Later this year, I’ll be spending a single (Friday) night in Portland with a buddy. I was there once before, over a decade ago, but I didn’t research well, and I don’t think I got all I could have out of what I understand is a great city.
We will probably hit town early-to-mid afternoon, and will have no commitments or curfew. Some sort of unique cultural or recreational activity to kill some daylight hours might be nice.
A good (but not fancy) meal is surely in the offing. A steak house - maybe; a good pub with above-average grub - more likely. Or some place in between.
Dinner will be followed by bar-hopping. We like neighborhood taverns, dives, places where the locals hang out. Sports bars, Irish pubs and the like are always good too. We’re not so much into trendy craft cocktail lounges, though excellent examples of the genre are not off the table. Dance clubs or any place with thump-thump-thumping music where you can’t hear yourself think are off the table. Live music in a laid-back setting can be a plus if the cover charge is not exorbitant.
And, we’d like to do all of this within walking distance of a decent place to stay. Not too terribly picky about that; Holiday Inn level quality or above is acceptable.
There’s probably 50 brew pubs in Portland; they’re the quintessential Portland experience. If you have one night, stay out of dive bars, sports bars, Irish pubs, and hit a few good breweries and sample the local wares.
I live in Portland, but I’m not into the bar/pub scene at all, so can’t help you much there. There’s a steak house called Ringside downtown, but it’s very expensive, IMO. I’m also not a fan of pub burgers, but here’s a site that lists some of the best. As for cultural stuff, the Portland Art Museum is downtown, as is Lan Su Gardens, the Chinese garden. There’s always Voodoo Donuts, which is very popular with tourists and locals.
I lived in Portland for a couple years. I’m on my phone, but will give this some thought and report back later this evening. For now, consider staying at the University Place Motel. It in the middle of downtown and the MAX line is right in front of the hotel, and the streetcar stop is just a couple blocks away. I’m a PSU alumnus and can probaby get you a good deal if you decide you like University Place. Even without my alumni ID# UP is one of the cheapest motels in town.
I used to go to Portland on occasions, but it was years ago. I was going to recommend my favorite Mongolian grill, but I checked and they don’t have a downtown location anymore.
There’s a restaurant that was on Diners, Dives and Drive-ins call Pok Pok. It’s basically Thai street food, and their claim to fame is their hot (or mild) chicken wings. Big, chicken-zilla wings, wonderfully spiced. But it’s on the other side of the river on SE Division Street. There’s a Fogo de Chao chain restaurant downtown that, if you’re not familiar with it, has the meat on skewers, Argentinian style. An all you can eat sort of thing, and not bad. Certainly not as expensive as Ringside.
Michael’s Italian Beef has some great Chicago-style eats, but the eponymous owner has a reputation for being an asshole. If you swing in there and you see an elderly white guy going over paperwork in a booth, steer clear of him.
As far as a place to stay is concerned, I’m kinda partial to the Quality Inn at the Convention Center. Granted that it’s across the river from most of the watering holes (doesn’t matter to me because I rarely drink), but it’s only a couple blocks from the Convention Center MAX station, it’s fairly reasonable, and the breakfast is several cuts above the usual cereal-and-thrift-store-donuts.
For only one night, that’s probably not the best location. If he’s downtown, he can catch any of the Max lines plus the streetcar, which would take him to the Pearl District, where there is a lot of what he’s looking for.
I’m not sure there’s such a thing as a quiet pub in this town. It seems that everybody shouts at each other; the few pubs I’ve been in were so noisy that normal conversation was impossible.
Good point as far as location is concerned (I was basing my comment on “Holiday Inn level,” which I interpreted to mean “budget”).
When I planned my last Portland trip I did look into a few downtown hostelries, and the quoted prices gave me a severe case of elbow lock. But it didn’t seem that anyone was addressing lodging, so I figured I’d throw in my $.02 (adjusted for inflation).
Just to be clear, we’re not on that tight of a budget. What I mean to say is, “We don’t need anything fancier than a Holiday Inn.” We can go up from there, but no need to break the bank on a room we’ll essentially use only for sleeping.
The Paramount as recommended by Chefguy looks to be a nice option. Less than a mile walk up to 10 Barrel Brewing and Deschutes and some other brewpubs up that way, with a bunch of other watering holes along the route.
Thanks for the suggestions. Any more ideas are most welcome!
For lodging there’s always the McMenamin’s hotels, they’re interestingly themed and all over the place. Food is just okay though, IMO, but the beer’s good.
And if you don’t mind spending the money for it, Jake’s downtown has been there for well over a hundred years and for very good reason–it’s stellar. You might see Gus van Sant drinking there, he likes dirty Grey Goose martinis according to my daughter, who used to work there.
Try and get to a Timbers game if ya can, alot of fun even if you’re not a huge
soccer or sports fan. The supporters really get into it and put on a show, and the stadiums an old Pacific Coast League minor league baseball field thats been nicely converted and updated for the purpose. Too many good bars in Portlandia to name, not to mention weed dispensaries if thats of any interest, but definitely can recommend Kells as a solid Irish option. Once had a pipe & drum band march in off the street and perform awhile after a Timbers game, can’t guarantee that for ya though! Didn’t find cabs all that easy to find later on at night, we were staying at the aforementioned Convention Center Quality Inn, and as noted, perfectly great place, but was a bit of a schlep from downtown. Think we ended up walking it one time after a few too many, so ya might wanna make sure your Uber/Lyft apps working or that of a local cab company if you’ll be out on the later side. Enjoy the Rose City, I’m jealous, can’t wait to get back!
Boy, you ain’t kiddin’. I know I said I wasn’t on that tight of a budget, but holy cow, I got some sticker shock looking downtown.
Maybe $119 this time of year, but not in August!
This is where I ended up booking. Over $100 less than any place across the river. We can use public transit or Uber to get back and forth, and still come out way ahead.
Brew pubs are good too! Looking forward to checking a few of them out.
There’s a good chance I’ll be making use of that burger list! And Voodoo Doughnuts was already on the agenda.
Great idea! Sadly, I checked and the Timbers are not at home that night.
If you like burgers like I do, my highest recommendations are for PDX Sliders and Killer Burger (a local chain). PDX Sliders grinds their own burger and have really nailed it. They make both slider size and full-sized burgers. They only have two store front locations, one of which is in my neighborhood. Killer Burger has three Portland locations, one of which is downtown. Also one in my 'hood. Five Guys is also here, but I don’t think they measure up to the local places.
You could try making a refundable reservation somewhere less expensive, then hitting Priceline closer to your dates. We’ve gotten great prices at the Westin, Heathman, and Hotel Lucia this way. I don’t know if it’s still the case, but the Mark Spencer had a way for you to offer a bid for a room.
I don’t live there, but I visited (on business) a few years ago. I don’t think the OP will like my recommendation, but I’ll post in the interest of answering the title of the OP.
I stayed at the Ace motel. Great location with all sorts of goings-on right there in the area. I enjoyed the on-site coffee house as well as the on-site bar for its eclectic flair. Yea, it was a little lumber-sexual and a bit hipster, but I felt it was appropriate for getting that Portland Experience. There were also numerous brew pubs about. It was close to the metro? and the river, too. Also, I remember a wonderful deli, Kenny and Zukes, adjacent to the Ace. Though I really know nothing about Portland, I thought I’d struck gold with this place/location.
Killer Burger has three Portland locations, one of which is downtown. Also one in my 'hood.