Food & Drink

Check Out These Portland Restaurants & Bars to Make the Most of Your Memorial Day 2024 Staycation

Tropicale, Hey Love, and More
May 23, 2024
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Soak up the sun with a piña colada inside a hollowed-out pineapple at Tropicale. (Tropicale)
If a trip to somewhere warm and beachy simply isn't in the cards for you right now, don't discount the power of the staycation. These local restaurants and bars will make you feel transported—minus the hassle of airports or Memorial Day weekend traffic. Read on for details on local spots that should be on your bucket list if they're not already, and find even more options in our food and drink guide.


The Deck List
This seasonal floating restaurant reopened its doors earlier this month, just in time for al fresco dining season. Not only that, but they've also added a new dessert menu and Sunday brunch to their offerings. Channel your inner Jimmy Buffett while kicking back with some calamari and a margarita and enjoy the waterfront view.
Sunderland

Eem List
This wildly popular Thai barbecue spot, run by Shipwreck List owner Eric Nelson, Langbaan List and Hat Yai List owner Earl Ninsom, and Matt's BBQ owner Matt Vicedomini, has enjoyed plenty of praise from local media. As Andrea Damewood writes, "You cannot go wrong in ordering, from the hot fried cauliflower to the divine brisket in white curry to the fried rice with burnt ends. And both the cocktails and mocktails are some of the best in town—my favorite [is the] piña colada, made with coffee and salt to keep it from being too cloying." 
Boise

GrindWitTryz List
The buzzworthy Hawaiian cart-turned-restaurant GrindWitTryz, which moved into a bigger location earlier this year, possesses an ardent following for its Oahu-style cuisine, with dishes like fried chicken, kalua pig, spicy ahi poke, "Hawaiian nachos," and loco moco.
Cully

Hey Love List
This '70s-themed bar and restaurant inside the Jupiter NEXT Hotel describes itself as a "portal to somewhere else entirely—somewhere friendly, warm and a little mysterious" and a "vacation with no stamp in your passport," so it's a natural fit for your staycation itinerary. Admire the abundance of lush greenery while sipping on a salty oolong mango Mai Tai or a booze-spiked pineapple Dole whip slushie.
Buckman

Island Cafe List
Since 1989, this colorful floating shack on Hayden Island has brought joy to guests traveling by both land and sea. Enjoy a cocktail garnished with a paper umbrella and allow yourself to be transported by the island vibes.
Hayden Island

Kann List Sousòl List
Top Chef star Gregory Gourdet's acclaimed wood-fired Haitian restaurant, which took home a James Beard Award for Best New Restaurant last year, serves up dishes like akra (crispy taro root fritters), coffee-rubbed and smoked beef ribs, and twice-cooked griyo (Haitian fried pork). If you can't get in, venture downstairs for the subterranean bar Sousòl (Haitian Creole for "basement"), which offers a wide variety of pan-Caribbean cocktails and zero-proof drinks.
Buckman

Oma's Hideaway List
Thomas and Mariah Pisha-Duffly's vibrant tribute to Thomas's grandmother Kiong Tien Vandenberg takes inspiration from the cuisine of Southeast Asia, especially the street foods of Singapore and Malaysia. The menu includes playful items like corn fritters, salted egg yolk curry fries, "Filet-O-Fishball" sandwiches, and Fruity Pebble Rice Krispies treats, in addition to drinks like Mai Tai slushies and a grown-up take on the Shirley Temple with five-spice ume grenadine, Sanbitter aperitivo, soda, and a Sichuan Tajín-dusted rim.
Hollywood, Richmond

Palomar List
This spot from owner Ricky Gomez, chef Ricky Bella, and bar manager Jordan Valls channels the flavors of Cuba, slinging daiquiris, piña coladas, and mango lassis alongside lechon con mojo and jackfruit tostadas.
Hosford-Abernethy

Pambiche List
Inspired by the timbiriches (street snack stalls) of Cuba, this gem offers traditional Cuban platos, bacanes (steamed tamale-like cakes made from plantains and cassava masa, empanadas, sandwiches, coffee, treats, cocktails, batidos (slushies and shakes), and more.
Kerns

Tope List
The Hoxton's stylish rooftop taqueria features an outdoor terrace with sweeping vistas of the city and a menu with dishes like birria tortas, ahi tuna tostadas, chorizo empanadas, and pork belly guisado flautas. Add on a carafe of margaritas, and you'll have all the makings of a dreamy evening.
Old Town-Chinatown


Tropicale List
With a convivial party atmosphere, cheerful decor, and festive lighting, the Latin American cocktail bar and kitchen provide an ideal ambiance for sipping one of its famous piña coladas served in a hollowed-out pineapple.
Kerns

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