McMenamins Pubs

It was a rainy night when I made my first official McMennamins visit in PDX. I’d not made much effort since I’d heard the beer was medicore and the real reason to go were the cool locations.
This is not a cool location, so scratch that reason. The beer, of which I tried several examples, was pretty abysmal (the IPAis brewed in part with wheat… wtf?). I was less than impressed.
Which is probably for the best, since the food was pretty bland, and I didn’t need anything to wash down ‘El Diablo’, a very creatively-​named chicked sandwhich that features avacados and zero spice or heat. It was so boring I literally couldn’t eat the thing, it’s not that it was cooked poorly it just reminded me of cardboard, it had that much character.
My dining companion and driver explained that he liked it simply for it’s location, since there wasn’t much else nearby, apparently. Honestly, Plaid Pantry probably offers better options for much cheaper. You could do worse, but only if you try to do so intentionally.

Food was good, service was good, nice place. Food is over priced but we left happy. Only now my boyfriend says his stomach is killing him… probably ate too much: P three stars :)

Service was ABYSMAL. Really, it was just awful. My friend, my boyfriend and I were meeting my family for dinner on a Friday night. We were the first to arrive. We sat down at the table and waited, and waited, and waited for anyone to notice us. The rest of our party arrived and fifteen minutes after we got there we were brought menus and water. We ordered drinks and an appetizer. The drinks came about ten minutes later, the appetizers would take another 10+. By the time we’d been sitting there nearly an hour our food finally arrived. At the same time the table next to us, which was also a big party and had arrived after we did, finished up their dinners and left. My parents had to leave after they were, so my group stayed behind to get the check. Anther fifteen or so minutes went by of us sitting at the half empty table covered in dirty empty plates, while our waitress schmoozed another table, and then went to clean a different one. Fed up, I went up to the bar and told the bartender we’d been there a long time and needed to leave, at which point our server, who was also standing behind the bar, asked me if I was all set. Those are some powerful observation skills you’ve got.
I would love to give a higher rating for food and drink quality, since everything tasted good, but the service was so poor I’m not sure I will be returning to this location.

I’ve only ever eaten the Queen Anne Grilled Cheese, but it’s scrumptious! They have a good beer selection on tap, and the wait staff are always attentive and excellent.
I mostly love going here because it’s a very laid back, cool place to just have a beer or two and hang out. The ambience is funky and welcoming. I also adore the quirky bartender who wears shorts and Hawaiian shirts in dead of winter. Love the personality of this place!

Just stopped in here for a quick one… didn’t even know it existed! Did not experience any food but had a couple ciders and enjoyed the game:) friendly staff

Over an hour and a half ticket time for food. Don’t know how much longer cause I’m still waiting. Why does anyone go to a McMenamins still? Neat place… But has major problems. Maybe go for a beer?
I had to give an update to this. I have a nightshade allergy (tomatoes) which I asked to be left off my burger because I was allergic… Want to guess what was on my burger when it finally came. The server was very nice but we paid for our drinks and left.

Holy overpriced and overcooked food, Batman!
My husband and I are new to town, and didn’t realize that McMenamins was a local (?) chain. We also didn’t realize that lunch at a bar would run so expensive. But hey, if the fish and chips cost $ 13, it must be good, right?
Wrong.
The fish was overbreaded and overcooked, and not breaded in any traditional fish-​and-​chips style I know of. The breading was more panko than batter, I think, and the fish was dry. The chips, on the other hand, could have used some of that dryness. They were soggy, soaked in grease (maybe from the fish sitting on top of them?), and had no crisp at all.
The cajun tots were something I hoped would be impressive, but there was very little «cajun» about them. Just standard frozen tots with maybe a shake or two of Tony Cachere’s on top. Tony Cachere’s alone does not mean Cajun. Plus, the McMenamin’s brand ketchup was overly sweet. I’m a Heinz girl, so where in the heck was the vinegar in the ketchup?
Service was slow, it took us forever to get our check, and she never once asked why our food was only half-​finished or whether we liked anything we ate.
It looked like the Happy Hour menu was more reasonably priced, but we won’t be back to see.

This review is for the Raleigh Hills location: Great happy hour with reasonable prices. We liked the dark pub, the service, and Cajun tots. We’ll sit on the patio next time – we’ll definitely be back.
The other low-​starred reviews seem harsh and a bit unfair. We’ve been back three times since this first review, always for happy hour. It’s an interesting, solid stop for pub food.

It is a very small and dark bar.

Ooookay. Came back with some friends recently. They were out of everything! The waiter was really quite rude (even though it was 2 tables of six, all relatively chill).
The worst part though was they were out of milk for mills shakes, out of half their appetizers. Seriously? None of us even got to have our original orders…

Average bar, average food, average service.

This place has a good variety of food, beer and wine. The food is decent but not great. And the service is painfully slow. The french fries are too greasy for my taste. The hamburgers are «OK» and just «OK.» There’s really nothing about the food or service that would make me come back. For groups it is great because they can seat large groups and they have lots of food options.

First, to pre-​qualify myself… I’m not a snob. I am a true Portland native — born and raised. Like many Portlanders I am exceedingly sensitive to people working in the service industry, I tend to over-​tip even lousiest of service and like so many of us I have come to expect nothing more than a sub-​par dining experience from any McMenamins restaurant. That’s just how it is, and being easy to please I’ve always been satisfied enough with ‘good enough (albeit barely) — most of the time’. Today however, I left feeling as if id been Punk’d. Despite my lack of fame, I half expected Ashton Kutcher was going to pop out of the bushes.
Though the place was dead and they were overstaffed it took forever to place an order. The server clearly felt put out by (heaven forbid) ‘waiting’ on someone (don’t do me any favors dude! Geezus.).
No dramatization — my soda was brought to the table half full, with just a few mostly melted ice cubes, flat and watered down. I am convinced that I got what was left of someone else’s refill. After choking it down, rather than complaining and asking for another, it sat empty on the corner of the table as I counted more than 10 server walk-​bys. Finally I had to flag someone down for a refill (thankfully this one was fizzy, full of ice and delicious).
My toddler’s PB&J was completely stale — to the point of being inedible as the bread crumbled when she picked it up and despite LOVING PB&J she wouldn’t bite into it because it scratched her gums… I have no idea how they managed to keep the bread in tact while spreading the pb&j. Honestly I understand that on a Sunday it is unlikely that they receive any fresh food deliveries and most of what’s being served is at least day-​old, but for half of what I paid for that damn sandwich one of those employees with nothing to do could have taken 5 minutes to pop across the street to Safeway to buy a fresh loaf.
I won’t even go in to describing what was on my plate as the more I write, the more I feel like a pompous asshole.
After spending $ 20 on a soda, a small milk, a turkey wrap, a kids meal, an unexpected up-​charge for getting Cajun tots vs plain and of course that $ 20 includes my tip, I am left feeling guilty about spending the money, and a sense of remorse about how that experience over-​shadowed a rare and special lunch out with just me and my little girl.
Adding insult to injury, upon walking out to the car I found it covered in ashes and engulfed in smoke from the the bonfire burning in their outdoor fire pit.
If I were to read this review myself, I’d conclude that the writer is just some passive-​aggressive complainer who is unrealistic with their expectations… But I am not — for whatever that’s worth.
I’m still a huge fan of McMenamins as a whole — despite always floating just above the line of barely good enough, and I hope that the dip way below that line today at my neighborhood McMenamins was just bad timing… but I am fearful that in fact the reality is: this location is going down hill.

Ok food but great beer! They have a good happy hour. This location is convenient as has lots of parking. Free wifi is always a big plus!