Mcmenamins Ringlers Pub

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!

McMenamins Ringlers Annex at the Crystal Ballroom in Portland Oregon was a psychedelic escapade. After watching the Portland Timbers game, we were eager for a good time and decided to walk over to this subterranean bar. We were instantly intrigued by the atmosphere as we walked down the stairs and entered into a world of cozy ambiance with excellent drinks and even better people. Our seats at the bar allowed us to watch the skilled bartender prepare our drinks with such ardor; and it was a work of art that awakened a passion in us that stirred emotions usually felt after consuming alcohol instead of before! Although the bar started to get a bit busy, our bartender never let us feel neglected and prepared our drinks in a reasonable amount of time. We mingled with the other bar patrons who were locals and validated McMenamins’ reputation and recommended other locations for us to check out. At one point we made our way to the back of the bar to find the restrooms and not only did we find the toilets, but we also found a whole other section of the establishment that had a live comedy show. We were blown away by this entertainment option and I’m confident that if we stayed we would’ve laughed the night away. McMenamins was a casual but classy experience; we came for a good time which turned into lifelong memories!

As with all McMenamin’s, the ambiance is what it’s all about. Check the pictures. The Crystal Ballroom is upstairs, so when there’s an event, like a concert, it can be busy and noisy (boomy). The burgers are good, as always. The service was slow, as happens sometimes at McMenamin’s. All in all, a good downtown experience but if you want fine dining and great service, look elsewhere. This place is all about the vibe. The look. The building. The decorations. I mean, it’s a pub. And it’s McMenamin’s.