They had a triple IPA need I say more? Oh and if you like darts bring an extra pair of shorts!
(4)
Ziva S.
This review is about the drinks only. They do infused alcohol, anything you can imagine, from ginger whiskey to cucumber gin. I got the "Fruit Tart" which was absolutely delicious, try it with the raspberry infused vodka, yum! My boyfriend got the "New Deal" which he enjoyed as well. Ambiance was nice, typical funky SE place. Looks a little sketchy from the outside but then once you are upstairs in the bar area, you realize why it's popular. There were a lot of stairs, fine for us but worth mentioning if you're going with someone who has trouble with stairs or is in a wheelchair. Happy hour is $1 off the whole menu, pretty reasonable. Don't know how the food is because we were going to a friend's place for dinner afterwards and didn't order anything but it sure looked good! We'll be back next time we're in the area.
(4)
Ramie M.
Nice menu. Nice drink selection. Friendly service. Lots of seating and/or open area for darts/pool/ping pong. Unfortunately, the service was atrociously slow. I'm not saying it was bad when they were around, but even ordering a drink or food was slow. It was about 10-15 minutes before our drink order was taken, another 10-15 before we received them. It took a little after that to order food, and then it was ~20 before we received it (one of the orders was wrong, but no big deal). We weren't asked during the entire meal if we wanted more drinks or anything (we did). Now, I could maybe understand this if the place was extremely busy. But it wasn't. We were one of maybe four total tables. I really just don't get it (and yes, a couple times we ended up just getting up from our table and flagging down the bartender to order). I will return, don't get me wrong. There are some things on the menu I want to try. The french dip was very good. I just hope the next go-around that service is a bit better.
(3)
Barbara W.
What a strange place! It's like 1/2 local bar, 1/2 brightly lit bingo hall/elementary school cafeteria. I stuck to the bar half, which offered a good selection of beers on tap. Be aware you will have to climb quite a flight of stairs to get in/out, so you may consider stopping here early in your evening rather than late in your bar-hopping.
(3)
Bob R.
This is a review by a vegetarian 2.5 star pizza upgraded because the fries on the next table looked really good. I like the big windowless back room. In a rainy Portland at night it lends a collegial bowling club kind of atmosphere
(3)
Miranda W.
Amazing! the food is unbelievable.. I will admit it is a weird set-up with the typical dive bar/garage area set-up. But that adds that much more character. On one occasion I had a long wait for chicken wings. Other than that its been great amazing service! This place has a little bit of everything and good food and good staff!
(5)
Elizabeth H.
I love SPH. I moved out of the neighborhood over a year ago and the handful of times I've been back they still remember the beer I always order! Is the service always perfect, no, sometimes they get busy and don't have enough staff or the bar staff is doing more waiting on tables. But it's a bar, it gets busy. The food is 100% reliable. My best friend loves the burger, and he is kind of a jerk about his burgers. best grilled cheese i've had in portland, with no close second to be found...butter, challah, and you can get cooked mushrooms AND cooked onions on it. So good! and they make nachos over tots or fries...just, why aren't all nachos over tots or fries? It almost became a running joke that every time i ordered a salad they would minorly screw up the order (bring me the wrong size, the wrong salad dressing). But they always happily fixed it, and quickly, and often didn't charge me. The salads aren't the most inspired thing they make, but, they are real and fresh and you can get them late at night! and if you ask for extra dressing, they just give it to you, no explanation needed (this doesn't seem like a big deal, but recently two other establishments gave me the side eye when i asked for extra dressing, i.e. not what i want from wait staff. no, i am not wrong, this salad IS underdressed i order it 3 times a week here, now give me some extra dressing and never ever question my tastebuds again!!!) And, the pool/table tennis/darts/shuffleboard are great. You can easily get a big group here and play games or not, and drink and eat, or not eat, or not drink, and it's totally casual. One of the best things about Sellwood. Last but so far from least...they always seem to have Ft. George Vortex IPA on draft. This beer, with the nacho-fied tots...forget it, there is no better indulgence than this combination. i love this bar!
(5)
J L.
Updated review. Two words: FISH TACOS. And always great wait staff and games on tv and game room and variety of crowd and judgement free zone. One of sell woods finest.
(5)
Paula W.
I was looking for a spot for brunch while visiting the area and found that SPH has brunch according to Yelp. I was just blocks away and it was a gorgeous morning so off I set. I was a bit surprised at the entrance and scary stairs to the second floor location. Mostly because there were some boxes stacked at the top of the stairs. It just didn't look inviting as I trudge up. But I quickly made my way through the 'tunnel' and into the place, grabbing a window seat. The brunch menu isn't huge but there were enough options that I settled on the SPH Monte Cristo. Challah French Toast stuffed with bacon, eggs, cheese, and Canadian bacon. Oh, and served with home fries. Yes, please! I started with SPH Bloody Mary. Mind you, I like spicy. So a drink made with pepper and bacon infused vodka, spicy bloody mix, and pickled veg sounded right up my alley. Yikes! It was spicy! Just a bit too spicy to be honest. Next time I'll have them add a bit of tomato juice to tame it a down. The food arrived and I was not disappointed. The sandwich was amazing! Beautifully cooked french toast, thick cut bacon....I was in heaven. And the home fries??? Perfection. I would definitely recommend trying their brunch menu. But if you're not a football fan, you might want to wait until after the Superbowl. This place had at least five screens with football on each one. I happen to love the sport so was in my element.
(4)
Marcia S.
So cold and wet today I decided that I needed some homemade comfort food! As I am at work I thought long and hard about how I as going to get me a warming cup of healthy soup and a grilled cheese sandwich ( not quite as healthy ) the way I would make it if I were sitting at home in front of the fireplace. Gave Sellwood Public House a call and decided to try their soup of the day and sandwich. I am thrilled to say that the Roasted Butternut Squash soup was hearty and had a wonderful hint of spice that made me stop thinking of dipping my sandwich into it cause I enjoyed it as it was. Now the Grilled Cheese??? Exactly how I would have made it INCLUDING just the right amount of raw onion ( requested ) and the fresh tomatoes were perfect. I have to say that whenever I want home cooked food, reasonable and just like I would make it they will be the one I call!
(5)
Jeff B.
