Portland is known for its infamous food truck “pods” across the city. Pods refer to a cluster of food trucks grouped together in a spot. The pods range from just a couple of trucks in a pod, while others are a bit more extensive with over 20! When looking for some of the best places to eat, look no further than some of the best food truck pods in Portland. The city is home to over 600 food carts.
Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. I may earn a commission at no cost to you!
Table of Contents
Where to Stay in Portland
TripAdvisor is a great place to start your hotel search. Search for the best Portland hotels here! Also, check out this post with some of my favorite Portland hotels.
The following are some of the best hotels in Portland. *means it is one of my favorites!
- Hilton Portland Downtown
- The Duniway Portland*
- Hyatt Centric Downtown*
- AC Marriott Portland Downtown*
- Moxy Portland Downtown
- Kimpton Hotel Vintage Portland
- Home2Suites Portland Airport
- Residence Inn Portland Airport
- Hyatt Place Portland Airport/Cascade Station
- Hampton Inn Portland East
The Best Food Truck Pods in Portland, Oregon
Barley Pod
Address: 6035 NE Halsey St
Hours: Mon-Wed: 12pm-10pm, Thurs-Sun: 11am-10pm
Types of Trucks: Large assortment: pizza, Asian, Latin…
The Barley Pod is one of my favorite food truck pods in Portland. It has an on-site brewery and a huge assortment of trucks. I had delicious Mediterranean food but the Argentinian food truck looked amazing too. It is named the Barley Pod due to the fact all of the trucks surround the brewery.
This pod opened in the summer of 2018 and was much needed in this neighborhood. You can find some budget-friendly carts here with some meal options starting at $6. Make sure to grab a Jian bing from Bing Me or Venezuelan street food.
Cartlandia
Address: 8145 SE Ave.
Hours: Mon-Fri: 7am-9pm, Sat-Sun: 8am-9pm
Types of Trucks: Variety
Cartlandia is a huge food truck pod in Portland that is on the southeastern side of the city near the Clackamas Town Center. Here you can find over 30 food truck carts with a ton of seating. They have pretty much all types of food you can imagine.
Spud Buddy, which offers a variety of baked potatoes, is one of the newest options. One of the most popular options is to grab a pupusa from Pupuseria La Minguela. Another popular option is Grits Gone Wild which offers southern comfort food.
Cartopia
Address: 1207 SE Hawthorne Blvd.
Hours: 11am-12am
Types of Tucks: Thai, Chicken, Mexican, Potatoes
Cartopia is a medium-sized food truck pod in the Hawthorne Area of Portland. It is the eastside’s original food truck pod and has been around since 2008. There are 8 different trucks in this location and they have a ton of seating options.
Although smaller, you can still find some pretty great options. Potato Champaign has some good poutine. Bottle Rocket is popular for burgers. You cannot go wrong with this food truck pod in Portland.
Hawthorne Asylum
Address: 1080 SE Madison
Hours: Varies but anywhere from 9am-9pm
Types of Trucks: Asian, Mexican, American (22+ trucks)
The Hawthorne Asylum is another one of my favorite food truck pods in Portland. This food pod is a series of over 22 trucks in eastern Portland that opened in 2019. You can literally find almost every type of food truck here and there is a ton of space for eating. It is also close to many of the distilleries in Portland as well as things to do in the Hawthorne area.
From multiple varieties of Asian to Mexican and American like Philly Cheesesteaks, you will not leave this food pod hungry. It has some unique options like Egyptian or South African food carts. The Jalapeno lemonade is also pretty popular.
Nob Hill Food Carts
Address: 1845 NW 23rd Pl.
Hours: Mon-Wed: 11:30am-8:30pm, Thurs-Fri: 10:30am-8:30pm, Sat-Sun: 11am-8:30pm
Types of Trucks: Asian and Mexican
Nob Hill is another larger food truck pod with some unique options. One of my favorite options is Bing Mi, the Chinese crepe place. They are so good and not often found outside of China. The Indian and Thai carts are also really delicious.
One of the nice things about the Nob Hill Food Carts is that they are conveniently located next to several distilleries along distillery row. They are also pretty close to Providence Park, so you could grab food before a Timbers or Thorns game.
Pioneer Square
Address: 701 SW 6th Ave
Hours: Varies
Types of Trucks: Breakfast, Olympic Provisions
Pioneer Square does not have the largest assortment of food trucks but it is a convenient location to grab food or a snack downtown. Thus, it makes for one o the best food truck pods in Portland due to its location. I also like that they have a big area with tables. Sometimes there is even live music. In the summertime, this area is also home to outdoor movies.
One of the popular food trucks in Pioneer Square is the Olympic Provisions truck. This is a popular Portland staple as they serve a ton of really good sausages.
Pod 28 Laurelhurst
Address: 113 SE 28th Ave
Hours: 12pm-10pm
Types of Trucks: Asian, Pizza, Tortas
Pod 28 spans a five-block radius when all its food trucks are open. It has been around for almost a decade and has several popular food trucks. It is located next to a lot of other awesome places to eat and drink as well such as Tropicale and 50 Licks Ice Cream.
Wolf and Bear, a Middle Eastern shawarma place, is a popular truck at this location. There is also a really good crepe place that serves some unique crepes. Make sure to grab a lavender lemonade from this best food truck pod in Portland as well.
Slabtown Food Carts
Address: Corner of NW 23rd Avenue & NW Roosevelt St.
Hours: Mon-Fri: 9:30am-4pm
Types of Trucks: Breakfast, Hawaiian, Mexican
There are only 5 trucks at the Slabtown Food Carts, but this is where you can find another “Fried Egg I’m in Love.” The Mexican and Hawaii carts are also quite good. This is one of the best food truck pods in Portland if you are looking for one that is not super busy.
Third Avenue Food Truck Pod
Address: SW 3rd Ave & SW Harvey Milk St.
Hours: Mon-Fri: 9am-4pm
Types of Trucks: Mexican, Egypt, Asian
The Third Avenue Food Tucks are one of the best food truck pods in Portland due to their downtown location. There is a wide variety of trucks and once you grab your food, you can go eat along the waterfront if you so choose.
The Third Avenue Food Pod contains the famous Stretch the Noodle cart. This place is known for its fresh daily house-made noodles. They tend to get busy around noon as many of the employees who work nearby will take their lunch break around then.
Other of the Best Food Truck Pods in Portland
There are several more of the best food truck pods in Portland scattered around the city, and new ones continually pop up. I cannot wait for my next visit to Portland to try out some new ones.
Favorite Food Trucks
There are so many delicious food trucks in Portland, but my ultimate two favorites include. Fried Egg I’m in Love and Bing Mi. The breakfast sandwiches from Fried Egg I’m in Love are delicious and amazing. There are also gluten-free and vegan options! Bing Mi has Chinese-style crepes that are delicious any time of the day.
Best Food Truck Pods in Portland: Food Tours
One of the best date ideas in Portland is to go on a food truck pod food tour! This food tour takes you around to a variety of Eastside food trucks. If you head out on a food tour through Portland by Mouth, they also stop at some food trucks.
Other Things to Do in Portland
Outside of some of the best food truck pods in Portland, you can find many other delicious places to eat, fabulous bars, and exciting distilleries. If you have the time, make sure to take some day trips or weekend trips from Portland and visit the Willamette Valley wine region.
