Bar Maven

Super rad little spot. The patio doubles the seating.
They have a snazzy cocktail menu, my favorites were the mango mojito and raspberry kamikaze.
Service is pretty fast, just be sure to order by the well.

One of the best pubs in FoPo. They have a new patio that is super nice as well. All of the food I’ve had here has been excellent. I live down the block and come all the time.

This is one of the best bars in Portland. Food is incredible. Staff is awesome. Great vibe and outdoor seating area!

Wow! Who knew! I know Foster is up and coming but it mostly has old dive bars. This is an old biker bar that is in the process of transforming to a Portland hipster bar. Despite all that, it’s a great bar and a jewel on Foster! They have a great beer selection and a creative cocktail menu but the best is their food! We were there for HH and my husband had a burger. It was hand formed! Really good but the highlight was my empanadas. They were so tasty. I would skip the salad, it was nothing special but all the food looked great. The bar tenders were a plus too! We will make the trek again.

Strong drinks, friendly servers, vegan options! This is one of my new favorite places with the best happy hour for vegans on Foster. I’d give it 5 stars if not for how incredibly packed and loud it gets in the evening with bros. No offense bros, but there’s a lot of you and you’re having a good time.
Happy Hour Sunday is my favorite.

Group review:
-«cool» and hip or whatever, reclaimed wood and all that. Annoying drunk guys but not their fault. Almost too hip.
–the bartender was very efficient.
–I mean they have plenty of great beer on tap, but I’ve ~been here before~ even though I’ve never been here. It’s nice though.
–bathroom graffiti sucks. There’s a bible quote written on the bathroom wall. Feels familiar, it’s boring. Yuppies. Bay watch pinball machine and that’s kind of cool.
— very hip. Bartender very efficient. Cool vibes.
–great ambiance great service strong drinks, I’d get frigged up here.
–it’s aight. Strong drinks.
–groovy. Strong drinks.

Wife and I were passing thru SE on Monday after doing some business downtown… the online menu listed some good eats so we stopped in.
Ordered a couple of local brews and some happy hour food; cheeseburger and the hummus and pita plate… the food was excellent and the presentation was of equal high quality… the hummus is the best we have had !
Service was extremely friendly and fast… atmosphere was rustic with s nice modern touch… good music… comfortable place
Need anything more? We did not… well be back.

Went here last night for the first time. While looking thru Unilocal to find an upper scale dive bar, we stumbled across this lovely place. Their menu featured bacon wrapped dates and ice cream. That was what sold me! We ordered the pita chips and taizuiki, the mini steak kabobs, the fried mac and cheese, and the bacon wrapped dates and ice cream, plus two beers. All for under 30 dollars. Of course, Sunday is happy hour all day, so that helped. All the food was tasty and the bar was enjoyable. The bar tender was attentive and made the experience top notch. I could definitely see myself coming back!

Best bar crew I’ve ever seen. They had also put together a Christmas feast for anybody that walks through the door for free. This is a place with caring employees and loving locals. Thumbs up.

Really, I can’t believe that I haven’t already reviewed this place. This is my favorite neighborhood bar. The ambiance inside is great and it’s nice to have an option to sit on picnic tables outside with the dog while the sun is out. I’ve only been on the smoking patio once and that was enough for me. But the rest of the place is just charming.
The drinks are inventive and always well made! I like the variety in the cocktail menu and would recommend their Now & Later for anyone who likes ‘candy-​ass drinks’ like I do. The food is surprisingly great for bar food. I usually get the veggie wrap which tastes healthy and fresh. The staff is also always on top of it. They are attentive, friendly, and can make some really tasty beverages. If you’re in the area, be sure to check this place out.

Bar maven is legit the best bar in the woodstock area. Gyro nachos are so amazing and best long islands ive had ever. The staff is awesome and friendly. Its always a great time down at Bar Maven.

The food is sooo good here! Yummm! Their Gyro burger is to die for! Their salads, great, pita wraps, very very good!
We have been here quite a few times and really enjoy the food (as you could see form above). We are not very big fans of the people who work here. They are not the nicest or the friendliest to new comers I guess? Or maybe it’s just me? But everytime I have gone I have interacted with different people that have worked there. Each time they have been just very flat and not friendly, borderline rude. Borderline. Granted, I am a nice lady that usually has a smile on! (Not a creepy one)
The décor is cool, lots of cool things to look at on the walls, and they have a whole wall made up of different types of junk yard wood. Which may sound kind of funny… but it’s super cool.

