Portland’s Foodiest Happy Hours

We all love happy hour. I love the focus in Portland on great drinks, because it’s a pretty key component to the happy hour experience. But what I love more is that perfect marriage of food and drink for happy hour. 

Drinking and food just go together, and in Portland, our happy hour selection doesn’t disappoint. It’s important to realize that Portland’s happy hour scene, along with its food scene, is always evolving, so please note that I’ve made some updates to this post since it was originally created in 2015.

The Corner Room & The Grill Room

Update: Both The Corner Room and The Grill Room are currently closed to the public, which includes happy hour, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. No word on when they are reopening.

All of The Rooms have a pretty impressive happy hour game, but I definitely have to laud some praise on The Corner Room and The Grill Room. Both of these Rooms are really great for happy hours, depending on what kind of experience you’re looking for.

The Corner Room is by far, one of the most popular happy hours that Portland has to offer. People love the wine specials, $3 beers and of course: the complimentary food! Finger foods like small slices of fluffy pizza, salads, and quiches are just some of the things you could find here.

The Grill Room is a bit of a happy hour hidden gem. Since the Corner Room is so popular for happy hour, the Grill Room is very chill, with reasonable appetizer prices and happy hour cocktails! When you want to get away from the happy hour hustle and bustle, the Grill Room is definitely a smart pick.

East Ender

I’d double-check to see if East Ender is currently offering happy hour as they just reopened to the public due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Their hours are more limited currently, which makes me think that happy hour is not currently available.

Now that East Ender is under new management, it’s been getting a lot of extra buzz. The interior is different (much more subdued) and the menu has changed, but all in good ways.

Happy hour has tantalizing bites, but when I went, cheese was what caught my eye. The variety on this happy hour menu has enough to keep everyone satisfied, and maybe convince them to stay for dinner. That’s my angle for the next time I go, anyway.

Benkay

If you know my friends, or my boyfriend, you’ll know that this is one of my go to happy hour spots. I honestly love the idea of happy hour sushi. After all, Mai Tais and sushi…they seem to go together pretty well.

40 oz for $10…worth every penny. Add in $3 rolls, $2 meat skewers and my love of sushi, and you can see why I keep coming back for more.

Little Tap House: Bar & Barrel Bite, Monday-Friday, 4-7 pm

Because of COVID-19, Little Tap House is temporarily closed. I hope that they reopen soon!

This is probably one of my new favorite foodie happy hours in Portland. Not that it’s new, because it’s not. LTH has been doing the Bar & Barrel promotion as part of happy hour for several years now, but it’s a real winner. 

You get a bite and a beer, for just $5. It rotates out daily but the best part is they pair together. My last time I went, it was a chicken taquito (yes please!) with an Oxbow beer. 

They were perfect and I easily could have eaten about 50 more taquitos. Also, this is one of the few happy hours that goes until 7 pm, which makes it even better in my book.

The Honey Paw, Monday-Friday, 4-6 pm

The good news is that the Honey Paw has reopened for indoor and outdoor dining! But it doesn’t seem like they are doing happy hour right now, either, due to COVID-19.

Okay, when a place like the Honey Paw does happy hour, you pay attention. It’s just what you do. Happy hour specials at The Honey Paw are always evolving, but here’s what they have on deck right now:

Chicken Wings, ½ order, $5

Pork Bao (2 pieces), $3

Pork Dumplings, $5

Soft Serve Ice Cream with rotating flavors, $4

Drinks also include:

Wine on Draft, $5

Sapporo Draft, $3

Anything Goes: Dickel Rye, Lemon, Cider, Szechuan, $7

This cocktail is amazing by the way. 

I can tell you, the pork bao is fantastic! Nice little bite filled with pork flavor and it pairs perfectly with the Anything Goes cocktail.

Last winter, happy hour specials were insaaaaaane. Maybe they’ll bring them back when the weather gets colder and people need some Pho Ga or a corn dog and crab fried rice to warm up.

One thing is for sure: there are no duds to be found at the Honey Paw! Oh, and they now serve ramen on their regular menu. Ramen lovers, rejoice!

Sichuan Kitchen, Monday-Friday 2:30-6 pm, Sunday ALL DAY

Happy hour is not running right now because of COVID-19, but they are working on bringing it back soon, so stay tuned!

You could easily make a meal out of this happy hour if you ordered strategically enough. But if not, $5 for a glass of wine or beer and some apps is a good deal! Oh, and the fact that they offer it ALL DAY on Sunday really is just the icing on the cake for me.

Oh yes, for $5, you can get: some ribs, some buns, some dumplings, some seaweed salad, some cucumber salad, some sake, some cold noodles, and even some sliced beef in chili sauce! What more could you want? 

I love Sichuan Kitchen for many reasons, especially because they finally brought Hot Pot to the Old Port and they don’t seem to be taking it away anytime soon. Oh, and this happy hour is a fantastic deal for those that are in the know about it!

Congress Squared: $3 at 3 Happy Hour, 3 pm-7pm, 7 days a week

No guarantee on how long this $3 at 3 happy hour special at Congress Squared is going to last but it’s a great deal. How can you say no to $3 bites? I’ve been for happy hour a few times and have been pleasantly surprised. 

I think, at least in my mind, I’ve had a tendency to see hotel bars as more corporate and less creative. That used to mean that they weren’t able to think outside the box, and they definitely weren’t going to have a good happy hour. 

Well, that’s definitely not the case at C2! The happy hour specials are amazing and I’m pretty sure you can’t go wrong, no matter what you end up ordering.

Boone’s, Every Day, 3 pm-6 pm

Okay, so since I’ve already enjoyed the happy hour spreads at the Corner Room and the Grill Room, I can’t say I thought that Boone’s would have anything too unique to offer. But again, I was wrong. 

The happy hour at Boone’s is actually pretty sweet, especially if you can swing a seat outside, preferably on a Friday afternoon when you get out of work early. You really can’t beat $0.75 oysters or $0.75 cocktail shrimp! 

Now, I know you can find plenty of oysters in Portland, but I think the shrimp are a little harder to find, so $0.75 a shrimp? I was on board! These are some good sized shrimp too, so you don’t feel like you are being cheated in any way! 

The $5 apps available aren’t too big, but enough that you can share them with the person you’re with, which is what I want at a happy hour. Boone’s is probably going to make it into my regular happy hour rotation for when I get out of work early!

TIQA, Monday-Friday, 4 pm-6 pm

If you love Mediterannean food, TIQA has the happy hour for you! It’s not only about the drink specials, which are delightful for wine and beer drinkers alike, but the food specials are delicious as well.

You get half price on select bar plates, which could include their insanely tasty Baba Ghanoush. The portion is beyond generous, and half price means you could get it for about $4. Pair that with a glass of their $5 house Red or White wine and you have the start of a lovely evening!