The Cosmo Lounge The Cosmo Lounge is the quintessential dive bar. Pleasingly dark with lots of bar stools complete with the always-a-good-sign ripped-vinyl seats, scattered tables, and a surly bartendress. There’s fun, cheesy velvet art, an assortment of B movie posters, and even framed bad 80’s albums on the walls. ...
Sandy Hut This place is retro heaven, it is the hut of huts. We ventured in to Sandy Hut on a Sunday morning for breakfast, undeterred by the pile of puke on the sidewalk outside the front door. Somebody had a fun Saturday night. We were greeted by stellar mid-century ...
The Yamhill Pub In a word: wow. This is a dive. I mean really a dive. Not a Portland kinda dive, a real, honest to goodness dive bar. The kind where you fear for your life a little – from the other patrons, from getting diseases from the glassware, from ...
The Alibi Tiki Lounge Iconic Portland destination Dive Bar. When you look up “Dive Bar” in the dictionary, a picture of The Alibi Tiki Lounge should appear. It has it all! So dark you can’t tell if it is night or day once you disappear inside (and there’s a reasonable ...
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 ...
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 ...
The Twilight Room, AKA The T Room A close associate and U.P. grad highly recommended The Twilight Room and we were not disappointed. HUGE place, looks like it has been expanded multiple times over the years to accommodate its loyal clientele that appears to be a mix of U.P. students, ...
The Two Point Inn AKA The Two Point Inn Tavern We were headed to the Twilight Room and couldn’t resist ducking into this cute lil’ dive bar! Two Point Inn (AKA The Two Point Inn Tavern) is tiny with just one long line of 10-12 barstools, but they still managed ...
Mad Hanna From the outside, Mad Hanna is in a non-descript and a touch scary building in a random neighborhood, but behind the door lies an oasis! I never thought a dive bar could be pretty, but this one kinda is, oddly. Cozy, dark with fun and quirky décor; everything ...
Railside Pub Is it open? Hard to tell since the only vehicle parked in the lot at Railside Pub was a hearse, but we ventured in anyway. What a hidden gem! Perfect size, cozy but not claustrophobic. Clean without the acrid smell of industrial strength disinfectant. Lighter than most dives, ...
The Spare Room We almost drove right past the Spare Room Restaurant & Lounge, not because it is tiny, but more because it is a weirdly nondescript monstrosity. But inside, it hits all of the right notes! Dark and dingy with the lingering aroma of bleach in the air. It’s ...
About Portland Dive Bars Portland Dive Bars is a passion project that celebrates and highlights the great dive bars we have here in Portland, Oregon. The contributors are local writer “KC is me” AKA Diana Prince, and Portland Author Steven Shomler. Eventually this project will be a book, until then look ...
