Feb 28, 2025 - Food and Drink

Portland vs. Seattle: 2 feuding food towns

Two photos side by side: The one of the left depicts a hand holding a plate with a blue-corn tortilla taco and greens on top. The one of the right shows a crab roll on parchment paper. — A breaded cod taco with caviar from Portland's Chelo (left), and a crab roll from Seattle's Local Tide (right). Photos: Meira Gebel and Melissa Santos/Axios

Being in the Pacific Northwest, Portland and Seattle's culinary scenes have a lot in common.

Zoom in: We're both big craft beer and coffee towns, have stellar wine countries, and prioritize locally-grown ingredients thanks to our access to farms and food producers.

But who comes out on top?

Meira's thought bubble: Portland's well-established food cart culture means you can have cuisines from around the world in just one pod. The city's commitment to fostering independent eateries also means we aren't bogged down by chains.

Need I mention all the top marks we've gotten for our pizza, highly-executed tasting menu restaurants and plethora of vegan options?
One more thing: No sales tax on your meal!

Melissa's rebuttal: OK, so pioneering chef James Beard is literally from Portland, and your chefs have been trouncing us lately in his namesake awards. Fine.

But one area where Seattle reigns supreme? Seafood.
I'll raise you Local Tide, The Walrus and the Carpenter, RockCreek, Driftwood or Westward to whatever Portland can dredge up from the depths of the Willamette River.

Case in point: While you can find Dungeness crab off the coast of Oregon, it's named after the town of Dungeness in Washington for a reason.

Meira's final thought: Bragging about a $30 bowl of chowder? Yeah, you can keep it.

Advantage: Portland.

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Portland vs. Seattle: 2 feuding food towns

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