Multnomah Whiskey Library

★★★★☆ 4.2 (947) • $$$

"Bloody amazing.This semi-secreted "speakeasy" is above the casual "Green Room" bar/lounge. My party first dined next door at L'il Shalom, and prior to eating, we put our names on the wait list for the Whiskey Library, so it worked out perfectly. (This wasn't the first rodeo for my dining companions. They've been to this bar before and loved it so much, so they knew the routine). After our dinner, we went to the Green Room and we were summoned upstairs to the Whiskey Library soon after we arrived. (It was super cool, being escorted upstairs, up this stately wooden staircase, by a smartly-dressed porter-esque man who, with great flourish, opened the formal door to the Whiskey Library, to the formal space within. It was reminiscent of the porter opening the door to the formal dining room in the Titanic to Leo DiCaprio in the movie. It's like another world awaits beyond the door). And WHAT another world it is. It is exactly how one would imagine a "gentlemen's club" of yore: high ceilings, lots of warm wood, library-like shelves up to the ceiling with higher shelves accessible by rolling brass ladders, a massive and stately bar counter, a huge bricked wall with a massive fireplace, dumb waiters in the wall to the kitchen area, stained glass details embedded in the ceiling, smartly dressed servers rolling serving carts to each seating area (like a fancy dim sum place..... Hopefully, you get the gist. This place is special. You can get any cocktail here that you can imagine or conjure up. The servers are beyond knowledgable about anything related to cocktails and spirits and especially whiskeys. I'm not really into whiskey but I ordered a whiskey sour and it was delicious. My kid and her beau ordered various drinks and they were loving them. John was our server and he was great.The food menu looked wonderful and we decided to get a few desserts. The cheesecake with blueberry compote was delicious, but the Earl Grey creme brûlée was THE BEST creme brûlée any of us had ever had in our respective lives. To DIE FOR. What a special, swanky, wonderful place. Cannot recommend enough."

Slow Bar

★★★★☆ 4.1 (622) • $$

"This place has been around for as long as I can remember. It's one of the places I used to go for a late night munchies, especially the burger. I came here again for Portland Burger Week. Their special burger was very tasty, and you can tell that the meat quality is superb. They also have a great selection of drinks."

Dan & Louis Oyster Bar

★★★★☆ 3.6 (692) • $$

"Needing a bite to eat, we stopped out front of this place to take a quick look at the menu. After skimming it over I found something that I knew I would like and we decided this would be a good place to grab a quick dinner. When we entered we were greeted and asked where we wanted to sit. We didn't really care and let the host show us to a seat. It kind of felt like we were purposefully taken on a long walkthrough of the whole restaurant before shown our seat. Our drink order was taken immediately upon us sitting down and at that point of the day all I wanted was water. It was odd that the host served us our drinks, but it also felt like we were disrupting his day. Honestly, that was the only low point.Once we had time to look over the menu we were greeted by our server and our order was placed. After placing the order we were able to appreciate the seat we were sat at. Maybe that walkthrough was done to make the appreciation so much more. Where we were seated we had a wide view of the street outside without the noise and possibility of weather change. This is a great place to people watch as well.After a bit our food finally showed up and we started to dig in. I went with the Tillamook Cheeseburger. I know, why come to an oyster bar and not partake in the oysters. Well, short answer is I think they are gross and I'm allergic, so no thank you.However, that cheeseburger is a must in my opinion. You get three patties seared on the grill and then they are smothered with Tillamook cheese. The bun is toasted and it is topped with lettuce, tomato, onion, pickle, and thousand island dressing. Think Big Mac with an extra patty, a ton more cheese and so much more flavor than you would expect. With this you get the choice of fries, coleslaw, or salad. Of course I went with fries. This was a behemoth to eat, but I managed by cutting it in half and taking my time. It was a filling meal and definitely something I would get again.After we paid and were heading to the door we were stopped once more. I assume that the gentleman that stopped us was the owner or manager of the place. He was pleasant and asked us how our meal was. He also made it a point to encourage us to come back."

Mississippi Pizza Pub & Atlantis Lounge

★★★★☆ 4.1 (491) • $$

"We came at the perfect time. There were so many different varieties of pizza to choose from. I ordered the "all veggie" and it was so yummy. I also had a salad with ranch.The dough is so perfect!Thank you for feeding us tonight.We will definitely come more often and bring friends and family."

Rontoms

★★★★☆ 3.5 (506) • $$

"Great outdoor patio. Kind of upscale vibe inside. Attractive people where you can often strike up a conversation. Also appreciate that they have cheap Rainiers for those who don't want fancy cocktails. One of my favorite summer spots to go to."

