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Where To Stay and Eat in Portland

Where To Stay and Eat in Portland
For my birthday, we decided to getaway for the weekend. When we were trying to pick a location, Portland came to mind because it's only a short drive away from wine country! If you've followed me for a while, you know Matt and I are big wine lovers.
So, I checked my miles account and, yahtzee! - we had enough miles to get us there.
We could have stayed in wine country but decided to stay in downtown Portland to see the city, too. That ended up being an excellent decision because Portland is so cool and has some of the most amazing restaurants we've ever been to.

WHERE TO STAY

Woodlark Hotel

I chose Woodlark Hotel because it's centrally located downtown and is super stylish. Expedia has the best rates. In late September, we paid about $275 a night but it drops to the mid $100s in April.

We were able to walk to so much in downtown including sights, restaurants, bars, and there is even a Target if you need something last minute. 

We booked a standard room and it was small but, like I said, very stylish and has everything you need. Upgrade for a nice view of the city and a little more space. The rooms have a steamer for de-wrinkling garments and the hotel offers complimentary bikes and umbrellas. There were not any toiletries in the room when we arrived but we called the front desk and it appeared to be a mistake so they brought us shampoo, conditioner and shower gel.

The hotel has a Good Coffee shop right in the lobby with light breakfast bites and a chic bar in the back called Abigail Hall with snazzy cocktails.

On the day we were checking out, I called down to the front desk and asked for a late checkout. They approved a late checkout at 1pm for free!

We loved our stay at Woodlark!

 Best Portland Hotel

Woodlark Hotel Portland

Breakfast and coffee at Good Coffee in the lobby.

Best Coffee Shops in Portland

Where to stay in Portland

Standard Room at Woodlark

Chic downtown portland hotel

BARS

Abigail Hall 

Located in the Woodlark Hotel

Best bars in Portland

Best cocktails in Portland

Best Portland Hotel

Rosa Rosa

Located at the Dossier Hotel across the street from Woodlark.

Best cocktails in Portland

Bars in Portland

WHERE TO EAT

Tasty n' Adler

Brunch or dinner

$$$

Reservation recommended

Just a 5 minute walk from Woodlark and oh-so-tasty. The grilled octopus is excellent.

Best restaurants Portland

Where to eat in Portand

Kachka

Dinner

$$$

Reservation recommended

This was our absolute favorite meal in Portland. Full disclosure, it's all Russian food but don't let that deter you. It was seriously so delicious. This restaurant is owned by a husband/wife duo. The wife is from Belarus and they actively work in the restaurant. She was in the kitchen cooking and we met the husband when he brought out our order. If you don't get the dumplings, you're missing out. We didn't originally order them, but the owner brought some out and insisted we try them. I still dream about those dumplings. Go ahead and get a shot of vodka, too. It's how the Russians do it!

Best restaurant in Portland

Best restaurant Portland

Where to eat in Portland

Tusk

Brunch

$$

Reservation recommended

This restaurant is made for Instagram. Also, Portland apparently lives for brunch and I can get excited about that. The food was good and the cocktails were better. Get the Hazy Jane.

Best brunch spot Portland

Where to brunch Portland

Best brunch in Portland

Brunch in Portland

Best brunch Portland

Mother's Bistro

Brunch

$$

Reservation not required

This cute restaurant serves up diner style food in a quaint environment with chandeliers. 

Brunch spots Portland

Best brunch Portland

Departure

Dinner

$$$$

Reservation required

Ok, I said Kachka was my favorite but this one might have tied it. This restaurant was like eating dinner on a space ship and I dug it. Not only is the decor and scenery beautiful (there's a dining terrace overlooking the city) but the food was spectacular. We got the halibut curry, shrimp fried rice, grilled skirt steak, and pineapple upside down cake for dessert. It was too much to eat! We paired it with a glass of sake. Mmmm delish.

This restaurant has a gluten free and vegan menu. Everything we ordered was on the gluten free menu. Seriously. Amazing.

Chic restaurant Portland for a birthday

Cool restaurants Portland

Best restaurants in Portland

Portland restaurants

 portland photography prints pastel pink

COFFEE + DONUTS

Never Coffee

Located in downtown just a 5 minute walk from Woodlark, this cute little coffee shop has some really good coffee!

Best coffee in Portland

Never Coffee Portland

Best coffee Portland

Coffee shops Portland

Stumptown Coffee Roasters

This cool coffee shop brand is definitely more masculine but I really liked the vibe and the coffee is awesome. There is a location right across the street from Mother's Bistro if you want to knock out both in the same day.

Best coffee shops in Portland

 

The pictures below are all from the location at Ace Hotel. The coffee shop seating is actually in the lobby of Ace Hotel and there is an old film photo booth for $5.

Best coffee in Portland

Best coffee Portland

Coffee Portland

Things to do in Portland

Fun things to do in Portland

As I mentioned before, Good Coffee in the Woodlark Hotel is also worth trying!

Blue Star Donuts

$

Several locals told us to not miss donuts at Blue Star Donuts. We happened to walk past a location in the Mississippi District so we popped in. I can't remember the name of the one I got but it had to do with fudge, so YES.

Best donuts in Portland

Blogger's guide to Portland

What to do in Portland

Voodoo Doughnut

$

We stopped by the Old Town location on our way to brunch but didn't have time to get any donuts because the line was so long. Voodoo Doughnut is famous in Portland so I'm sad we didn't get to try it. I learned later there is another location in the Davis neighborhood. Try that!

Portland Itinerary by a travel blogger

 

In my next post, I'll be talking about things to do in Portland including our day trip to the Willamette Valley wine country. 

Thanks for reading and feel free to leave a comment or questions below!

Portland Itinerary

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Blogger Travel Diary Portland

Portland Travel Guide

 

Blogger Travel Guide Portland