World Foods

Probably my favorite stop in Portland. A small-​ish neighborhood grocery with international flair and flavor. A great place to grab the makings of an excellent picnic bite or take home meal.

I adore this place. The prepared foods are healthy, delicious and fresh. I love that they don’t use canola oil in anything (Take note Whole Foods & New Seasons). Chocolate section is TDF. Bulk section=amazing. Great, friendly coffee bar that uses organic milks. Employees are kind and knowledgable. Local family owned. What more could you want NW Portland? Je t’aime World Foods!

I shop at World Foods at least once every three months — mostly for specialty food items when I happen to be in the area or don’t have enough time to make it to Barbur World Foods.
I am giving World Foods 5 stars based on a recent stellar customer service experience.
I called the store on a Saturday afternoon to ask if they carry saffron flowers — the cheaper, little sister of threads. Someone actually answered and was able to track down the flowers on the hard to see lower to the floor shelf. I went to the store and recognized the voice of the gentleman helping me; thanked him telling him affirming that his efforts were not gone to waste and customer service is really a thing. I go on with my shopping, stopping at the deli to buy a few things and see if I could buy some empty deli containers for a project at home — attempting to save time and storage space on a bulk buy purchase at Resto depot. The deli manager hesitated at first, but gave him, asking if it was okay if he charged me for a couple of pies in exchange for the containers — of course it was. Before checking out, I stopped at the café for a cuppa (was happy to see Olympia roasting served!) which the checker ended up giving me gratis since she finalized my bill without the coffee. That was nice, but wasn’t expected!
I had two bags of fantastic groceries: vibrant saffron flowers, Bulgarian sheep’s milk feta, dino kale salad, spinach and cheese pies, dried chickpeas, an Argentinian malbec, and Californian olive oil to name a few of my favorite things.
World Foods, shut up and take my money!

This is my favorite market in the pearl. Yeah, the prices are a little higher than some other places. But, the quality is there, the selection is good and the people are friendly.
The prepared Mediterranean food in the back is excellent, as are their house made sausages. The have kombucha on tap with rotating flavors, also a big plus for me. My only main knock is the lack of salmon selection. They usually have a couple of other wild caught fish/​seafood varieties, though, to keep it interesting.
And to top it off, it’s just one block east of the street car makes the trip quick and convenient. This should definitely be in your rotation of places to shop for food if you’re in the NW.

Not acceptable! What happened to the poke bowls here? You get literally nothing for $ 8.99! Ahi cut into ground meat and rices smashed to the bottom. The bowl is literally filled a quarter full. I’m from Hawaii where poke bowls are from, no matter the price or bowl size, you fill it to the top. Stop ripping customers off!

I can tell they’re making a lot of improvements in the store, and I’m excited to see what new things they bring in.
Had a cold and decided to try the new Fish Stew, right as rain the next day.
Thanks for thinking outside of the box!

My favorite place to go for fresh tuna poke. So many flavours, so little time. They have a fantastic deli selection and tables where you can dine in store. There is a bar with a great selection of craft beers and wine on tap. Also a fantastic selection of cheeses, breads, chocolates… basically everything delicious :)
The only downfall is that since it’s downtown, parking can be a little tricky at times during busy hours, but I’ve never had a problem.