Carina Lounge

★★★★★ 4.6 (242) • $$

"A fun spot with super cool happy hour deal. The moment they opened, people flooded in. During happy hour (4.30-5.30PM), you get $2 off house cocktails and $3 off small plates!I got the Piri Piri Prawns at happy hour price. It came with five large and fresh prawns. The sauce was zesty and refreshing. Love the garlics in there as well.I also got the Pasta Malfatti which was a uniquely spicy pasta. The sauce was rich with spices and chicken sausage. I've never had pasta like this before. The pasta itself was lasagna-shaped, fresh, and well-cooked (maybe a tad overdone) but it came out super hot which I love. Definitely a rich dish and the portion was great. Would be great to share with people so you can try multiple.The service was fast and friendly. I love the ambience inside a lot as well, very relaxing. This would be a fun spot for a special occasion or to meet up with a group if people. I would love to be back for their Penne Burrata, Goat Cheese Ravioli, and drinks!"

Roadside Attraction

★★★★☆ 4 (309) • $$

"This is such a great spot to come in, sit under the beautiful foliage and trees, all while having a nice cold beer and a stiff shot of liquor at one of the coolest neighborhood bars we could find in PDX. This is such a cool little spot that I could not get enough of and made sure to have enough cash to be able to keep the beers flowing and even partake in some of their tasty snacks and food they have on the menu at the bar. We ended up having a couple of great and filling hotdogs along with some good mac and cheese for some late night eats after exploring Portland during the day. All the nooks and crannies of spots to hang out in this bar is what charmed me to keep wanting to come back! Although parking can be difficult (street and neighborhood parking) it was all worth it when we walked in and we couldn't get our eyes off of the knick knacks and decor around the bar. Bartenders and server was super friendly and attentive. I love the whole idea of having cash only bar in the neighborhood. It allows me to keep a low profile of my late night eats and drinks from my debit/credit card account. HEHE!This spot is worth brining all of your friends, ordering some cool cocktails, and enjoying the Portland weather under some cool and unique and eclectic decor at one of the most unique bars I have ever seen."

Paymaster Lounge

★★★★☆ 3.9 (248) • $$

"I haven't been here since pre-covid. I really like the renovation to the place. Both the indoor bars (one in the front and one on the back) are easy to get drinks from. The outside back patio is nice and spacious. They have some efficient heating lamps to help keep you warm during the cold days. The drinks are reasonably priced and are the food. We only ordered some fries and tots this visit."

The Knock Back

★★★★☆ 4.3 (204) • $$

"I had to come back and get the grilled cheese sandwich here. It's nice to know that the kitchen is being run by The Grilled Cheese Grill. I had the After School Snack - a grilled cheese sandwich with a cup of tomato soup. This was the perfect snack for me to accompany my beverage. The food is just as great as I remembered it."

The Goodfoot

★★★★☆ 3.8 (226) • $$

"I am a huge fan of the kimchee mac, I think it's the best dish on the menu. It's unbelievably flavorful. The place has very good vibes and people, and we love it every time we go."

Space Room Lounge

★★★★☆ 3.6 (231) • $$

"I've been here a good amount, they host Bridgetown Trivia on Thursday nights outside. They bring a lot of people in for Trivia, so my review is only based on Thursday nights, your MMV depending on the night.The pros: The food is really good. Far better than almost any bar I've been to, they have a wide variety of options, and they have a couple weekly specials that are typically must try for a couple of us on our team. They have Bridgetown Trivia, which is the best trivia in town. They also have a ton of seating, which is nice, including a large patio area outside that is covered and is really nice to eat at on a nice day. Cons: most of these are minor, but some bigger than others. Parking is difficult, and some of my team members had issues parking in certain areas at night. The bar wait times are long, there is no table service, and you can count on waiting 5-10 mins to place an order, and to pay at the end of the night. The smoking outside. Most nights it feels like every person, in portland, who smokes, is at Space Room. And not casual smokers. Chain smoking, and because over the cover, it feels like the smoke lingers. It became one of the biggest factors in us playing somewhere else. Also, the cover started to become leaky this fall and we had noticed ourselves getting wet. Neutral: The staff. Some are friendly, some seem like they DGAF, some would appear to have a slight disdain for customers. Overall, kind of a bummer. This is one of the tougher places to play trivia, the competition is stiff, and this was the food place we looked forward to every week and it was nice to play against a lot of teams, but the smoke, parking and not being covered from the elements led us to find a new spot."

Olive or Twist

★★★★☆ 4.3 (160) • $$

"One of the smoothest places to hangout in downtown. The staff is very cool and relaxed. We stopped in for a cocktail and dinner after the symphony. Of course, it's a bar more than a restaurant however with the limited menu the choices are sufficient for a late night meal. We ordered the salmon and salad. Great choices because both were super! If you're looking for a nice, relaxing, quiet, mood place...Go check out Olive & Twist."