This place has some of the best falafel’s that I have ever had. The falafel sliders during happy hour are amazing. They also have bacon wrapped dates that are sublime! The hummus was freshly made and I also enjoyed the fried cauliflower. Really good cocktails that are a dollar off during happy hour which is an insane deal for fresh juice cocktails. I believe the berry lemonade cocktail was 5 or 6 dollars on hh. This is my favorite bar in FoPo! The bar has a great atmosphere and there is a back patio where you are able to smoke hookah. The owner is really nice and although I was only in town visiting my sister for five days, we went to this bar three times due to the fact that every time we would go to a new bar/​restaurant it just was not as good bar maven and so we would find ourselves ending our nights at bar maven. I am excited for my next visit to Portland because I know this will be the first place I would like to go eat and drink.

The fried cauliflower is seriously the best I’ve ever had and unlike other bars they give you a serving large enough to share. I’m also addicted to their gyro nachos (sans meat) and Berry Lemonade which is downright dangerous.

Food is amazing
Beer selection awesome
Try the kabob/​nachos/​empanadas and they have hookah!
I will return

Still great but now that I’ve been there a few times I’ve received some inconsistent service and food. Oddly enough, the busier they are the better the service.
But of course, none of this will stop me from coming back. It’s still one of my neighborhood favs.

Me and my long term lunch buddy wound up at Bar Maven one morning after reading about their Gyro Burger.
We went to Bar Maven on a recent weekend, what we found was a really cool bar with a great location and an even better bartender, for just after 10:00 am things were looking good. We sat at the bar and were immediately given a brunch menu, I hate brunch, things suddenly looked bad. Sheepishly, we asked the bartender if they had a lunch menu, «Sure she replied» our worries were for nothing. The menu was good, great really, and they would be happy to serve brunch or lunch.
This is very important to us, lunch not brunch. We both generally do not like brunch menus and we never drink at that hour, so its important we find an earlier morning spot, for the weekend, without brunch menus-​or prices. I think this may be the place we come for ALOT of early weekend lunches.
I got a cheeseburger, my buddy got a hamburger and we split the fries. The cheeseburger was not the one they are known for and certainly not the Gyro Burger, but a smaller item, much cheaper, but crazy delicious. I think I have become to think of the burger, cheeseburger or bacon cheeseburger as a combination of tastes, not a sandwich where I pick ingredients apart. Its generally two buns with cheese, lettuce, meat, blah blah blah and nothing stands out. The difference with Bar Maven is that you could actually taste the meat, you could pick it out, it was delicious. It was strong, meaty, and tender-​reminding me a lot of the way beef tastes in South America (except the tender part, mainly), really meaty! I could recognize their burger from a line of similar appearing burgers, my god it was great.
The fries were good and as I mentioned the bartender was great. We will definitely be back. We loved it.

kicks every bars’ ass. This bar is every type of bar you can imagine, rolled into one perfect package. Classy date bar, with bay door breezy seating during the day and eclectic raging local nightlife at night, this place seriously has it all. Come grab a micro from the always rotating, freshly exciting tap list. The owner Bashar has searched far and wide to find truely local mcrobrews, including the coconut porter that’s made in a local brewers garage in greshem, but don’t tell him I told you. Truely a place to mingle and make friends for life.

Really, a little gem in the Foster area. Small, dimly lit, kind of sporty but also chill bar to hang with friends, and have a great tap list.
Garlic parmesan fries: holy hell, these were the true meaning of garlic parmesan fries with a garlic aioli and tons of shredded parm on top. The fries alone were perfect!
Meat & Potatoes empanadas: the bartender said these were customers’ favorites and I can see why. The crust was crispy and golden without being greasy and the filling was plentiful. There was something very reminiscent of my childhood in these, which only made them more delicious.
Maven special: sliced gyro meat over rice with some veggies. Simple but very satisfying and flavorful.
Their happy hour menu is stellar which means we’ll be back soon. There were so SO many things that I wanted to try and everything sounds amazing.

My friends and I decided to grab food and drinks at Bar Maven after seeing such great reviews on Unilocal.We really liked this bar because it has a laid back vibe, great food, and the bartender was not only cute but also fantastic.
They have flights of beer and a large variety of food selection. They have happy hour from 4pm-​7pm and 10pm-2:30am on the weekdays and all day Sunday. You get $ 1 off micros and $ 2.50 off well drinks. Food items during happy hour are $ 4 – 8!
— Empanadas ($ 8): nice and flavorful, not too overpowering
— Cocoons ($ 8): the contrast of the breading on the outside vs the stuffing inside was awesome! The dip that it comes with is really delicious.
— Poutine ($ 8): homemade, and not like the standard kind! It’s definitely cool to try, but the «gravy» was a little too heavy for my liking.
It was pretty slow on a Thursday, but our bartender told us it gets busy on the weekends. If I lived in Portland, I’d definitely frequent this bar. They also have TVs so you can catch the games while enjoying a nice cold beer!