Welcome to Portland! (No, Weâre Serious!)
The Portland Mercury’s Indispensible Guide for Newcomers
Portlandâs Pretty
A Style Guide for the New Portlander
How to Get Around Portland (Car-Free)
Yes, You Can, and Yes, You Should
Beating Traffic in This City Is Easyâwith a Bike!
Here’s Everything You Need to Know
Move In, Start Eating
A List of New Dishes Every New Portlander Must Try
A Toast to Your Arrival!
The Newcomer’s Guide to Booze in a Boozy Town
The Newcomerâs Pot Buying Guide
Don’t Be Intimidated: Buying Pot Is Safe, Easy, and Totally Legal
A Newcomerâs Guide to Portlandâs Best Music Venues
Or, Where to Take Your Ears Out for a Date!
Sports for the Athletically Ignorant Newcomer
A Quick Overview of Portland’s Major League Teams
So You Want to Be an Activist
How to Get Politically Active if You’re New to Town (and Why It Matters)
Old Stuff for New Portlanders
Or, Tricking Old Portlanders into Thinking You Aren’t New
Welcome to your new home! The best thing about this city is that wherever youâre living, your new favorite bar is probably in your neighborhood. But if youâre anything like me, you might need a cocktail before you can even unpack. Here are a few spots to start with:
Cocktail Pilgrimage
Clyde Common (1014 SW Stark) and Pepe le Moko (407 SW 10th)âIf youâre a cocktail geek, thereâs a chance youâve come to Portland solely to worship at the feet of Jeffrey Morgenthaler, author of the invaluable The Bar Book and mastermind of the bar programs at Clyde Common and Clydeâs subterranean sister Pepe le Moko. At Clyde, Morgenthalerâs famous barrel-aged cocktails dazzle, but downstairs, striking a balance between seedy (no windows) and stately ($$$), the star of the show is, implausibly, a $14 Grasshopper. Pepeâs boozy chocolate-mint shake is rounded out with Fernet Branca and pours a beautiful 1950s-kitchenette-backsplash green. Donât overthink it.
Tikiâs Dark Side
Rum Club (720 SE Sandy)âMeanwhile, across town, some of the best cocktails in the city are coming out of the unassuming wedge of a half-assed Tiki bar, the Rum Club. Once a sort of waiting bar for the now-defunct Beaker & Flask, Rum Club outlived its sister spot and continues to turn out the finest cocktails in town. Itâs true Portland royalty, wearing a crown of paper umbrellas, ribbons of orange peel, and swizzlestick tree branches.
Tikiâs Bright Side
Hale Pele (2733 NE Broadway)âBlair Reynolds, purveyor of the BG Reynolds line of fine Tiki syrups and mixers, is also the publican at Portlandâs most all-in Tiki lounge and rum drinkery, Hale Pele. Though technically above ground, Hale Pele will finally explain why your uncleâs basement was off-limits to you as a child, despite looking like the most fun mini golf course ever. Sip on a Tiki classic like a Mai Tai, dare yourself to hit the per-customer limit of two Zombie Punches, or check out the suite of Hale Pele originals, all while basking in the flash and glow of flaming cocktails, the whir of a fleet of blenders, and the rumbling boom of a volcano in the back corner.
Goof-Offs and Roustabouts
Bit House Saloon (727 SE Grand)âThe pages-long cocktail menu at Bit House includes classics, blendies, swizzles, toddies, and even draft cocktails, yet what Bit House seems to specialize in is the novelty cocktail. Itâs not unlikely that youâll see a smoke gun behind the bar, or a sous-vide machine, or a contingent of Campari gummy bears. From an âumami bombâ black-sesame-orgeat cocktail the color of dried lava, to a michelada with ceviche on top, the cocktail menu always features funâoften actually funnyâcocktails, and yet theyâre preposterously delicious.
Wrapped up Beautifully
La Moule (2500 SE Clinton)âLa moule is French for mussel, and they absolutely do a mean bowl of mussels at Belgian-tinged Southeast Portland hotspot La Moule, but the bar side of the operation is just as enticing, thanks to the cocktail superstar in the ownershipâTommy Klus, whose Scotch Lodge cocktail (smoky, bitter, even slightly fruity) is the finest thing to come out of Portland since the â77 Blazers. All surrounded by the prettiest bivalve-themed wallpaper on the West Coast of America.
The Other Best Cocktail Ever
Solo Club (2110 NW Raleigh)âNeighbors lamented the loss of longtime Northwest 23rd Ave restaurant Besawâs when it was forced out by rapid condo development for you, the newcomer. But allâs well, for in the end, we have you to thank for the Solo Club, sister bar to the relocated and expanded Besawâs, just a few blocks from the original location. Solo Club specializes in âcoolers,â combos of soda, beer, bubbly wine or sometimes spirits with a wide array of bitters, vermouths, and a beloved Italian style of digestivo and aperitivo called amaroâthe Portland favorite of which is fernet. Fernet Branca is the king of fernet, but (lucky us) Solo Club offers many others.
See Also...
Live the Shanghai underground life at Expatriate (5424 NE 30th).
Marvel at the marble and concrete minimalism of Rue (1005 SE Ankeny).
Enjoy the cocktailing showâdonât worry, no âflairâ hereâat Teardrop Lounge (1015 NW Everett).
If you absolutely must sing a song with your Tiki drink, head to karaoke at the Alibi (4024 N Interstate).
See the record for most Princess Bride-themed cocktails broken at Victoria (4835 N Albina).
Drink cocktails from pre-prohibition glassware and bar equipment at Bible Club (6716 SE 16th).