Eating Out Gluten Free In Portland: Petunia's Pies and Pastries Review
When you have celiac disease and want to eat out gluten free, finding dedicated gluten free restaurants often feels like finding the Holy Grail...which is why the first gluten free restaurant I’m reviewing from my visit to Portland is Petunia’s Pies and Pastries!
As I shared on my Instagram a few weeks ago, I traveled to Portland in late May to attend a writing conference with my grad school (which is also why I was quiet on the blog for a lot of last month). And besides some awesome hikes, time with friends and writing classes, plentiful gluten free food was the main highlight of my trip!
I’ll be sharing more gluten free places in Portland to eat in the next few months, but I had to start with my favorite stop: Petunia’s Pies and Pastries. This dedicated gluten free restaurant is also 100% vegan, and they don’t allow any outside food or drinks inside the restaurant to keep things extra safe. And don’t let the sweet name of the restaurant fool you - Petunia’s Pies and Pastries also offers a good amount of delicious savory options.
My friends and I ended up arriving at the cafe only 30 minutes before they closed, so a lot of their baked goods were already sold out. But don’t worry - I still snagged some goodies I’ll talk about later! ;)
I’d actually already eaten dinner by the time we arrived at Petunia’s Pies and Pastries, so I ordered their lentil pot pie to go. I ate it cold the next afternoon and oh my golly goodness. THIS is how gluten free pie crust should taste! It was definitely very rich (I’m guessing from plentiful coconut oil or vegan butter) but also very flaky and flavorful, and I ended up eating the whole thang in one go. The filling was made of sweet potatoes, lentils and lots of veggies, and the pot pie was the perfect vegan and gluten free comfort food. I also thought the serving size was perfect, especially since it came with a side salad.
You can check out Petunia’s menu online to see their other savory options, but my friends did order the chili, cornbread and Mac and cheese and raved about all of them. The cornbread was sweet and moist, the chili was packed with flavor but not overly spicy, and the mac and cheese was creamy and didn’t have any aftertaste sometimes found with dairy free cheese. The kicker: none of my friends were gluten free, and only one was vegan, and they all said this was one of their favorite meals of the trip.
While my friends ate their dinner...I enjoyed my first restaurant-ordered “sundae” in years. I got two scoops of Petunia’s handmade coconut milk ice cream in chocolate salted caramel and cookie dough. And guys. I literally woke up the next morning dreaming about that ice cream! It was super creamy, very sweet without tasting sugary, and it had the perfect ratio of mix-ins and ice cream. I loved both flavors, but I hadn’t tasted vegan and gluten free cookie dough ice cream in years, so I about swooned when I got to that scoop. Safe to say, I scraped my dessert bowl clean.
I also got a mini chocolate chip cookie sandwich with bourbon icing in the middle...but I ended up eating it at my hotel the next day before remembering to snap a photo. Just take my word for it that the cookies were crunchy and the icing was super light and fluffy.
My friend also ordered a slice of strawberry rhubarb pie that she kindly let me taste. The crust was flaky and rich, and the dusting of sugar perfectly complemented the tart fruit. I’m not usually a pie person, but I happily finished off the last bites on her plate.
I unfortunately didn’t get a chance to stop by Petunia’s early enough to try their breakfast or their handmade black bean burger, but if I ever am in the area again, I will definitely go for breakfast or lunch. I can’t recommend Petunia’s highly enough, especially if you’re looking for gluten free and vegan ice cream. It was not a cheap meal, but I definitely felt like I got what I paid for.
If you have the opportunity, I’d recommend stopping by Petunia’s earlier in the day so you have the most options to pick from, as I mentioned earlier that most of their baked goods were sold out by the time I arrived. The cafe is also rather small, so it might be challenging to find seating during busy hours. Overall, though, Petunia’s Pies and Pastries definitely deserves to be on your to-do list if you’re looking for gluten free restaurants in Portland!
What is your favorite ice cream flavor? Have you ever been to Portland? Tell me in the comments!
