Salt & Straw

Im not supposed to have ice cream… but yum! They do have one flavor here made with coconut milk, but the flavor didnt sound as good as the real ice cream did, so I kept myself to a small amount to give it a try. There were three tween girls, and three moms here… on a very busy Saturday night after playing at Portland Futsal. Service was friendly, and as fast as they could while not rushing people through and allowing samples. The décor was interesting, and a little odd… very PDX-​ish, of course.

Maybe the best specialty ice cream I’ve had? Or maybe Ice cream in the dead winter in Portland just makes it 48493x better than usual?
We tried so many flavors and the workers were nice enough to describe most of them to me. Love that they use silver tasting spoons but man, they must run that dishwasher hundreds of times a day!
I ended up getting the honey lavender and caramel!
Wish I could get this stuff shipped home to Texas :(AMAZING!

SALT & STRAW
Salt & Straw is a tourist destination for sweets for anyone who visits Portland, Oregon! The shop is known for very unique flavors that are quite different from anything else. The ice cream is handmade in small batches using all natural dairy. Classic flavors include sea salt with caramel ribbons, honey lavender, Arbequina olive oil, pear with blue cheese (delicious), chocolate gooey brownie (amazing), and strawberry honey balsamic with black pepper (awesome). Other unique flavors include Oregon black truffle and sparkling mimosa sherbet. Since there are so many flavors, feel free to sample a few of them before finally picking your preferred flavor. Although not as creamy as other ice creams, the unique flavors more than make up for it. Believe the hype!

Super tasty ice cream and super friendly staff.
I’ll admit, I don’t think I’ve ever had ice cream I didn’t like. Gourmet ice cream from San Francisco? I love it. Freezer-​burned popsicles from 7 – 11? I love it.
But Salt & Straw is definitely something special. There are long lines on the weekend, even when it’s cold outside. The staff is always accommodating and lets you try out different flavors, no matter how busy it gets. Also, do yourself a favor and get ice cream in a cone.

This is the 2^nd location I went to for Salt & Straw; from my short experience this was not the «original» because it wasn’t super busy.
Same vibe, modern look, and super fun atmosphere. Picnic tables and bar stools for seating, if it’s nice outside I think there are a few seats/​benches. The barista scoopers were super nice and suggested a few combos that would be good. I ended up with the Strawberry Honey Balsamic w/​Black Pepper and Arbequina Olive Oil. Delicious. Great combo.
I also tried the Double Fold Vanilla which was wonderful but I had gotten vanilla ice cream the other day so I opted out. I wasn’t a huge fan of the Freckled Woodblock Chocolate but my +1 loved it. I picked up a freezer/​lunch bag that was adorable, a big pricey but worth it to me. My +1 enjoyed the Stumptown Nitro Cold Brew, it came out of the tap and was SO GOOD.
Side note: bathroom soap is so cool and soft on the hands, wet your hands first though.

I love this place! There’s a lot of great reviews about this place, so let me just tell you what was interesting. The people who took my order were extremely nice and let me try all of the flavors I wanted. The Pear with Blue Cheese really tastes exactly like the two together. However, the blue cheese wasn’t overwhelming, which was great. Olive Oil was one of the most unique flavors I’ve tried, but I don’t know if I could eat an entire scoop. Strawberry Honey Balsamic with Black Pepper was okay, but I didn’t find it that great. That being said, I am a bigger fan of more indulgent flavors. I personally hated Mince Meat Pie (a seasonal flavor), because it kind of tasted like a trail mix blend? Very strange texture and flavor mix. We ended up getting the almond brittle with salted ganache and it was DELICIOUS. Definitely a flavor you won’t find anywhere else.
Overall, I love this place and I wish they came to California. If I lived in Portland, I would probably come here everyday…

Pure love. Cinnamon snickerdoodle is probably the best thing ever… it was full of cookie pies and had the perfect amount of cinnamon. I got this with the almond brittle with salted ganache on a waffle cone, kids size split scoop. Coming out to about $ 4.50, this was the perfect amount but the waffle cone was a bit big for the ice cream. Nonetheless, amazing food with the nicest scooper ever! He gave me as much time as I needed, offered suggestions and let me try basically anything I wanted (but i couldn’t take much, it was 10:30PM). Love the place and being a snowy night, it was very empty and a comfortable setting.

sweet tooth highlight | unique
$$
If it’s your first time in Portland, it is a MUST to stop here. It’s a small little unique shop, and it almost always crowded because it’s popular and tasty!
We went when it was raining and people were STILL lining up for this place. No matter what the weather is like, people will want some of their delicious ice cream.
Unique flavors. I had the Stumptown Coffee with Burnside Bourbon flavor.
N O R E G R E T S.
Can they just open up a location in my area in California?!

