Recommended Beer Selection, Recommended Menu, Specialty Cocktails

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 Barrel and a righteous chopped salad sprinkled with meaty OP goods at a tall communal table that commands the center of the room. Co-owner and Clyde Common alum Nick Gusikoff brings a smart parade of well-balanced cocktails to the convivial party that skip from light and fizzy (the Clear Creek pear brandy and Chartreuse-laced Park Life) to silky-smooth (bourbon-backed Honey Suckle). Our favorite new SE Division Street resident? The Sassafras. With a smoky mescal burn and a bittersweet, brawny one-two punch of cynar and root-beery liquor, it’s sexier than most men in this town.

We featured the Richmond Bar in our guide to Portland's best bars of 2014.