Tryon Creek Sports Bar — Restaurant in Portland

This has been our local watering hole the past couple years. There are many regulars & it's really chill. The bartenders/servers are super friendly (hey Mandy!), know us & our drinks-even when it's been weeks between visits. The owner stops to talk to me regularly. They do seem increasingly understaffed when it's not Fri/Sat night as others have mentioned.

Pro: They have about 10 TV's & all the sports packages, so they really pack 'em in for NFL Sunday & College Saturday. Other big games bring good crowds too.

Pro: Happy hour is great for drinks! 3-6 & again 9-12a daily. $2.75 wells (!), $3 dom pints, $4.25 micropints, $5 import pints & $7 22oz bottles. $5.25 wine.

Pro; nightly specials. The usual .50c wings on Weds, .75c taco Monday, $5 AYCE spaghetti on Tues. Add the bar trivia Tues night = good time! Weekends have great bloody's & mimosas $3 until 3p (I think).

I heartily recommend the $6 lunch specials M-F-/filling!! The tinga chicken (marinated & shredded & juicy) is fantastic. I almost licked the plate. They do a punchcard on lunch too! Great deal.

Overall, Food's not bad. It's no gastropub, but the onion rings are killer, as are the burgers. Pizzas are good too-they just did a menu refresh-I attached photos.

Con: My main complaint is that, to me, the food seems too expensive for "bar food". Basic Chips & salsa are $3.50 on HH (??), and while they do a $3.50/4.50/5.50 selection, the options are really limited.

Con: Non-HH-priced apps like onion rings are $8; pound of wings $9, chili cheese fries $7.50, garlic parm waffle fries 7.25, cheese sticks $8. Ouch! These aren't on the HH menu, either.

Pro: Beer! For not being a brewery, they have an impressive beer selection--20 on tap (local micros to PBR), @20 bottles and @ 9 wines (various varietals).

Recent changes (last couple months) have had...mixed reviews. New booths are nice. Easier to get to the 6 video poker games. We crawled in a couple Saturdays back to do a little low-key karaoke, only to find the owners 86'd karaoke altogether. Add the fact the pool tables were removed too--it was DESERTED. We switched it up & had a little digital jukebox party with the bartenders--but the owners have to figure out a way to get people in on Fri/Sat nights. They're thinking about bringing back one pool table. I love to play the bar-top Megatouch game because I'm a dork-and you'll NEVER beat my Little Shop of Treasures score!!

Overall? Nice super-casual neighborhood bar. Recommend for the great HH drinks & friendlies...

An unfortunate end to being an almost 3 year regular. I knew from the beginning that last night (Halloween) was going to go poorly. Hadn’t been in for a month or two so I can’t fault her for not recognizing us, but the waitress who has seen us in there 100+ times as both Tryon Trivia regulars, and usually at least once more a week started the night off with “are we all over 21?” Rolled with that one, laughed it off, whatever. It’s certainly not the first time she’s been rude to our group about age. We go to the pool table. We’re playing pool hanging out having a good time for a round or two. Maybe one or two tables sat in the whole joint, a quiet night. Another group came in, 40s-50s and it’s very clear that 4/5 have never been in. The woman in the group (we’ll call her Karen, I don’t know her name) asked if the pool table took quarters(lol) and “so how does this work, do we just call next game?” Definitely a little condescending, but whatever — it happens. Then she finishes it off acting like she owns the place “and I see a drink on the rail. Move your drink sweetie”. Having patronized Tryon creek hundreds of times, having had waitstaff place drinks I ordered on the rail many many times, having never heard anyone have a problem with that, given the state of the table I was taken aback: she must own the place right? Wrong. She asked if the damn pool table took quarters. She continued to be incredibly rude and condescending, but that’s not why I won’t be returning to Tryon. The reason I won’t be returning to Tryon is that as Karen continued on her crusade of middle aged self importance, the waitress joined in saying “she wasn’t kidding, move your drink kid”. I’m happy to be wrong about the bar rules, maybe the “drinks on the rail” rule has changed since July. That doesn’t remove the years of water rings that are built up on it already, but whatever. Still, no need to be so rude about it, especially when SHE HERSELF has served me drinks by leaving them on the rail of the pool table. Every interaction I have had with this waitress has been a negative one. She is always rude. She is always dismissive, and she has never once checked my id, even when she asks if I’m over 21. To Tryon creek management, specifically Tom or Joe if you’re reading this, she is a loose canon, gives your bar a bad image, and is liable to get you in trouble with the liquor board. I would reconsider...

Come here often enough, service is always attentive and friendly. I wouldn't usually write a review for a dive bar, but the two guy bartenders that I see here all the time for the last couple years, are always here (do they get days off?) and always have a smile on their face. They're attentive to both the bar top and their tables and I felt they deserved some recognition for that. They have large booths that could probably squeeze 8 people at one table, so plenty of space to pop out a laptop and do some work or come play games, hangout, whatever. They also have one pool table. I know on Mondays they do bingo and I wouldn't be surprised if they have trivia or other weekly activities. Happy hour is great too, everyday from 3-6 and 9pm-12am.

Drinks are reasonably priced, beer is cold, so meets my standards. I've tried a few of their food items and nothing disappointed. It's a classic dive menu but the food is decent portions, comes out clean/fresh, and I have no reason to complain.

It's close to Lewis & Clark colleges which includes an undergrad campus, but also graduate schools and the law school, so typically when I come through its a mixture of college kids, older students, the regulars, and then a good mix of folks that don't fit into any of those boxes. It's a dive bar, but it feels clean and doesn't have that dingey feel. if you come during the holidays, they'l have really sweet decorations that...