Dots Cafe

Dots Cafe has a delightfully divey vibe. Pleasingly dark space with fun light fixtures, retro flocked wallpaper and numerous dusty old cheesy velvet paintings on the walls. We sat in the best seat in the house – a booth beneath velvet Elvis, of course.

Dots is for sure a dive bar, however, it functions more as a restaurant. 2 rooms, lots of booths and tables and an afterthought of a bar area with just a few barstools. Full bar, I did not take note of how many taps since I was laser focused on the official Portland BLT Week beer on offer the day we visited – OPPA from Pono (it was delicious). We also sampled the bloody Mary and it was solid, not too spicy, but just enough fire to wake you up.

The menu at Dots Cafe is enormous with plenty of variety and a ton of vegan options. If you can’t find something to eat here, you’ve got issues. I was sorely tempted by many things, including the vegan chile verde soy curl sando, but was dedicated to trying their special, spicy BLT they were featuring in honor of Portland BLT Week. That sandwich was so incredibly good, but their regular BLT was nothing to sneeze at either. My secret hope is that they they keep the spicier one on the menu for those of us who live for the heat rush. We will definitely be back to try more of their food while we bask in that awesome ambiance.

Website http://www.dotscafeportland.com/

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/dotscafe.pdx

Dot’s Cafe Dive Bar Portland BLT Week 2019 Video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJIwEicFw94

Quadrant: Southeast

Address: 2521 SE Clinton St, Portland [Google Maps]

Happy Hours: Monday-Friday 2-7pm and 11-1am

Full Kitchen: Yes

Jalapeno Poppers: No

Breakfast: Brunch on the weekends

Outdoor Seating: Tables on the sidewalk out front

Distinguishing Features: Fabulous velvet paintings, flocked wallpaper and lots of tasty vegan options on the menu

Co-Conspirator’s Note (Arthur): In looking for a link to celebrate Pono’s OPPA beer, I discovered that Pono Brewing is now, unfortunately, permanently closed.

Words by KC Shomler Author of Falling Out of Love With My Career

Photos by Steven Shomler

Website Wizardry by Arthur Breur