Happy Pride Month! It's a great time to think about how you can put some of your hard-earned dollars toward supporting local queer-owned businesses, both while you're out and about this June and all year long. From Meals 4 Heels to Taqueria Los Puñales, we've rounded up some of our favorite queer-owned bars, restaurants, and cafes in Portland.Â
Back2Earth
This lively gay bar, owned by Eagle Portland proprietor Dan Henderson, features bar grub like burgers, barbecue fried chicken sandwiches, and loaded fries, not to mention drinks like espresso martinis and TajĂn-rimmed watermelon mojitos. (3536 NE Martin Luther King, back2earthpdx.com)
Chelo
Chef Luna Contreras's fonda moved into its permanent home this January, taking over the space of collaborative restaurant space Dame. Here, visitors dine on "vegetable-driven multifaceted Mexican fare" inspired by street food, with locally sourced dishes like shrimp-and-huitlacoche quesadillas, empanadas stuffed with local mushrooms, and vegetable-laden tlayudas. (2930 NE Killingsworth, chelopdx.com)
Clarklewis
Fine dining restaurateur Bruce Carey took over this pioneering farm-to-table restaurant in 2007. You'll find dishes like wood-fired pizza and house-made pasta on the menu, made with a selection of local produce that changes with the seasons. The Central Eastside restaurantâs happy hour runs daily. (1001 SE Water, clarklewispdx.com)
Coffee Beer
Run by artist Phillip Stewart, this vegan coffee shop pours Portlandâs two favorite beverages. Coffee Beer invites visitors to âcome for one, stay for the otherââhungry folks can grab handhelds like vegan Phatt Dawgs or Higher Taste burritos. If youâre lucky, you might catch a glimpse of the cafeâs senior pug mascot, A$AP Douglas. (4142 SE 42nd, coffeebeer.me)
Friendship Kitchen and Stem Wine Bar
Wife-and-wife team Trang Nguyen Tan and Wei-En Tan run the warm, welcoming Vietnamese restaurant Friendship Kitchen and its Northwest sister location Friendship Kitchen: Saigon 2 Singapore. The spots serve dishes like Impossible egg rolls, shaken beef or tofu, pho, and lemongrass chicken skewers, in addition to playful cocktails. The duo also owns Stem Wine Bar, which offers tastings, wine flights, and weekend tarot readings. (Friendship Kitchen, 2333 NE Glisan, 2764 NW Thurman, saigonsingapore.com; Stem Wine Bar, 3920 N Mississippi, stemwinebarpdx.com)
Kann
Top Chef star Gregory Gourdet's celebrated wood-fired Haitian restaurant Kann, which was named Best New Restaurant at the 2023 James Beard Awards, serves delightful dishes like akra (crispy taro root fritters), coffee-rubbed steaks, and twice-cooked griyo (Haitian fried pork). Diners who arenât able to snag a coveted reservation should check out the restaurantâs downstairs pan-Caribbean sibling bar SousĂČl (Haitian Creole for "basement"). Gourdet has been vocal about his sobriety, and both the bar and restaurant offer plentiful zero-proof options in addition to cocktails, beer, and Oregon wines. (548 SE Ash, kannrestaurant.com)
Living Room Wines
Kick back with a glass of wine in hand at this bar where partners Fabrizio Barbagelata and Justin Sedor have curated an inviting vibe thatâll make you want to settle in and enjoy small plates like chilled asparagus bisque, French onion dip, and a cheese plate with selections from Cowbell. Check the barâs website for its calendar of community events including free wine tastings on Wednesdays, drag bingo, live music, and queer socials. (4818 N Lombard, livingroomwinespdx.com)
Meals 4 Heels
Local chef Nikeisah Newton started a food delivery service for sex workers called Meals 4 Heels in 2019, inspired by her former dancer girlfriend's need for nourishing food after her late-night shifts. Then, while waiting for strip clubs to reopen in 2021, she launched her own brick-and-mortar inside The Reddâs Powerhouse Cafe space. The vegetarian bowl-style dishes have names inspired by her customer base, like "I Like to Cha Cha" (seasoned rice, citrus slaw, black olives, mild salsa, cheddar, and cotija, topped with avocado, crushed Juanita's tortilla chips, salsa lizano, pickled red onions, and cilantro) and the "Verbal Tipper" (lemon pepper couscous, Italian pickled vegetables, marinated artichokes, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, crumbled cotija cheese, crispy quinoa, and a balsamic drizzle). (831 SE Salmon, Suite 50, meals4heels.com)
