The Best Dishes Eater Portland Ate in April 2025

Welcome to The Best Dishes the Eater Portland Team Ate This Month, featuring the dishes that the Portland-based Eater team can’t stop thinking about.

I’m of the opinion that one of life’s best splurges is super-fancy picnic food, eaten in partial shade on a dry blanket in the grass. On a recent gorgeous spring day, the chirashi bowl from Fish & Rice in NW Portland hit that note perfectly: vibrant cuts of King salmon, lightly seared albacore, lean tuna, real snow crab, and glistening scallops, among others, served atop sushi rice alongside a pickled wasabi sauce that I could put on literally everything moving forward. Go ahead and add the $10 uni supplement; it’s well worth it, and no better way to celebrate the fact that you’ve made it through the winter. — Erin DeJesus, executive editor

Brenna Houck

Buckman has literally too many great places to manage in a single map, though we’ve tried, so consider this an addendum to that guide: Latinx bakeries across the country are having a moment, but Portland was already ahead of the curve. Dos Hermanos, whose breads and pastries seem to grace every other restaurant menu in the Portland metro area, is totally worth the trip for the chopped sandwiches. On a recent breakfast visit — well, maybe more like brunch — my partner and I loaded up on conchas as big as your face, jam-filled cruffins, and almond croissants alongside a shockingly large half sandwich on a soft sesame seed roll. Folks, I’m already plotting my next visit. We got the Bada Bing with Italian meats, provolone, peppers, lettuce, tomatoes and a nice balance of mustard, mayo, and vinegar. The chopped sandwiches here are assembled just behind the counter using a mezzaluna to slice and dice the meat, veggies, and sauce into a delightful salad that delivers a bit of tangy, spicy everything in each mouthful. The hoagy-style roll is quite literally overflowing, and you’ll want to fork up the rest off the wrapper. We grabbed a pullapart sourdough loaf to go, which made for great snacking the rest of the week. — Brenna Houck, cities manager

Blueberry tamal at Ancestro

Paolo Bicchieri

On a Friday around noon, downtown coffee shop Cadejo is packed, no doubt for the cafe’s exquisite coffee and for the breezy, plant-laden vibe. But Mexican fare pop-up Ancestro’s occupation inside the space is line-inducing, too. Paired with a cafe de olla, the blueberry tamal is an affordable taste of the fine dining life for nearby workers’ lunches. It’s creamy, the softness of the masa mingling with the actual cream on top. It’s moist and hot, gratefully, as dry tamales suck. Its crumble is delicate, and the blueberries deep, fruity flavor sings through. Dashes of pistachio make for a smart counter-balancing crunch. As it’s been said, walk don’t run to Ancestro. — Paolo Bicchieri, associate editor