Wolf & Bear’s

The Olea wrap!!! Full of flavor!!! If you’re looking for something on the lighter side and not as heavy, with all the fixings, this wrap is for you!

Ever since my last trip to PDX maybe 5 yrs ago, I’ve had this place on my list. The thing is I heart lamb gyros, but my husband does not eat lamb. Falafel is fine, but most place deep fry it… So it was perfect that Wolf & Bear’s was nearby and they baked theirs. The entire menu looked like the upgraded version of the usual Med fare. I couldn’t wait to try it.
So I decided to go with the Out to Lunch option. The gorgonzola and labneh sounded interesting. Plus it had a couple of falafels I’ve been eyeing. The portion size was very generous (or perhaps I had been eating all day prior to this). And it was delicious… but not the same as a lamb gyro: p
Great food and good service (I thought you had to pay extra for the pickled veggies, but they gave me some for free)…you can’t ask for more.

Had an amazing experience. Friendly staff and quick service. The Olea wrap was absolutely to die for. Would definitely go back and try another one of their signature pita wraps!

Get the falafel sandwich! It was amazing. Great texture on the falafel and all of the things in the sandwich melded well together — the falafel, grilled onions, eggplant, peppers, mixed greens, and the pita were scrumptious. Oh man the pita… it was spot on! Soft and fluffy :) I opted for the ladneh instead of the hummus and got the spicy green sauce (skug?) on the side. It was great! Not too spicy, great herb blend.
Next time I think I’ll try adding mushrooms to the sandwich. I highly recommend this place for a quick lunch. There were a few orders ahead of mine and I only waited… Maybe 7 minutes for my food? Not too shabby. Oh and it was only $ 7.50!

Seriously, my favorite food truck in all of Portland.

I love this food cart for their felafel sandwich. It’s fantastic. It’s ginormous. Crammed packed full of goodness and made to order, so it’s always piping hot.
This is arguably the best food cart on this block. And I enjoy their vegetarian fare. I’ve had other items from this cart, but this sandwich is the runaway best!
It may take a while for your order, but good things come to those who wait. ;)

Although I have a Wolf & Bear’s location close to my house (the cart on Mississippi street), the downtown cart is the one that I’ve found myself at the most.
First off, if you’re looking for classic Middle Eastern food, this is not the cart for you. In my experience, Wolf and Bears is more of a «Portland-​Hipster» fusion cart than genuine Middle Eastern. In fact, on their website it states that they feature «Middle Eastern inspired vegetarian fare.»
Wolf and Bear’s falafel is grilled, not deep fried, or at least it was when I was there. It’s nicely flavored, not anything amazing, but nice. The grilling keeps it from being overly oily, but allows it to retain a nice crisp edge.
The grilled eggplant featured in most of the entrees is sweet and well-​cooked, and in my experience pairs nicely with the tahini sauce and greens. The hummus isn’t particularly special, but isn’t at all inedible, and doesn’t overpower any of the other ingredients either.
The last time I was there, late November 2015 I believe, I ordered the Lentil Soup (not on their website so I’m not sure the exact name). The menu stated that it was a winter-​specific dish, so if you’re coming in the summer I wouldn’t get my hopes up about its availability.
It cost me $ 5, which is a fair price for a cup about 4.5 inches in wide. The soup itself was hearty, especially for vegetarian (vegan?) fare, and thick with lentils, potatoes, and tomatoes. It was faintly sweet (from the tomato perhaps) and slightly spicy. It filled and warmed me up impressively and I’d recommend it as a good option for a cold day. I believe it also comes with a side of bread for one or two more dollars.
In terms of wait time, my soup got to me very quickly. That wasn’t entirely unexpected since it was probably made in advance, but it was pleasant nonetheless. If I remember correctly the other dishes take longer, but nothing like the half-​hour waits that can be experienced at some other carts.
I’ve also never had to wait in a long line at W & B’s, even when the Alder food carts are very busy (think Sunday afternoon).
All in all, I think Wolf & Bears is a good bet if you’re looking for unique and tasty winter-​appropriate «Portland-​y» fare.

Not worth the wait. I got the Olea wrap. Waited 20 minutes on a sunday afternoon when there was no line. The wrap was fine, but not worth standing around for 20 minutes watching them not make my sandwich…

Honestly, I’ve only ordered one thing here, but I’ve ordered this one thing many many times. If you’re downtown parading your friends around our food cart way of life, Wolf & Bear’s is perfect! What I love about them is that they offer larger meals for people wanting satiation, but they also have a few «snacks». I think food carts selling smaller portions for less money is brilliant! For people visiting the city or with limited access to downtown, the food cart pods are a must. Is there anything worse than filling up at just one cart to pass by another menu screaming your name? I think not! Stop here on your stroll around the block of the 10^th and Alder food carts to try the lil’ critter wrap w/​labneh (a soft mild cheese made from yogurt, very similar to cream cheese with a slight tang of yogurt). It’s big enough to fill a void, small enough to accompany other indulgences you may find around the corner, and generally healthy for a food cart delight. For only $ 3 you get a nice big warm toasted pita bread lathered with labneh cheese, sprinkled with fresh greens (pretty much a spring mix), and finished off with a squirt of tahini. You’re lil’ critter comes folded in thirds and is perfectly portable for your stroll around the carts. Delish!