As I shared on my Instagram a few weeks ago, I traveled to Portland in late May to attend a writing conference with my grad school (which is also why I was quiet on the blog for a lot of last month). And besides some awesome hikes, time with friends and writing classes, plentiful gluten free food was the main highlight of my trip!
I’ll be sharing more gluten free places in Portland to eat in the next few months, but I had to start with my favorite stop: Petunia’s Pies and Pastries. This dedicated gluten free restaurant is also 100% vegan, and they don’t allow any outside food or drinks inside the restaurant to keep things extra safe. And don’t let the sweet name of the restaurant fool you - Petunia’s Pies and Pastries also offers a good amount of delicious savory options.
My friends and I ended up arriving at the cafe only 30 minutes before they closed, so a lot of their baked goods were already sold out. But don’t worry - I still snagged some goodies I’ll talk about later! ;)
I’d actually already eaten dinner by the time we arrived at Petunia’s Pies and Pastries, so I ordered their lentil pot pie to go. I ate it cold the next afternoon and oh my golly goodness. THIS is how gluten free pie crust should taste! It was definitely very rich (I’m guessing from plentiful coconut oil or vegan butter) but also very flaky and flavorful, and I ended up eating the whole thang in one go. The filling was made of sweet potatoes, lentils and lots of veggies, and the pot pie was the perfect vegan and gluten free comfort food. I also thought the serving size was perfect, especially since it came with a side salad.
You can check out Petunia’s menu online to see their other savory options, but my friends did order the chili, cornbread and Mac and cheese and raved about all of them. The cornbread was sweet and moist, the chili was packed with flavor but not overly spicy, and the mac and cheese was creamy and didn’t have any aftertaste sometimes found with dairy free cheese. The kicker: none of my friends were gluten free, and only one was vegan, and they all said this was one of their favorite meals of the trip.
While my friends ate their dinner...I enjoyed my first restaurant-ordered “sundae” in years. I got two scoops of Petunia’s handmade coconut milk ice cream in chocolate salted caramel and cookie dough. And guys. I literally woke up the next morning dreaming about that ice cream! It was super creamy, very sweet without tasting sugary, and it had the perfect ratio of mix-ins and ice cream. I loved both flavors, but I hadn’t tasted vegan and gluten free cookie dough ice cream in years, so I about swooned when I got to that scoop. Safe to say, I scraped my dessert bowl clean.
I also got a mini chocolate chip cookie sandwich with bourbon icing in the middle...but I ended up eating it at my hotel the next day before remembering to snap a photo. Just take my word for it that the cookies were crunchy and the icing was super light and fluffy.
My friend also ordered a slice of strawberry rhubarb pie that she kindly let me taste. The crust was flaky and rich, and the dusting of sugar perfectly complemented the tart fruit. I’m not usually a pie person, but I happily finished off the last bites on her plate.
I unfortunately didn’t get a chance to stop by Petunia’s early enough to try their breakfast or their handmade black bean burger, but if I ever am in the area again, I will definitely go for breakfast or lunch. I can’t recommend Petunia’s highly enough, especially if you’re looking for gluten free and vegan ice cream. It was not a cheap meal, but I definitely felt like I got what I paid for.
If you have the opportunity, I’d recommend stopping by Petunia’s earlier in the day so you have the most options to pick from, as I mentioned earlier that most of their baked goods were sold out by the time I arrived. The cafe is also rather small, so it might be challenging to find seating during busy hours. Overall, though, Petunia’s Pies and Pastries definitely deserves to be on your to-do list if you’re looking for gluten free restaurants in Portland!
What is your favorite ice cream flavor? Have you ever been to Portland? Tell me in the comments!
My favorite ice cream in a restaurant was pear sorbet with sesame ganache at A Single Pebble in Burlington VT. I still remember exactly what it tastes like though it's been over 10 years since I've been there and I can't eat there anymore, the risk of CC is way too high. Never been to Portland, sounds nice though.
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