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The restaurant world is ever-changing. The annual Source Restaurant Guide aims to include new openings and popular staples to help you plan your eating year! We know more is coming as well. Bamboo Sushi is expected to open in the spring of 2026 in downtown Bend on NW Oregon Avenue. The owners of Powder House Bend are building a two-story taphouse/food cart lot behind their building off SW Century Drive which will have as many as 10 trucks and space for events and games. The Way West will be a mash-up between Bend Brewing Company and Sisters Meat & Smokehouse for a bar-deli opening on the ground floor of the Jackstraw apartments on SW Industrial Way, expected to open this summer. 

This issue also gives a shout-out to the restaurants and food carts the Source team felt have been exceptional this past year. But in all honesty, we had a long list of favorites. 

ON THE COVER:
Photo by Alyson Brown.

“Hot pot also felt important to include because, in Thailand, it carries a similar feeling to BBQ in America—it’s communal, interactive, and built around gathering people at the table to cook and share a meal together. When we first introduced that concept, it was still something quite new for Bend.”

—Bua Karoon, owner of Sen Thai Noodles & Hot Pot

STORIES

Restaurant of the Year: Sen Thai Noodles & Hot Pot  

Hospitality forward

Several things make Sen a remarkable dining experience, but it’s the combination of all of them that solidifies it as the Source’s restaurant of the year. First among everything,…

by Jared Rasic

Rookie Restaurant of the Year: Ken’s Artisan Pizza

As date night destination or weeknight staple, Bendites love Ken’s

I’ve been dreaming about the next time I can go to Ken’s Artisan Pizza for at least the last 15 years, so it feels odd…

by Nicole Vulcan

Food Cart of the Year: NorthFresh Sushi

Chasing perfection with every roll of the rice

You’d be forgiven for assuming that local sushi chef Jeff Berneski has it all figured out. Source readers, after all, voting in the 2021 Best…

by Peter Madsen

Rookie Food Cart of the Year: The Dominican

Where Caribbean comfort food meets heartfelt customer service

Robert De Los Santos’ love language is serving someone up a delicious plate of food. He’s been that way since his days growing up in…

by Nicole Vulcan

What It Takes to Run a Restaurant Right Now in Central Oregon

Rising costs, staffing challenges and the daily grind of making it all work

Running a restaurant in Central Oregon in 2026 is not for the faint of heart; by nearly every account, it’s harder than it has ever…

by Donna Britt

Read the Digital Version with all Restaurant Listings!

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Restaurant Guide 2026

by The Source Staff, The Source - Bend, Oregon
April 22, 2026

<h1>Restaurant Guide 2026</h1> <p class="byline">by The Source Staff, The Source - Bend, Oregon <br />April 22, 2026</p> <p class="has-drop-cap">The restaurant world is ever-changing. The annual Source Restaurant Guide aims to include new openings and popular staples to help you plan your eating year! We know more is coming as well. Bamboo Sushi is expected to open in the spring of 2026 in downtown Bend on NW Oregon Avenue. The owners of Powder House Bend are building a two-story taphouse/food cart lot behind their building off SW Century Drive which will have as many as 10 trucks and space for events and games. The Way West will be a mash-up between Bend Brewing Company and Sisters Meat &amp; Smokehouse for a bar-deli opening on the ground floor of the Jackstraw apartments on SW Industrial Way, expected to open this summer.&nbsp;</p> <p>This issue also gives a shout-out to the restaurants and food carts the Source team felt have been exceptional this past year. But in all honesty, we had a long list of favorites.&nbsp;</p> <div class="wp-block-columns"> <div class="wp-block-column" style="flex-basis:33.33%"> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://www.bendsource.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/SourceWeekly-AlysonBrown-RestaurantGuide-SenThaiNoodles31-2-edited-scaled.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-84619" /></figure> </p></div> <div class="wp-block-column" style="flex-basis:66.66%"> <p><strong>ON THE COVER:</strong><br /><em>Photo by Alyson Brown.</em></p> <p>“Hot pot also felt important to include because, in Thailand, it carries a similar feeling to BBQ in America—it’s communal, interactive, and built around gathering people at the table to cook and share a meal together. When we first introduced that concept, it was still something quite new for Bend.”</p> <p><em>—Bua Karoon, owner of Sen Thai Noodles &amp; Hot Pot</em></p> </p></div> </p></div> <h4 class="wp-block-heading has-text-align-center"><a href="https://issuu.com/thesourceweekly/docs/restaurant_guide_2026">Read the Digital Version with all Restaurant Listings!</a></h4> <figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-large"><a href="https://issuu.com/thesourceweekly/docs/restaurant_guide_2026"><img src="https://www.bendsource.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/cover-for-web-5-778x1024.png" alt="" class="wp-image-84609" /></a></figure> <p>This &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;https://www.bendsource.com/special-issues-and-guides/restaurantguide/restaurant-guide-2026/&quot;&gt;article&lt;/a&gt; first appeared on &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;https://www.bendsource.com&quot;&gt;The Source - Bend, Oregon&lt;/a&gt; and is republished here under a &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/&quot;&gt;Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;img src=&quot;https://i0.wp.com/www.bendsource.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/cropped-Untitled-design-4.png?resize=150%2C150&amp;amp;ssl=1&quot; style=&quot;width:1em;height:1em;margin-left:10px;&quot;&gt;</p> &lt;img id=&quot;republication-tracker-tool-source&quot; src=&quot;https://www.bendsource.com/?republication-pixel=true&amp;post=84618&quot; style=&quot;width:1px;height:1px;&quot;&gt;&lt;script&gt; PARSELY = { autotrack: false, onload: function() { PARSELY.beacon.trackPageView({ url: &quot;https://www.bendsource.com/special-issues-and-guides/restaurantguide/restaurant-guide-2026/&quot;, urlref: window.location.href }); } } &lt;/script&gt; &lt;script id=&quot;parsely-cfg&quot; src=&quot;//cdn.parsely.com/keys/bendsource.com/p.js&quot;&gt;&lt;/script&gt;

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