Laurelthirst Public House — Restaurant in Portland

Laurelthirst is one of my favorite bars in Portland. There's live music nightly, often free, and a fun mix of generation-spanning locals who are not afraid to dance to bluegrass, country or some goatee blues bands. Sunday open-mic is often a lot of fun too. It's always fun there. If you've not been, I do need to address a couple things though. Laurelthirst is an awful name. I know. You're right to grimace over it. And I'm not sure there's anything we can do about it, so I just try to ignore it. Also the food. Portland is a city where every dive bar SOMEHOW churns out ridiculously good food. Laurelthirst is an exception. The food is pretty cheap, greasy, divey fare -- what you'd expect from such a place. Occasionally I have it. It's never remarkable, but hardly the point of...

Total gem of Portland. Divey but not too divey. The food is fine, decent beer selection, pretty good bartenders. The real draw to the place is the nightly live music that's not only amazing but most always free. Sunday nights are the "church" crowd--a smorgasbord of dedicated Freak Mountain Ramblers groupies. It's certainly a sight to behold. Expect to see a group of people swing dancing on Mondays to the Kung pao chickens. Music is mostly in the bluegrass/blues/gypsy jazz/folk/rock genres. Second to the music are the people who come here. You won't find a more eclectic group of friendly people and regulars who get together to join in listening to some great jams, with all differences left at the door. Awesome place with awesome talent and...

Great bands, delicious food, reasonable prices, courteous staff . . . you just can't go wrong at the Laurelthirst. The mushroom and Swiss burger is to die for and the drinks are always mixed to perfection. Just at SE 28th Street and Glisan it's an easy trip from just about anywhere. The crowd is local and varies from band to band. The food is nothing fancy, standard bar food, appetizers, salads, burgers and sandwiches and of course soups. What they serve the serve well. My burger was fresh, hot and nothing short of tantalizing when it arrived at my table. So yes I highly recommended the Laurelthirst to anyone looking for good music, good drinks, fair prices and a casual...