Mcmenamins Ringlers Pub Portland

Regardless of your opinion of the McMenamins food, beverages, service, hospitality, or even the entire enterprising empire (and seemingly every Portlander has one they'd *love* to share with you), few can argue that, from a music and entertainment standpoint, they're an uncontested net positive, bringing in artists from all over the world and providing fantastic venues within which we all collectively grow a little richer in spirit. The musical map of Multnomah County (and beyond) would be a dulcet desert, or at the very least more Spartan, without their numerous venues (indoor and out) providing year round live lyrics and limitless libations. Ringlers Pub is uniquely situated directly under what is arguably Portland's most well-known and regarded entertainment destination, the Crystal Ballroom. On its own, it's a fairly standard watering hole, serving decent food and drinks at acceptable prices. Service is good. Location, apart from its proximity to the aforementioned venue is, like all places downtown, a bit of a chore to get to, on occasion...but it does have other perks. Namely, an exhaustive selection of whiskey from around the world, which never fails to make me happy. Yet one little advertised feature shines (secretly) above them all: preferred entry to any concert or event happening above. For a modest price ($15 per person) for each ticketholder, easily spent on a couple shots of high-quality scotch (which elevates any event, IMHO), security will make their rounds ~30 minutes before doors open, check your tickets and receipt, give you a wrist stamp and direct you to a separate queue full of sauced-up spectators that are allowed entry into the ballroom before the general public. Savvy folks, such as myself and my wife, leverage this (only slightly unfair) advantage to cut straight to the front row of any performance and secure the best seats (metaphorically, since you'll be standing) in the house - a perk WELL WORTH paying a premium on top of the price of admission. Portlanders are particularly picky about their preferred pubs and grub, but even the prickliest patron cannot possibly protest the privilege of premature passage for the price of a pint (14 point alliteration combo)! And blissfully, the food and drinks hold up their end of the bargain, and the pub is open late enough (on weekends to accommodate those post-performance hunger pangs. In short: get there early; order the Hammerhead BBQ Chicken pizza; play some pool, pinball or shuffleboard; knock back a few whiskies; see a show; and for Zod's sake, enjoy yourselves!

Fun for a one-time visit. There was so much to look at in this restaurant. It has a quirky/circus/eclectic vibe. There is a decent food and drink selection, with average prices. The chef is quick, so you won’t wait long for food. The restaurant is clean and the servers are friendly!