The Florida Room The Florida Room is a little slice of heaven in north Portland…once you get past envisioning the constantly strobing dots of colored light as rifle sights trained on your beloved’s forehead! Its all part of the ambiance, I guess. Anyhoo, we unabashedly loved the Florida Room and ...
Nite Hawk Cafe and Lounge Established in 1931, the Nite Hawk Café and Lounge is a jovial stop along Interstate Avenue. Filled with regulars, happy chatter and smiling faces on our visit, we felt welcome instead of suspect (like at some other establishments; not necessarily a bad thing). It’s a ...
Slim’s Restaurant & Lounge – 2023 Update Slim’s Restaurant & Lounge was one of our very first dive bar articles from the pre-pandemic days (read our original review from 2019 here – https://www.portlanddivebars.com/slims-restaurant-and-lounge/) Reportedly first established in 1911, it felt right to revisit this iconic spot for an update and ...
Marie’s We weren’t planning to stop at Marie’s, but the deliciously dark interior sucked us right in on our way to Slim’s. Little did we know, that was just the beginning because this crazy place is actually three bars in one! Walk into Marie’s and you find a somewhat standard, ...
The Wishing Well Restaurant and Nightclub My age is showing, but I kept hearing the lyrics from that 80s song as we walked into the ‘nightclub’ area of The Wishing Well Chinese Restaurant and Nightclub… “A wishing well to kiss and tell”. I don’t know how much kissin’ and tellin’ ...
Blue Bird Tavern We hit this spot at the tail end of an extensive research day in St John’s. Every and I mean EVERY bartender in the area knew the Blue Bird Tavern and either looked at us askance or made comments to the effect of “good luck with that” ...
Your Inn Tavern Look beyond the unfortunate name of the Your Inn Tavern (say the first two words fast and think of waterfalls) and what you will find is an historic Portland dive bar. Open since 1923, this is a charming little spot on a sleepy street in the St ...
The Perch Bar & Grill The Perch Bar & Grill is a neighborhood institution and has been in operation since the 1940s as near as anyone can tell. And our bartender/cook/waitress Lori has been here for 28 years, so she should know the history better than damn near anyone. Apparently, ...
The Ranger Tavern The Ranger Tavern is the Cheers of dive bars. Don’t understand that reference? Brush up on your 80s tv. In a nutshell, it’s a place where everyone knows your name. Their motto even speaks to this ethos: “Never a stranger at The Ranger Tavern”! Comfortable and welcoming, ...
Anchor Bar Well, it is a dive bar, I’ll say that much. Not exceptional, but Anchor Bar is more than serviceable. Should you find yourself nearing the wilds of Vancouver and in need of a good stiff drink or a quick bite to eat, you can comfortably do so at ...
Holman’s Bar & Grill The question was hanging over us and we needed to settle it – is Holman’s Bar & Grill (AKA “Holman’s Restaurant”) a dive or just a divey restaurant? Well… let’s just say it swings both ways. Two thirds of it is a regular diner-y restaurant and ...
Slim’s Restaurant & Lounge Slim’s Restaurant & Lounge is very much a Portland style dive bar – Slim’s has excellent food and tap list in a pleasingly divey setting. Dark and smelly with a sticky floor, don’t-stay-too-long barstools and an awesome menu with solid beer and whiskey selections. Fun old ...
