is always a hit among Portland pups.

• Open in Google Maps
• Foursquare

Formerly known as Workshop, Aaron Adams’s fancy vegan restaurant enters the new year rebranded as Astera — a vegan dining experience revolving around the “horticultural cuisine of Cascadia.” Similar to Workshop and the influential (and now closed) Farm Spirit, the menu utilizes locally farmed and foraged seasonal produce. Additionally, ingredients like smoked onion shio koji and fermented habanero are evocative of its fermentation-centric sister restaurant Fermenter. The symphony of vegetable courses vary, depending on what’s in season, but one can expect savory dishes like broken kabocha squash and black trumpet mushroom broth with kelp oil and sweets like celeriac ice cream with sunchoke caramel and roasted apple puree. Astera is by reservation only.

• Open in Google Maps

Astera

This vegan restaurant on Belmont references owners Ketsuda Nan Chaison and Prae Nobnorb’s Southern Thai roots, but the menu is a mix of small plates, noodles, and rice dishes with a mixture of Asian flavors — not just Thai influences. A full meal can be built out of starters like larb croquettes on cucumber rounds and lime aioli drizzled massaman curry samosas. However, Norah’s entrees, like the creamy mushroom linguine with coconut-galangal sauce, sweet-tangy-spicy pad thai, and roasted cauliflower curry are not worth missing. Several of the co*cktails come in nonalcoholic form as well, like the frothy aquafaba-based pink guava Norah Sour and fittingly named cucumber-forward Find Me In The Garden.

• Book with OpenTable
• Open in Google Maps
• Foursquare

Waz Wu/Eater Portland

Collectively owned by its employees, this vegan pop-up turned restaurant on Belmont made a splash in Portland with Sri Lankan plates and street eats, including spicy pigeon pea fritters and curried jackfruit-potato croquettes. Available as a plate or family-style meal, the rice and curry, with house-made sides and relishes like deviled potatoes and coconut sambol, is the heart of Mirisata’s menu. The slow-simmered vegetable curries rotate weekly, but “meatier” ones made with jackfruit, Impossible meatballs, and soy-gluten chicken are always available. The restaurant also serves Sri Lankan Chinese dishes, like deviled soy curl “pork” stir-fried with chunks of banana pepper, served over fried rice. For lunch, a sweet-and-spicy “chicken” club sandwich with classic tomato soup from Mirisata side project Cooper’s Vegan is a tasty option.

• Open in Google Maps
• Foursquare

Ice Queen’s Hosford-Abernethy storefront — decked out with bubble lettering window decals, a colorful paleta display, pastel-hued coolers, and a chocolate dipping well — is as whimsical as Rebecca Smith’s popsicle flavors. Fan favorites include creamy oat milk horchata, sweet and salty mango chamoy, and the tangy pickle paleta. The paletas are a wonderful treat on their own, but even better with chocolate sprinkles, salty pretzels, and gooey caramel from the toppings bar. Beyond paletas, the shop is home to all things frozen, including pineapple Dole Whip style soft serve, McFlurry-inspired thiccflurries, and chocolate dipped bananas. Ice Queen paletas are also available at vegan restaurants and local retailers.

• Open in Google Maps

Ice Queen

A vegan gem in the Creston-Kenilworth neighborhood, this shop features the most impressive collection of dairy-free cheeses in town. Brought to you by Brittany and Ryan Snipes — the same folks behind package-free grocery store The Realm Refillery — Vtopian specializes in cultured cashew cheeses in flavors like umami rich black garlic, creamy rainbow peppercorn brie, and a grateable sharp aged white cheddar. The display case also carries some of the biggest vegan cheese names in the country, including Rebel Cheese, Cheeze & Thank You, and Rind Cheese. Customers will even find seaweed caviar, tinned celeriac fish, and fig salami here. Over on Belmont, Vtopian’s food cart Unwind serves cheese plates and handmade pasta, like brown butter squash pappardelle, at Company wine bar.