Our first experience (brunch) was hit and miss but we gave it another shot and were pleasantly surprised. I am raising my rating to 3-star and it may even be worthy of a 4-star and I'll report back after we try their dinner entrees. Darts, ping pong, pool, and Foosball! Oh my! On our brunch visit I was not paying much attention to the second room which provides all sorts of indoor gaming. Lemonade My wife opted for lemonade and the waiter suggested the bartender muddle her one. OMG! It was fantastic. Pizza by the slice For me, this pizza may make my top 10 list of pizza joints in Portland. I was pleasantly surprised. I ordered the Canadian Bacon + Bacon and if you read my review of the Monte Cristo you will know I am a fan of their bacon. My wife had Canadian Bacon + Olives and thought it was decent. This was our third time eating pizza this weekend so keep that in mind. Nachos Just how I like 'em. Real cheese, no meat, and plenty of salsa and sour cream on the side. We were having a slice of pizza as well so we substituted chips for the fries/tots. I can't wait to try the fries or tots versions. Brunch: Huevos Rancheros - Barely mediocre. The tortilla was hard for 1" around the edges. Monte Cristo - Pretty decent. Notably good bacon, syrup, and the use of texas toast. Biscuits and Gravy special - Just okay but the hash-browns were nice and crispy.
(3)
David M.
I went here for a Fort George tap takeover a year or so ago. Agree with some of the earlier reviews that it's a bit like the American Legion or something. Overall it's a bit divey for my usual taste, but the taplist is usually acceptable by my snobbish standards :)
(4)
Mike G.
This place is GREAT! I must admit...it is a bit funky inside but thats what makes it what it is! The food is NOT BAR FOOD! it is wonderful and the service is just as good. Beer selection is very good too. Check this place out...don't be afraid of the stairs or lodge type feel!
(5)
Anastasia K.
Love this place. The bartenders are great! Darts, pool, games, trivia nights! Friday night fish tacos are the best you'll ever have. $1 off your beer back with a hard A drink. Their specialty salads are amazing. Deserts by Hannah are to die for. I've never had anything on the menu that wasn't absolutely amazing.
(5)
Eric R.
Good beer options and decent food. Great place to start an evening bar hopping in Sellwood, or just a fun place to stop in for a beer and dinner during the week.
(4)
Sonya L.
Really like this place. They always put our game on, good food, good beer, good service.
(5)
Tom C.
Not your average bar food- kitchen is solid. Fish and chips are killer - haven't had anything bad yet. Beer is cooooold!
(5)
Valarie B.
Great old pub in an historic building. Nice neighborhood, kind of a mellower, less yuppified area of Portland. The food is adequate, basically pub grub, but if you are hungry, the portions are plenty. Simple food, a selection of cocktails and IPA's, darts, pool, and even shuffleboard guarantee a fun time with friends. Excellent jukebox, too!
(3)
Don B.
The Sellwood Public House is a really weird place. Sitting upstairs and down a dark hallway, it's half bar, half American Legion hall (or at least reminiscent of one). The Bar side has live music sometimes and the "activity room" side (or whatever it's called) offers up darts, pool, ping-pong, guitar hero, Texas Hold'em tables and more. It's a veritable play-land for a drunken group on a pub crawl, I can say for sure. The space itself has likely seen better days. The bar side is dark and almost dive-y, and the other side is bright as a high-school gym (and with the hardwood floors, it might as well have been, but for the low ceilings). The bar itself is marginally appointed, with mostly large-brand spirits and some decent brew options. The food menu is 100-times better than the woeful offerings of its nearby dive bar cohorts (Black Cat, Sellwood Inn, and Penguin, I'm looking at you), and for a drunken late night group, that's a godsend. They also serve food late, which is awesome. The service? When we were in, it was incredible. We showed up with a large, drunken group of at least 12 people? More? I don't know, but the server was ON IT. She had us all on separate checks, dealt with food and drink order chaos, people moving around, etc. It was downright impressive. And she did it all with a smile. That right there is worth the 3 stars alone. Overall, it's a fun place to do some gaming, but I probably wouldn't spend a ton of time just kicking it here drinking.
(3)
Hung W.
The Sellwood Public House is a fantastic place! I've been here several times, and the service has been consistent. The food is good & it stays open late. The staff (Hannah & Becka) are friendly & engaging. Tonight, I met one of the owners (Jason) & his fiancee (Lisa). They treated me like a long lost friend, told me stories & plied me with treats. The desserts are amazing (& made by Hannah). Weekend breakfast is served until 3 PM! P.S. stay out of "The Book"! ;-)
(5)
Marcia S.
So cold and wet today I decided that I needed some homemade comfort food! As I am at work I thought long and hard about how I as going to get me a warming cup of healthy soup and a grilled cheese sandwich ( not quite as healthy ) the way I would make it if I were sitting at home in front of the fireplace. Gave Sellwood Public House a call and decided to try their soup of the day and sandwich. I am thrilled to say that the Roasted Butternut Squash soup was hearty and had a wonderful hint of spice that made me stop thinking of dipping my sandwich into it cause I enjoyed it as it was. Now the Grilled Cheese??? Exactly how I would have made it INCLUDING just the right amount of raw onion ( requested ) and the fresh tomatoes were perfect. I have to say that whenever I want home cooked food, reasonable and just like I would make it they will be the one I call!
(5)
Elizabeth H.
I love SPH. I moved out of the neighborhood over a year ago and the handful of times I've been back they still remember the beer I always order! Is the service always perfect, no, sometimes they get busy and don't have enough staff or the bar staff is doing more waiting on tables. But it's a bar, it gets busy. The food is 100% reliable. My best friend loves the burger, and he is kind of a jerk about his burgers. best grilled cheese i've had in portland, with no close second to be found...butter, challah, and you can get cooked mushrooms AND cooked onions on it. So good! and they make nachos over tots or fries...just, why aren't all nachos over tots or fries? It almost became a running joke that every time i ordered a salad they would minorly screw up the order (bring me the wrong size, the wrong salad dressing). But they always happily fixed it, and quickly, and often didn't charge me. The salads aren't the most inspired thing they make, but, they are real and fresh and you can get them late at night! and if you ask for extra dressing, they just give it to you, no explanation needed (this doesn't seem like a big deal, but recently two other establishments gave me the side eye when i asked for extra dressing, i.e. not what i want from wait staff. no, i am not wrong, this salad IS underdressed i order it 3 times a week here, now give me some extra dressing and never ever question my tastebuds again!!!) And, the pool/table tennis/darts/shuffleboard are great. You can easily get a big group here and play games or not, and drink and eat, or not eat, or not drink, and it's totally casual. One of the best things about Sellwood. Last but so far from least...they always seem to have Ft. George Vortex IPA on draft. This beer, with the nacho-fied tots...forget it, there is no better indulgence than this combination. i love this bar!
