Nightlife
There is a kind of seasonal rhythm to nightlife in Portland. In the summer, when it stays light well into the evening, we spend our evenings outdoors—sitting in brewpub gardens, enjoying concerts at the Oregon Zoo or in the park, walking or biking along the Eastbank Esplanade, celebrating the festival du jour at Waterfront Park, or watching the sun slip along the Columbia River and below the horizon. In the winter, we get through the rainy months by amusing ourselves indoors—perhaps we go to dinner and a show. Perhaps we go to Powell’s. Perhaps we just go bowling.
Whatever the season, Portland’s nightlife is rich and varied. In this chapter, we cover fun for grown-ups: music, bars, dancing. Portland’s scene is impossible to pigeonhole—we are not, for example, readily associated with a particular kind of music—but one thing is certain. We love parties. We love First Thursday and Last Thursday; we love our many Waterfront Park festivals; we love those concerts at the zoo. We have a lot to celebrate.
You’ll find nighttime things to do all over town, in every neighborhood—though, ironically, the heart of downtown has less street life and more cultural events in the evening. Throughout the area, however, you’ll find clusters of people sitting at outside tables, happy and convivial, yet also behaving in a pretty civilized way. Look for beacons of nightlife along Southeast Division, Hawthorne, and Belmont; along North Mississippi and Northeast Broadway; along Northwest 23rd and 21st Avenues; and all throughout the Pearl District.
Overview
The restaurants, brewpubs, and coffeeshops mentioned in their respective chapters are excellent sources of entertainment, as are the events and happenings listed in the Festivals and the Arts chapters. Good sources of information on who’s playing where are the local rags: the Portland Mercury; Willamette Week; the Oregonian’s Arts and Entertainment section, which is published on Friday; and Portland Monthly’s calendar. These papers will also tell you who is reading at Powell’s, what’s at the Portland Center Stage, and what’s going on at Waterfront Park. Below are more ideas for when you are in the mood to go out. Be prepared to pay cover charges for live and house music.
1. Berbati’S Pan
City: Portland, OR
Category: Nightlife
Telephone: (503) 248-4579
Address: 231 Southwest Ankeny St.
Description: Berbati’s features a variety of music shows, many new artists as well as old favorites. It’s an intimate venue with great sound and therefore a good dance floor. When they are not presenting your beloved eighties punk band, they might be showing an avant garde film or the sporting contest of the day on their huge screen. Berbati’s also serves stiff drinks and reasonable Greek food. Pool tables are available too.
City: Portland, OR
Category: Nightlife
Address: 1332 West Burnside St.
3. Dante’S
City: Portland, OR
Category: Nightlife
Telephone: (503) 226-6630
Address: 1 Southwest 3rd Ave.
Insider Pick:
Description: Dante’s is one of the hottest scenes in downtown Portland—literally. Not only does it have a fiery oil drum to give the place a purgatorial glow, it also attracts a wildly diverse crowd. Could it be the exotic dancers? The expertly mixed cocktails? No—it’s the great shows, from the American-Idol fantasists on Monday’s karaoke night to the “Sinferno” cabaret show on Sunday nights. Other nights are equally spectacular, in the sense of providing spectacle, including tattooed dancing girls and other risqué entertainment. Dante’s is open Mon through Fri from 11 a.m. to 2 a.m., and on Sat and Sun from 7 p.m. to 2 a.m.
4. Fez Ballroom
City: Portland, OR
Category: Nightlife
Telephone: (503) 221-7262
Address: 316 Southwest 11th Ave.
Insider Pick:
Description: The Fez Ballroom is a great dance venue that features both house music and live—and it’s really about the dancing, as opposed to the other interesting things that could happen in a nightclub. Friday nights feature an eighties-themed party called “Shut Up and Dance,” but any night of the week could bring you out on the dance floor.
5. Embers
City: Portland, OR
Category: Nightlife
Telephone: (503) 222-3082
Address: 110 Northwest Broadway
Insider Pick:
Description: Embers is a gay dance club that practices tolerance by letting anyone in. With its three stages, it’s a great place for dancing, and the music is a fun blend of retro, dance-party, and Top 40. Drag shows are a reliable feature of any night at the Embers. The bar alone is worth a visit.
6. Roseland Theatre
City: Portland, OR
Category: Nightlife
Telephone: (503) 224-2038
Address: 8 Northwest 6th Ave.
Description: Housed in an old church, the Roseland Theatre is a somewhat chaotic all-ages concert pavilion with a bar and roomy balcony upstairs for those over 21. This is a popular venue that features national acts as well as local music. It fits about 1400 people at a time—standing up; there are only a few seats, and they are in the bar—but sometimes the security makes it seem like there are three times that many. Still, the Roseland has great sound and good stage visibility. Expect to see anyone from Bob Dylan to Bad Religion to Sara Bareilles.
