One of the last consummate dives in the city, the Yukon Tavern sports wood-paneled walls, the occasional TV, and entertainment including pool, shuffleboard, and the ubiquitous video-poker machines. Regulars stick to the bar’s taps and cheap well drinks, and the food menu is everything a dive needs, including fried snacks, burgers, and chicken tenders.

The main focus at the 45-year-old special occasion spot is on the two dozen or so cakes that the bakery makes fresh each day, but the lunch and dinner menus shouldn’t be skipped over too quickly. Lunch features classics like a buttery croque monsieur and a bay shrimp salad, while dinner is more high-end without being too ambitious — think lemon-and-mascarpone ravioli, culotte steak, and wild-caught salmon. Still, the cakes steal the show, from the thick and dense chocolate torte to the towering, whipped cream-and-fruit-filled boccone dolce, best enjoyed in the summer months when berries are ripest.

Former Tasty N Alder chef Josh Schimmel-Bristow opened this lime-green cart where he meddles with Mexican-style cuisine using Pacific Northwestern ingredients. The menu here offers items like chimichangas, tacos, salads, and quesadillas, which are all customizable with options like braised verde chicken, chile-poached shrimp, and roasted cauliflower. Don’t miss the crispy rice, which is pancake-shaped and comes topped with a sunny side-up egg, queso fresco, avocado salsa, and crema — it can be made even more extra with the optional addition of fried chicken or fish. The Smile Pod has limited covered outdoor seating.

Bible Club is well known for its decor—every piece of furniture and bar equipment is vintage, often from the 19th century. But decor alone does not make a bar great; luckily, the thoughtful, often beautifully constructed cocktails do. Everything here is made with high-end spirits; that means higher prices than the average cocktail lounge, but it’s more than worth it. The smaller food menu is on the snackier, comfort-food side, including some shareable boards, baked red sauce meatballs, and grilled shishito peppers.

Kay’s Bar, with its divey, diner-like atmosphere, is bustling most nights, with reliable food, affordable well drinks and pints, and a modest-but-creative cocktail menu. The kitchen puts out classic, well-made bar staples, including a variety of burgers, wraps, and nachos, and offers many dishes on the happy hour menu from 4 to 6 p.m. Notably, the bar has been open in some form or another since 1934, making it significantly older than most of its guests.

First a food cart, now a busy brick and mortar built in an old, wood-floored home, PDX Sliders specializes in its “miniature” sandwiches… though many of them really push the limits to what can be considered a slider and not a sandwich. The menu is all about variety, including burgers, fried chicken, smoked pork, and vegetarian sandwiches, all of which are named after Portland streets and bridges. The Hawthorne, a burger with bacon, goat cheese, and strawberry preserves on brioche, is an indulgent hit, while the Burlington with pecan-smoked pork is a bit more reasonable, but no less meaty or delicious.

One of the city’s defining barbecue spots, Reverend’s BBQ serves smoked meats and fried chicken in a casual, fast-paced dining room. The chopped pork shoulder is the star of the show here, and while tender and flavorful on its own, it does well with a nice deluge of the many sauces, especially in sandwich form. Meanwhile, the griddled polenta with creamed corn and tasso ham is a sleeper hit — creamy, silky, and rich.

Portland is no stranger to old-school Italian joints, and one example is A Cena Ristorante. Pronounced Ah-Chay-Nah, the restaurant has been serving its rich pasta dishes to couples and families for years now, in a romantic, formal-yet-welcoming setting. Sunny’s Pizza, its adjoining pizzeria, serves a small but satisfying menu of New York-style slices and full pies alongside Greek and Caesar salads.  

A family-owned affair, the double-decker, wood-filled Jade Teahouse is always packed, usually with a line nearly out the door for its counter-service Vietnamese food. The pastries are baked in house and often sell out, especially the delightful, colorful little macarons and the fluffy tea cakes, but the whole menu is worth exploring: Fluffy steamed bao, crispy spring rolls, spicy chile noodles, and the slightly-sweet chicken mango stir-fry all deliver.

A longstanding member of Sellwood’s dining scene, Gino’s is home to classic Italian American dining. The homey bistro serves pasta dishes, bone-in pork chops, and bowls of mussels to the tables, booths, and oak bar that fill the space. While its cuisine is time-tested and pleasing, its wine menu may be the star, as Gino’s quietly has one of the most robust lists of Italian wines in the city.

Former rapper Mando Fernandez slings burgers and chicken wings out of this food cart, which relocated from East County to Sellwood a few months ago. Juicy Angus beef burgers arrive a la carte but diners can supplement the Wunderland (bacon, peanut butter, and marionberry jam) with a side of crinkle cut fries or the Laurelhurst (beer-battered jalapenos, pepper jack, bacon) with some onion rings. Mando’s Remix Wings have a satisfying crunch and are doused in a sweet-and-savory sauce.

There aren’t many tables at Kaede; plus, the restaurant is reservation only and has been regularly booked since the accomplished chef husband-and-wife team Shinji and Izumi Uehara opened it for dine-in in January. However, the real magic happens at the four-seat sushi counter, where it’s easy for diners to become mesmerized by chef Shinji’s practiced flow of shaping rice for nigiri and skillfully slicing fish flown in from Tokyo’s Toyosu Fish Market. Kaede’s signature roll, the saba battera, is a vinegary delight with house-cured mackerel, kombu, and shichimi. Although sushi comprises half the menu, don’t miss cooked dishes such as a luxuriously smooth maitake mushroom chawanmushi and delicately crispy agedashi tofu swimming in a savory dashi.