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’Tis the season of fine dining in Portland. Travel Portland is kicking off the second annual Ticket to Dine PDX on Friday, March 1, a monthlong celebration of the city’s diverse and delicious restaurant scene.
This year, Ticket to Dine has expanded to more than 80 participating restaurants throughout central Portland, from downtown to the Lloyd District. For every entree, diners receive a ticket with a QR code leading to tickettodinepdx.com, where one of 2,000 possible prizes will be revealed. The list includes free desserts, side dishes, and gift cards, along with bigger prizes like hotel stays, Timbers tickets, and a PDX Live ticket package.
Russian restaurant Kachka, celebrating its 10th anniversary in April, is one of the participating restaurants this year. “It’s a really great opportunity to see some new faces in our restaurant—those often turn out to be people who come back and are regulars, so we really love that,” Kachka owner Bonnie Morales says.
“I would not be surprising anybody to say that 2024 has been challenging for restaurants so far—it’s been certainly quieter than years prior, and the weather has not helped that,” Morales says. Ticket to Dine PDX “is such a perfectly timed event to have in March—flowers are starting to bloom, and it’s a great way to get some energy behind getting back out to eat.”
Prior to Ticket to Dine, some might remember a similar program, Portland Dining Month, that ran from 2009 to 2020. While PDM focused on prix fixe menus for $33, Ticket to Dine takes a different approach of weaving in prizes and giving restaurants the chance to showcase their current menus.
“We are showing you what we do everyday, in and out—and we do a great job,” Morales says.
As Morales notes, it’s also an opportunity for diners to reconnect with tried and true restaurants in town, which need support now more than ever.
“Good or bad, the way that food media exists these days is all about what is new,” Morales says. “There are these places that are incredible and doing a great job and totally deserve the accolades but we don’t get a lot of attention because it’s not new information, we’ve just been doing it day in and day out for the last ten years. Events like this are really, really important for places like us.”
For the latest updates on restaurants participating in Ticket to Dine, follow @ticketodinepdx on Instagram or visit tickettodinepdx.com.