Mis Tacones
After moving to Portland, Los Angeles transplants Carlos Reynoso and Polo Abram Bañuelos began making vegan tacos inspired by California street food. Their pop-up-turned-restaurant Mis Tacones serves up plant-based tacos, tortas, nachos, and asada seitan Cali burritos with hand-pressed tortillas and plenty of panache. Inspired by the Oakland restaurant Gay4U Vegan Eats, Reynoso and Bañuelos offer free food to trans people of color upon request. (1670 NE Killingsworth, mistaconespdx.com)
Mosaic Taphouse
The craft beer scene can often feel like an exclusive club for straight white guys, but married couple Jarek and Laurence Oliver set out to change that with their LGBTQ-friendly taproom Mosaic Taphouse, which opened in St. Johns in November 2023. The beer destination offers a food menu of Vietnamese fusion small plates by Chem Gio alongside West Coast-style IPAs, lagers, pilsners, sours, porters, stouts, and other beers. (7955 N Lombard, mosaictaps.com)
Red Sauce Pizza
Apizza Scholls alum Shardell Dues believes less is more when it comes to the eponymous sauce that she tops her gently charred pies with. All pizzas here start with the essentials: aged mozzarella, Grana Padano, pecorino, and red sauce before getting zhuzhed up with toppings like spicy honey, Calabrese salami, or Scalia anchovy. Not in the mood for pizza? The restaurant also slings hoagies on the weekend. (4641 NE Fremont, redsaucepizza.com)
Sammich
Those in search of Chicago Italian beef or Montreal-style pastrami sandwiches to die for (see: the Pastrami Zombie) head to Mel McMillanâs East Burnside sammich shop. The Chicago native and Cubs fanatic sources regional produce and uses locally baked bread to construct the sandwiches that showcase her house-smoked meats. (2137 E Burnside, sammichrestaurants.com)
Speed-O Cappuccino
Flipping the script on the classic "bikini barista" format, this cheeky Barbie-pink espresso stand and vegan food cart founded by sex workers Dahlia Hanson and Joseph Miller employs a staff of queer sex workers, or as they put it, "thembos and flirts." Besides coffee drinks, you can expect to find vegan versions of Crunchwraps and deep-fried Oreos. (1015 SE Stark, speed-ocappuccino.square.site)
The Sports Bra
Chef-owner Jenny Nguyen opened this women-focused sports bar and restaurant with a name inspired by a long-standing joke between her and her friends. The establishment shows women's sports, including Portland Thorns games and ATA Football matches, on the TVs and highlights products from women-owned businesses on its menu, such as booze from Freeland Spirits and Carman Ranch beef. Nguyen's menu of classic pub grub features family recipes like "Mom's baby back ribs" and chicken or cauliflower wings slathered with "Aunt Tina's Vietna-glaze." In early June, the sports bar announced an expansion into Boston, Indianapolis, Las Vegas, and St. Louis. (2512 NE Broadway, thesportsbraofficial.com)
Taqueria Los Puñales
Brian Aster and David Madrigalâs Belmont taqueria specializes in soul-satisfying guisados made with a variety of proteins, like cachete (braised beef cheeks), chipotle-sauced soy curls, mole poblano shredded chicken, and cochinita pibil. The restaurantâs social media accounts are worth a follow for the staffâs cheeky content. (3312 SE Belmont, lospunales.com)
Related: At Taqueria Los Puñales, Excellent Tacos Are Served With Queer Joy
Tin Shed Garden Cafe
Christie Griffin and Janette Kaden run this homey eco-friendly and dog-friendly cafe, bringing longtime Shed employee Eric Pottenger aboard as a co-owner in early 2025. Tin Shed serves everything from breakfast burritos to biscuits and gravy and has been featured on the Food Network and in the New York Times. (1438 NE Alberta, tinshedgardencafe.com)