(5)
J L.
Updated review. Two words: FISH TACOS. And always great wait staff and games on tv and game room and variety of crowd and judgement free zone. One of sell woods finest.
(5)
'Katherine V.
A little better than your typical bar good. The pachos nachos are amazing: its French fries topped with black olives, cheese, sour cream and salsa. I ordered a burger and it came out bleeding. I called the waitress and she said it was supposed to be medium rare. ..this was not medium rare (I love medium rare)... the bun was soaked in red. It seemed that the waitress might be afraid of the chef. I took the burger home and cooked it the rest of the way. :-\ Interesting drink selection like bacon infused vodka.
(3)
Tamara H.
Came here with a group of friends for dinner and drinks. The service was awesome. We were a group of 8. 4 of us showed up first and the rest of us straggled in. Each time a new person showed up the server was there right away to get a drink order. The food was not so great, at least for me. I ordered a burger with provolone and mushrooms with fries. The burger came with no mushrooms and what seemed to be a toasted stale bun. The burger itself was dry and unseasoned. The fries were terrible. I normally will munch on fries all day long but I couldn't stomach these ones. Limp, mushy and sad. My boyfriend loved his entree. A chicken club of some kind with tots. I must admit the tots were cooked perfectly and were very delicious. Everyone at the table seemed to love their food, so I'm hoping mine was just a miss. I will give this place another try and hope the food is better next time.
(2)
Paul D.
One of the best bars in town, hands down. Great local pub with a great selection of beers. You probably won't find better pub food either. The specials are consistently good and you can't beat ping pong, shuffleboard and darts in the back. My fave place to watch timbers and blazers games, too.
(5)
A E.
It's very rare that I update a review but I went back tonight and it was completely different. That same beared dude that was unpleasant was super friendly and attentive tonight. Perhaps he was having a bad night that first time. Perhaps he had a change of heart. Regardless of the reason, he was so nice tonight and I understand, having worked in that industry throughout my 20s, that shit can happen. So I forgive and forget. The food... I'll stay away from for now. The drinks... You can't really mess up beers on tap so that remains awesome.
(4)
Katie R.
I really wanted to love SPH as it has so much potential to be a great local bar. They have Stumptown Stories (oral bits of local history) every second Monday of the month and I made this my reason to give SPH a try last night. Aside from the story portion of the evening, I was overall disappointed after this inaugural visit. It started out cool enough. We took a seat at an empty table (about half of the 12 or so tables were empty) and waited for someone to swing by and take our order. We watched two waiters/bartenders float around for 15 minutes without stopping by our table before we decided it must be a place-your-order-at-the-bar kinda place (a sign would be nice or a heads up from the staff). So, we went up to the bar. And waited for another five minutes. Keep in mind, this place wasn't jumping. There was no crowd. It was closer to empty than it was to full. Which leads me to say that it is so off-putting to see a pretentiously aloof person in a service position. And it's so rare to see this variety of ostentation in Sellwood that it felt infinitely more objectionable. Eventually we ordered the roasted veggie tacos, a side salad, and a ruben with tots. A beer for him and a vodka drink for myself and back to the table we went. The tap list was great (12 or so beers available, nice variety, maybe a bit too hop-centric). The mixed drink was tasty, but not as stiff as I expect from a good pub (and reliably get elsewhere in the area). The food arrived quickly (salad delivered simultaneously, which just ain't right) and was mediocre. If I return (likely as this could have simply been an off night), I will definitely order the pizza as it seemed to be the house specialty and looked delicious as I watched a few go by on their way to be eaten.
(3)
John D.
Awesome pizza! Great Drinks! Great place to party. The Ginger Fizz and Bloody Mary and the Fi Mojitos are the Best. The Pizza we got was the Single Guy. It had roasted garlic and pepperoni with salmi and to finish it had pesto. It was Awesome. Just take a chance and Go.
(5)
Ryan E.
My kind of place. Dark, divey (in the best of ways), friendly and beer-loving bartenders, and the food is awesome. If you like cards, darts, or pool, the brightly lit back half is perfect for you. If you want to drown a few, eat some grub, and casually watch a game in between squinted reading of Willamette Week, then sidle up to the bar and enjoy a night for under 20 bucks!
(4)
Paula W.
I was looking for a spot for brunch while visiting the area and found that SPH has brunch according to Yelp. I was just blocks away and it was a gorgeous morning so off I set. I was a bit surprised at the entrance and scary stairs to the second floor location. Mostly because there were some boxes stacked at the top of the stairs. It just didn't look inviting as I trudge up. But I quickly made my way through the 'tunnel' and into the place, grabbing a window seat. The brunch menu isn't huge but there were enough options that I settled on the SPH Monte Cristo. Challah French Toast stuffed with bacon, eggs, cheese, and Canadian bacon. Oh, and served with home fries. Yes, please! I started with SPH Bloody Mary. Mind you, I like spicy. So a drink made with pepper and bacon infused vodka, spicy bloody mix, and pickled veg sounded right up my alley. Yikes! It was spicy! Just a bit too spicy to be honest. Next time I'll have them add a bit of tomato juice to tame it a down. The food arrived and I was not disappointed. The sandwich was amazing! Beautifully cooked french toast, thick cut bacon....I was in heaven. And the home fries??? Perfection. I would definitely recommend trying their brunch menu. But if you're not a football fan, you might want to wait until after the Superbowl. This place had at least five screens with football on each one. I happen to love the sport so was in my element.
(4)
Alyssa C.
So the food is great, the location (3 blocks from my place) is great, the atmosphere is calm and non pretentious but the only thing keeping this from a 5 star rating is the service. Generally the bartenders are rude and seem like you're a bother to them, even when you tip well and are a regular! Seriously, this place could use a coach in good service or new people who at least don't act like you're the scum of the earth for asking for a refill.
