The Best Takeout and Dine-In for Christmas and Hanukkah Meals in Portland
Hey Love goes all out for the holiday season.
The giant martini glass display is aglow in the West Hills, the Oregon Zoo is filled with thousands of twinkling lights, and Pioneer Square’s Christmas tree is illuminated: The holiday season is upon us. This year is a bit odd, with Thanksgiving landing as late as possible and Hanukkah beginning on Christmas Day, which might leave some Portlanders scrambling to put together a meal plan. Luckily, Portland has it covered, whether it’s Christmas-themed pop-up parties, takeout Hanukkah meals, or bars and Chinese restaurants open on the holiday. Below, find our picks for holiday dining of all kinds this December.
Holiday themed pop-ups
Hey Love
Buckman
Open 365 days a year, Hey Love at the Jupiter Next usually rocks a summery aesthetic with its tropical canopy and slushy drinks. But each December, the team leans into the holiday vibes, stringing its many plants with Christmas lights as part of its “Sleigh Love” theme. Visitors will find eggnog slushies, hot mulled wine with holiday spices, and gingerbread old-fashioneds at the bar all month. On Monday, December 23, the bar will celebrate a different holiday, hosting a Festivus for the Rest of Us: a Seinfeld-inspired party complete with a Festivus Pole, sticky notes for guests to inscribe their grievances, and a Jewish-Chinese menu (think matzo ball hot-and-sour soup with duck and fried lox and cream cheese wontons). The event is free to attend, with a portion of the proceeds benefiting the Palestinian Children’s Relief Fund.
In December, Deadshot becomes Miracle Bar.
Miracle Bar at Deadshot
Hosford-abernethy
For the past few years, innovative cocktail lounge Deadshot has hosted the Portland edition of Miracle Bar, a pop-up Christmas party that takes over cocktail bars around the country. Deadshot’s chic, leather-clad dining room transforms into a winter wonderland, complete with toy Santas, gift-wrapped walls and tables, and a sleigh-load of Christmas lights. Drinks hew toward the bolder and boozier side, like the rum-drenched Yipee Ki Yay Mother F***r!, with ube and coconut orgeat, or the cognac and sherry Jingle Balls Nog. Plus, you can purchase any of the decorative mugs and rocks glasses to take home. Reservations have already filled up, but the bar saves plenty of seats for walk-ins.
Coffee & Cookies at the Uncanny.
The Uncanny
Boise
A vegan bar housed in a palatial Victorian home, the Uncanny is getting Dickensian with it by becoming the House of Christmas Past, a spooky-themed holiday pop-up with cocktail specials and Yuletide decorations. Specials include a spiced horchata hot chocolate with rum or brandy (or sans booze); a rum and amaro cocktail with gingerbread bitters and coffee syrup; and a tiki-style rum drink with coconut, pineapple, and pandan milk, also available spirit free. Expect some themed DJ nights and other parties throughout the month, and possibly a few ghosts from Christmas past.
Dine in: hanukkah
Kachka
Buckman
Dine-In: Christmas Day
Craft PDX
downtown
The bright and modern New American restaurant at the Hi Lo Hotel, Craft PDX will be open on Christmas Day with a three-course dinner. Diners can select dishes for each course, and the menu sticks with fun takes on Christmas classics, including tamales, butternut squash bisque, herb-crusted prime rib with potatoes gratin, and five spice duck confit—not to mention eggnog creme brulée, gingerbread pudding, and cran-apple cobbler for dessert. The meal is $75 for adults and $35 for children 12 and under; reservations are available online.
Jake’s Famous Crawfish
Downtown
One of downtown Portland’s longest standing restaurants, Jake’s Famous Crawfish will be open on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. The restaurant is keeping it simple, serving its existing menu of lobster tails, bouillabaisse, and crawfish pasta, but will have a chef’s special on both days: Dungeness crab-stuffed Petrale sole. The historic, wood- and brick-lined dining room tends to fill up on the holidays—those planning ahead should make a reservation online.