This was a super disappointing experience. It’s impossible to find Israeli food in Portland. Levant is great but not for grabbing a quick meal or for street-​style food. I’ve been excited to try this place for awhile but my disappointment began with the snarky girl who took my order and also appeared to know very little about Israeli food. I should have left when she informed me that they purchase their pita rather than making it in-​house. If you can’t make good pita, you have no business making falafel. It seems the amba is also ordered from Tel Aviv, which is so strange it sounds like a lie. Considering that it’s not too difficult to make amba. They make their own Harissa, which isn’t that impressive.
I ordered sabich and falafel. Both were not great. The pita was dry, the ingredients weren’t layered well, the flavor was bland.
Meh. We will not be back. The new rule is that if a falafel restaurant doesn’t make their own pita, then it’s not even worth a try.

4.5 stars
Employee was very friendly and nice. The falafel wrap took about 7 minutes to make because there were only two workers and the lines were long during lunch. The falafel comes with a side of olives which is very considerate because some people like me do not like olives. If you want to travel with it ask them to wrap it in tin foil. The falafel wrap was a good hefty portion and the falafel a were crispy on the outside and moist on the inside. They were incredibly flavorful. The eggplant and sautéed vegetables were delicious as well.

Very good falafel. It’s not that crispy on the outside if you prefer it that way like I do but it’s still good. I got the Out for Lunch wrap which I will definitely be getting again. I would have preferred a bigger side of the sauce that came with it and some more pickles and olives would have been nice. The salads looked quite good too.

Wonderful labneh and the girls were so nice and efficient! I later enjoyed it people-​watching and it perfectly matched the unique taste of Portland herself. :)

The «Out for lunch» was messy and wonderful. Would come back again.
The area is a little meh though. Lots of beggars and people camping out

I eat meat and a lot of it. I usually don’t like to eat at places in Portland that are vegan or vegetarian because they can pass off as being that with out being accountable for flavor or seasoning simply because vegans and vegetarians will eat there. Than they develop a taste for the drab bland food. Besides the snobbish attitudes of the employees the food is a nice break if your looking for something healthy. It is clear the cooking is from the heart and choice ingredients are used. I would avoid the eggplant because its not quite cooked right. Add peppers when ever you can. yummm. Its hard to find a good healthy choice that’s fairly fast and has flavor.

Best falafel in Portland. I get the Olea with falafel instead of eggplant and peppers and it is AMAZING. The gorgonzola cheese and olive tapenade and fresh greens and creamy labneh is line heaven in your mouth, and they have this awesome salsa to go with it!

This cart is a Curb Your Enthusiasm scene waiting to happen.
9 times out of 10 this cart is playing uncensored booty rap and manned by two insanely hot brunettes in yoga pants — neither of them have smiled since the 90s. I guess technically there’s also a taller guy who looks like he might moonlight as a guitarist, but make a wish if he actually takes your order.
Anyway, these ladies hate their jobs and they hate you, but I’ll be damned if they don’t make some of the best, healthiest, most reasonably priced food you can buy from a PDX cart.
Some orders are better than others, but I haven’t had anything here that wasn’t delicious. Even the mint-​lemonade is excellent.
These girls are so grumpy they make the Frying Scotsman seem like the Kargi Gogo woman. If you get that reference it might be time to move on from Portland.
Anyway, I thought about taking a star away for this attitude, but upon reflection I realized I wanted to add a star for it. It’s honestly a refreshing change to be served by someone in Portland who truly does not give about how your day is going. Makes me homesick for the East Coast.
Ah, well. Maybe one day the girl who corrects people’s pronunciations of the orders will slip her cell phone number into my felafel and I can finally turn her frown upside down one of these weekends.
I guess until then it’s just delicious, healthy to-​go orders for me.

I have to agree with another reviewer down here, the staff… Incredibly grouchy and snobby. They corrected me about the item pronunciation… «Oh excuse me! I did not know I was also paying for an accent neutralization lesson!»
The falafel was good, but not fantastic. I’ve had better from actual Middle Eastern places. The ingredients they use are very good, but all mixed together and made into a falafel, not so much.
I really really wanted to try this place and give them a stellar review, several friends recommended it. Maybe it is because they went to a different location and the grouches weren’t there or because they really changed.
When I pay for something, I am expecting the whole experience to be good, and this was mediocre at its best. The ingredients they use are very good, like I said, but the falafel is meh. The customer service was… Well… You decide…

Disappointed but enough good points for me to come back and try something different. I often order the standard on the menu of places I try the first time, so I ordered the classic Falafel menu item. For what it lacks in flavor it makes up in fresh hearty bits, like their falafel patties and grilled peppers/​onion/​eggplant trio. Their other menu items look like they may be more flavorful, so I will return someday for a take two.

Slow service, incredibly grouchy staff that overcharged me after «correcting» my pronunciation.
That said, the falafel was killer. Easily one of the best I’ve had inside this country’s borders. The courtesy bag of olives and pickles was a very nice touch. Left both sated and impressed.
Hoping they hire or develop more seasoned staff.