We were recommended Salt & Straw by a friend from Pennsylvania that had heard of its delicious reputation and unique, quirky flavors, and it definitely lived up to its hype. The service couldn’t have been much more friendly, with our server encouraging us to sample as many flavors as we’d like. The caramel pecan apple pie and the Stumptown Coffee & Burnside Bourbon flavors were my favorites. I opted for the latter and splurged for the house-​made waffle cone. Always splurge for the waffle cone. Beware — the portion sizes aren’t skimpy. The single scoop was more than enough for me, as much as I would have liked to gorge myself on more creamy deliciousness. As other reviewers have pointed out, be prepared to open your wallet. While a tasty treat, we unfortunately couldn’t afford to make this a regular ice cream stop.

Very unique flavors!
This is not your normal ice cream shop. I really enjoyed trying out of the box flavors. When I was there, they had thanksgiving flavors including weird ones such as Butter mashed potatoes & gravy and cranberry stuffing. They were strange, yet really good. On the plus side, you can try as many flavors as you want and the staff doesn’t make you feel like it’s an inconvenience. They’re extremely helpful and friendly!
I did not decide on a flavor that was that far out of the box. I ordered the Honey Lavender. It was a light and refreshing flavor.

Boy does this pace have some great ice cream! Came here with a friend and got the Strawberry balsamic flavor which was out of this world! By far the best strawberry ice cream I have ever had. Sweet, fruity, creamy, with a slight tang of balsamic… it was heaven. I also sprung for the waffle cone which was well worth it. They make them right there in the shop, which is cool to see. My friend got the snickerdoodle flavor which she really liked as well.
It was really cool to see that they have such inventive flavors. I can’t wait to come back and try more of them out!

This place has the friendliest service. The worker patiently gave five of my friends a taste tour of all the thanksgiving flavors without breaking a smile.
My favorite was definitely the Salted Caramel Thanksgiving Turkey made with Turkey fat.
I got the portalnd exclusive flavors (double fold vanilla and the stumptown coffee, 0.75 scoops of each) and they were one of the better ice creams I’ve had in my life.
Atmosphere is clean. Ice cream is good. (better than the LA one).
I’d highly recommend this place for people that enjoy desserts.

They put TURKEY in my ice cream and it was DELICIOUS!!!
Service: with a smile! Samples galore!
Flavors: inventive and wow!
Waittime: none, it was pouring down rain
Price: eh, worth it!
My mouth is watering just reminiscing and writing the review! Ha!

I’ve heard good things about this ice creamery and finally had a chance to visit. Of all the ice cream places we’ve been to in Portland, this is by far the best one. The ice cream wasn’t too sweet and had a lighter taste (it was not super thick or make me feel sick).
My fiancé and I had the Thanksgiving specials:
Apple Cranberry Stuffing
Sweet Potato w/​Maple Pecans
I wish my photo didn’t turn out so blurry, otherwise I would share the menu. I always worry about the specials because some places overdo the flavor. Salt and Straw? NO problem. Both tasted like Thanksgiving in our mouths and we probably should’ve gotten double servings because it was a little difficult to share. If my turkey was stuffed with the apple cranberry stuffing they used, I’d be in heaven! There were even pieces of bread in the ice cream! I was so shocked because it truly felt like we fast forwarded to the end of the month. The sweet potato was rather sweet, but on point. It felt like eating sweet potato with butter and cinnamon.
What’s funny is my friend also came with us and without knowing, he ordered the exact same flavors. You can say that when they are going to make specials, they go for it and it works!
I’ll be sure to voice my opinion to all my friends who visit Portland. Touché!

Of all the things to do/​see/​eat/​drink in Portland, Salt and Straw was number one. This place is kind of a legend, a local chain which recently opened a location in LA. Despite the number of locations, there was still a 20 minute line on a Sunday at 7pm — crazy! They serve some standard flavors (~10) and a rotating selection of seasonals (~6).
The ice cream was delicious and incorporated other local chains (like Woodblock Chocolates and local salts), and I liked that it wasn’t overly rich (you know, the type that melts immediately because of high fat content?).
My favorites: Sea salt caramel (zomg), and almond brittle (what they’re known for).
Pretty Good: Vanilla (if you’re a purist), fudge brownie (loved the big gooey chunks), and olive oil (but one bite was enough for me!).
OK: Stumptown (a little disappointing, tasted pretty standard to me?)
Overall, loved the ice cream but be prepared for a line! Highly recommend paying an extra .50 cents to «split» an ice cream so you can try more flavors. They also offer a flight of 4 tastings (kids sized) for $ 9.

