Heather Lawless's SE Clinton Street cocktail bar in Portland, with classic spec martinis, Pacific oysters on the half-shell and a relocated 2024 dining room.
Food program: Seafood and oysters
Tip: Oyster happy hour 16:00 to 17:30 weekdays. The bar walks in; the dining room books on Resy.
Address: 2500 SE Clinton St, Portland, OR 97202
Portland's most famous dive bar on SE Division, with fishing-lure-encrusted resin tables, poker machines and the city's best broasted fried chicken.
Signature drink: Cheap beer and broasted chicken
Food: Fried chicken and jojos
Tip: One deep fryer means the chicken can take an hour at peak. Order at the bar and drink while you wait.
Portland's most famous dive bar on SE Division, with fishing-lure-encrusted resin tables, poker machines and the city's best broasted fried chicken.
Signature drink: Cheap beer and broasted chicken
Food: Fried chicken and jojos
Tip: One deep fryer means the chicken can take an hour at peak. Order at the bar and drink while you wait.
The 15th-floor lounge at The Nines hotel in downtown Portland, with two outdoor decks, the city's largest sake list and views of Mount Hood at sunset.
Signature drink: Sake old-fashioned
Food: Pan-Asian small plates
Tip: The outdoor decks open in May and close in late September. Reserve outdoor seats a week ahead.
Bar Vivant sits inside Pix Pâtisserie on E Burnside in Portland, with a Spanish tapas menu, deep sherry list and an award-winning Champagne programme.
Signature drink: Grower Champagne flight
Food: Spanish tapas
Tip: Open until 02:00 Friday and Saturday. Order the tortilla espanola with a copita of fino.
Portland's whiskey library and membership lounge on SW Alder, with 1,500+ bottles on rolling library ladders, leather wingbacks and cart-pulled cocktail service.
Signature drink: Old Fashioned with library-pour bourbon
Food: Charcuterie and small plates
Tip: Members reserve ahead. Non-members enter via the standby line at 17:00 (or Mon-Wed walk-ins more reliable).
