Rosh Hashanah 2025—New Year 5786—in Portland

Honey Bee Bundt cake from Baker and Spice, for Rosh Hashanah 2025.

Rosh Hashanah is almost upon us! As I write this, we only recently hit Enkutatash—Ethiopian New Year—-and now we are on to the Jewish New Year. It is also the start of a cascade of Jewish holidays: Yom Kippur ten days later, then Sukkot a few days after that. Next comes Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah. All in less than a month!

Rosh Hashanah is well-known for its food—and it’s very accessible. Honey cake, apples, and honey, Crown Challah. Symbols of the hope for a sweet new year and the round bread symbolizes the cyclical year. Cycles are part of the life of many religious adherents, from Christians to pagans to Muslims, and beyond.

Rosh Hashanah offerings in Portland have dwindled a bit this year compared to last year, but I wanted to share what I know at the writing of this article, about a week before the start of Rosh Hashana, which is the evening of Monday, September 22.

Baker & Spice

Head to their dedicated Rosh Hashanah holiday https://bakerandspiceholiday.square.site/ to order your celebration foods. Orders for Rosh Hashanah will be available to pick up on Monday, September 22, between noon and 3pm. Here’s what they are offering this year:

Spiced Honey Cake. Spiced with coffee, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg studded with almonds and golden raisins. Wrapped in cellophane and ribbon making it a perfect hostess gift. $20

Honey Bee Bundt. Tender buttermilk cake infused with Oregon wildflower honey, and studded with boozy currants. Topped with a brown sugar, butter and honey glaze and lots of toasty almonds! $30

Rugelach. Flakey cream cheese dough filled with lekvar and filling: Apricot Walnut, Chocolate Cherry Cardamom, or Poppy Walnut. $12

6330 SW Capitol Hwy, Portland. Baker & Spice website.

Zupan’s / Jacob & Son’s

The High Holidays menu at Zupan’s is filled with tasty things: chopped chicken liver, brisket, matzoh ball soup, potato knish, noodle kugel, rugelach, two kinds of challah, and more. Order online for in-store pickup September 22 to 23 or October 1 to 2. Online orders are reservation only and will be paid for at time of pickup. Order on the Zupan’s website.

2340 W Burnside Street and 7221 S Macadam Avenue in Portland; 16380 Boones Ferry Road, Lake Oswego. Zupans website.

Potential Options To Come

In past years, the following have offered Rosh Hashanah foods: Ben & Esther’s, Grand Central Bakery, Leikam Brewing, Kachka, and Mother’s Bistro. I’ll update this article if their Rosh Hashanah food and drink becomes available.

Make Your Own Honey Cake

You might want to try your hand at making honey cake—if so, it’s hard to go wrong with Smitten Kitchen’s recipe. You can find her Majestic and Moist Honey Cake on her website.

And as far as the honey goes, there are some great local options at farmers markets in particular. And if you can find Meadowfoam honey, even better—it has a unique flavor, kind of like marshmallows. It would be great with apples (I’m partial to the Crimson Crisp variety), which you dunk in honey, one of the tastiest Rosh Hashanah traditions.