Sorry this place is seriously terrible. My boyfriend and I came in August 18^th, 2015 around 9 o clock at night. Place was quiet and slow which was perfect because we wanted to make a meat/​cheese board for dinner and needed some help. We were travelling from Tucson and I always make it a point to stop at a local grocery store to try a location’s goodies before I leave. Since portland is foodie heaven I expected a lot from this place especially with its great Unilocaly reviews, but although the staff was friendly enough, they were simply unhelpful.
Here are the problems we experienced at this store.
— Non-​existant or very small amount of locally grown veggies and fruits. The store advertised a lot of «organic» but not too much locally grown goodies. Produce was also either mealy and over-​ripe or not ripe enough.
— I asked for a good local spreadable cheese and the man I first asked admitted his inexperience and told me the cheese man just left the store so he went ahead to his manager I believe and asked him for help. I wanted some good local cheese and the manager pointed out that the Cowgirl Creamery was local and that their «Mt. Tam» cheese was from the region. I’m sorry but Cowgirl Creamery is from San Francisco, I would know. because I was born and raised there. So no help there…
Ok moving on. I went ahead and asked for some cans of their stump town coffee, Bre M. I believe (the girl who checked us out) went around the store twice looking for it, but there wasn’t any to be found… so she suggested that we go to the coffee bar to ask for it. I went up the coffee bar and I told the man behind the counter that we wanted a lot of ice coffee for tomorrow morning so we didn’t have to stop for coffee before our road trip. He apologized and said that all he had were the 12 oz to go cups and almost began to pour the coffee into them before I stopped him and said to use the growlers behind him. He said that he forgot that those were there. and then started to pour the coffee into it.
After spending a total of $ 88.37 on some coffee, wine, candy, bread, salmon dip, salami, and cheese I felt totally disappointed in World Foods. The price of their goods and their selection was not proportionate to their terrible knowledge of their own goods. I ended up blindly picking a cheese, their produce such as the tomato I bought was mealy, and their papaya for $ 3.79 was overripe. It’s one thing to charge a fortune for good food and unparalleled service but its another to charge a fortune for unknowledgable staff and subpar food/​wares.

I am always craving, thus in the hunt for, two things: Kebbeh and figs; and this place has BOTH! To my surprise, the kebbeh was delicious and VERY cheap comparing to other places. The figs were plenty and in black and green… Now, I can die a happy woman! Seriously, I will be recommending this place to everyone coming to Portland. Ps. Please open a store in Fairfax, VA… PLEASE!

There is a lot of appealing cheese, breads, and baked goods here. If you want meat or cheese pies, Lebanese food, fresh roasted garlic, and so on, chances are you’ll find it here. Basically, a decent selection of EuroAsia baked/​cooked stuff.
There’s less in the way of selection in the non-​perishables than I expected, so we had to pass on some items. We ended up picking out a few really specific items that would be hard to get elsewhere, and decided to pass on buying most of our regular items here. They have a few regular items/​brands you’d find in any shopping market, but it’s marked up a bit.
If you aren’t wealthy, you’re going to feel it keenly as you consider the fact that an item that runs around 4 bucks at TJs is around 8 bucks here. I’d say this place is good for really specific shopping needs, or if you have a lot of leeway with your shopping budget.
It’s a little claustrophobic, and it seems that workers tend to be doing inventory on a regular basis, so it gets crowded. Shoppers there can run the gamut– you do have a few of the snootier types. I wasn’t entirely comfortable here, whereas I feel relaxed in TJs (unless I was silly enough to shop during peak hours).

They have some interesting imported goods which is nice and fun to browse through but their fruits and veggies weren’t very fresh. A lot of the fruits I looked like they were sitting around for some time and I saw plenty of shriveled up cherries, tomatoes, and nectarines. Some reviews say the deli section is really good but on the day I went the refrigeration had some issues and it was completely closed down so maybe I need to go back when it’s up and running.

World Foods has an affordable selection of fresh Poke and Mediterranean side dishes. It would be nice if food items such as dairy, ethnic seasonings/​products, and bread were more affordable so that World Foods could be a ‘one stop shop’ grocery visit. I appreciate that the store is always clean and bright.
The seafood and meat departments are where you will experience positive customer service. The deli, daytime cashiers, and wine section employees could benefit from attending a customer service workshop.
One experience that I want to share was the time I asked the girl in the wine department for a napkin. I was dining on the indoor tables and the utensil stand ran out of napkins, I politely asked the girl in the wine department for a napkin because it appeared that she wasn’t doing anything important at the moment (she was fiddling with the computer screen) she told me to ask someone else for a napkin and that was that.
World Foods will meet your grocery needs if you desire quality products and have the budget for it. It is also a nice place to grab a Poke bowl or some Greek Salad.

