Salt & Straw

Love Salt & Straw. The ice cream flavors are totally unique and the ingredients are incredibly fresh. Today we had the almond brittle with salted ganache, which was delicious. And my wife & toddler had the strawberry honey balsamic with black pepper, which tasted just like fresh strawberry jam. Also enjoy sampling lots of flavors before making my selection. The staff are always really friendly. Only negatives are sometimes the lines are insane, and the prices are quite high. But it’s a nice treat that we like to do every couple months. We’ll be back!

It was really crowded on a rainy Saturday night. The lined moved fast and the ladies behind the counter were efficient and friendly. I’m not a big fan of sampling before committing to a flavor. It takes away from the adventure. It’s ice cream, can it even be bad? However, the people who requested samples were gladly given a taste and a beautiful description of the flavor. I asked the woman behind the counter which was best between my top two and followed her recommendation. Next time, I will be more adventurous and try the honey lavender. But the chocolate stump town coffee (which has a way fancier name I can’t recall) was delicious. The almond brittle and ganache something, and gooey brownie were great too. I faithfully tested everyone’s to ensure they were of high enough quality to consume. They were. Seating isn’t great, but who cares?

The waffle cone very delicious! Together with a scoop of snicker doodle and chocolate spreckles… Sooo good! Will definitely return to try more flavors!

I scream for ice cream! Especially when it’s from Salt & Straw.
Sampled the double fold vanilla, which was okay but I decided to go with a more unique flavor. The Honey Lavender is VERY fragrant and flavorful. It was definitely good, but I think I could only eat it in small amounts. Cinnamon Snickerdoodle was also tasty, not too sweet and it has chunks of snickerdoodle cookies in it. My favorite by far was the Stumptown Coffee & Burnside Bourbon! Couldn’t get enough of it and it had the perfect amount of coffee flavor. YUM. Definitely a must try for any coffee lovers out there :)
This location doesn’t get too busy, came here twice (both during the weekend, at varying times) and although there was a line every time it moves very quickly!

This is probably one of the best ice cream spots I have ever been to. The flavors are very interesting and taste amazing. I couldn’t decide but ultimately went with a two-​scoop cone of the salted caramel. Top notch goodness!
You can’t miss this place. The aroma of fresh waffle cones can be smelled from two blocks away. It’s also walking distance from Pok Pok chicken. Perfect dessert option after spicy food!

This is ice cream alchemy!
I don’t have high standards for ice cream. I just need it to be creamy, thick, and I mean how wrong can you go wrong with ice cream.
But Salt & Straw is impressive with their unique flavors. I tried pretty much all of them without any nuts. I ended up opting for a scoop of honey lavender and another of pear blue cheese. The olive oil one is a miss for me… I’m sure there are many others out there who like it!
This location is like an oasis on a hot and sunny day in Portland most specifically after eating Pok Pok down the street. After having a good food/​sweat session in what I thought was actually Thailand, I was ecstatic to find a Salt & Straw to cool off right across the street.
Love the hipster-​ness that exemplifies Portland such as partnering with and using local and trending ingredients such as Portland’s Holy Kakow Chocolate and Stumptown’s coffee.
They opened a location in LA and often show up at music festivals. I hope they expand even more.
Expect a line! It goes fast, and it’s worth it.

I like Salt & Straw but it’s not fantastic, in my opinion. The interesting flavor combos are what I like. They seem really fresh as well. But the ice cream itself isn’t that amazing. It’s not very creamy and sometimes it’s overly sweet/​salty, depending on the flavor. It’s also quite expensive and there’s a long line. (thanks hipsters)
Ben and Jerry’s scoop shop on Hawthorne is still my favorite.

A moment of silence please for this gloriousness. $ 9 gets you an ice cream flight of 4 half scoops — Highly recommend! We tasted: The Elvis (PB, Banana & Oreo), Sea Salt & Caramel, Apple Pecan Pie, and finally, Cinnamon Snickerdoodle. All 5 stars, singing angels in my mouth. We sampled the Stumptown Bourbon which was also 100% and a friend is all about the Honey Lavender. Bring on the creamy, sugar coma. Bring on the ice cream dreams. Bring your ma, your pa, your date, your self. Just find a reason, any reason, and go!

