La Carreta Pura Vida — Restaurant in Portland

La Carreta Pura Vida: Where Your Taste Buds Learn to Salsa

Growing up on Honduran food, I thought I had experienced all the best Central America had to offer—then I found La Carreta Pura Vida. It’s Costa Rican food, but close enough to home to make me nostalgic, while being different enough to make me wonder if I should’ve been sneaking across borders for dinner all these years.

This place isn’t just a restaurant—it’s a love letter to flavor. You could close your eyes, throw a dart at the menu, and land on a dish so good it might inspire you to start learning Spanish just to properly thank Liliana and Kiara. Speaking of, these two are a mother-daughter duo who radiate pura vida vibes. Honestly, they look like sisters, so I’m not entirely convinced there’s not a fountain of youth hidden in the back kitchen next to the empanadas.

Everything here is authentic, delicious, and generous enough that your plate might come with a side of existential gratitude. Whether you’re a seasoned connoisseur of Central American cuisine or someone who just wants their taste buds to feel loved, this is the place. Go hungry, leave happy—and maybe with a plan to come...

We had chicken and beef empanadas, and a pork tamale plate. None of us had ever had Costa Rican food but we all love empanadas and tamales so we thought we’d try this out. Service was very prompt, and they brought our food out to us very quickly. The empanadas were very warm and obviously freshly fried. They were hearty, delicious, crispy on the outside, and soft fluffy masa was waiting for me on the inside. The salad it was served with was simply iceberg lettuce, tomato, and a dressing, but it was very flavorful and a perfect topping for the empanadas. The tamale had lots of filling throughout the length of the tamale and was very tasty! The rice served with the tamale was light and fluffy, not sticky or dry, and tasted great with the beans. The atmosphere is pretty perfect for downtown Portland. Quick bites, to-go, or a full sit down meal, I could see myself eating here in...

I suggest you come with time just so you can savor the glory, I unfortunately was rushed to get to a show and so wanted to slowly bask in the flavor. Next time! I cannot comprehend how one can grill chicken and it's that good. It is a masterclass, getting a cut of breast that thin yet juicy insides and chewy on the surface. Not thin in a bad way, it was a perfect cut, but I could never get that one second on the grill where it's perfectly charred on the outside and still juicy on the inside with such great flavor and texture combinations. The salad was also delicious and fresh. Beans and rice were perfectly cooked as well. My only wish is they had real silverware because it was hard to break the crust off the chicken with the plastic knife, but I get it, it's basically food carts indoors. (I had the...