Punch Bowl Social — Restaurant in Portland

Me and a large group of friends went out for a birthday celebration tonight. Most of us had never been to Punch Bowl Social and were excited to check it out. It is an awesome environment but the service was absolutely terrible (apart from Bobby who was an excellent server!). It was a slow night (which isn't a great sign on a Saturday) yet almost every staff member we encountered seemed like they hoped everyone would just leave so they could go home. After an overpriced dinner and meh drinks (that took forever to arrive. I suspect this was on the bartender not our server) we wandered into the gaming segment of the place. No staff members greeted us or gave us any tips or direction in the large, overwhelming space. I asked around about karaoke and found my way to the bowling shoe kiosk where I put our names on a list and was told the wait was over 2 hours. We then played ping pong, and some arcade games, but were intimidated by the prospect of figuring out how the bowling portion worked. Then, we mingled and watched as the karaoke rooms sat vacant for long stretches waiting to be cleaned and flipped. Hours in, we got fed up and basically commandeered a vacant room waiting to be cleaned. A server saw us go in and gave us a huffy look but didn't say anything so we carried on. Then, almost immediately and as if by magic, I got the call that it was our turn and I should come pay at the kiosk. The man at the kiosk told me everything was turned on in the room, but I expected someone would greet us there and give us a run down. No such luck and more unforgivable... no service. No service EVER came to the room. I never would've shelled out for a private karaoke room if I'd known members of our group would have to spend most of their time strategically doing bar runs between songs. At one point I went to grab a water and noticed how empty the place was. I asked the bartender when they closed and before he could answer the other bartender standing near him blurted angrily "12:30!" It was already 12:30 so I looked puzzled. The bartender I'd been talking to looked at me somewhat apologetically and said "We lock the doors at 1." Overall, I'm super disappointed. PBS seems to have soooo much promise. Their online reservation system even has a comment box where you can note your event and any special requests, but they made absolutely no effort to spotlight our birthday boy and nearly none (apart from the darling Bobby) to even make us feel welcome. Our group goes out together all the time, but I think we'll pass on Punch Bowl... I suggest you...

Never have been to a Punchbowl Social before. My wife suggested it for her birthday. We didn't know exactly how many people would show up but we called ahead for a table of 10 just in case. To be fair we did have about 6 extra people show up which we didn't warn them about. But here's where I really don't understand this places seating philosophy. Nearly the ENTIRE place was marked either as reserved for parties and the individual tables ALL had reserved placards. We were hoping to snag one of the about 6 open tables directly next to our table to seat our overflow but they wouldn't let us because they were "reserved." We were there from 7pm to 9pm and nobody ever ended up sitting at those tables. At all! At this point it's a bar guys. We have 6 people ready to drop money on drinks and they're not going to let us sit so some other people who never showed up won't spend a dime. We walked around the entire floor and noticed that most of the reserved sections for parties have like 2 to 3 people sitting in them. Basically the whole establishment is just a bunch of wasted reserved seating. I'd say the place was at maybe 60% capacity and yet they claim they're FULL. Ok?

Service was typical Portlandia attitude. We'll wait on you when we feel like it. One of my friends (one who couldn't sit at our table) walked up to the bar 3 or 4 times for drinks and the same bartender asked for his ID every time he went up. He finally called her out on it. She was like "oh really? Sorry." How do you forget you ID'd someone 3 times within probably 20 minutes of each other? It really wasn't THAT busy.

The reason I give a poor review is that I spent my wife's birthday walking around the bar rather than by her side because I was giving up my seat to other friends. I thought this totally unnecessary considering the place really wasn't slammed at all. Maybe there's a perception of self image tied to this restaurant similar to clubs where you want to appear exclusive by keeping people waiting to artificially increase demand. I give this place better than 1 star only because the place itself is very cool, however it's completely ruined by the way...

A friend of mine, knowing that I do a lot of reviews for Yelp, presented me with a challenge: having already helped her locate and reserve a "high tea" experience for my wife's birthday at a nearby venue, she again sought my expertise in finding a place that does karaoke...on a Sunday...in the early afternoon. Not a simple request.

I wracked my brain for a bit, weighing a few options like Voicebox and the like, but the choices were limited, and generally more expensive than she would have liked, until Punch Bowl Social surfaced in my brain. Of course! They have everything! Karaoke! Video games! Skee ball! Pinball! Pool tables! Bowling! Booze! And excellent hours, too!

Punch Bowl is pretty much the de facto party venue for large, impromptu events. If you can't get a reservation or make things happen elsewhere, Punch Bowl is always there, doors open, ready to help you make a night of it. Solid food and cocktails at only slightly-elevated, party-place prices, and just about every conceivable activity available for your late night (or in this case, mid-afternoon on the Lord's day, you heathen!) drunken revelry.

Sure, there are places out there that do everything that Punch Bowl Social does better, cheaper, classier...individually. But there is no place in the city that does them ALL, under one roof, and without wrecking your wallet for the privilege of convenience. Also, many of those other venues are strictly 21+; not the case here, thankfully, meaning I was able to bring our two-year old son to come and hang out in the karaoke room for mom's belated birthday celebration (although it becomes adults-only past a certain time each day, of course).

PBS spikes the punch, putting a hard emphasis on the S in Social, and that alone is worth the price of admission (which is free, BTW, barring any nights with cover charges, which I have not yet encountered). If you're looking for an fun, vibrant, all-encompassing social gathering venue for just about any celebration, of any size, even at the last minute, there's no other place anywhere equipped to handle it in Portland like Punch Bowl Social. Like it or leave it,...