The coffee bar DOES often have good, strong coffee — that’s partially why I even go in there.
I’ll admit their deli salads are «appealing» — OY! BUT THE PRICES ! Certainly on par with Whole Foods (conveniently just around the corner by the Portland streetcar).
I kinda like the place, but the «haughtiness» and «attitude service» from young kids (to me) in their late 20’s and early 30’s is a BIG TURN OFF ! Hey ! I was born before you guys even LEARNED how to watch the Food Network and endless «naughty, snobbish food ‘presentations’.
Basically, they charge too much overall — I personally go to Whole Foods (again, around the corner) or to good ol’ Fred Meyer on 20^th & Burnside (their nouveau show store — with nice seating and services).
The coffee bar is the thing. The pastry selection (located right in front of you, as you sip their strong coffee) leaves something to be «desired» (ie NOT MUCH SELECTION IN PASTRIES — lately, a lot of baklava-​type things).
Bottom line: Attitude and «HAUGHTINESS «turned this customer off.
And it will do the same for you — after a few visits. Last night’s coffee bar «Millennial» barista was rude and condescending — couldn’t be bothered much with me.
And I’ll remember that. .. .

I absolutely love this store. Came to browse and see what this place had to offer and was pleasantly surprised.
Walked in and saw the coffee bar. I wanted something sweet so I gravitated towards the counter (obviously) and one of the guys who worked the produce section said «I’m sorry, our barista called out today but I can try and help you out the best I can». I chose a yummy dessert and thanked him. Simple, right?
My uncle was looking for something specific and the guy helped us out by looking since we couldn’t find it. He was unable to and offered to go to their warehouse and pick some up, and because it wasn’t readily available, it’d be on the house (The purchase would have only been $ 2 tops). They were out at their warehouse as well, but we appreciated the gesture so much.
Then…the produce guy again came up to us and let us know our trunk was open! After all of this“do good” I was super impressed by the service of this market. Besides the awesome array of fresh, dry and seafood… their service is phenomenal!
One thing I also loved was their fresh orange juice machine! I wish I could have one of those in my house. Amazeballs.
I asked those workers for their names and sadly forgot them since I was on holiday and that was two weeks ago. I wish I could write them in this review to make them stand out. Thanks so much!

Absolutely the rudest market I have been to (short of Jean-Paul’s Goodies in Laguna Beach, CA — but then again that’s his brand of salesmanship for over 30 years…) and I was only inside for about 10 minutes. Attitudes everywhere, hung over staff, short, condescending responses, the only redeeming employee that got them a second star with his five-​star service was Manny up front working both the register and the coffee and pastry station, at 10:30 in the morning. Good luck today buddy!
Selection is decent, but nothing that impressive. Maybe I would have found better selections had I enjoyed my experience there and hunted down more ingredients.
This chef is moving on. What a waste of time that was.

World Foods in the Pearl is starting to be a weekly tradition for me. It is the perfect sized market. Not huge but certainly much bigger than your typical corner market.
Where do I start?
Great wine selections with a wine bar you can sit at and enjoy a glass or two accompanied by some delicious items from the deli or maybe a pizza made from scratch. We were really pleased with a sweet pepper and sausage pizza made to order. At $ 8.99 it was a bargain.
Nice selection of quality meats; produce and grocery items that are priced well when compared to Whole Foods or New Seasons.
Delicious deli items from small Lebanese meat pies; sandwiches to whole turkeys; roast beef and leg of lamb!
Tempting selection of baked goods and they serve Stumptown coffee!
You would be hard pressed not find everything you need to fill your grocery list and also enjoy a casual meal while shopping there.
I normally shop at New Seasons in my neighborhood which is great but as I mentioned before it is worth the weekly trek to the Pearl district to discover what this great grocery store has to offer.
Be sure to sign up for their newsletter vie e-​mail as they have good weekly specials.