(4)
Evan C.
Sweet place. Great beer selection with awesome bar food. Good selection of games too (pool, shuffle board, darts and ping pong).
(5)
Karrari C.
I have now been here for dinner and brunch and Everything we've tried had been delicious. Pizza wings fish tacos and the SPH hash was delightful. Service is always happy to be here.
(5)
A E.
It's very rare that I update a review but I went back tonight and it was completely different. That same beared dude that was unpleasant was super friendly and attentive tonight. Perhaps he was having a bad night that first time. Perhaps he had a change of heart. Regardless of the reason, he was so nice tonight and I understand, having worked in that industry throughout my 20s, that shit can happen. So I forgive and forget. The food... I'll stay away from for now. The drinks... You can't really mess up beers on tap so that remains awesome.
(4)
Ann D.
I stopped off here on a recent bike ride on the Springwater Corridor to grab a beer and a bite to eat. I cozied up to the bar and ordered a local red ale and the hummus plate They have a nice selection of beers on tap, and the menu ranges from fried things to salads and pizzas (which looked great, btw). The inside was comfortable and charming and filled with what seemed like a lot of regulars. I took a peek out back while I was waiting for my food and checked out the patio which was cute with lots of seating. Overall, I enjoyed this place and will definitely return when I find myself in the area again.
(4)
Angie K.
SPH is such a great place. Ping-pong, darts, poker, a cozy little bar and then a larger room in which my band performed last weekend. The service was great, the drinks were strong and my friends said the food was great as well. SPH just has this great, comfortable, real vibe that makes me want to return soon! Thanks for having us!
(5)
Cesar N.
This is a great destination in the Sellwood area. Friendly owners and staff, a great rotating beer selection with a monthly tap takeover, delicious food (the fish tacos and the jalapeño poppers are personal favorites) and a huge gaming room with plenty of dart boards. They also make a mean pizza. They have many house infused liquors and the spicy bloody Mary with house pickled veggies is outstanding.
(5)
Michael K.
Don't be put off by the entrance. Don't be put off by the staircase that needs painting. Once you get into Sellwood Public House and sit down, you're in for a treat. The Fish & Chips are the best in town. Seriously, I don't know who is cooking in the back, but they've got it down to an art. I had the tacos ($5 for two) and they were great. This is a friendly, low-key, neighborhood bar with great food. The beer list is ever changing and impressive. They have a huge game room next to the bar. Afternoons are quiet. Friday nights are busy.
(4)
Melissa L.
Again, another newly-discovered gem from the Sellwood pub-crawl. Once you ascend the stairs, this is a big, sprawling pub, complete with Guitar Hero, pool, ping-pong, darts, plus what looked like a fairly serious poker game in progress. It was the last stop of the night, and probably a good thing, because if it had been the first stop, I might have resisted moving on to the next stop. The waitress dealt with our large, unruly group with grace, seperating checks like it was no big, getting our orders right, and being prompt. The food was B+ pub grub, with a large selection. My chicken strips & fries were perfectly cooked, to the point where I had to ask her to please, for the love of my waistline, take away the remainder of the fries. As I was leaving, I noticed flyers for Wednesday-night live pub trivia here, as well, so I may return for trivia soon enough.
(4)
Thor N.
Overall one of the best bars and restaurants in the Portland area in one of the coolest neighborhoods. Fantastic game room with free games 24-7 like darts, pool, pong, and more, and plenty of flat screens. Amazingly good food, awesome service, and great prices and happy hour specials. I mean it. SPH is the perfect place to eat, drink, chill, play or watch a game on any Oregon afternoon.
(5)
Jennifer C.
I've lived in Sellwood for 4 years and have never been here before. It's on the 2nd floor above an antique store in an old building. The stairs and the entry is rough, but don't let it scare you off, it's fun up there. This place is a total unpretentious Portland bar = beardy guys, local beer, timbers gear, local photography for sale... I saw about 15 beers on tap and every one of the them were from either OR and WA. We tried 3 different beers and all were tasty. They have about 4 televisions for sports and were setting up for music when we arrived. The room is big and dark, total opposite of the even larger, bright room attached filled with pool tables, ping pong tables, dart boards and board games (hungry hungry hippo!). The staff were friendly and the service was good. They serve food, but we only went for drinks. I will definitely be back here. My kind of bar.
(4)
Lisa E.
Why does the food here suck so bad??? It's a cool venue! I went back again with friends to play darts and pool and ping pong. We had a great time doing those things. Especially since the place was totally empty! It was a Saturday night at 7:30 and no one else was there. Which was nice because we didn't have to fight for the ping pong table. But seriously, how do they stay in business? People started to show up around 10:30. But it was in no way busy. I remembered the food being blah, so I ordered a salad. It was blah. The mozzarella sticks were ok. The tots were really good. My boyfriend got the burger and said it was so overdone it was bad. Lame! I'd go here only for drinks and the bar games.
(1)
Ben R.
Great sports bar in a friends neighborhood in Sellwood. We came for darts and beer and were not let down.
(3)
Ian A.
Always a solid choice for carefully-prepared pub fare and good local beer. The pastrami on rye is my go-to here--salty, spicy piles of the eponymous meat, toasted bread, and Russian dressing (you can, of course, opt to add kraut and make it a full Rueben). The staff are always friendly and eager to recommend their own favorite menu items, including their house-infused vodka and fireball whiskey. I live nowhere near this place, but still manage to make it out from time to time because I've always had a good experience here.
(4)
Tamara H.
Came here with a group of friends for dinner and drinks. The service was awesome. We were a group of 8. 4 of us showed up first and the rest of us straggled in. Each time a new person showed up the server was there right away to get a drink order. The food was not so great, at least for me. I ordered a burger with provolone and mushrooms with fries. The burger came with no mushrooms and what seemed to be a toasted stale bun. The burger itself was dry and unseasoned. The fries were terrible. I normally will munch on fries all day long but I couldn't stomach these ones. Limp, mushy and sad. My boyfriend loved his entree. A chicken club of some kind with tots. I must admit the tots were cooked perfectly and were very delicious. Everyone at the table seemed to love their food, so I'm hoping mine was just a miss. I will give this place another try and hope the food is better next time.
