Fro-yo girl here. My last Portland froyo update was in 2015. I went to Eb & Bean during that trip (their first location, the other ones hadn’t opened yet) and I wanted to go to Maple Parlor, but it hadn’t opened yet. Since then, Maple Parlor opened and closed and Eb & Bean added additional two locations. Fred Meyer introduced self-serve froyo in 2015, but it's been discontinued.
The year 2018 was a tough one for Portland froyo. The YoCream showroom/shop closed, as did Twist after 7 years of swirling, TartBerry Too, and Frozone.
The YoCream shop has been replaced by EZ Freezy. EZ Freezy now has five locations in Portland; two of them are in Portland. The Cascade Station location has the same general setup as the YoCream shop, with 12 self-serve YoCream froyo flavors a day and toppings, for 54 cents an ounce. They also sell smoothies, shakes, boba drinks, and pretzels.
TartBerry, which opened their first location downtown in 2010, is still there. It’s the only froyo shop in the downtown core. They serve YoCream and other brands, along with local Cascade Glacier ice cream. It’s self-serve with lots of colorful décor and the largest toppings bar. I haven’t been to every froyo shop in Portland, but it would be difficult to imagine one with more toppings.
Eb & Bean is the high-end, artisanal froyo in town. They make their own flavors, sauces, waffle cones, and some toppings too. Their yogurt is local, organic and made in small batches with custom, often creative and interesting flavors. I highly recommend the Rosemary Caramel froyo if you can find it.
I’ve been closely tracking Boba Milk, hoping they would open when I was in town. Alas, they opened after I left, on March 4. Boba Milk, which has the same owner as Fish Sauce/Short Round, will serve Fish Sauce’s hard-scoop frozen yogurt, which is made in house. Boba Milk will also offer waffle cones and bubble tea. They promise to get creative with flavors; some of the flavors they’ve created include durian, roasted beet, and jackfruit. I had a scoop of their Peach Green Tea froyo which was disappointing both in terms of flavor (overpowering peach, not a clean aftertaste) and texture (too soft, too melted).
Remaining Portland froyo locations
· Eb & Bean (3 locations)
· EZ Freezy (2 locations)
· Green Apple Froyo
· Nectar Frozen Yogurt Lounge (2 locations)
· Sunny’s Legendary Frozen Yogurt
· TartBerry
· UU Yogurt
· YoChoice Frozen Yogurt (call, is it still open?)
· YoYumba
Soft serve ice cream has become more widely available since my 2015 visit. Salt & Straw opened Wiz Bang Bar, a soft serve kiosk, inside Pine Street Market in 2016. They never seem to offer froyo, except for that one time that they had a Souvla pop-up – and Souvla brought their froyo, so does that even count? During my visit there were five soft serve flavors ($3.95), 3 housemade cone dips ($1), sundaes, milkshakes, soft serve tacos, and concretes.
You can also get soft serve at some Tea Bar locations (dairy-free), Moberi (dairy-free) and Cheese & Crack. Moberi is opening a fourth location this spring, in the Hawthorne neighborhood (3646 SE Hawthorne Blvd.)
If you’re looking for froyo or soft serve in Portland, I highly recommend Eb & Bean. They have plenty of vegan options as well as the dairy based frozen yogurt flavors. The shops are adorable and you need to try peanut butter magic shell.
You know you love me. X0 X0, fro-yo girl.
Looking for more frozen yogurt news, discussion boards, and resources? Check out the International Frozen Yogurt Association website at http://internationalfrozenyogurt.com/. The IFYA is the independent voice of the frozen yogurt industry.
