Valentine’s Day 2025 in Portland: Food and Drink

Dove with a rose for the Rose city.

It’s almost that time—Valentine’s Day 2025 is right around the corner. Lots of places are doing special dinners and meals, and we’ve gathered them together here for you. And don’t let V-Day just be for romantic couples! Loving yourself and your friends is just as valid on this day of love.

These listings all take place on Valentine’s Day, Friday, February 14, unless otherwise indicated.

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Favorite Bites in Portland in 2024

Salmon nigiri with truffles.
Beautifully plated sushi at Janken.

This year I ate at a variety of places—some fancy, some more modest. But they all served me excellent, tasty, wonderful food. Here are my favorite bites in Portland in 2024.

Bison Coffeehouse: Cafe Latte

Located in Cully on Cully Blvd, this is one of two Native-owned cafes in Portland (the other being All Your Heart Coffee in South Portland). I was there for a meeting with a neighbor and ordered a latte. One of the things I was offered by the barista was a choice of espresso roasts, and I chose a medium roast—this meant the Shoshone Blend, a coffee bean from Honduras medium-roasted by Native Coffee Traders. It was lovely, with notes of chocolate and nuts; plus expertly streamed milk. This is one of the best lattes I’ve had all year. 3941 NE Cully Blvd, Portland. Bison Coffeehouse website

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Halloween 2024: Food and Drink in Portland

This is a vintage Jack O'Lantern.

Spooky season is upon us! Halloween 2024 in Portland offers plenty of things to do: decorate your home, trick-or-treat, tour a haunted house, go to a costume party. But for us, we are focused on the spooky food and drink treats for this time of the year. There’s plenty out there to enjoy, too!

I’ll continue to update this post over the month of October as new treats make themselves known.

Caseus Diem

Through the end of October, Caseus Diem presents the Boo-Brie: President-brand Brie with Divina sour cherry spread for $13.

3320 SE Division Street, Portland. Caseus Diem website.

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Small Bites: Pie Spot, Prince Coffee, Publican Beer Room, and More

Enchiladas with green sauce at El Sombrero Mexican restaurant in Portland, Oregon.
Delicious Mexican food in Portland.

Pie Spot in Montavilla is closing. The second location of Pie Spot in the Rocket Empire Machine food hall has decided to “throw in the towel” after four years there. Their “lil pie window” will close after Saturday (tomorrow). 6935 NE Glisan Street, Portland

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Four Things I Learned This Week (September 20)

DB Dessert Company’s grand re-opening is coming. Cupcake and cake wonderland DB Dessert Company is re-opening their cafe on NE Alberta Street on Saturday, September 28. “We’ll have a brand new menu featuring not just our famous desserts, but also savory bites, a few surprises, classic favorites, and yes, our wine bar is OPEN! That means mimosas!” Noon to 5pm on the 28th. Here’s the Facebook event page. 2624 NE Alberta Street, Portland

Burned up Pacific Market deconstruction and removal has started. Last spring Pacific Market burned down due to an electrical fire. Over on Nextdoor a neighbor remarked, “Right after the fire the family was finding salvage and loading it into trucks. I asked them then and they said they owned the whole block and would rebuild. They had no intention of selling to developers. I haven’t seen any for sale signs since it burned.” A disturbing detail is that the fire and burnout generated an increase in bugs and flying creatures. Very happy they are cleaning things up. 6750 NE Broadway, Portland

NFL Sunday breakfast is back at Peter’s. Head to Peter’s Bar & Grill on Sunday mornings to enjoy their football season breakfast. It’s a very tasty small but well-curated menu: biscuits & gravy, a fried egg sandwich, pancakes, and a two-egg breakfast with meat & toast. Plus specials! 5701 NE Fremont Street, Portland

Hello Pho, Banh Mi & Boba is open in The Zipper. Andrew Jankowski at Willamette Week wrote about Hello Pho, Banh Mi & Boba, a new Vietnamese place that has opened up in the space that used to be home to Sari Ramyun. Here are some details:

“Hello Pho, Banh Mi & Boba opened in July, serving what its sign says and more. The expansive menu includes Vietnamese standards like vermicelli noodle bowls, rice plates, milkshakes and an array of appetizers like calamari ($10), salad rolls ($8) and crab puffs ($6). Hello currently comps your drink if you spend $25 or more, which can be done if you’re strategic or ravenously hungry—it’s possible to slurp down eye of round steak and brisket pho ($16.50) after chomping on a bulgogi bánh mì ($9) if your first meal is coming way too late in the day. A more responsible combo for bargain hunters might be pho with calamari, or a bánh mì with a couple of appetizers.” 2713 NE Sandy Blvd, Portland


Stories you may have missed this week on Bridgetown Bites:

1927 S’mores Company Abruptly Closes
PDX Food Pod To Open in Outer Northeast Portland
Mermosa PDX’s Location in NW Portland Has Closed

Events this weekend include Oktoberfests and a celebration of Turkish culture:

Portland Oktoberfest, Friday and Saturday, September 20 and 21, 2024, Saturday 5:30pm to 9pm, Sunday 11am to 9pm, Pioneer Courthouse Square, 701 SW 6th Avenue, Portland. Portland Oktoberfest website.

Oaks Park Oktoberfest, Friday to Sunday, September 20 to 22, 2024, Friday 4pm to 10pm, Saturday 11am to 10pm, Sunday 11am to 7pm, Oaks Park, 7805 SE Oaks Park Way, Portland. Oaks Park Octoberfest website.

Oktoberfest, Sunday, September 22, 2024, 11am to 5pm, McMenamins Edgefield, 2126 SW Halsey Street, Troutdale. McMenamins Oktoberfest website.

Türkiye Day, Sunday, September 22, 1pm to 5pm, PBOT, 1120 SW 5th Avenue, Suite 1100, Portland. Türkiye Day website.