(2)
Paul D.
One of the best bars in town, hands down. Great local pub with a great selection of beers. You probably won't find better pub food either. The specials are consistently good and you can't beat ping pong, shuffleboard and darts in the back. My fave place to watch timbers and blazers games, too.
(5)
Ryan E.
My kind of place. Dark, divey (in the best of ways), friendly and beer-loving bartenders, and the food is awesome. If you like cards, darts, or pool, the brightly lit back half is perfect for you. If you want to drown a few, eat some grub, and casually watch a game in between squinted reading of Willamette Week, then sidle up to the bar and enjoy a night for under 20 bucks!
(4)
Karrari C.
I have now been here for dinner and brunch and Everything we've tried had been delicious. Pizza wings fish tacos and the SPH hash was delightful. Service is always happy to be here.
(5)
Ziva S.
This review is about the drinks only. They do infused alcohol, anything you can imagine, from ginger whiskey to cucumber gin. I got the "Fruit Tart" which was absolutely delicious, try it with the raspberry infused vodka, yum! My boyfriend got the "New Deal" which he enjoyed as well. Ambiance was nice, typical funky SE place. Looks a little sketchy from the outside but then once you are upstairs in the bar area, you realize why it's popular. There were a lot of stairs, fine for us but worth mentioning if you're going with someone who has trouble with stairs or is in a wheelchair. Happy hour is $1 off the whole menu, pretty reasonable. Don't know how the food is because we were going to a friend's place for dinner afterwards and didn't order anything but it sure looked good! We'll be back next time we're in the area.
(4)
Anastasia K.
Love this place. The bartenders are great! Darts, pool, games, trivia nights! Friday night fish tacos are the best you'll ever have. $1 off your beer back with a hard A drink. Their specialty salads are amazing. Deserts by Hannah are to die for. I've never had anything on the menu that wasn't absolutely amazing.
(5)
Tabitha R.
Sellwood's Public House is a very non-descript place in our neighborhood -- with yummy pizza. They're under new ownership so in a slight state of flux. There are good and bad things about this place ... the good: 1. pizza is pretty good - just be sure to note the sauce -- as many pizzas are made without sauce or with pesto ... etc. They have a few other italian items on the menu ... but it's limited mostly to pizza. 2. service rocks - waitresses are attentive but not overbearing and very friendly ... in a good way 3. beer rocks - many local brews available on tap - winner! 4. pool tables are always available - we haven't actually played but it's nice to know they're available if/when we do. 5. never crowded - the way I like it Under the new owners the hours seem to have evened out a little. They're closed on Monday's but seem to stick to their hours the rest of the time. It's a pretty non-descript place between Tacoma and Tenino on SW 13th ... in the door and up the stairs ... and there you are. Check it out man!!
(4)
Katie R.
I really wanted to love SPH as it has so much potential to be a great local bar. They have Stumptown Stories (oral bits of local history) every second Monday of the month and I made this my reason to give SPH a try last night. Aside from the story portion of the evening, I was overall disappointed after this inaugural visit. It started out cool enough. We took a seat at an empty table (about half of the 12 or so tables were empty) and waited for someone to swing by and take our order. We watched two waiters/bartenders float around for 15 minutes without stopping by our table before we decided it must be a place-your-order-at-the-bar kinda place (a sign would be nice or a heads up from the staff). So, we went up to the bar. And waited for another five minutes. Keep in mind, this place wasn't jumping. There was no crowd. It was closer to empty than it was to full. Which leads me to say that it is so off-putting to see a pretentiously aloof person in a service position. And it's so rare to see this variety of ostentation in Sellwood that it felt infinitely more objectionable. Eventually we ordered the roasted veggie tacos, a side salad, and a ruben with tots. A beer for him and a vodka drink for myself and back to the table we went. The tap list was great (12 or so beers available, nice variety, maybe a bit too hop-centric). The mixed drink was tasty, but not as stiff as I expect from a good pub (and reliably get elsewhere in the area). The food arrived quickly (salad delivered simultaneously, which just ain't right) and was mediocre. If I return (likely as this could have simply been an off night), I will definitely order the pizza as it seemed to be the house specialty and looked delicious as I watched a few go by on their way to be eaten.
(3)
John D.
Awesome pizza! Great Drinks! Great place to party. The Ginger Fizz and Bloody Mary and the Fi Mojitos are the Best. The Pizza we got was the Single Guy. It had roasted garlic and pepperoni with salmi and to finish it had pesto. It was Awesome. Just take a chance and Go.
(5)
Alyssa C.
So the food is great, the location (3 blocks from my place) is great, the atmosphere is calm and non pretentious but the only thing keeping this from a 5 star rating is the service. Generally the bartenders are rude and seem like you're a bother to them, even when you tip well and are a regular! Seriously, this place could use a coach in good service or new people who at least don't act like you're the scum of the earth for asking for a refill.
(4)
Evan C.
Sweet place. Great beer selection with awesome bar food. Good selection of games too (pool, shuffle board, darts and ping pong).
(5)
'Katherine V.
A little better than your typical bar good. The pachos nachos are amazing: its French fries topped with black olives, cheese, sour cream and salsa. I ordered a burger and it came out bleeding. I called the waitress and she said it was supposed to be medium rare. ..this was not medium rare (I love medium rare)... the bun was soaked in red. It seemed that the waitress might be afraid of the chef. I took the burger home and cooked it the rest of the way. :-\ Interesting drink selection like bacon infused vodka.
(3)
Ramie M.
Nice menu. Nice drink selection. Friendly service. Lots of seating and/or open area for darts/pool/ping pong. Unfortunately, the service was atrociously slow. I'm not saying it was bad when they were around, but even ordering a drink or food was slow. It was about 10-15 minutes before our drink order was taken, another 10-15 before we received them. It took a little after that to order food, and then it was ~20 before we received it (one of the orders was wrong, but no big deal). We weren't asked during the entire meal if we wanted more drinks or anything (we did). Now, I could maybe understand this if the place was extremely busy. But it wasn't. We were one of maybe four total tables. I really just don't get it (and yes, a couple times we ended up just getting up from our table and flagging down the bartender to order). I will return, don't get me wrong. There are some things on the menu I want to try. The french dip was very good. I just hope the next go-around that service is a bit better.
(3)
Barbara W.
