McMenamins Ringlers Pub — Restaurant in Portland

I should forewarn you, as a Portland native I have complex emotions concerning McMenamins' chain of establishments. I love the concept of utilizing old dilapidated abandoned structures and revitalizing them into cool hip pubs/restaurants, movie theaters, live music venues. The dispassionate, (too cool for this job), apathetic service that seems to be the standard attitude that most McMen's worker projects, has never appealed to me. I usually never set out to purposely go to a McMenamins bar, I just end up there out of default because they're so prolific. That, and the tater tots are always on point! ;) So It was to my surprise and delight that I stumbled upon Ringlers Pub last summer while attempting to buying George Clinton concert ticket for a performance upstairs in the Crystal Ball Room. Service during non-concert nights is always fast. If there is an event upstairs in the Crystal then the wait time does go up, but it does feel efficient and well organized so you don't get the feeling that you're being neglected or ignored and it is always followed with an apology for the wait. Most of the staff appear to actually like what they do for a living, and appreciate the customers. The happy hour prices are affordable and probably the best deal in the expensive overprice Pearl District. They make the stiffest Happy Hour Margarita that is 2nd to none. None of those weak, watered down, bush league drinks other bars serve their customers for Happy Hour. Personable, quick witted Bartenders are the standard at Ringlers, so on the nights that you're waiting an extra 15 minutes for your burger, you're not that putout because you're guaranteed an interesting conversations with your server or a fellow bar patron sitting to your left or right. If conversing with your fellow human ain't in your wheelhouse, no worries, Ringlers' decor is a virtual fest for the eyes. Colorful broken ceramic mosaic tile adorns the bar and pair well with sensuous, curvy Spanish Rococo columns. Kettle bell weights precariously hang from the ceiling while wooden goose decoys and decapitated manikin heads sit perched on overhead ledges, eavesdropping on the action taking place below. The whole place visually looks like the house of your eccentric Aunt and Uncle who instead of having children and raising a family, traveled the world visiting foreign countries and returning with odd trinkets, and novelties. In other words,,,, It's AMAZBALLS! Grab a seat by the window facing west Burnside and you're gonna be treated to a front-row seat to prime time genuine Portland Weirdness in top form. Be careful if sitting at the bar closest to the pinball machines, free pool tables attract wanna be pool sharks who routinely send black 8 balls flying towards your head. The only grips I have is with the Ladies Restroom which for some reason is always a Hot Mess, and The Grateful Dead and Reggae music that's blasted on a systematically endless loop. I like Mr. Jerome Garcia and Mr. Robert Nesta Marley as much as the next woman,,, but damn it already, mix it up a little! Sprinkles us with a some Drake, Bruno Mars, or even some Old-school Hip Hop every now and then. Other than those two issues, Ringlers comes close to being a perfect neighborhood pub. McMenamins should use Ringlers as a template for how ALL McMenamins establishments and experience...

Regardless of your opinion of the McMenamins food, beverages, service, hospitality, or even the entire enterprising empire (and seemingly every Portlander has one they'd love to share with you), few can argue that, from a music and entertainment standpoint, they're an uncontested net positive, bringing in artists from all over the world and providing fantastic venues within which we all collectively grow a little richer in spirit. The musical map of Multnomah County (and beyond) would be a dulcet desert, or at the very least more Spartan, without their numerous venues (indoor and out) providing year round live lyrics and limitless libations.

Ringlers Pub is uniquely situated directly under what is arguably Portland's most well-known and regarded entertainment destination, the Crystal Ballroom. On its own, it's a fairly standard watering hole, serving decent food and drinks at acceptable prices. Service is good. Location, apart from its proximity to the aforementioned venue is, like all places downtown, a bit of a chore to get to, on occasion...but it does have other perks. Namely, an exhaustive selection of whiskey from around the world, which never fails to make me happy. Yet one little advertised feature shines (secretly) above them all: preferred entry to any concert or event happening above.

For a modest price ($15 per person) for each ticketholder, easily spent on a couple shots of high-quality scotch (which elevates any event, IMHO), security will make their rounds ~30 minutes before doors open, check your tickets and receipt, give you a wrist stamp and direct you to a separate queue full of sauced-up spectators that are allowed entry into the ballroom before the general public. Savvy folks, such as myself and my wife, leverage this (only slightly unfair) advantage to cut straight to the front row of any performance and secure the best seats (metaphorically, since you'll be standing) in the house - a perk WELL WORTH paying a premium on top of the price of admission.

Portlanders are particularly picky about their preferred pubs and grub, but even the prickliest patron cannot possibly protest the privilege of premature passage for the price of a pint (14 point alliteration combo)! And blissfully, the food and drinks hold up their end of the bargain, and the pub is open late enough (on weekends to accommodate those post-performance hunger pangs. In short: get there early; order the Hammerhead BBQ Chicken pizza; play some pool, pinball or shuffleboard; knock back a few whiskies; see a show; and for Zod's sake,...

McMenamins Ringlers Annex at the Crystal Ballroom in Portland Oregon was a psychedelic escapade. After watching the Portland Timbers game, we were eager for a good time and decided to walk over to this subterranean bar. We were instantly intrigued by the atmosphere as we walked down the stairs and entered into a world of cozy ambiance with excellent drinks and even better people. Our seats at the bar allowed us to watch the skilled bartender prepare our drinks with such ardor; and it was a work of art that awakened a passion in us that stirred emotions usually felt after consuming alcohol instead of before! Although the bar started to get a bit busy, our bartender never let us feel neglected and prepared our drinks in a reasonable amount of time. We mingled with the other bar patrons who were locals and validated McMenamins’ reputation and recommended other locations for us to check out. At one point we made our way to the back of the bar to find the restrooms and not only did we find the toilets, but we also found a whole other section of the establishment that had a live comedy show. We were blown away by this entertainment option and I’m confident that if we stayed we would’ve laughed the night away. McMenamins was a casual but classy experience; we came for a good time which turned into...