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Portland Food Carts, Pods, and Patios Tour

W/Th/F at 1:30pm Duration: 3 hours

$109 USD / person

Includes all food & drink

Approx. 1 mile walking

The Essentials:

Visit several locally run food carts, relax on Portland patios, and eat a huge selection of diverse foods. Get up close and personal with food cart owners while eating their dishes, drinking tasty beverages, and exploring Portland’s up-and-coming Eastside.

Includes

Food and drinks at 6-7 different food carts. You’ll get more than a full meal!

Group Size

Small groups of 4-10 people per tour. Everyone in your party must book a spot, including children of all ages.

Start & End Location

Starts in the heart of Portland’s Central Eastside district. Ends half a mile away from the start location. An email will be sent with detailed meeting location details immediately after booking.

Cancellation Policy

Reservations canceled 24 hours or more before your tour start time are fully refundable. You’ll also have the opportunity to add “trip protection” when booking for even more flexibility. 

Dietary Requests

  • Vegetarian
  • No Seafood
  • Dairy Free
  • No Nuts
  • Vegan
  • Gluten Free

We can accommodate the checked dietary requests on this tour. All requests must be communicated at time of booking. Visit our FAQ section for more details.

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What You'll Do:

Meet at Portland's First Food Cart Pod

Meet your guide, along with an ice cold specialty drink, at the birthplace of the Rose City’s food cart culture (we don’t call them food trucks here)!

Cheesy poutine
Twice-cooked french fries
Portland's First Food Cart Pod
Cheesy poutine
Rows of Thai drinks
Portland food cart patio

Fries for Days

At a food cart that goes through 1000 pounds of Oregon potatoes per week, try their popular poutine: hand-cut, twice fried potatoes topped with homemade gravy and local cheese.

Handmade Street Taco

This cart keeps things simple, making just 30 corn tortillas by hand each day. You’ll try one filled with generously seasoned meat and fresh toppings. It’s a hidden favorite… easy to miss, but unforgettable once you’ve had it.

Portland hidden food hall tacos
Portland hot sauce taco
Portland Food Cart Tour vendor
Asian Noodles
Bavarian Waffles
Tour guide serving food
Two happy eaters at Portland food cart pod
Ukrainian pelmeni
Group at a Portland food cart pod
Asian noodles
Crispy cauliflower
Waffle and powdered sugar
Portland food cart pod

Bavarian, Slavic, & Burmese Delights​​

One of Portland’s largest (and coolest) food cart pods sits on the former grounds of the Oregon Hospital for the Insane. Mentally prepare yourself to try 4 insanely delicious dishes that we’ve hand-picked to highlight the diversity of our local food cart scene.

Portland's Vibrant Street Art Scene​

Just a stone’s throw across the river from Downtown, Portland’s Industrial Eastside neighborhood is celebrated for its vibrant murals, interactive art installations, and quirky history. Set out by food, camera at the ready, to see how this area has transformed over the decades.

Portland street mural
Portland street art
Portland eastside unique recycling bin
Portland street art
BBQ Sandwich
Taking a photo of BBQ Sandwich

Dine at Portland's Bread Village

One of our favorite patios in Portland, this lively food cart pod is home to a mix of standout carts and a well-known local bakery. We’ll top off the afternoon with an award-winning BBQ sandwich on freshly baked bread that’s worth saving room for.

Plus More Surprises!

*This itinerary is subject to changes and adjustments based on daily vendor operations and availability, but it will always be awesome.

Rose City Certified logo

Our tour guides are Rose City Certified.

All of our guides are trained by Travel Portland to know the city inside and out, share local stories, and make every guest feel welcome. It means your tour isn’t just fun. It’s seamless, informed, and truly Portland.

How many food carts are in Portland?

A lot! Of the 1000+ food carts in Portland, we’ve narrowed it down to the top 1% for the city’s ultimate food cart experience. Drinks, desserts, and international fare are accompanied by quirky neighborhood stories and larger-than-life personalities of the amazing chefs who run these eateries on wheels. 

Truly a frontier foodie destination, you’ll get a real feel of the next big thing in flavor where each stop is somehow better than the last. Top off the afternoon nursing the strain in your Thanksgiving-pants by relaxing on a massive patio, debating which bite was best.

Tour guide serving food
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Featured In:

Hidden Trails of Oregon Podcast

“In Portland we meet up with Michelle Bergey, owner of Lost Plate Food Tours, who introduces us to the history and culture of some food-cart pods in Southeast Portland.”

Hidden Trails of Oregon Podcast Logo

Join us and Max McFarlin as we take him to our favorite Portland food carts from our tour to get an in-depth look at the dishes and chefs that make them so special.

Our founder, Michelle, was featured in this Travel Oregon video about why using local guides are the best way to explore Oregon.