What a strange place! It's like 1/2 local bar, 1/2 brightly lit bingo hall/elementary school cafeteria. I stuck to the bar half, which offered a good selection of beers on tap. Be aware you will have to climb quite a flight of stairs to get in/out, so you may consider stopping here early in your evening rather than late in your bar-hopping.
(3)
Jeff B.
Our first experience (brunch) was hit and miss but we gave it another shot and were pleasantly surprised. I am raising my rating to 3-star and it may even be worthy of a 4-star and I'll report back after we try their dinner entrees. Darts, ping pong, pool, and Foosball! Oh my! On our brunch visit I was not paying much attention to the second room which provides all sorts of indoor gaming. Lemonade My wife opted for lemonade and the waiter suggested the bartender muddle her one. OMG! It was fantastic. Pizza by the slice For me, this pizza may make my top 10 list of pizza joints in Portland. I was pleasantly surprised. I ordered the Canadian Bacon + Bacon and if you read my review of the Monte Cristo you will know I am a fan of their bacon. My wife had Canadian Bacon + Olives and thought it was decent. This was our third time eating pizza this weekend so keep that in mind. Nachos Just how I like 'em. Real cheese, no meat, and plenty of salsa and sour cream on the side. We were having a slice of pizza as well so we substituted chips for the fries/tots. I can't wait to try the fries or tots versions. Brunch: Huevos Rancheros - Barely mediocre. The tortilla was hard for 1" around the edges. Monte Cristo - Pretty decent. Notably good bacon, syrup, and the use of texas toast. Biscuits and Gravy special - Just okay but the hash-browns were nice and crispy.
(3)
David M.
I went here for a Fort George tap takeover a year or so ago. Agree with some of the earlier reviews that it's a bit like the American Legion or something. Overall it's a bit divey for my usual taste, but the taplist is usually acceptable by my snobbish standards :)
(4)
Mike G.
This place is GREAT! I must admit...it is a bit funky inside but thats what makes it what it is! The food is NOT BAR FOOD! it is wonderful and the service is just as good. Beer selection is very good too. Check this place out...don't be afraid of the stairs or lodge type feel!
(5)
Don B.
The Sellwood Public House is a really weird place. Sitting upstairs and down a dark hallway, it's half bar, half American Legion hall (or at least reminiscent of one). The Bar side has live music sometimes and the "activity room" side (or whatever it's called) offers up darts, pool, ping-pong, guitar hero, Texas Hold'em tables and more. It's a veritable play-land for a drunken group on a pub crawl, I can say for sure. The space itself has likely seen better days. The bar side is dark and almost dive-y, and the other side is bright as a high-school gym (and with the hardwood floors, it might as well have been, but for the low ceilings). The bar itself is marginally appointed, with mostly large-brand spirits and some decent brew options. The food menu is 100-times better than the woeful offerings of its nearby dive bar cohorts (Black Cat, Sellwood Inn, and Penguin, I'm looking at you), and for a drunken late night group, that's a godsend. They also serve food late, which is awesome. The service? When we were in, it was incredible. We showed up with a large, drunken group of at least 12 people? More? I don't know, but the server was ON IT. She had us all on separate checks, dealt with food and drink order chaos, people moving around, etc. It was downright impressive. And she did it all with a smile. That right there is worth the 3 stars alone. Overall, it's a fun place to do some gaming, but I probably wouldn't spend a ton of time just kicking it here drinking.
(3)
Hung W.
The Sellwood Public House is a fantastic place! I've been here several times, and the service has been consistent. The food is good & it stays open late. The staff (Hannah & Becka) are friendly & engaging. Tonight, I met one of the owners (Jason) & his fiancee (Lisa). They treated me like a long lost friend, told me stories & plied me with treats. The desserts are amazing (& made by Hannah). Weekend breakfast is served until 3 PM! P.S. stay out of "The Book"! ;-)
(5)
Michael K.
Don't be put off by the entrance. Don't be put off by the staircase that needs painting. Once you get into Sellwood Public House and sit down, you're in for a treat. The Fish & Chips are the best in town. Seriously, I don't know who is cooking in the back, but they've got it down to an art. I had the tacos ($5 for two) and they were great. This is a friendly, low-key, neighborhood bar with great food. The beer list is ever changing and impressive. They have a huge game room next to the bar. Afternoons are quiet. Friday nights are busy.
(4)
Eric R.
Good beer options and decent food. Great place to start an evening bar hopping in Sellwood, or just a fun place to stop in for a beer and dinner during the week.
(4)
Sonya L.
Really like this place. They always put our game on, good food, good beer, good service.
(5)
Tom C.
Not your average bar food- kitchen is solid. Fish and chips are killer - haven't had anything bad yet. Beer is cooooold!
(5)
Valarie B.
Great old pub in an historic building. Nice neighborhood, kind of a mellower, less yuppified area of Portland. The food is adequate, basically pub grub, but if you are hungry, the portions are plenty. Simple food, a selection of cocktails and IPA's, darts, pool, and even shuffleboard guarantee a fun time with friends. Excellent jukebox, too!
(3)
Ann D.
I stopped off here on a recent bike ride on the Springwater Corridor to grab a beer and a bite to eat. I cozied up to the bar and ordered a local red ale and the hummus plate They have a nice selection of beers on tap, and the menu ranges from fried things to salads and pizzas (which looked great, btw). The inside was comfortable and charming and filled with what seemed like a lot of regulars. I took a peek out back while I was waiting for my food and checked out the patio which was cute with lots of seating. Overall, I enjoyed this place and will definitely return when I find myself in the area again.
(4)
Bob R.
This is a review by a vegetarian 2.5 star pizza upgraded because the fries on the next table looked really good. I like the big windowless back room. In a rainy Portland at night it lends a collegial bowling club kind of atmosphere
(3)
Miranda W.
Amazing! the food is unbelievable.. I will admit it is a weird set-up with the typical dive bar/garage area set-up. But that adds that much more character. On one occasion I had a long wait for chicken wings. Other than that its been great amazing service! This place has a little bit of everything and good food and good staff!
(5)
Ron J.
They had a triple IPA need I say more? Oh and if you like darts bring an extra pair of shorts!
(4)
Angie K.
