Discover the Best Keto Restaurants and Must-Try Low-Carb Food Finds in Portland and the Oregon Coast!

For those following a ketogenic (keto) diet, finding suitable dining options while traveling or simply eating out can be a challenge. This article explores keto-friendly restaurants and specialty food finds in Portland, Oregon, and along the Oregon Coast, making it easier to maintain a low-carb lifestyle while enjoying the local cuisine.

Dining Keto in Portland

While staying keto might seem difficult, several establishments in Portland cater to low-carb diets. Here are some options to explore:

Harlow: This cafe and juice bar offers 100% gluten-free, vegan, and vegetarian cuisine with many keto-friendly options. Located at 505 NW 23rd Ave, Portland, OR 97210, Harlow is open seven days a week from 8:30 am to 7:30 pm. They focus on fresh, locally sourced ingredients, offering everything from vegan mac and cheese to vegetable and grain bowls.
Laughing Planet: Since 2000, Laughing Planet has been a popular burrito spot. For a keto-friendly meal, ditch the tortilla and rice and opt for a bowl with sauteed kale substituted for grains.
The Elk Horn: Known for its Southern-style comfort food, The Elk Horn offers keto options like Keto Fried Chicken, made with blanched almond flour and Parmesan crust, served with mashed cauliflower, cheddar cheese, herbs, and cream cheese gravy.
F.E.R.N. Kitchen: With a mission to "Feed Everyone Real Nourishment," F.E.R.N. Kitchen makes keto substitutions easy. They are happy to swap in an egg or other keto-friendly ingredients upon request. F.E.R.N. stands for “Feeding Everyone Real Nourishment”, and they make this their mission.
Mucho Gusto: For a quick Mexican meal, skip the beans and rice in their menu bowl and load up on lettuce, pork carnitas, pico de gallo, and cilantro-lime sour cream. Fresh brewed unsweetened iced tea or margaritas are great beverage choices.
Stella's Kitchen: This service delivers fresh and healthy Whole 30 and Keto options right to your door, perfect for those too busy to cook.
Dick's Kitchen: With two locations, Dick’s Kitchen offers a primarily Paleo menu, encouraging customers to customize their meals to meet their needs. Founder Richard Satnick began Dick’s Kitchen as a way to share the food and recipes he discovered while researching his own nutritional and dietary needs.
Chipotle: This national chain provides quick and healthy keto-eating options.

Keto on the Oregon Coast: Specialty Foods and Restaurants

Finding keto-friendly options on the Oregon Coast requires a bit of exploration, but several local establishments offer unique finds.

Restaurants and Chowderies:

Mo's Seafood & Chowder: With locations in Astoria, Seaside, Cannon Beach, Florence, Lincoln City, Otter Rock, and Portland, Mo's is a great option for those seeking local seafood specialties. They offer low-carb sides like sautéed garlic green beans and various appetizers and salads that aren't loaded with carbs.
- Appetizers:
  - Steamer Clams: $10.95
  - Oyster Stew: $9.95
  - Seafood Stuffed Avocado or Tomato: $11.95
  - Oregon Shrimp Salad: $13.95
  - Dinner Salad: $3.95
- Entrees: Choose sautéed garlic green beans instead of rice and potato options. A grilled tuna sandwich without the bun is also a viable option.

Specialty Food Stores and Creameries:

Tillamook Creamery: While the tour and sampling station are fun, the store offers a wide array of dairy products, including specialty cheeses that might be harder to find in stores.

Read also: Easy Low-Carb Cheese Crackers
- Keto-Friendly Finds:
  - Oloves: Flavored pitted olives.
  - Two Towns Ciderhouse's SeekOut Hard Seltzers: Low-carb alcoholic beverages with only 2 carbs per can.
  - Kyla Hard Kombucha: Another low-carb alcoholic drink with 2g of carbs per can.
  - Ground Up and Dundee Orchard Nut Butters: Locally made natural nut butters, including hazelnut, almond & hazelnut, and chunky almond, cashew & coconut.
  - Oregon Olive Mill and Durant Olive Oils: Special varietals of olive oils.
  - Jacobsen Salt Company: Varietals of salt and seasoned salts perfect for avocados or boiled eggs.
  - Salads (individual and sharing sizes): Green $10 or 14, Tillamook Caesar $10 or 14, Oregon Bay shrimp $12 or 20 (hold the croutons).
  - 6oz Burgers: Classic cheeseburger with Tillamook sharp cheddar $10 (hold the bun), or Tilamook cheeseburger with a pimento cheese combining Tilamook Monterey jack, smoked cheddar, pepper jack and cream cheese $12. Add bacon on either for $2.
Blue Heron: Specializing in unique varieties of Brie, including smoked Brie, Blue Heron also offers locally made berry-based products like Marionberry jams and teas, and a variety of spice blends for dips and dressings.
Tillamook Country Smoker: Offers zero-sugar jerkies in original flavor and black pepper, perfect for keto hikers and backpackers.
Build-Your-Own Salad Bar: Found at many grocery stores, these offer a variety of keto-friendly ingredients like cheese, lettuce, spinach, olives, pickles, cauliflower, mushrooms, walnuts, toasted coconut, sunflower seeds, lemons, and limes.
South Coast Gourmet: A specialty gourmet food shop offering unique varieties of cheese, meat, and keto-friendly spreads.

Beverages:

Pilothouse Distillery (Astoria): Offers a range of low-carb spirits, including vodka, rum, whisky, absinthe, aquavit, and agave spirit.
Depoe Bay Winery: A small winery overlooking the ocean.

Seafood Markets:

Bell Buoy (Seaside): Known for house-made seafood products like salmon jerky, smoked tuna, halibut, oysters, and crab dips. Be cautious of added sugars in some jerkies.
Pacific Ocean Harvesters (Brookings): Focuses on locally caught seafood and has a few house-made ready-to-eat products like shrimp cocktail salad and smoked salmon.

Sweets:

Bruce's Candy (Cannon Beach): Offers house-made sugar-free salt-water taffy made with maltitol. While not strictly keto-friendly due to the maltitol content, it can be an occasional treat in moderation.

Grocery Shopping:

Grocery Outlet Bargain Market: With locations in Brookings, Florence, Coos Bay, and Newport, this outlet offers cheap, keto-friendly cheese, meat, veggies, nuts, seeds, drinks, condiments, and snacks.

Dick's Primal Kitchen: Simplifying Diets for Health and Sustainability

At Dick's Primal Kitchen, the focus is on simplifying diets to promote personal health and environmental sustainability. Founder Richard Satnick's research into the connections between eating habits, inflammation, and metabolism-related disorders led to the creation of a menu that predominantly favors a paleo diet.

The primary goal is to encourage customers to reduce processed foods, sugars, and industrial oils in their diets. Regardless of the specific dietary path chosen, making conscious food choices can lead to improved health outcomes and a more sustainable planet.

Supporting the Community

Harlow, located in NW Portland, demonstrates a commitment to the community by providing bowls of chili for those who have lost their SNAP benefits, with donations helping to cover food costs.

Read also: Magnesium Supplements for Keto

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