Mayrose
downtown
Mayrose, the colorful, breezy dining room within the Duniway Hotel, will be open for the holiday with a fun three-course dinner for $70 per person. Each course comes with a few choices, including vegetarian dishes like a winter panzanella salad and crispy chickpea croquettes, as well as meatier options like smoked duck breast with sweet potato purée or port-braised short ribs with potato rosti. Desserts like tiramisu and chocolate crunch cakes will wrap up dinner. Reservations are strongly encouraged and available online, along with additional menu details.
Takeout: Christmas and hanukkah
Elephants Delicatessen
Various locations
Local deli Elephants is always prepared for the holidays, and that includes both Hanukkah and Christmas. You can find complete meals like turkey or smoked ham feasts for six, individual meals, and a plethora of à la carte choices like cranberry brisket, roasted turkey breasts, charcuterie and cheese boards, pies, and more. Elephants offers delivery as well as pickup at its assorted locations, with times available on December 23 and December 24 between 10am and 6pm. Place orders via the online store.
Golden brown latkes from LePage Food and Drinks.
LePage Food and Drinks
NE Portland
Chef Risa Lichtman’s catering service and pop-up restaurant LePage Food and Drinks is ready for Hanukkah with a takeout menu of bubbe-approved standbys: wine and cola–braised brisket, matzo ball soup, latkes, applesauce and creme fraîche, rugelach, and roasted root vegetables. Fill out orders on LePage’s website for pickup on December 23 between 1 and 4pm; Lichtman will provide the pickup address in Northeast when you order.
The iconic holiday prime rib roast from Ringside.
Ringside
northwest district
The lauded, historic steakhouse Ringside will set you up for Christmas with a six-person prime rib dinner. For $275, the meal comes with a ready-to-cook prime rib roast with seasonings and jus, as well as cooking directions. The sides and dessert come precooked and ready to be reheated—think mashed potatoes, roasted brussels sprouts, Ringside bread, and caramel apple pie from Willamette Valley Pie Co. Ringside often sells out of its holiday dinners; interested diners can reserve theirs online for pickup on Monday, December 23 at noon.
Chef Noah Jacob’s brisket at Zupan’s Markets.
Zupan’s Markets
various locations
Portland’s family-owned grocery Zupan’s Markets is once again teaming up for Hanukkah with chef Noah Jacob, of the now-closed Jacob & Sons. Chef Jacob has developed a menu of Hanukkah classics, including sweet-and-sour brisket, chopped chicken liver, latkes, matzo ball soup, rugelach, and challah. Place orders via the online forms, and pick up at Zupan’s stores from December 24 through January 1.
Zupan’s also offers Christmas takeout this year, including a prime rib dinner for four, prepared sides, hams, and ready-to-roast steaks and ducks. Online orders for Christmas can be picked up between December 20 and December 24.
open on Christmas day
Noodles and dumplings at Master Kong.
Master Kong
montavilla, richmond
Both locations of this congee haven will be open on Christmas, which means potentially shorter lines for those dining out (but hey, no promises). The go-to move here is any bowl of congee with the addition of a deep-fried dough stick melting into the rice porridge. But don’t sleep on the plump, meat-filled dumplings or cold sesame sauce noodles.
Pacific Standard
Kerns
Jeffrey Morgenthaler’s hip bar at the Icelandic Hotel Kex is open every day of the year, including Christmas. Alongside the usual menu of tavern snacks, salads, and drinks, Morgenthaler will pour glasses of his famous eggnog, made with tequila and sherry. The bar will be open from 3pm to midnight.
Radio Room
king
A consummate Portland holiday locale, the diner-meets-neighborhood-bar Radio Room is open 365 days a year, including Christmas. With a double-decker patio, numerous booths, firepits, and a fireplace, the bar is spacious enough to host large groups but cozy enough for single diners to escape the hubbub of the holiday. There’s also a sizable menu of entrees, salads, and sandwiches that can fit most diets.
Sichuan dishes star year-round at Tasty Corner.
Tasty Corner
downtown
One of our favorite restaurants for Sichuan cuisine, Tasty Corner will be open on Christmas Day for dine-in and takeout. Digging into hand-shaved noodles, glistening mapo tofu, and Chongqing hot chicken might just become your new holiday tradition.
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