Favorite
Droves of snappily clad postcollege kids from the ’burbs fill this eye-popping 40,000-square-foot perfect storm of plasma TVs, garlic prawns, fishbowl-sized libations, IKEA-inspired conversation pits, faux fireplaces and neon signs. Even the dozen crowded lanes pulsate with flickering light like some kind of Las Vegas-style UFO landing strip. In other words, when it comes time to host your boyfriend’s impending Read more...
Favorite
Like an unrepentant playboy uncle who refuses to settle down, the Matador continues to age somewhat disgracefully—and the denizens of the dark little cavern with the rec-room aesthetic wouldn’t have it any other way. New owners—and longtime cook and bartender, respectively—Casey Maxwell and Rebecca Moon Wolfe have tidied the place with new upholstery and upgraded the plumbing, but they’ve kept Read more...
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Hawthorne boulevard, where affluent hipster bohemians and the elder hippie gentry sip coffee al fresco while benignly observing turistas shopping for spendy knickknacks, is a fitting microcosm of Portland’s culture. Indeed, it’s a strip heavy with java stops and stylishly ragamuffin boutiques, but folks in need of a stiff drink are usually left bereft. Sure, BridgePort Brewing and the Bagdad Read more...
Favorite
Behind the red glow of frosted windows, in a small corner bar on SE Grand Ave, Portland’s creative class plots and flirts in covert vinyl caves. The air is thick with smoke, pheromones and laughter. Raucous music thrums from the jukebox and, if the mood is right, the shaggy-headed hipsters and young, trussed-up socialites may break into an impromptu sing-along Read more...
Favorite
Even the most zoned-out ESPN junkie at this neighborhood sports bar will find themselves distracted by the number of bottles on the shelf. Owner Nathan Dewey is a whiskey zealot, and stocks nearly 80 brands—including hard-to-find offerings like Hirsch from Nova Scotia and Bernheim’s Kentucky wheat whiskey. Regulars should consider joining the pub’s whiskey club: After partaking of 30 different Read more...
Favorite
The 1950s vinyl booths are patched with duct tape left over from renovations past. The teal Formica tabletops—pocked with decades of cigarette burns and scars from wayward cutlery—bear the glasses of neighborhood geezers and beer-swigging young rowdies alike at this 70-year-old establishment. Widely known among the sodden set as a prime locale for a fortifying hangover breakfast (patrons can try Read more...
Favorite
Crow Bar’s CD rack leans equally on 1990s rock, though judging by the glut of Pavement and Guided by Voices, the machine went to Reed. Read more...
Favorite
Rock ’n’ roll fans visiting the Morrison Hotel for the first time will grasp the significance of the bar’s name right off the bat, but for those not up on the classics, the reference is to the fifth album by the Doors. And though the first song on that record is the party-hearty anthem “Roadhouse Blues,” the mostly green-and-dark-varnished-wood interior Read more...
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It’s named for a 1919 Somerset Maugham novel in which a London stockbroker—loosely modeled after French post-impressionist Paul Gauguin—yearns to break free of his humdrum existence. If the yearning for far-off islands strikes a chord, then perhaps a quick trip to the old sod is in order. The Moon & Sixpence is about as British as you’re going to get Read more...
Favorite
If educational hand-holding is what you seek on your tour through the sodden world of tequila, this kitschy south-of-the-border rocker bar isn’t your joint. But it’s perfect for self-motivated agave connoisseurs. Attached to the Northwest Portland Mexican restaurant of the same name, the bar offers more than 45 varieties ranging from peppery blanco to the smoother reposado and añejo styles, Read more...