Absolutely delighted to see a WF branch, centrally located. Whether it’s Ostrich etouffe you’re craving, or Filipino Balut (hard boiled eggs, w/​a nearly-​still-​living lil’ duckie foetus intact within); whether it’s gazelle or moose or buffalo or wildebeest, you can getcher fix at WF.*
(not entirely sure about the wildebeest, but it wouldn’t surprise me…)

Ever a reader of Eater PDX, I recall this place as it came to mention,& then fruition.
A veritable hot spot for excellent local beer in the Pearl, and the hard to find delicacies, with an emphasis on Medi comestibles.
Enjoyed the perusal; wasn’t huge fan of the layout. Why place all the checkout stands in that orientation?

I adore visiting grocery stores in new cities.
I love finding out about an area’s local kombucha brand, the local hot sauce etc. In my opinion — it’s one of the best ways to get a sense of the character and personality of a city.
World Foods is a magical clean and well organized Portland grocery that carries a slew of phenomenal looking Lebanese desserts and savory items.
I stopped in here for a freshly made green juice and a kombucha. While I waited for my juice I admired the beautiful array of baked pastries — which included marzipan stuffed dates, and divine looking squares of pistachio and walnut baklava. The main deli area was just as inviting — with colorful salads, wild salmon and more. The store was bright and featured stunning organic fruits and vegetables and an array of local items.
My green juice was lovely and the staff were superb and personable.
If you’re in Portland and looking for a place to stock up on fresh deli items or gourmet packaged bites — World Foods is fantastic.
Trust.

We are fortunate to live today. Very.
Jet fuel is kerosene, light crude. It is not in endless supply. Unless science discovers a new highly dense energy technology, the hundred years centered on now will be seen as the singular epoch of affordable international air travel.
The Americas, and our America, are lands of immigration. By air. People bring their food and food traditions with. Food preferences are one of the most gradually changing dimensions of culture. In fact, archaeological anthropologists trace migrations by the seeds people carried.
So we have many people in Portland from other countries. And in Portland, we are curious and adventurous in our exploration of food from other countries.
We are personally fortunate to sometimes travel to experience the cultural reservoirs of food tradition.
And we are also fortunate to have groceries like World Foods in Portland, Oregon, USA to experience those tastes every day, and to also experience those foods without food-​borne illness. And if you are an arriver, as almost all of us, or our generations, are, and you are seeking the foods from your family tradition, World Foods has many, with a focus on Europe to the Urals and Northern Africa adding Central Asia.
There selection is National Geographic-​spanning including, if you would like to support, very inexpensive drinks from Ukraine. Food samples weekends often, and often you will be served by the owner.
World Foods is a well curated mix of local, everyday grocery and international items, some made here and others imported. They are the Northern branch of Barbur World Foods, but none of the jars and cans here are dusty. But that also means they have the awesome roast lamb by the pound, and maybe will not run out of it because of demand.
They have a fine produce section with very reasonable prices. Meat and fish counter well priced. A mix of baked goods packaged in plastic trays, and locally fresh-​baked. A few premade sandwiches on good bread and wraps. A unique item is whole smoked whitefish. They aren’t the Great Lakes smoked chubs, but they might substitute. An espresso bar and a fresh juice bar with a small selection. Let’s just say we were tempted at the coffee bar by shredded pistachio baklava — the top layer is filo shredded to about a ¹⁄₁₆^th.
The whole coffee bean section includes Courier and Ristretto. Large canned and bottled fish section for items unavailable elsewhere. A wine selection with bottles I’ve not seen around town, and there is a substantial growler filling operation with its own about 10 seat bar, four beer taps and two red wines and two whites for tap pours.
There are several round tables for eating and sipping out of rain and sun. And you could put together a pretty fine meal from the deli counter.
One Saturday, the owner was demonstrating making Turkish coffee and serving samples with plenty of endearing conversation.
World Foods is great for world food exploration and has plenty of everyday food items at very reasonable prices.
We can has all your world foods for us, here, and for that, we are thankful!