Going to keep this short and sweet, as ice cream does!
12:45pm on Tuesday, there was no line. Win!
Friendly, patient workers let me try nearly all of the flavors.
Delicious and interesting flavor combos, like pear and blue cheese, it’s hard not to want to give them a taste.
High fat content ice cream produces great silky mouthfeel, but don’t overestimate the amount of ice cream you can eat. I did. I almost regret it … almost.
Go for the waffle cone. Crisp, thin, massive, a perfect complement to ice cream.
My friend and I got pear and blue cheese with Arbequina olive oil … what the what? Huge chunks of sweet pear, dots of blue cheese, savory and never-​tasted-​before/​would-​have-​never-​expected-​this-​flavor-​of-​olive-​oil ice cream. I would have enjoyed a pear only flavor more, but I went out on a limb that day.
Would I hit that again? Definitely! I might stick to the more traditional, simpler flavors and a smaller portion though.

Gourmet ice cream is popular in foodie cities, so I had to try the famous Salt & Straw!
We came after dinner in the Arts District, and walked over to maximize our digestion time. Salt & Straw offers big portions/​scoops but for a big price tag! I had their über chocolate flavor and the coconut rhubarb as well. I also sampled their lavendar… which was light, but a little bit not enough if that makes sense.
We got three cups/​cones among our family, which averaged $ 16 total. Damn.
Sure the quality of their ice cream is creamy but firm (YUM), and their service is as quick as they can be…(don’t OVERtaste. It’s called a sample for a reason!!), but I didn’t expect the price tag to be so high for ice cream. If I was in the right mood, I’d splurge for this gourmet ice cream… otherwise stick to froyo (which doesn’t seem to be a thing in Portland yet)!

Short Story: An interesting ice cream place that’s got a funky setup… the ice cream is to die for though!
Long Story: I came here with a group of friends on a Friday night and the place had a line… we had to wait about 15 – 20 minutes… so not that long. They had plenty of flavors and selections… some of which were organic. This place reminds me of the premium places in SF like Humphry Slocombe or Bi-​Rite.
The prices are a bit in line with SF… making it a bit expensive for Portland. The ambiance and décor are really nice. Makes it for a hip place to go to. Lots of people and conversation going all around. The neighborhood is nice too. Street parking only… so you may have to circle a bit!
Verdict: I’m going back!

As simple as the name and logo of this Portland institution: Salt & Straw makes the best ice cream I have ever had the pleasure of consuming!
The line wasn’t long at all on a Friday afternoon. I came here with my second cousin and her husband (who live together in Portland) so they gave my mother and I a couple of insider tips:
1) Sampling the flavors (especially the monthly specials) is encouraged.
2) The best value for getting two flavors is ordering a «split single cone/​cup.»
I was intrigued by the August Vegetable Series with the best tasting flavor being the Chocolate Caramel Potato Chip Cupcake. In the end though I ordered a split homemade cone (totally worth the upcharge) with a couple of classics: Pear & Bleu Cheese and Stumptown Coffee & Burnside Bourbon. Both were wonderfully delicious.
In a nod to my favorite T.V. show Portlandia, I finish this review by saying: The dream of ice cream is alive in Portland (and we have Salt & Straw to thank for that)!

Good ice cream. The best I’ve ever had? No. I think what attracts people to Salt and Straw are the unique flavors and combinations. For instance, my friend got the lavender honey ice cream and liked it. I got the pear and blue cheese ice cream, which was good for mixing two totally different flavors together. Also, all the waffle cones are made in the store so that’s awesome.
This place gets 3-​stars because for me the ice cream just wasn’t that awesome. I sampled the olive oil + some fruit combination and it was not good. Just tasted like I was licking olive oil. I will probably never come here again because it just wasn’t worth the drive. It’s definitely not worth the wait. Luckily I came when there was no wait or line, but if you’re considering waiting when the line is wrapped around the building just come another day because it’s not always that crowded.
Overall, the experience was nice and I’m glad that I finally got to check it out. The people that work there were nice and allow you to sample flavors before you decide. Also, come on a weekday not a weekend if you want to try so you don’t have to wait in long lines.

riquisimo!!! algo innovador con mucho sabor!