Favorite
Restaurateur Nate Tilden has made his mark in town by knowing exactly what Portlanders crave, from cured meats (Olympic Provisions) to Jeffrey Morgenthaler (Clyde Common). With Richmond Bar, he bestows upon Southeast Portland a compact greatest-hits collection in the former Matchbox Lounge’s Lilliputian space. Gangs of clever women and bearded men crowd the black-leather banquettes, while neighbors meet over pints of 10 Read more...
Favorite
If it weren’t for the dark-marbled bar, the impeccable leather upholstery, the grand, unblemished pool table, and the stainless steel LED lamps hanging from the burly beams above, the Rookery Bar just might transport you in time. Making its cavernous home in the former hayloft of the Ladd Carriage House—built in 1883, trucked across town in 2007, and trucked back to Read more...
Favorite
Technically, Whey Bar serves as the overflow pit for anxious diners hungry for Ox’s highbrow Argentine grilled meats. Stuck in a former garage behind the perpetually packed restaurant, this stepchild of a boîte is all but invisible from the street. Exposed lightbulbs hang from the ceiling, casting a warm glow. There’s no bathroom. But since it opened in the summer of Read more...
Favorite
Shunning unusual ingredients, exaggerated flavors, and even (gasp!) IPAs, Occidental is the only brewery in town that focuses exclusively on German beer styles. Started in St. Johns in 2011 by uncle-nephew team Dan and Ben Engler, Occidental serves Kölsch, Hefeweizen, Altbier, and Dunkel, with a rotating cast of seasonals. While the flavor profiles tend toward the balanced and subtle, the Read more...
Favorite
A year ago, homebrewer Tom Sims gave Hillsdale its very own cozy, hyperlocal brewpub. Most of the beers are straightforward, such as Woodboy IPA, nicely full-bodied at nearly 7 percent alcohol, but the Dry-Hopped IPA, lumbering with an extra-floral Cascade bouquet, is a surprising treat. Read more...
Favorite
You can practically smell the testosterone at this brainchild of former Klamath Basin Brewing Co brewer Justin Fay. If the North Face opened a bar, this would be it: exposed timber beams, tables chainsawed out of hunks of fir, chairs woven from climbing ropes, adventure images postcarding the walls, a giant canoe hanging from the ceiling, and 10 brews made Read more...
Favorite
If you want to see the humble neighborhood tavern raised to an art form, come here. Crammed almost invisibly between a tattoo shop and an Irish pub, Free House feels like an off-the-radar discovery every time you walk in. Amid clean-lined but cozy décor, a connection to artisan meat empire Olympic Provisions (the two share a co-owner) elevates a tightly edited Read more...
Favorite
Something funny about the Tannery: people seem to bring their parents. On a recent visit, several tables in this cozy, off-kilter-elegant shotgun shack featured 30-somethings and their forebears. Maybe Portland transplants are eager to show off a tiny gem that distills the city’s modern mood to its essence. After all, this place isn’t much more than a cinder-block shed on a once-desolate stretch Read more...