• Open in Google Maps

Vtopian Cheese Shop

Killingsworth’s all-vegan taqueria serves Los Angeles-meets-Baja California style tacos, tortas, nachos, and burritos. Filled with extra juicy made-from-scratch seitan, the trio of cilantro lime, al pastor, and asada tacos— served hand-pressed-to-order Three Sisters Nixtamal tortillas — is one of the shop’s tried-and-true items. Other highlights include elote empanadas drizzled with garlic cashew crema, quesadillas with gooey vegan quesillo, asada-stuffed chimichangas, and cinnamon-dusted buñelos with dulce de leche. Customers will also find La Casa De Mama conchas and Xicha Brewing beers at the taqueria. As a way of giving back to the vegan and LGBTQ communities that supported them since their pop-up days, Polo Bañuelos and Carlos Reynoso offer a pay-it-forward program and free meals for trans people of color.

• Open in Google Maps
• Foursquare

Mis Tacones

As it settles into its Killingsworth space, this former pop-up is quickly becoming one of Portland’s most compelling vegan restaurants. Small plates like deep fried kimchi with botanical pear “honey” and fennel tartar sauce make prime drinking snacks. Meanwhile, the other half of Feral’s menu consists of chefs August Winningham and Ryan Koger’s vegetable-laden comfort fare, such as hand-rolled noodles with spicy lacto-fermented squash ragu and lemony-savory seitan piccata with chanterelles, hakurei turnips, and cabbage-celeriac puree. Helmed by Soul & Craft’s Kianna Bell, the bar program includes many highlights like the bold rye whiskey based Rich Mahogany that arrives with a sprig of torched rosemary and the tropical Chasing the Sun made with coconut fat-washed cachaca and pineapple rum.

• Open in Google Maps

Both Guns Blazing Media

Those in the know have stocked up on Orange & Blossom’s cardamom carrot cakes and rosemary focaccia at farmers markets long before it landed a spot on Killingsworth. The gleaming pastry case is filled with vegan treats like brioche buns swirled with miso butterscotch caramel, chewy-crunchy matcha sugar cookies, and super fudgy buckwheat chocolate truffles. Customers can enjoy slices of buttercream-topped pistachio olive oil cake in the patisserie’s gorgeous nook, with vintage bentwood chairs, a plush burnt orange couch, and dramatic floral wallpaper. Desserts rotate with the seasons as pastry chef Marisa Kroes sources produce, like winter citrus and rhubarb, from Oregon and Washington farms.

• Open in Google Maps

Orange & Blossom

Mississippi’s vegan and gluten-free scoop shop, Kate’s Ice Cream has accrued a following for its coconut cream-based creations, like marionberry cobbler, salted peanut butter brittle, and triple chocolate brownie. If the flavors don’t evoke childhood nostalgia, the cheery pastel-hued shop, complete with rosy ombre tiling and a sunshine yellow door, will. Customers can enjoy scoops in house-made cones, ice cream cookie sandwiches, and warm brownie sundaes topped with rainbow sprinkles and vegan marshmallows. Pick up pints of seasonal flavors and host birthday parties with ice cream cakes at the shop, too.

• Open in Google Maps
• Foursquare

Kate’s Ice Cream

Hailing from Mississippi, Alkebulan Moroskiserves entirely vegan Southern comfort foods made with Moroski’s own shockingly meaty seitan — that come in the form of well spiced crispy-fried “chicken” and breaded “catfish” strips — that will even leave meat eaters mystified. Tangy barbecue ribs and Louisiana “seafood” boils arrive alongside equally delicious sides, like jalapeno poppers, mac and cheese, black-eyed peas, and red beans and rice. The Fremont restaurant also serves as a vegan corner store, carrying Dirty Lettuce’s cornbread mix and coffee blends, as well as snacks, home goods, and pottery from local makers.

