[Read all of the articles in our Portland Fun Guide HERE! Looking for a print copy? Look at this handy-dandy map!—eds.]

We’ve all heard the saying “don’t play with your food”—and when it comes to the literal sense, we as upstanding humans adhere to the wise words. But that doesn’t mean mealtime has to be all starched white tablecloths and seriousness. With spots like the geeky tavern TPK Brewing accommodating the roleplaying set and the incoming Capes & Crepes taking over a prominent corner of Southeast Division, there’s an entire genre of restaurant-meets-entertainment that caters to the generation who grew up going to McDonald’s PlayPlace. Food and fun can go hand-in-hand, so get a place that can do both. 

Paula Deen, eat your heart out

St. Helens restaurant Mister Goose is roughly a 40-minute drive from Portland’s city center, so you’d be within your rights to ask what exactly is the draw. The salt-of-the-earth tavern specializes in steamed sandwiches, a regional specialty of East Tennessee. Proprietor William Steurenagel, who also co-owns Cheese & Crack, grew up on them; his grandmother owned a bar in Kansas City in the late ’70s through the early ’90s. A steamed sandwich may sound weird on its face, but if you’ve ever had Canard’s steam burgers, you’ll know not to knock it ‘til you try it. 

In case the menu isn’t niche enough for ya, the bar hosts a weekly butter bingo. This is not your grandma’s bingo: Aside from the general thrill of the game, you can expect unhinged commentary, customers getting lightly ribbed by the host, and as advertised, butter. Winners of each round can choose between a block of Darigold’s finest or spinning “the churn,” from which the host plucks out a scrap of paper that directs the winner to roll a pair of giant dice. Mystery prizes include menu items and random fun prizes like a recorder (just like the one you probably played in elementary school). The monthly grand prize is a push-button telephone-shaped butter sculpture, ’cause why not?

“[St. Helen’s] has as much going on as any small town has, so it’s been really fun to see who comes out for [bingo],” says Steurenagel. “There’s been nights where there’s teachers, postal workers, the people from the tax place… it’s almost Sesame Street with everyone showing up.” Customers have even brought cookies to the bar baked with their butter winnings.

At my first butter bingo foray, I struck gold, winning a special prize of a dozen eggs fresh from the bartender’s chickens!! (In this economy? Bless you, Mister Goose.) Aside from cold, hard cash, this has gotta be the best bingo prize I’ve ever encountered. The only thing I’ve wanted to win as badly was a flat of mangoes at Sam Bond’s Garage in Eugene. 

My friend and I were big fans of the popcorn shrimp and we also loved dipping the hot ham sandwich into a bowl of house-made tomato soup. Also surprisingly solid, the mac salad, which was better than the renditions I’ve had at some Hawaiian places. Drinks-wise, the delightful not-too-sweet cherry limeade was reminiscent of Sonic Drive-In. And for dessert, I sipped on a whipped cream-topped key lime pie cocktail (flavor was right on the money) and split a slice of fudgy chocolate tart. 

From its plucky mascot to the small vintage television sets playing throwback commercials and cartoons, this place has charm in spades. Much like the fictional bar Cheers, it feels like the type of place where everybody knows your name—as the marquee sign outside read at the time of my visit, “In the Goose, we all fam.” 

Mister Goose, 58499 Columbia River Highway, St. Helens, OR; Butter bingo, Mondays 6-8 pm weekly; free to play with purchase of food and/or drinks.

The ball’s in The People’s Court

If you haven’t been to The People’s Court (TPC) yet, then what are you waiting for? Pickleball has been the recreation du jour for a hot minute now—TPC opportunely jumped in on the craze when it opened in 2023. If you’re not looking to break a sweat playing pickleball, the venue’s Free Game Fridays offers free bocce ball, ping-pong, and cornhole from 7 pm to close and is a budget-friendly night out. The venue recently revamped its bunker space to offer axe throwing (super Portland of them).

Food offerings can be ordered from two concessions counters on opposite sides of the building: the “Kitchen” offers shareables like wings and nachos, burgers and sandwiches, entrée-sized salads, and rice bowls. On the other side of the building, the “Parlor” slings pizzas made with a dough recipe that was co-developed by venerated pizzeria Apizza Scholls. 

Tables interspersed between the courts make it easy to socialize between games or take a quick snack break—I took bites of a Columbia River steelhead sandwich and perfectly crisp fries between my turns at bocce. I was pleasantly surprised at how perfectly cooked the trout was (dry fish is the worst!), and the lemon-dill aioli slathered onto the Dos Hermanos ciabatta bun was a win as well. I’ll be back for more fun and to try the pizza. 

The People’s Courts, 2700 NE 82nd, open seven days a week; reservations recommended for pickleball.

It’s your move at Senet Game Bar

Up in a second-story building on downtown Tigard’s Main Street, groups of tabletop gamers huddle together around tables littered with game pieces, cards, and other accoutrements. This is the scene at Senet Game Bar, which is named after the ancient Egyptian game senet and boasts a library of around 200 board games. If you somehow exhaust all of those options, the bar also offers private-room karaoke, themed trivia, Dungeons & Dragons sessions, murder mystery nights, and more.

The food here isn’t too involved, just some simple dishes that are suitable for when you’re in the thick of gameplay. There’s pita pizzas, tahini-curry nachos for sharing, sandwiches that can be made into cabbage wraps. Though there is a mocktail menu, all of the bar’s cocktails can also be ordered sans alcohol, which is convenient and knocks $5 off the price. You’ll taste house-made flavors such as plum and elderflower syrup in the gin- or vodka-based Sugar Plum Fairy and chai syrup in the bourbon-boosted Apple Donkey.

Senet Game Bar, 12553 Main, #201, Tigard, OR, free gameplay with $15 purchase.