Portland Bar Guide

Check Out These Gorgeous Bar Bathrooms

Do you ever go to the bathroom at a bar and come out with some cool home décor ideas? So do we.

By Katherine Chew Hamilton, Michael Novak, Conner Reed, Margaret Seiler, and Matthew Trueherz Published in the September 2022 issue of Portland Monthly

A great drink has its charms, but it doesn’t stand the test of time like a great bathroom selfie. To that end, we’ve compiled a few of our favorite Portland bar bathrooms for picture-taking, mirror-primping, or just plain admiring. (Art director's note: We Photoshopped out the camera and tripod in the mirrors of a few photographs, since cameras in bathrooms are totes creepy.)


 

Image: Michael Novak

Ground Kontrol Who says the games need to stop at the bathroom door? Ms. Pac-Man and her bowless counterpart Pac-Man exist in tile form on the bathroom floors of this classic arcade and bar in Old Town-Chinatown. While you're popping into a stall or choosing between the 1UP and 2UP urinals, they're munching dots and evading ghosts. 115 NW Fifth Ave —MS


 

Image: Michael Novak

Bar Norman When designing this chill neighborhood wine bar, owner Dana Frank got hands-on. At first glance, what looks like wallpaper in the bathroom is actually dozens of individual vintage wine crate labels tiled in collage-like fashion. 2615 SE Clinton St —MN


 

Image: Michael Novak

pink rabbit According to owner and operator Collin Nicholas, the neon-soaked bathrooms at this trendy Pearl District cocktail spot elicit regular screams from unsuspecting guests. Nicholas took over the space in 2021 and put the whole thing through a redesign, emphasizing a “bright, fresh, downtown Palm Springs” vibe that certainly extends to the john. Subway tile and beachy photographs line the walls, palm frond wallpaper covers the ceiling, and the whole thing is bathed in an alluring soft-pink light. Selfie takers, rejoice. 232 NW 12th Ave —CR


 

Doug Fir Lounge Imagine Versailles’s Hall of Mirrors, but make it Mad Men midcentury modern meets late-2000s Portland hip. Amidst moody, glowing amber lighting, the bathroom doors, walls, and stalls are plastered with mirrors adorned with a crackly gold surface, but that doesn’t stop tipsy patrons from stumbling into walls like birds crashing into windows. 830 E Burnside St —KCH


 

Image: Michael Novak

departure Floor-to-ceiling chrome and infinity mirrors carry the vibe of this rooftop spaceship of a restaurant into the loo. If the walls in Departure's bathroom could talk, they'd be able to tell you about pretty much everyone in town; who hasn't taken an "I've been abducted by aliens and took a selfie in their bathroom" pic here? 525 SW Morrison St, 15th floor —MT

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