What follows is one of the many articles in the Mercury’s 2026 Food Issue. Find a print copy here, subscribe to get a copy mailed to you here, and if you’re feeling generous and want to keep these types of articles coming, support us here.—eds.
Beaverton is more well-known as the home of Nike’s world headquarters than as a hotspot for good food. But it’s home to a host of delights you can only find out west: regional Indian cuisine, homestyle Korean food, Asian fusion pizza, and Mexican ice cream. Here are our recommendations for a food-focused getaway in Beaverton.
Where to Eat
Vanakkam
Vanakkam serves a killer lunch buffet for less than $20 a head, specializing in South Indian food—a cuisine rarely served buffet-style in the Portland area. On weekends, dosas with sambar flow endlessly, and throughout the week, you’ll find dishes like beetroot poriyal with curry leaves and beans usili. Bottomless chai provides caffeine for the rest of the day’s food adventure. At dinner, come for giant paper dosas and combination thalis. 14740 NW Cornell #160, vanakkampdx.com
Always Spring Restaurant
Going to this restaurant feels like you’re part of a secret club—enter the G Mart grocery store, make a beeline to the back of the store, and go up the stairs by the meat counter for real-deal homestyle Korean food. The kimchi pancake is crisp and full of sour, spicy flavor. You can’t go wrong with any of the stews, including the yukgaejang (spicy beef brisket noodle soup), soft tofu stew, gamjatang (spicy pork neck stew), and ugeoji galbi tang (sour cabbage and beef soup). Free banchan usually totals around seven dishes, including housemade kimchi and, if you’re lucky, sweet soy-glazed potatoes. 3975 SW 114th, alwaysspringrestaurant.com
Hapa Pizza
By some sorcery, or maybe just really good cooking, Hapa Pizza has created a pizza that tastes just like pho—you don’t know what you’re missing until you’ve tried it. Pho broth gets cooked down into an umami-filled, savory-sweet glaze, then sprinkled with all the requisite toppings: beef brisket, hoisin sauce, Thai basil, and bean sprouts. All that comes on a textbook Neapolitan pizza crust, hence the name Hapa, from the Hawaiian word for half—half Asian, half Italian influence. The menu is full of unlikely fusions, including spicy pepperoni pizza with mala honey and sambal, and a tom yum pie with garlic shrimp. Don’t worry, traditionalists—classics like margherita pizza and pepperoni are equally outstanding. 12755 SW Broadway, hapapizza.com
Ome Calli
Salt and Straw’s flavor offerings have nothing on Ome Calli’s Mexican ice cream. Here, you’ll find dozens of flavors including tequila, sweet corn, sweet potato-like mamey fruit, rum raisin, horchata, cotija cheese, and Mexican chocolate with chipotle. That’s not even counting the sorbets, including soursop and tamarind-chile. Don’t overlook the massive array of paletas, with flavors like black sapote and chile cucumber. But the ultimate cure for the summer heat is the chamoyada: a paleta dunked into lime slushie, drizzled with sour-spicy chamoy, and slurped through a tamarind straw. 12795 SW Canyon, omecallifrozentreats.com
Where to Drink
June
This entirely plant-based, Art Deco-inspired cocktail bar in Old Town Beaverton from the folks who brought you the Sudra, Victoria Bar, and the Uncanny revels in all things bright, floral, and citrusy. Many of the cocktails here are like a garden in a glass, with ingredients ranging from escubac (a botanical, herbaceous gin-like spirit) to rhubarb liqueur to vegan honey. Bar bites include soy drumsticks, vegan bacon-wrapped dates stuffed with cashew cheese, and even vegan charcuterie. 4589 SW Watson #110, barjune.com
The 649
Located in a strip mall in West Beaverton, this unpretentious bar serves seriously good cocktails, from a kiwi-mascarpone rum drink to a pineapple-rum take on a rye whiskey sour. For beer and cider drinkers, there are 20 options on tap, and non-drinkers have plenty of choices, too. In the summer, the slushies are churning and the soft serve machine is filled with boozy ice cream—best enjoyed on the tree-shaded patio or over one of the bar’s many communal board games. 18647 SW Farmington, 649bar.com
Where to Get Out
Tualatin Hills Nature Park
Bring your binoculars and take a post-meal stroll along the Oak and Old Wagon Trail, a 2.1-mile, partially paved path. Pass by the lily pond and keep an eye out for owls, chipmunks, and snakes. For more wildlife watching, walk over to Beaverton Creek Wetlands, where visitors have reported spotting bald eagles and beavers. 15655 SW Millikan, thprd.org