Pepe le Moko

Drinks are always superb here, love how dark it is and how attentive all the employees are. Had fantastic oysters and an unbelievable amaretto sour. This isn’t the place you take someone to have conversations with though. The space is small and loud and perfect for people watching and relaxing into the sounds and clambering of a bar. Easy to lose yourself in here with these drinks and the atmosphere. After having gone there 10 or so times the drinks are always consistent and can be counted on to be perfect every time.

Not going to be a long review. I love oysters. Love them. Water bar in San Francisco. Oyster bars in Seattle. Washington oysters… I never had an oyster this cold and fresh. Everything on point. If you love oysters, get two dozen.

Probably the best freshest oysters and shrimp cocktail I’ve ever had.
So when you walk in they take you down these stairs to a candlelight bar. At first you’re thinking where the hell are they taking me.
I had a freshly made Tom Collins and my man had an India pale ale.
You just need to come have a drink and some oysters and enjoy your evening. It’s that simple.

OK, so I went here with a platonic friend and it was cute and fun but the ambience was kind of lost on us in that situation. On the other hand I could imagine bringing my wife here and sharing a grasshopper and a snack and have it have more of a romantic vibe.
Pepe is small dark and charming. A place to whisper secrets in your dates ear and giggle and try impeccably created drinks that are only ever so slightly overpriced. NOW, I am deaf in one ear, so the way the curved roof amplified conversation and the music was often overwhelming for me for just having a regular conversation with a friend. It can be quite loud for such a small place.
Staff and service was brisk, kind, and thorough and I had a positive experience overall. I look forward to visiting again when romance is on the menu.

This bar does not do it for me.
Pros:
Very cool atmosphere, love the speakeasy/​basement bar feel
Hostess was friendly and personable
Easily found, good signage
Cons:
The drinks are bad, like really bad. If you have had craft cocktails anywhere else, these drinks will taste like college. We tried the grasshopper and the Jäger-​ita and they were both really uninspired and boring. Every cocktail on the list was made with traditional liquors like Bombay Sapphire, jäger, and cheap sweat and sour mix. If this was taco Tuesday and I’m paying $ 4 for a drink sweet and sour mix is great, but not at a bar that is charging 12 + dollars for a drink. Other craft cocktail joints I’ve been to take pride in their local spirits and fresh ingredients, I did not taste that in these cocktails.
Apathetic bartenders
Overall, the interior is great but the nasty drinks will keep me from ever giving Pepe le Moko any more money or time.

Very cute hidden place. A friend told me about this place and so glad we went! Oysters were so delicious. Bartender was knowledgeable and it was entertaining to watch him. The martini was very good

Hidden Gem! Must check out if you’re in the area

What a fantastic atmosphere! Great place for a fun date. Very different and unique. The hostess, cook, and server were all very friendly. The wait wasn’t too long and we received a text letting us know our table was ready, although the venue itself is tiny and there wasn’t anywhere to wait inside. The grasshopper and espresso martini were delicious – I personally recommend the grasshopper. Very minty and the alcohol flavor was subtle. It tasted like a mint chocolate milkshake! I was sad to see that their list was fairly limited, but all of the drinks sounded fantastic. Somewhat pricy but definitely a great place to checkout!

How I love this dark little basement bar. Cocktails are impeccable, service is stellar, décor is innovative and New Portlandy. Pretty sure there were girls doing drugs in the bathroom but that’s just the way it is.
Get the green Grasshopper and never look back.

Oh yes, this place is a nice little find. It feels like you’re stepping into a whole different era when you descend the steps into this bar. They definitely specialize in fancy cocktails. They also carry a lot of the Olympia provisions meats on their menu. I started out with an amaretto sour. Now I know amaretto sours have a bad rep. These are the things college girls usually order. But this was a different amaretto sour. It was the real deal. Egg whites and everything. Very delicious. I then ordered an old fashioned. Amazing. They do it right down here in the «dungeon o’ fun». Take a date here to impress or go with friends to feel fancy. Pinkies up!

Excellent cocktails.
Limited menu — which isn’t a bad thing.
Barkeep is knowledgeable.
The food selection is just right (get spicy pistachios)
The ambience is weirdly cool (bunker chic?)
Prices aren’t too bad.
Will definitely stop by here for a night cap next time in PDX.

