With numerous locations across town, stepping into Petite Provence feels like stepping directly into a boulangerie on the streets of Nice. Wicker chairs adorn the tiled floors, and pastries line the shelves and countertops, shining with sugary glazes and topped with chocolates, creams, or ripe berries. A brunch destination for Portland urbanites, diners pile into Le Petit Provence’s bistro for decadently dressed Benedicts and French café classics like Monte Cristos and French onion soups; however, the surrounding Portland metro locations (Lake Oswego and Beaverton) also offer elevated dinner plates that showcase French cooking at its finest. The Salmon au Raifort features a seared salmon over a parsnip purée, while the bouillabaisse soup highlights Pacific Northwestern seafood.

Alouette is an elegant-yet-approachable French bistro nestled on a neighborly corner of Nob Hill, serving dishes with French techniques and touches of Vietnamese flavor and flair — a nod to the complicated historical connection that the two countries once shared. Expect to find traditional French dishes like Duck à l’orange (orange-infused roast duck) and pommes de terre Lyonnaise (boiled and shallow-fried potatoes), along with modern American classics that get a splash of Vietnamese seasonings. Steamed mussels arrive in a bath of coconut milk and lemongrass broth, while the kitchen dresses various appetizers in a medley of fresh Vietnamese herbs. Although the dinner menu leans heavily French, Alouette’s weekend brunch, a collaboration with Friendship Kitchen, provides more Vietnamese comfort foods like phó and bánh xeo (savory crepes).

Decadent French dining served in a beautiful bistro dining room, Aaron Barnett’s St. Jack is an homage to the cafes of Lyon and Paris. Chicken liver mousse, steak frites, and escargot fill the menu, alongside elegant French wines and bold cocktails. Fruits de mer are a highlight here, particularly juicy, plump poached prawns, dotted with cumin seeds and served with a side of vadouvan aioli. With the help of chef de cuisine John Denison, the restaurant has headed into more inventive fare as well, including a dramatic mushroom vol-au-vent with a crown of greens, or scallop crudo with a Pacific Northwestern accompaniment of spruce tips and preserved berries. Meals should finish with a few madeleines for good measure.

Chef and owner Gabriel Rucker’s flagship restaurant is one of the city’s most beloved culinary institutions for its modern, playful, and uniquely Northwestern take on French cooking, including its famed foie gras profiteroles. Since 2006, Le Pigeon has solidified its status as a quintessential tasting menu destination, where visitors will find creative plates with the chef’s seasonal flair. Whether Rucker is dressing freshly caught kanpachi with calamansi crème anglaise or stuffing arancini with a koji-carrot hummus, the constantly rotating menu incentivizes patrons to return for any and every special occasion. To bring the wine tasting experience home, Sergio Licea and Le Pigeon wine director and owner Andy Fortgang have opened Flor Wines, a complementary retail venture housing lesser known bottles inspired by the restaurant’s cellar sales.

This elegant and charming French-Nordic luncheonette, with its white-washed walls and kitchen-side counter, is an ideal place for those who dream of leisurely brunches of oysters, quiche, and French wines. Served on delicate, Fine China plateware, the dining situation is reminiscent of something you’d find in your grandmother’s dining cabinet, holding quaintly presented portions of Norwegian smørrebrøds, clam soup, and poached egg toast. The pastry selection, otherwise known as the lauded fika, is where the restaurant shines brightest, showcasing gooey lemon soufflé pudding cakes and rich chocolate pavé. Selling out regularly, the fika is available for same-day pickup if ordered before 9 a.m.

Considering its name, this eclectic and chic restaurant really doesn’t lean that heavily on the cuisine of Normandy — the dinner menu includes everything from miso deviled eggs to marinated hamachi with yuzu-kosho aioli. However, the restaurant does scratch the French itch with its selection of French wines, plus dishes like chicken liver mousse with armagnac prunes, fried fingerlings, and Raclette, and its “Normandie Board,” which comes with cured meats, French cheese, chicken liver mousse, pickles, and more. Normandie currently offers dining indoors and out.

This cheery Hawthorne cafe was originally pitched as a creperie, but the menu extends far beyond that: Brioche French toast, potatoes au gratin, or vegetarian French onion soup should appear on tables alongside ham, egg, and cheese crepes or crepes with marionberry compote and lemon curd. Crepes are available blonde or made with buckwheat; it’s best to order one of each on any given visit.

A boulangerie with multiple locations around town, St. Honoré offers quick and casual, deliciously golden pastries. Those looking for more filling fare can find salads and sandwiches, but the real treasures are the pastries, with croissants and brioche tasting like they came straight from the ovens of a 19th century provencal baker. The canelé, delicate little baked custards in a shell of hard sugar, are a particular treat. The casual, counter service nature of these cafes make it easy to choose your own adventure when visiting St. Honoré, whether you’re grabbing a sandwich on the go or lingering with a laptop for a while.

Tucked away in the reaches of Southeast on Woodstock, Bergerac may not be as prominent as other French spots in town, but its friendly, snug space and rich French dishes have earned it a dedicated local following. Named for the home of its chef, Joris Barbaray, Bergerac offers three-course dinners of robust plates of classic French dining including escargot, duck confit, and a poisson du jour. Additionally, it offers ready to à la carte dishes like its entrees, quiche, sauces, sides, pantry items, and wines, all available for takeout via Tock.

Cafe du Berry meets the never-ending demand for Portland brunch options, having served the Southwest Macadam neighborhood since the ’80s. Locals flood the patio on weekends to partake in the morning ritual of mimosas alongside creamy dressed Benedicts, spinach omelets, and the house specialty French toast. The lunch and dinner menus, on the other hand, provide straightforward French dishes with a seasonal Pacific Northwest flair, like escargot dressed with butter, salad Nicoise, and racks of lamb in a casual environment. Come here to experience a true French onion soup, which comes in a classic earthenware crock and doused with gooey Gruyère cheese.

This chandelier-lit marketplace, bar, restaurant, and cafe is named for a street in Paris in the 7th arrondissement, emphasizing the multicultural nature of the bustling avenue. Brunches of cedar-smoked salmon Benedicts and Chantilly-dolloped French toast lead into lunches of moules frites and croque monsieur, followed by dinners of filet mignon or chicken cordon bleu. But any given visit may also involve tuna poke, chorizo egg scrambles, or zeppole, true to the global feel of the vendors on the real Rue Cler.