Customer Reviews:

Read All Our Reviews

Frequently Asked Questions:

All dietary requests must be communicated at the time of booking. When booking online, you will have the opportunity to let us know if you have any dietary requirements or special requests. Please use the following information to understand if this tour is right for you.

This tour can accommodate vegetarian/pescatarian, no red meat, no chicken, no shellfish/seafood, no dairy*, and no nuts. However, there will not always be direct substitutes for every dish that we try on the tour. Please note that each stop we visit may use these products in their kitchens. 

*We can leave dairy items like cheese and sour cream off your portion, but some items have dairy products cooked into the dish. 

While we don’t recommend this tour for gluten-free or vegan diets, we can somewhat accommodate these requests. At two stops there is not a direct replacement so you will get a different dish than what others are having. We cannot accommodate celiac individuals. Please note that all carts we visit use gluten and meat in their kitchens. 

We cannot accommodate severe allergies as we have no control over the preparation of your food. 

If you have any questions not answered here, please contact us prior to booking.

Yes! This tour takes place primarily outside at different food cart pods and patios, with one or two indoor stops. There is typically seating, but we may need to stand at some carts to enjoy our dish…in true Portland-style. Most carts and pods have covered and/or heated areas, so we promise you’ll be comfortable. Just make sure to dress for the weather!

The coolest thing to hit the USA! Food pods are areas made up of multiple food carts. Communal seating and restrooms are available, and alcoholic beverages are often available as well. We promise you’ll learn all about them and more on this tour. 

All of our tours are rain-or-shine, so we suggest you dress for the weather (and bring an umbrella if it’s raining). In rare cases of extreme weather, your guide will cancel the tour and provide a full refund. There are covered and/or heated areas at each stop.

Your options are limited as these carts are very specialized, but in our experience guests love that this tour is curated. The best thing about this tour is that we’ve done all the hard work for you! We meet personally with the food cart owners to provide the best dishes (sometimes off-menu!) and perfect portions for you. We promise there is something for everyone.

We will try non-alcoholic, unique beverages at 2 food cart pods. We suggest bringing your own water bottle so you can fill it up along the way. You are more than welcome to purchase your own beverages at any stop if time permits. 

This tour covers about 1 mile by foot. This distance is split up between 4 stops, so it’s roughly a 5-10 minute walk between each stop and a great chance to digest a bit before the next stop. 

Of course! We explore off the beaten path places you may not have tried yet. After our tour, you can impress your friends with all kinds of fun facts about Portland.

The tour starts right on time at our first stop: a food cart pod in the Central Eastside district. You’ll get the exact address, directions, and transportation details immediately after booking.

The end location is approx. 1/2 mile away from the start location.

Currently group sizes are limited to 10-12 people. (All people in your party must book a spot, this includes infants and children of all ages.) There’s no flag to follow, or megaphone, or tacky uniforms. It’s small enough to be intimate, but big enough to get away with trying several dishes at each stop. You’ll get plenty of face-time with the experts. Bottom line is, you’ll follow the guide through a super-local experience and make friends along the way.

This tour lasts about 3 hours (sometimes less). If you have any concerns about timing and meeting up based on your itinerary, let us know and we’ll see what we can do to make this as hassle-free as possible. 

Unfortunately, pets are not allowed inside food and drink establishments in Portland. While we would love to meet your furry friend, pets are not able to join our tours for the comfort and safety of all guests and vendors.

For the safety and comfort of our guests and guides, all tours are smoke-free. This includes cigarettes, cannabis, and vape devices. 

While we do not include alcoholic beverages as part of the tour, you are more than welcome to purchase one at a stop if time permits. Keep in mind, we want everyone to have a comfortable and pleasant experience, so please save your shenanigans for after the tour. All Lost Plate tours are a family-friendly experience and we appreciate your understanding.  

We have many happy customers who do more than one of our tours in Portland. We have designed our tours to focus only on very different parts of the city and different cuisines. This means that each dish, story, and vibe is unique to each tour and there aren’t any repeats.

Most people are very surprised how broad the culinary scene is in Portland, and our tours are a good way to discover those differences. We cover everything from food carts to private kitchen experiences, morning coffees to wine tastings. We encourage you to pick the tours that best fit your itinerary and we offer a 10% discount if booking more than one tour.

Yes, this food tour can be booked privately. Visit our Private & Group Tour page for more info and to contact us. 

Yes! You’ll get a promo code in your confirmation email that will give you a 10% discount on all future Lost Plate tours. It doesn’t matter if the tour is in the same city or a different city, we want to keep feeding you as long as you let us. Also, children ages 4 through 15 receive a discount on all tours (3 & under are free).

Bookings cancelled 24 hours or more before your tour are fully refundable (100% refund). Bookings cancelled within 24 hours notice are not refundable. Cancellations must be communicated by email to info@lostplate.com or by phone. If you would like to reschedule your tour with less than 24 hours notice, we will need to charge 50% of your total since we are unable to fill your spots at short notice.

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