SPH is such a great place. Ping-pong, darts, poker, a cozy little bar and then a larger room in which my band performed last weekend. The service was great, the drinks were strong and my friends said the food was great as well. SPH just has this great, comfortable, real vibe that makes me want to return soon! Thanks for having us!
(5)
Cesar N.
This is a great destination in the Sellwood area. Friendly owners and staff, a great rotating beer selection with a monthly tap takeover, delicious food (the fish tacos and the jalapeño poppers are personal favorites) and a huge gaming room with plenty of dart boards. They also make a mean pizza. They have many house infused liquors and the spicy bloody Mary with house pickled veggies is outstanding.
(5)
Ian A.
Always a solid choice for carefully-prepared pub fare and good local beer. The pastrami on rye is my go-to here--salty, spicy piles of the eponymous meat, toasted bread, and Russian dressing (you can, of course, opt to add kraut and make it a full Rueben). The staff are always friendly and eager to recommend their own favorite menu items, including their house-infused vodka and fireball whiskey. I live nowhere near this place, but still manage to make it out from time to time because I've always had a good experience here.
(4)
Dave H.
I've been meaning to update my review since the new owners took over, but somehow I've forgotten to until now. Strong drinks, good happy hour deals, friendly and attentive staff, and even though the vegetarian options are a little limited, they're all great. (I personally suggest the grilled cheese on sourdough with cheddar and american with fries. I've been told it's even better with bacon and tomatoes, if you're into the whole bacon thing.) They have a great selection of infused liquors they make themselves, and the have a rotating selection of local beers (and usually one cider) on tap. They still of course have lots of dart boards, the pool table, actual poker games nightly, and Weds night trivia. You should be aware that while Yelp says it's good for kids, but it's been 21+ since last fall. If the kids want some pizza, you'll have to get it to go. By far it's my favorite place in Sellwood.
(5)
Melissa M.
I came here with nine other friends for drinks & food & games, and we were not disappointed! The staff were totally cool with our mixed group of singles and couples that probably came to seven separate tickets. I love that the entire food menu is available until last call, the ping pong, pool, darts, and air hockey are free, and it never got too loud to easily carry on a conversation. A great place to have fun with friends.
(5)
Alek C.
Well i like the people and micro beers. But they burnt my pizza really bad(I think the cook might have been drinking, the cheese was black) Whatever. I had one beer and left.
(3)
Jenn C.
Dear Lacey and Rachel and other SPH staff who treat us with love, hugs, and always charge us for our drinks like good employees should. We LOVE YOU! I apologize for the three star review I gave you earlier. I know better now (because you read the reviews and guilt your regulars). However, whenever we need to go have a good time, please know that we are coming to the best place we know, because you know our names, what we want to drink, and that the darts are for us and no one else. Hugs and kisses, jenn, liv, tracy, and gabe
(5)
Amanda M.
I actually don't drink, but good food, and amazing service. Hopefully I can drop by again. :)
(4)
Jessi S.
The tap list is great and rotates frequently. The trivia that is held on Wednesday evening is difficult and fun!
(3)
Noland B.
Great beer selection, especially for this area, and pints were just $4. Their jalapeno poppers are a nice change from traditional fried fare, being a fresher option. HUGE gaming area that's nicely separated from drinking/dining area also a nice feature.
(4)
Paige H.
Terrible service, our waiter got our order wrong at least three times, had to be reminded to bring drinks we ordered and down right disappeared when it came time for the bill. The chili- lackluster, should always be served with cheese and onions, mine wasn't. The famous game room- rented out to a private party on a saturday night, and unavailable to the rest of us. Bathrooms- in said game room so we had to walk awkwardly through the private party we weren't allowed to go to. Live music- too loud, a bad Ani DiFranco rip off. The pizza- the toppings were sad, I've had better frozen pizza We were desperate for food in the neighborhood, so sad!
(1)
Andrea L.
We just found this place and we will go back again very soon. The service was quick and friendly, and the food is very reasonable and very tasty! I love the feel of the bar, you feel like you are walking into someones dining room and are immediately comfortable. Try anything that has bacon in it. This is a basic rule to life, but their bacon is amazing!
(4)
Brian P.
Best pizza in this zip code, hands down. Wide selection of beer. Friendly helpful staff. Terrific specials and happy hour choices. GIANT game room!!!! This place could handle group meetings / 10 or 20 person parties, particularly during weekdays. They have on tap beer selections from Off The Rail Brewery, I think three of them.
(5)
Avenge C.
The pros: Friendly service; free pool, darts, and recently added ping-pong; Really good food most days; live music on the weekends that are mostly local acts; pretty good beers that the staff seems to know a little about; not too busy The cons; SOmetimes understaffed when it gets busy, poker games in the back most week days break up the game room ambiance a little, upstairs
(5)
Kevin D.
Great place in Sellwood. They have a wonderful rotating beer selection. The flavored vodkas are a nice way to mix it up. The food is good and the people there are super friendly and nice. A fun place to hang out with friends.
(5)
Cody W.
The Bad: Having to walk up 20 stairs to get to it (winded). The possibility of falling down 20 stairs leaving (drunk). Bourbon that had the faint taste of peanut butter (taste bud confusion..but delicious). Overly drunk 40 year old + patrons fighting/joke fighting with each other (Dad?). The Good: 8 dart boards A ping pong table Poker tables Cheap drinks (Crown and coke was only $5) Live Music Friendly staff and gaming vibe I was really surprised by this bar, because I hadn't even heard of it before and ended up having a great time. Being a somewhat proficient dart player, I couldn't believe that they had 8 dart boards and good quality darts to play with. I went on a Saturday night and it wasn't very crowded, but not dead by any means. We played poker, ping pong, and darts all night while only spending around $30. I highly recommend this place to anyone looking for a fun night out.
(5)
Mike R.
It was pretty good... The service was a bit off (my wife whispered to me "we have a bad waitress"), took a while to get menus, brought a wheat beer w/o lemon, then took two trips to bring one (in her hand, not on a napkin or anything). They have a game room, but kids can't go in there (they did suggest we bring ping pong paddles and ball out to play with). We had chicken wings and pizza. The wings looked bad (lots of breading and sauce), but were surprisingly good. Pizza was close to being really good...if it was cooked a little longer. But it was still good (although for $2 per topping I expect more than ten or so mushroom slices). Ordered the chicken strips and frys for our 3-year-old and they were good. Overall, I think we'll go back...
