Ticket To Dine 2025 is almost here! This will be its third year, having first been implemented as we were crawling out of the height of the COVID pandemic. Its predecessor was Portland Dining Month, which was held from 2009 to 2020.
But despite the different names, the core idea behind the two is very similar—celebrate Portland’s restaurant scene with special menu items. Here’s what you can expect this year for Ticket To Dine.
A Bit About Portland Dining Month
Also in March, Portland Dining Month worked on the “prix fixe for X dollars” scheme. Each participating restaurant offered a three-course meal for the same price across restaurants. The purpose of this was to showcase these restaurants for a consistent affordable cost.
There’s a lot to love about this format, but it has kind of gone out of style in Portland.
How Ticket To Dine Works
As of the writing of this article, 77 restaurants (with a total of 82 locations) are participating in Ticket To Dine. Each restaurant will feature a special-for-the-occasion dish; price varies across restaurants. To participate, order the special menu item.
Additionally, you have the opportunity to win prizes while participating. Prizes include an instant-win meal and a weekly grand prize. Note: Prizes are for in-house dining or pick up only—not for orders for delivery.
Instant Win Free Meal
When you purchase one of the special Ticket to Dine dishes, you are automatically entered for the chance to have your meal be free. Participating restaurants will select the winners on site, so you’ll know after you order if you’ve won.
And it sounds like this aspect of the campaign will happen at select participating restaurants on any given day during the month. You are encouraged to follow Ticket to Dine on Instagram, where they’ll share some secret hints to help you know where the instant win meals will be available.
Weekly Grand Prize
To enter to win the weekly drawing for a “Year of Dining”—52 gift certificates valued at $2,000 total—scan the Ticket to Dine QR code when you see it. Winners of the drawing will be contacted each Monday during the month of March via email—and there are five Mondays in March!
There is no limit to the number of times you can try to win. Feel free to eat at as many participating places as you like, for as many times as you can during the month of March.
Who Is Participating in Ticket To Dine?
You can find the participating restaurants on the Ticket To Dine website, which also includes an interactive map. A nifty feature you’ll see with the map: You can filter restaurants by vegan, vegetarian, and gluten-free options. Super handy for those who need or want that level of detail.
Where Are You, East Portland?
As I looked at the map, though, I could not help but feel disappointed to see the paucity of restaurants east of 82nd Avenue—where approximately 28% of Portland’s population lives. I have a real soft spot for East Portland, with a desire to see the food scene on that side of town thrive. The furthest participating restaurant to the east in Ticket To Dine is Bamboo House (4005 SE 82nd Avenue).
I also noticed that there isn’t much past the west hills, either.
Overall, most of the participating restaurants are located west of 60th Ave on the east side and east of the hills on the west side. Few are north of Killingsworth and south of Division, too.
I went ahead and inquired with the Ticket To Dine folks about the process for restaurants to participate, and got this in response: “Any and all restaurants (and cafes, food trucks, etc) across the city are encouraged and welcome to participate in Ticket to Dine. While Travel Portland and Travel Oregon support all the behind the scenes efforts that help make Ticket to Dine possible, they do not choose restaurants that participate.”
I hope in the future, more restaurants in East Portland (and other outlying areas) will consider participating. Ticket To Dine folks—feel free to reach out to me if you want to talk about future efforts to connect East Portland restaurants in this campaign.
Here’s To a Successful Dining Campaign
I hope Ticket To Dine is a success and that Portlanders will embrace the chance to try new places around town for a delicious meal. Many thanks to Travel Portland and Travel Oregon for supporting this campaign for its third year.
Ticket To Dine
Saturday, March 1 through Monday, March 31, 2025
City of Portland
Ticket to Dine website | Instagram | Facebook
Meg Cotner
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Wow, you’re not kidding. Basically the whole NE decided to skip it.
There are definitely stark contrasts. My work with the 82nd Avenue Dining Guide I hope will help bring more attention to the great restaurants on the western edge of East Portland. No need for a “day trip”! 82 Ave is very close to being in the middle of Portland. I still can’t get over the fact that 28% of Portlanders live east of 82nd. And that is probably a rising number, too.