Favorite
Tucked into the Beaumont-Wilshire neighborhood, better known for stroller-clogged streets and mini doughnuts than fashion-forward cocktails, this upper Fremont bar knows its audience. How else to explain a recent addition to the drinks menu, the “Mommy’s Thyme Out” cocktail, with thyme-infused gin from local Portland distillery Aria, plus a splash of fresh lemon juice, apricot liqueur, and Italian vermouth for Read more...
Favorite
Walk down a narrow, mural-soaked alley at SE Division and 36th to find the entrance. Subtle touches are everything: a potent bouquet of Casablanca lilies by the front door, gentle globe lights that pop off the eggshell walls, and mossy velvet booths. It’s no surprise Someday’s codesigners also happen to be the building’s landlord, interior design studio Of Prairies. The Read more...
Favorite
Abigail’s menu sees Top Chef alum Doug Adams pillaging the drive-thru, making one of the flat-out best burgers in Portland from an unpretentious In-N-Out blueprint and offering up crunchy-shelled Taco Bell replicas and a frosty mug of Modelo Especial (just $7 for the combo). The drinks are solid, too; a seasonal hot buttered rum strikes the right balance between sweetness and bite, Read more...
Favorite
The best thing about this dark, sexy food and drink cave? You can make your own world here. Every night, every table is a different experience. The guy in the corner might be having an epiphany over old Macallans and Japanese whiskey rarely seen outside collector cabals. Daters at the chef’s counter juggle dill pickle–flavored fries, modernist fried brie sticks, Read more...
Favorite
On the ground floor of the new Kex Portland (the second location of the Reykjavík-based hotel/hostel), Dóttir offers a chance to sip from the tumbler of Lydia McLuen, a fêted young industry darling revered by everyone from Clyde Common’s Jeffrey Morgenthaler to Scotch Lodge’s Tommy Klus. McLuen’s hefty cocktail menu complements its addictive salt-and-vinegar fries and strongman portions of parsley- Read more...
Favorite
At Decibel, music is religion. Run by a lifelong Milwaukie family, the Pletkas, the bar makes this statement everywhere: photos of Mom and Dad, who met as teens when she auditioned for his band; the neon “Wish You Were Here” Pink Floyd tribute above the repurposed bowling alley bar top; and the entire room, centered on a custom oversize record Read more...
Favorite
The Basement Bar is full-on Prohibition-era cosplay, but in the best way: murky enough to stay hidden from small-world Portland. This type of throwback speakeasy is the reason manhattans exist, but don’t sleep on the house cocktail list. The vodka-meets-cacao “Dream of the 90s” features a delightfully sweet candied blood orange twist, and cabbage fritters with mustard crema make perfect Read more...
Favorite
Bright patterned murals, a cerulean blue tiled bar, and lemonade-pink chairs: Bar Diane’s is not the kind of aesthetic you might associate with Drugstore Cowboy’s louche and jonesing Dianne (Kelly Lynch), though she’s at least partly responsible for its name. Part of Gus Van Sant’s 1989 cult classic was filmed nearby, and owner Sami Gaston says she wanted to pay tribute Read more...
Favorite
It’s quite a balancing act to open a “new” bar in Foster-Powell. The neighborhood is in the early stages of gentrification, for better or for worse; pricey designer cocktails wouldn’t last a week here. But 5 & Dime keeps its footing with a high-def screen mounted above the green-and-gold bar (judiciously used for the occasional Blazers game), $5 mini pulls Read more...
Favorite
For the Pearl District’s neon-lit Pink Rabbit, the name—an homage to dad-rock royalty the National—is only the beginning of a very strong theme. There are mixtape-shaped menus with drinks named after hits by Nirvana and Fiona Apple. Songs by the Smiths and every band that’s ever sounded like the Smiths echo through the space. And on the wall there is (get this) Read more...