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.
Portland is an ice cream town. While we may be best known for Salt & Straw’s eccentric scoops, we also have a robust menu of vegan ice cream options, as well as a burgeoning frozen custard scene and real-deal Italian gelato. One thing Portland lacks, however, is an East Coast-style network of Mister Softee trucks, serving up nostalgic, creamy servings of soft serve ice cream. But Portland has a surprisingly strong soft serve game—you just have to know where to look, as some of the best soft serve ice cream is hidden in restaurants better known for their other offerings.
To help you navigate Portland’s mysterious, expansive soft serve landscape, the Mercury has compiled a list of several must-try spots, with soft serve options for the no-nonsense ice cream eater, the bougie soft serve connoisseur, and everyone in between. This is a non-exhaustive list. You also can find soft serve at Zuckercreme, Skyline Restaurant, Mike’s Drive In, Behind the Museum Cafe, Doe Donuts, and Hunker Down Food Cart, or head out of town to Sugarpine Drive-In, in addition to potentially thousands of other places harboring secret soft serve machines. Vegans, read on—there’s soft serve for you here, too.
Cheese & Crack
While it’s likely Portland’s best-known and most-hyped soft serve spot, Cheese & Crack’s ice cream is absolutely not overrated. As its name suggests, Cheese & Crack started off as a cheese shop, and it also serves charcuterie, sandwiches, and wine. But the soft serve is the star of the show. Devotees eagerly await the monthly sundae special, or partake from the standard menu, which includes several indulgent sundaes and cones. You can amp up the flavor of a vanilla cone by choosing from an array of “dust” flavors, including chocolate malt, matcha, or even beet powder, or adding a chocolate cowboy hat to the top. But Cheese & Crack’s soft serve is great on its own—impossibly creamy, without a hint of iciness. This should be the first stop for anyone in Portland craving soft serve. 22 SE 28th, cheeseandcrack.com, @cheeseandcrack
Wonderwood Springs
Up in St. Johns, the eccentric Wonderwood Springs awaits lovers of soft serve, mini golf, and fantasy-themed restaurants alike. The restaurant and adjacent indoor mini golf course are the creations of Portland artist Mike Bennett, who went all out to give guests an immersive fantasy experience. Soft serve offerings include vanilla, chocolate, and vegan (oat) vanilla, as well as an impressive selection of toppings and sundae options. I stuck with a classic vanilla and chocolate swirl cone, which was light and creamy and tasted exactly as I hoped. 8811 N Lombard, @wonderwoodsprings
Premium Matcha Cafe Maiko
This matcha cafe chain has an expansive array of matcha items on its menu, from teas, lattes, and frappes to shaved ice and, of course, soft serve. The ice cream here is grass-green and creamy and rich in flavor, with a bit of bitterness from the matcha. They usually have at least one other seasonal soft serve flavor available, too—I got ube, whose sweetness perfectly balanced the matcha flavor. 3416 SE Cesar E Chavez, @matchacafemaikopdx
Bluto’s
Bluto’s is a celebrated Greek restaurant in Southeast Portland’s Sunnyside neighborhood, best known for its grilled souvlaki skewers and absolutely to-die-for pita. But don’t miss the soft serve machine behind the counter, offering vanilla and chocolate with various Greek-themed toppings. Get the honey and halvah if you know what’s good for you. 2838 SE Belmont, blutospdx.com, @blutospdx
Canard
And here’s where things start to get (a little) bougie. Canard is the more casual sibling of Portland fine dining staple Le Pigeon, both serving up highly-regarded French food with thoughtful wine pairings. One thing Canard has on its ritzier older sibling? A great happy hour (drink discounts and $2 oysters) and a soft serve machine. The latter produces very creamy vanilla ice cream. I got a malted blondie sundae, which was rich and delicious. At around $13 for a sundae, it’s the most expensive soft serve on this list—but honestly, not by much. Come by for happy hour,
or following a fancy dinner of steak frites with foie gras. Canard, 734 E Burnside,
canardrestaurant.com, @canard_restaurant
Basilisk
We are now beginning to venture away from vanilla and into the realm of experimental ice cream flavors. I wasn’t sure about what to expect from the soft serve ice cream at Basilisk, a fried chicken sandwich shop in The Zipper. This is because it contains a rotating Kool-Aid flavor. When I went, the flavor was green apple, which made me a little nervous. But it was surprisingly delicious! The ice cream itself was among the creamiest on this list, and the tang of the green apple was very light, coloring the soft serve a pale green but not contributing to an overwhelming flavor. 820 NE 27th,
basiliskpdx.com, @basiliskpdx
Pizza Jerk Northeast
Pizza Jerk technically only has one flavor of soft serve, but thanks to the Flavor Burst system, which is an add-on to a soft serve machine, you can choose from eight different flavors to swirl around the edge of the vanilla ice cream base. It looks cool, and it tastes okay—at least, that’s how I would describe the artificial chocolate flavor. I imagine another option, like piña colada or “blue goo,” might lend itself better to the artificial quality. 5028 NE 42nd, pizzajerkpdx.com, @pizzajerkpdx
Ice Queen
Ice Queen is a vegan frozen dessert joint selling paletas (Mexican ice pops) and soft serve. The smooth, fluffy ice cream at Ice Queen gives dairy soft serve a run for its money. You can get it several ways—plain, in sundae form, or mixed up with a variety of toppings on offer, in what they call a “Thiccflurry.” This spot is worth a visit for vegans and non-vegans alike. 2012 SE 11th,
icequeenyouscream.com, @icequeenpdx