• Open in Google Maps
• Foursquare

The former Sudra space at Fremont-Mississippi is now a tropical oasis known as XO Bar. Here, Regi Carter slings whimsical co*cktails with ingredients like butterfly pea gin, cachaça, toasted sesame, and all sorts of tropical fruits — think: passionfruit, lychee, and guava. While the stellar co*cktails alone are worth a visit to XO, Sanjay Chandrasekaran’s drinking snacks — such as jackfruit vindaloo spring rolls and fried misozuke tofu — round out the experience. A good move is to order small plates to share, but hungrier visitors will find heartier options like a barbecue sambol-slathered, tempura-battered “chicken” sandwich. Weekend brunch includes halo halo style breakfast bowl and fried cauliflower and waffles.

• Open in Google Maps

Brooke Jackson-Glidden/Eater Portland

Located within the Zipper, Boxcar Pizza is Portland’s only all-vegan Detroit-style pizzeria serving square pies with a pillowy focaccia-like crust, gooey coconut-based mozzarella, and crispy, caramelized edges. The pies come with marinated “steak,” roasted tomatoes, and house-made chimichurri, or Buffalo “chicken” with generous dollops of dairy-free blue cheese. The shop offers kale Caesar salads and soy drumsticks prime for pairing with pizza, as well as a weekday slice and soda lunch combo. Watch Instagram for specials like the Chiky Parm made with Dirty Lettuce seitan fried chicken and the occasional “return of the rounds” pop-up from Baby Blue Pizza — owner Odie O’Connor’s now-closed wood-fired pizza venture.

• Open in Google Maps

Portland’s only fully vegan dim sum house has now settled permanently into Aimsir Distilling’s Emerald Room, where Cyrus Ichiza serves a Pan-Asian menu representing his multicultural heritage. Diners perched at the U-shaped bar of white marble and turquoise tiles nibble on chile oil wontons, char siu bao, and bunny-shaped bawan dumplings that are almost indistinguishable from their meaty counterparts thanks to fermented soy protein. In addition to traditional gaiwan oolong tea service, the drink menu includes aquavit-rhubarb Negronis, gin and tonics tinged with pink peppercorn, and pours of junmai sake. Those looking for larger dishes can choose from mapo tofu, adobo chicken, and a 13-herb noodle soup before digging into chewy five spice mochi doughnuts for dessert.

• Open in Google Maps

Built around a giant tree limb, Epif offers a vegan twist on traditionally meat- and seafood-heavy South American fare. Pepe Arancibia slings small plates like baked empanadas with house ají verde salsa, pimentones rellenos (stuffed pickled sweet peppers), and sopaipillas, fried pumpkin bread drizzled with apple juice-based vegan apple honey. The bar program focuses on infused pisco co*cktails, but also includes thoughtfully balanced mocktails, like the pineapple-ginger-lime Tropic Topic. The warm, intimate dining room — accented with repurposed materials, an antique front door from Peru, and a colorful mural depicting a magical llama —makes for an excellent date night spot on 28th Avenue’s restaurant row.

• Open in Google Maps
• Foursquare

Waz Wu/Eater Portland

Wrapped in floral wallpaper that channels a moody Palm Springs vibe, Fortune is the place to catch vegan co*cktails and snacks, while DJs spin tunes beneath the neon “We Back” sign. The downtown nightclub offers Buddy’s Steaks mozzarella sticks with marinara, Thrilling Foods bacon-wrapped dates, In-N-Out style burgers, and rosemary garlic shoestring fries to pair with co*cktails like serrano-infused Oaxacan Garden and blackberry-rosemary-mezcal Condessa Shuffle. The winter menu includes ultra creamy vegan mac and cheeses — available as classic, pesto, and chipotle bacon — from former food cart Macaroni in a Pot.

• Open in Google Maps
• Foursquare

Waz Wu/Eater Portland

Obon Shokudo found success at farmers markets before opening its restaurant on Grand Avenue. Humiko Hozumi and Jason Duffany specialize in vegan Japanese homestyle fare, like bouncy handmade udon noodles (including a gluten-free version) and kenchinjiru miso vegetable stew. One of the restaurant’s greatest hits is its Japanese vegetable curry, served with sprouted brown rice and panko-breaded tofu katsu. However, another great way to experience Obon is to nibble through a bento of curried korokke, kakiage fritter, extra large panko-crusted tater tot, and umeboshi pickled plum onigiri, while sipping on a sake flight. And the dog sushi freebie is always a hit among Portland pups.