7. Tiger Bar
City: Portland, OR
Category: Nightlife
Telephone: (503) 222-7297
Address: 317 Northwest Broadway
Description: With minimal signage and a mysterious front door, Tiger Bar has the outward appearance of a private club. Inside it’s an after-work, happening scene. For no cover charge you can join the artists, Bohemians, advertising execs, and other Pearl District habitués who come here to chat, sip an exotic cocktail like vodka-fueled Liquid Love or Damianas, and nibble on tiger prawns, pad Thai noodles, and other pan-Asian treats, all against the backdrop of a wall of electronic sound.
8. Vault
City: Portland, OR
Category: Nightlife
Telephone: (503) 224-4909
Address: 226 Northwest 12th Ave.
Description: Signature habanero martinis and other frosty concoctions keep the well-clad patrons of this Pearl District hangout returning. Vault has millions of martinis (okay, 44) to choose from, as well as a long list of other cocktails. The ambience is upscale modern, with the work of local artists festooning the walls, a fireplace, and an 18-foot glass bar. It’s also fun for parties—but make sure to arrange them in advance.
City: Portland, OR
Category: Nightlife
Address: 3017 Southeast Milwaukie Ave.
10. Bar Of The Gods
City: Portland, OR
Category: Nightlife
Telephone: (503) 232-2037
Address: 4801 Southeast Hawthorne Blvd.
Description: A unique selection of reasonably priced but heavenly tasting microbrews, free pool, and an outdoor patio await you at Bar of the Gods, on the eastern end of Hawthorne Boulevard. Drinks are generous. Booths are cozy. The happy hour is long. On some evenings they show films beneath hanging bunches of plastic grapes.
11. Blue Monk
City: Portland, OR
Category: Nightlife
Telephone: (503) 595-0575
Address: 3341 Southeast Belmont St.
Description: The Blue Monk started out as a jazz venue but has now expanded into related genres—including swing dancing and belly dancing. Hey, as the Duke said, if it sounds good, it is good. The Blue Monk has a good happy hour, good free pool, and a good cheap cover as well. Upstairs is a fetching contemporary room with an open kitchen, where cooks are busy preparing spaghetti, shrimp scampi, and other mostly Italian dishes. Downstairs, Portland’s finest musicians are jamming.
12. Crush
City: Portland, OR
Category: Nightlife
Telephone: (503) 235-8150
Address: 1412 Southeast Morrison St.
Description: This fun club draws Portland’s most stylish with its brilliant rooms, great drinks, grooving DJs, and clever events. The lounge features comfortable couches and a wonderful chandelier made of liquor bottles, while the Blue Room is dedicated to a hopping dance floor. Crush is an equal-opportunity employer of go-go dancers, as well, so have fun watching.
13. Doug Fir
City: Portland, OR
Category: Nightlife
Telephone: (503) 231-9663
Address: 830 East Burnside St.
Insider Pick:
Description: The Doug Fir looks like a mountain lodge that has been given a makeover by Danish modernists, and one reason it is popular is that the soft, indirect lighting makes everyone look as if they ought to be carded. The food is really good, and while some might claim that going to the Doug Fir for the food is like reading Playboy for the interviews, they might actually be telling the truth. But the big draw is the club, which is downstairs. This space features some great bands from all over, and it’s a great space to see them. It was designed and built specifically to showcase live music, with a fantastic sound system and stage. The Doug Fir is open seven nights. It’s right by the Jupiter Hotel (see the Accommodations chapter), which has obvious benefits.
14. Holocene
City: Portland, OR
Category: Nightlife
Telephone: (503) 239-7639
Address: 1001 Southeast Morrison St.
Insider Pick:
Description: Holocene is dedicated to the avant-garde of the Portland art and music scene, with an uber-modern interior, two large rooms, and a huge bar. Excellent dancing can be had here, as well as similar music experiences—secret shows by famous artists, up-and-coming bands that will be famous shortly, and other attractions keep hipsters crowding the place. The pours are generous.
15. Press Club
City: Portland, OR
Category: Nightlife
Telephone: (503) 233-5656
Address: 2621 Southeast Clinton St.
Insider Pick:
Description: Along with its dinner menu and wine list, the Press Club serves up expertly prepared live and DJ’d music from local greats and beyond. The Press Club is small and intimate but feels wonderfully spacious, a combination that allows the musicians and the audience to bond. For more information see the listing in the Restaurants chapter. A crowd favorite is Swing Papillon, which plays sweet, sweet Gypsy jazz on Wednesday nights. Hear them if you can.