NOMS. I’m such a sweet tooth though, so I suppose this is a biased review. Salt & Straw is probably used to having a bunch of tourists stop by – don’t be afraid to ask them to try the flavors. They have a unique menu, with flavors like strawberry balsamic with pepper, which doesn’t sound too good, but for some reason, the flavors end up mixing well.
I got the almond brittle with salted ganache flavor on a cone: a salted chocolate ganache and mixed delicious chunks into a creamy vanilla ice cream. Yumm! The line typically moves pretty quick, so don’t be discouraged by all the people waiting to get their ice cream fix. This ice cream tastes delicious in any weather (even rainy).

I’m not even a big fan of ice cream and it was a brisk 35 degrees evening, but my friend convinced me to try Salt & Straw. Goodness, I’m glad I did! We happened to catch it at a slow time, but usually the line goes out the door and winds down the street. The main reason for this is that each customer can sample as many flavors as they want before choosing their scoops. Trust me, that level of customer service (plus they are super friendly and never act inconvenienced when you ask to try «just one more») in addition to the quality ice cream they make is totally worth they wait.
I’ve now been on two occasions — once around Thanksgiving and once around Christmas. For Thanksgiving the flavors were:
* Sweet Potato with Maple Pecans
* Buttered Mashed Potatoes & Gravy
* Apple Cranberry Stuffing (PDX) /​Quince & Walnuts Stuffing (LA)
* Salted Caramel Thanksgiving Turkey
* Spiced Goat Cheese & Pumpkin Pie
I tried each and everyone and it was like having a Thanksgiving meal! The sweet potato and the pumpkin pie were my favorites, but each one was great in its own way. They weren’t overpowering but each one tasted like the Thanksgiving dish that was named after! Incredible stuff.
For Christmas:
* Peppermint Cocoa
* Bourbon Pecan Pie
* Mincemeat Pie
* Tequila Spiked Eggnog
* Congressman Blumenauer’s Fruitcake
I decided not to try all of these and went with the peppermint cocoa — amazing!

I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream. My boyfriend and I came here on Saturday despite the freezing cold temps. Man ice cream is good any day and the lines here prove it.
I tried their strawberry balsamic with pepper at first I was blown away by it and really enjoyed it, I was about to order a scoop of that but then the pear and blue cheese caught my eye and it intrigued me. It was love at first taste, it was the perfect blend of sweet to salty. The pear ice cream was so incredibly creamy and sweet and went well with the blue cheese. I initially thought it would have a weird sweet and savory taste to it but it was blended perfectly. It was more sweet than savory. Absolutely love love this ice cream. I honestly wish I could take a pint or even a gallon home with me.
My boyfriend and I tried some of their more normal flavors and they were okay, nothing too special. But definitely try their more unique ice creams they are definitely worth the try!
Next time we come back to Portland, we will be back for more ice cream!
Total for 2: $ 7

I came here while on vacation and I seriously miss this place. I fell in love with their Arbequina Olive Oil!
I also tried their Sea Salt Caramel, which was very very salty and my husband loved it. Pear and Blue Cheese is pretty awesome. Freckled Woodblock Chocolate is very malty. Chocolate Gooey Brownie is pretty good. I suggest you try every single flavor!
Oh and you can choose to have 2 flavors in 1 scoop.
The price is relatively normal compared to Ben & Jerry’s or Haagen-​dazs.

Went on a freezing night after Pok Pok, and don’t worry, there was still a line. Clearly lots of people think it’s never too cold for ice cream. The line moves pretty quick, though, so don’t be alarmed.
My friend and I tried a variety of their flavors before settling on which ones we wanted to get. Their sea salt with caramel ribbons was good, but I felt the caramel was too overpowering. Their almont brittle with salted ganache was really good, but my friend got a whole scoop of that and said it got to be too salty halfway through. I personally loved the crunch from the brittle, and it it wasn’t too sweet. The Universe IV was just all kinds of I have no idea. The staff there said they have a flavor like that every year where it’s just a bunch of random stuff. Oregon Black Truffle was very simple, with just an ever so slight hint of truffle.
I got a single split scoop on a waffle cone of their Almond Brittle and Black Truffle, and it was the perfect amount. The waffle cones are made fresh, and the aroma fills the store to delight your senses. If I’m ever back in Portland, I can’t wait to come back for another scoop.