• Open in Google Maps
• Foursquare

Formerly known as Workshop, Aaron Adams’s fancy vegan restaurant enters the new year rebranded as Astera — a vegan dining experience revolving around the “horticultural cuisine of Cascadia.” Similar to Workshop and the influential (and now closed) Farm Spirit, the menu utilizes locally farmed and foraged seasonal produce. Additionally, ingredients like smoked onion shio koji and fermented habanero are evocative of its fermentation-centric sister restaurant Fermenter. The symphony of vegetable courses vary, depending on what’s in season, but one can expect savory dishes like broken kabocha squash and black trumpet mushroom broth with kelp oil and sweets like celeriac ice cream with sunchoke caramel and roasted apple puree. Astera is by reservation only.

• Open in Google Maps

Astera

This vegan restaurant on Belmont references owners Ketsuda Nan Chaison and Prae Nobnorb’s Southern Thai roots, but the menu is a mix of small plates, noodles, and rice dishes with a mixture of Asian flavors — not just Thai influences. A full meal can be built out of starters like larb croquettes on cucumber rounds and lime aioli drizzled massaman curry samosas. However, Norah’s entrees, like the creamy mushroom linguine with coconut-galangal sauce, sweet-tangy-spicy pad thai, and roasted cauliflower curry are not worth missing. Several of the co*cktails come in nonalcoholic form as well, like the frothy aquafaba-based pink guava Norah Sour and fittingly named cucumber-forward Find Me In The Garden.

• Book with OpenTable
• Open in Google Maps
• Foursquare

Waz Wu/Eater Portland

Collectively owned by its employees, this vegan pop-up turned restaurant on Belmont made a splash in Portland with Sri Lankan plates and street eats, including spicy pigeon pea fritters and curried jackfruit-potato croquettes. Available as a plate or family-style meal, the rice and curry, with house-made sides and relishes like deviled potatoes and coconut sambol, is the heart of Mirisata’s menu. The slow-simmered vegetable curries rotate weekly, but “meatier” ones made with jackfruit, Impossible meatballs, and soy-gluten chicken are always available. The restaurant also serves Sri Lankan Chinese dishes, like deviled soy curl “pork” stir-fried with chunks of banana pepper, served over fried rice. For lunch, a sweet-and-spicy “chicken” club sandwich with classic tomato soup from Mirisata side project Cooper’s Vegan is a tasty option.

• Open in Google Maps
• Foursquare

Ice Queen’s Hosford-Abernethy storefront — decked out with bubble lettering window decals, a colorful paleta display, pastel-hued coolers, and a chocolate dipping well — is as whimsical as Rebecca Smith’s popsicle flavors. Fan favorites include creamy oat milk horchata, sweet and salty mango chamoy, and the tangy pickle paleta. The paletas are a wonderful treat on their own, but even better with chocolate sprinkles, salty pretzels, and gooey caramel from the toppings bar. Beyond paletas, the shop is home to all things frozen, including pineapple Dole Whip style soft serve, McFlurry-inspired thiccflurries, and chocolate dipped bananas. Ice Queen paletas are also available at vegan restaurants and local retailers.

• Open in Google Maps

Ice Queen

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A vegan gem in the Creston-Kenilworth neighborhood, this shop features the most impressive collection of dairy-free cheeses in town. Brought to you by Brittany and Ryan Snipes — the same folks behind package-free grocery store The Realm Refillery — Vtopian specializes in cultured cashew cheeses in flavors like umami rich black garlic, creamy rainbow peppercorn brie, and a grateable sharp aged white cheddar. The display case also carries some of the biggest vegan cheese names in the country, including Rebel Cheese, Cheeze & Thank You, and Rind Cheese. Customers will even find seaweed caviar, tinned celeriac fish, and fig salami here. Over on Belmont, Vtopian’s food cart Unwind serves cheese plates and handmade pasta, like brown butter squash pappardelle, at Company wine bar.

• Open in Google Maps

Vtopian Cheese Shop

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