Voicebox Karaoke - SE Portland

★★★★☆ 3.9 (145) • $$

"Came here for a party and had a great time. Prices were reasonable (actually, much less than we expected), ambiance was nice and the facility was clean, and the staff were super friendly and attentive. Food was tasty (mmmmm tater tots!) and everyone had a great time. We'd definitely come back again."

Lucky House Restaurant & Lounge

★★★★☆ 3.5 (177) • $$

"They get 5 stars for being open Xmas evening, serving some hella tasty Chinese food and for putting up for those self centered, rude, inconsiderate patrons. How can you speak to someone like that who is working on Xmas evening trying to serve and take care of you?! Now back to the real. They've got like 7 beers on tap. Great selection though for what they're working with. There's a bar that seats like 5 on one side and another 7 or so in the other side.It's not the biggest place. There's a couple of tables that seat 4-6 and a few two person tables. It's dark like a basement bar in here.We had two different types of chicken that were both amazingly good!! The rice was just right, sticky. We were very happy with out mall here and will definitely be back."

Lutz Tavern

★★★☆☆ 3.4 (165) • $

Vendetta

★★★★☆ 3.5 (137) • $$

"A super chill bar with a nice big patio in the back. They also have outdoor tables with heat lamps over them. This is one of the bars I like coming to when in the North Williams area. The drinks address reasonable priced and the vibe is just right. They also have some tasty bar snacks to help with the munchies. Overall, a great place to check out and chill in the patio area."

Howell's Restaurant & Lounge

★★★★☆ 3.6 (77) • $

OK Noodle

★★★★★ 4.7 (35)

"OK ok, not ok bad. This place could be so much better though. Somewhat sterile feel inside ~ few tables that are overly spaced out, off white tile flooring & off white walls makes a newly painted apartment rental feel. Yelp categorize OK as a lounge which it is not.Food ok ~ with no one else in the restaurant the bloated noodles were disappointed. Stirfry noodles the same. Potstickers had a good chew. Service friendly, smiley and thankful when we left."

My Bar

★★★★☆ 3.9 (40)

"We discovered MyBar after it took over the Spud Monkeys location on 172nd and NE Halsey back in 2020 (I think their two year anniversary is coming up), and I must say it is so good we are still customers to this day! We order through UberEats and usually get it delivered (looking at my Uber history, we have ordered at least 15 times in the last 8 months- don't judge). The few times I have been inside for pickup is laid back and not very busy. Bartenders are friendly,!. I keep telling B we need to go in and have a drink and hang out- Nice bar area and some lottery machines. Good amount of tables and a couple large tvs. They have large fire domes outside that looks cool and keeps the smokers warm. I've seen tables set up outside when it's warmer out. Our usual order is the Bacon Cheeseburger with onion rings, and a prime rib dip sandwich, but this last time I switched to the shrimp basket and it's now my new fave. We've also tried the chicken strips, cheese sticks, teriyaki burger, and the peanut butter bacon cheeseburger. Must try!"

Element Lounge

★★★★☆ 3.8 (35) • $$

"I came here for a friend's birthday party and am in love! What a great space! I love that in this area there are lots of parking options too - I genuinely get scared going into a new spot wondering how long I need to arrive early to do the circle around and around and around. Nope - they have their own lot and plenty of street parking too!Many dive bars around are also pretty unclean feeling that is supposed to be charming - this is not that. The space is nice with nothing nasty to hide and has several areas you could fill pretty well with people. There is even a super cute area tucked in a corner with couches you could feel pretty swank drinking a martini. The bartender was a dream - what a sweetheart! She is on it also and kept knocking out drink after drink. Their have a small menu with some decent bar food. I just went with tots and fish but almost regret (after seeing some other reviews) not grabbing a hamburger. My food was fine though - I was not expecting more than some greasy fried food - this was fried but the grease was even low and super cheap so yay! They have some great large tables so getting a group together here is a great option for gatherings."

Eastern Cathay Restaurant and Lounge

★★★☆☆ 2.9 (58) • $

"My favorite Chinese restaurant. Good tats yes amazing! The best in Portland. It is always hot and made fresh!"

Springwater Station

★★★☆☆ 3 (16) • $

"The worse thing about this place was April, happy to say she has moved on to the dump dive bar she worked at part-time. She was so trashy I wouldnot go in there when she worked. The best fish and chips, chefs salad in PDX. Deb, Marci and Tona are great bartenders."

The Observatory

★★★★☆ 4.3 • $$

"Been here 3 or 4 times and it's consistently good! I love this neighborhood and this cozy spot fits right in. It's a tad bit more upscale than some of the other restaurants and bars on the block, and I appreciate that. Food is great and lots of options for carnivores, vegans, etc. Good drinks that don't take 15 minutes to wait for. Food is delicious and not served with tweezers. Pro tip - also a good lunch spot if you're in the mood for a sandwich. The elk burger was really good."