I called ahead about a month before we were planning on going to make reservations at Pépé le Moko for our weekend up north. From what little I knew of it, it was small, ultra-​exclusive, and hot-​hot-​hot right now.
Overall, my impressions of Pépé le Moko are:
THE GOOD.
— Legit drinks (get the Grasshopper, you’ll thank me later)
— Unique venue, with a speakeasy-​feel
THE BAD.
— Very overpriced drinks
— Poor air circulation (aka it’s like being in a boiler room)
— Extremely loud (the small room echoes easily)
— Paper straws in a milkshake does not a good idea make
— Oysters sitting out for consumption without proper temperature control
It was a bit of a bummer after all the excitement I’d had for the place. I’d rate it lower, but to their credit, the drinks we had were very, very good. Just not somewhere I’d go back to

What a fantastic little hideaway.
I don’t remember how I first heard of Pepe. Maybe on Instagram? Once I found out Jeffrey Morgenthaler was involved, I knew I had to visit. Jeffrey, if you didn’t know, authored The Bar Book, which holds a little place in my heart because BF gave me a copy for Valentine’s Day. Too bad BF couldn’t come with me then, because I’d come to Oregon to visit family.
Pepe ticks a lot of boxes off my list:
Throwback cocktails
Dimly lit
Swanky vibe
Cute little matchbooks (with naked ladies inside!)
Subterranean
Slightly hard to find
It looks like a bunker down there. I’d like to think the space was a bomb shelter back in the day, so don’t bother to tell me if it was just an old storage closet, I don’t want to know.
I got the Blue Hawaiian, which was just the loveliest shade or cerulean. Brilliant blue, refreshing on a hot summer’s day. My mom, who’d dutifully tagged along, had the bartender make her something non-​alcoholic, and made it to her liking. Everyone was happy. Unfortunately, we only had time for one drink each.
The vintage touches were nice – the lamps looked like old library furniture – the music that evening was something lively and Brazilian, and the décor was tasteful, not gaudy. The overall effect is that it made me feel like I’d taken a step back in time.
Getting there does require climbing down a rather steep set of stairs, so if you’re with someone who has mobility issues, keep that in mind. Though, they do have an elevator, we found out later.

Looking for a bar in downtown, walking around, and then barely saw this little light on in what appeared to be dry cleaners but as we got closer saw that the lights said cocktails and walked in. The entrance was tiny and we were met by a host as soon as we entered.
He then lead us down stairs into this underground bar which look like it was something out of the 40s. Very speakeasy like. Great for a date or chatting it up with friends you haven’t seen in a while.
The drinks were professionally done and legit. Best Old fashioned and martini. The old fashioned had the clearest ice I’ve ever seen!
They had specialty cocktails and I chose the grasshopper! Totally a dessert drink. Mint ice cream shake for adults! It was truly delicious!

In Portland for a Bachelor/​Bachelorette party, so you best be sure I wasn’t going to let a Thirsty Thursday go to waste (even though we landed at 11pm). Pepe le Moko was located close to our hotel and opened until 2am, so our group followed the white rabbit down the hole.
Well, after stepping into the very tiny storefront where there’s a host and a server shucking oysters (yum!), they told us we’d have to wait around ten minutes before we could actually go downstairs. Unlike clubs in Vegas or brunch restaurants in SF (aka where they make you physically wait in line), they’ll send you a text message when your table is ready. Sweet!
This cocktail bar is very speakeasy-​like. Besides the bar, they have a couple of booths and small tables. It’s a nice place if you want to get up close and personal with the person/​people you’re with. Cocktails are around $ 11 – 14, and they have shots starting at $ 7. The Blue Hawaii was like a grown up AMF!
You get a small bowl of Corn Nuts to munch on while you’re there. Ah, the memories of eating Corn Nuts as a kid! :)

I fell in love with the pink lighting illuminating the window, it was alluring and called us in one evening.
We were staying at the Ace in Portland (in the same building). However, with this speakeasy style oasis we felt worlds away or at least decades from the rest of PDX.
Upon our arrival we were greeted and immediately escorted down to a cozy corner table in the basement. We had a view of the ultimate and intimate hangout. We sipped a cocktail or two and nibbled on bar snacks… jazzy music in the background, old photos on the wall, cool bartenders and a hot crowd… back to the future!