I’m a sucker for ice cream.
On our first night in town, we meandered in here after a bite at Bollywood Theater. We got lucky with our timing and didn’t face the long lines this place frequently has. I tried a few different flavors on my first visit; I had my heart set on the pear and bleu cheese, but surprisingly it just didn’t do it for me. I ended up choosing one of the fall seasonal flavors, the smoked cinnamon apple — it did not disappoint.
We stopped in a few nights later. We had to wait for a bus, so I used it as an excuse to pop in again and try some more flavors. This time I settled on a year-​round option, the sea salt with caramel ribbons. Rich, creamy and decadent, it was a perfect choice. I would’ve have come back again if we had the time; everything was so good.
If you’re an ice cream fan and have an adventurous palatte, this place is for you.

Line wrapped around the building even on a freezing cold evening! That’s how much people love their ice cream — I guess us too! It was maybe a 20 minute wait before we entered the warm, decently sized shop. We were welcomed with a plethora of sweet and tantalizing scents. The line moved very efficiently from there as we were able to view the flavors up close. From the board, it appeared they had a list of classic flavors that are always available, but change things up with some seasonal goodies. We opted for the split scoop which gives you half scoops of two different flavors in your bowl/​cone. I believe it’s an extra 50 cents the single scoop price. The Apricot with Citra Hops flavors was really quite different! You think bitter because of the hops, but really the citra adds an extra fruity punch on top of the apricot. Surprised I enjoyed my ice cream on a 50 degree night!

Salt & Straw is right up there with my ice cream favorites — Jeni’s in the midwest and Ici’s in the East Bay. I love how you can do split scoops for only 50 cent more which allows you to get two flavors in a a single cup — and they don’t skimp out on the scoops! I felt like I was eating two full scoops in a doubles cup. I loved ALL of their flavors as I sampled a couple but in the end, got the sea salt with caramel ribbons and the Arbequina olive oil. This was my first time getting olive oil ice cream but it worked SO WELL! The olive oil taste and balance with the ice cream was absolutely perfect! 2 thumbs up. I thought the sea salt was delicious when I sampled it but as I kept eating my scoop, it became quite unbearably sweet due to the abundance of caramel and also pretty salty from the sea salt. The flavors were ultimately just too strong and overwhelmed my palate.
Overall: delicious flavors but I can see how a few of the flavors can be way too sweet after a few bites. Also very creamy. Still, I’d probably stop by if ever in Portland or LA :)

We went for the tasting flight on our first trip here & based on their recommendations, we chose:
— strawberry honey balsamic
— arbequina olive oil
— almond brittle with salted ganache
— sea salt caramel
OMG were they the most delicious ice-​cream I have EVER tasted in my whole life — the flavor profiles were spot on and they all meshed very well with each other for the flight. This is the ONLY ice-​cream place that our Portland friend had recommended — in fact, she had advised us to visit ALL 3 locations… and we actually did end up going to all of them to try something by the end of our Portland road trip!

Best… ice cream… ever! Who would have thought that rhubarb/​blue cheese/​peppercorns would make for such an excellent ice cream flavor?!
I sampled several flavors and none of them were anything less than amazing. I couldn’t choose between the sea salt with caramel ribbons and the honey lavender so I had both… great choices.

I CRAVE FOR SALT & STRAW!
I love how they have such interesting flavors and a rotating set of flavors for the seasons. My go to now is the Stumptown Coffee & Burnside Bourbon! Delicious and well balanced for all you coffee lovers. And getting a waffle cone is a must. I couldn’t resist after seeing them make it before your eyes and you can’t escape the aromas floating out of the store front.
I can’t ever figure out the algorithm in figuring out how to avoid the lines. We ended lucking out after eating at Pok Pok and surprisingly a long line formed afterwards. So may the odds be ever in your flavor… I mean favor!

Tried this chain in LA last month and I am still feeling the affects of the level of sugar they use!
It’s good but hard to eat a full serving of ice cream due to the level of sweetness. All I taste is sugar after a few bites.
Some really neat flavors and lots of options. It’s definitely worth a try. I suggest sharing with someone (and I hate sharing my ice cream).