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
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
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...
Favorite
During the fall of 2014 Nancy Prior and Adam Moser were looking for a car to buy for an art project that required a vehicle. After calling the number on the for sale sign of a 1964 Ford Ranchero the car’s owner, Karen Harding (owner of Cup & Saucer) convinced the two to forget the car and to take over Read more...
Favorite
When a green light in the attic window of this small Craftsman house winks on, it’s a signal that Westmoreland’s new cocktail-fueled time machine is open for business. Jewelry designer and rabid antiquer Ryk Maverick recently retooled the longtime home of Schoendecken Coffee Roasters as a 1920s-era speakeasy, complete with plinky jazz soundtrack and dizzy-making heritage cocktails. First and foremost, Read more...