Pepe Le Moko was a sexy welcome down, down, down the hole to wonderland. It’s a swanky little spot, dark, ominous and oddly breathtaking despite not being able to see a thing within it’s dimly lit surroundings.
It reminds me of an underground club from another decade — think the 40’s? For whatever reason, I thought it very Jessica Rabbit minus all the quirky shxt. But yah, that kind of sexy.
We were 5 girls previously disappointed in the two spots we ventured. It was thirsty thursday and portland was dead. Pepe le Moko had been mentioned so this was our last hope for a memorable (or not) evening.
It’s extremely small, so be prepared to wait, get turned away, or flirt your way in –fortunately the hostess was a cute girl who realized we weren’t local. She escorted us to a private round table behind a curtain where the only light that could be seen came from our phones.
We managed a few rounds and were wonderfully tipsy and in a great mood. This was exactly what we needed to count it a successful evening.
Basement bar at the Ace Hotel. Loved every bit of it.

You wanna see something cool? Pepe le Moko. Seriously, I have never felt *kewler* than I did when I opened Pepe’s mysterious neon-​signed storefront, with dudes in tuxedos guarding a platter of oysters at the top of a stairwell leading down to the unknown. It’s a true rabbit hole for you to fall down, once the dressed-​up doorman allows you to descend. You see, downstairs is where the action is, but there’s only space for about 20 people. On a Monday or Tuesday night, you can easily get lucky and have your small group escorted downstairs. I’m sure it’s much trickier on weekends, but the thrill of passing Go is worth it.
Once there… we cocktail. These may be the most expensive cocktails in Portland ($ 13 – 15) but you pay for the quasi-​secret space and that cool vibe that’s hard to put a price on. There are cozy booths and corner tables and even some tucked away date spots, perfect for an intimate drinking session with friends. It’s ideally dark, the cocktails are tantalizing on paper, and just as lovely in 3D. Loungey music in the background and the feeling that time has stood still as you sip from a dainty coupe… now, this is why I bother leaving the house. Pepe le Moko is the bar that every neighhorhood wishes they had. But then, it wouldn’t be so cool, would it?

My favorite bar in Portland! Granted, I’ve only been to four bars in town. But of the ones I visited, this was my favorite.
Located downtown (just two blocks stumbling distance from my hotel), this underground bar is like something from another era (perhaps the 30s or 40s). Upon arrival, our host escorted us downstairs to a dark, sexy lounge. We ordered a few stiff cocktails from the bar and made ourselves comfy in one of their intimate leather booths. The Old Fashioned the bartender served me was perfectly crafted. These guys certainly know how to whip up tasty libations. The service was friendly without being overbearing. I felt like I was in a subterranean jazz club, but without the jazz.
If Pepe le Moko was in my town, I’d be here all the time sporting my fedora. This place is perfect for a date, a private rendezvous, or if you just want some relaxing one-​on-​one catch-​up time with an old friend.
I liked this place so much that I came here twice during my short visit to Portland. And I look forward to returning here the next time I’m in town.

Right around the corner from the Ace Hotel is a small, brightly lit storefront with a large open window. It appears as if this business is a commissary of sorts, with a counter, high white shelving and a register manned by a clerk in an apron who’s job is to sell passersby sundries and random goods on their way home. In the corner of the window, sits a glowing pink neon sign that reads Pepe Le Moko. Curious.
Walking in I truly had no idea what I was getting into. The clerk asked how many in our party, and walked us down the dimly lit stairwell. As we descended the light of the storefront faded to the flicker of candlelight, and the crisp and clean white walls turned to tattered teal and turquoise, showing the age of the space. I could hear music ahead, Spanish lyrics for sure, jazzy, funky, with lots of horns, certainly nothing I recognized, but nevertheless I was intrigued.
When we emerged it would appear we were in a swank underground speakeasy. But not in the American sense. It reminded me of a place you’d find in a Hispanic country, perhaps Cuba or Spain, casual and laid back, with attentive service, and just the right amount of class to be sophisticated without being pretentious.
Cocktails, oysters and small plates with a definitive Hispanic twist can found on the menu. And oh yes, fresh oysters too. All the perfect accouterments for classically delicious cocktails with clever twists. I chose their version of a Manhattan, which was balanced, chilled to perfection and served picture perfect with a brandied cherry at the bottom of the glass.
While sipping my cocktail hours passed, and no one seemed to care. To be honest, I forgot I was even in Portland for quite some time. It was the perfect place to simply drift off.
When I passed this quiet storefront, I literally had no idea what lay beneath, but I’m glad I popped in to find out. Pepe Le Moko took me out of the country for a brief window of time, and I can only hope to return soon.