(3)
Mike S.
DART BAR. (p.e.r.i.o.d.) This place rocks! 8, count 'em 8 dart boards! Two different lanes of four. A wide open room dedicated to the art of launching tiny steel projectiles 100's of times over the course of a night. The staff kicks ass, and caters to the dart crowd. They have a lot of good beers on tap. Their prices are reasonable, and the food is good -- for bar fare it's real good! They also have poker nights, and although they can be a raucous crowd when they get their cards, we all generally get along. As a dart bar goes you couldn't ask for more. Well lit, new - high quality boards, friendly folks, and good brew!
(5)
Amanda Z.
I'll always think of Sellwood Public House fondly, however something has changed... Appetizers: Go to Oaks Bottom instead. Sandwiches: Small (we tried the Reuben and Philly Cheese Steak ). Service: Great, I really wish I liked the food more because our waitress was so friendly! Atmosphere: At times it feels like you're in a banquet room in a huge Chinese restaurant, but when the live band starts to play you get that warm tender feeling. Could have been the beers though... My recommendations: - Come during happy hour: I think it runs from 4-7 PM. $2.50 microbrews & well drinks (as well as appetizers...). That means I can have my chocolate stout for much cheaper than anywhere else, which is really the best reason to come here (it's the only reason I come here). My whiskey sour was watered down. OK, that's what I get for ordering a well drink during happy hour, right? Although the list of beers was quite extensive, about three times we got the "Ohhh you know what? We're out of that." - Order pizza. Maybe other things on the menu are good, but I think pizza is their thing.
(3)
J R.
I liked this place. Was part of a party ~30 people. My one and only kvetch was that I once got the wrong drink, but I drank it and ordered the right thing after. I suppose it is worth mentioning that they ran out of a few things during the night, but substitutions were offered and happily taken. Good food and atmosphere. Great staff. Appears that their happy hour is something to take part in. Did not find the stairs to be too cumbersome.
(5)
Jodi K.
Not bad. Loved my slice of cheese pizza. Nice beer selection. Chocolate draft that tasted like you could put a scoop of vanilla ice cream in it and call it a chocolate soda. Funky old time atmosphere. Nice people.
(3)
Joshua M.
Pretty much a dive, which is fine I suppose, but my experience there was pretty lackluster. We had stopped in for lunch on a weekday. Fairly dead in there, just a band setting up. Well the children of one of the band's members were literally running around the establishment screaming and yelling at each other. Granted the children weren't employees, but it was totally obnoxious that it was allowed to go on. -2 stars for kids allowed to run around like a chapter from Lord of the Flies. We ordered a philly cheesesteak (always a dangerous proposition), based on the fact that the owner is from Philadelphia. Yep, not so good. I'd probably give it another chance if needed, but I'm not seeking it out.
(3)
Heath K.
We threw an awesome party for the big Ducks game here and the owners and staff were very helpful and accommodating. The pizza and drinks were good. They took great care of me and the 20+ people I brought there.
(4)
Buford C.
I had hopes for this joint when they came under new ownership. Those hopes have been dashed. I was willing to put up with the mildewy staircase to get there, the pizza seemed good at first, but the service was affable and reasonable when they are dead, but when there is even the smallest crowd, they become slow and inconsistent. The ownership seems more interested in Poker than food. It is a shame that no one can seem to make that space work. That space seems to have a curse. I hope they can find a solution.
(1)
Jacob G.
I was part of a large group of photography nuts (about 20 of us) and we arrived here to see it not so busy, despite live music with no cover. It wasn't a hassle at all for the staff to have us drop in so unexpectedly. I got French dip and some beer, and the sandwich was pretty good! So I like that there was a free concert, good food, and plenty of room for us.
(4)
Melissa L.
Again, another newly-discovered gem from the Sellwood pub-crawl. Once you ascend the stairs, this is a big, sprawling pub, complete with Guitar Hero, pool, ping-pong, darts, plus what looked like a fairly serious poker game in progress. It was the last stop of the night, and probably a good thing, because if it had been the first stop, I might have resisted moving on to the next stop. The waitress dealt with our large, unruly group with grace, seperating checks like it was no big, getting our orders right, and being prompt. The food was B+ pub grub, with a large selection. My chicken strips & fries were perfectly cooked, to the point where I had to ask her to please, for the love of my waistline, take away the remainder of the fries. As I was leaving, I noticed flyers for Wednesday-night live pub trivia here, as well, so I may return for trivia soon enough.
(4)
Thor N.
Overall one of the best bars and restaurants in the Portland area in one of the coolest neighborhoods. Fantastic game room with free games 24-7 like darts, pool, pong, and more, and plenty of flat screens. Amazingly good food, awesome service, and great prices and happy hour specials. I mean it. SPH is the perfect place to eat, drink, chill, play or watch a game on any Oregon afternoon.
(5)
Jennifer C.
I've lived in Sellwood for 4 years and have never been here before. It's on the 2nd floor above an antique store in an old building. The stairs and the entry is rough, but don't let it scare you off, it's fun up there. This place is a total unpretentious Portland bar = beardy guys, local beer, timbers gear, local photography for sale... I saw about 15 beers on tap and every one of the them were from either OR and WA. We tried 3 different beers and all were tasty. They have about 4 televisions for sports and were setting up for music when we arrived. The room is big and dark, total opposite of the even larger, bright room attached filled with pool tables, ping pong tables, dart boards and board games (hungry hungry hippo!). The staff were friendly and the service was good. They serve food, but we only went for drinks. I will definitely be back here. My kind of bar.
(4)
Lisa E.
Why does the food here suck so bad??? It's a cool venue! I went back again with friends to play darts and pool and ping pong. We had a great time doing those things. Especially since the place was totally empty! It was a Saturday night at 7:30 and no one else was there. Which was nice because we didn't have to fight for the ping pong table. But seriously, how do they stay in business? People started to show up around 10:30. But it was in no way busy. I remembered the food being blah, so I ordered a salad. It was blah. The mozzarella sticks were ok. The tots were really good. My boyfriend got the burger and said it was so overdone it was bad. Lame! I'd go here only for drinks and the bar games.
(1)
Ben R.
Great sports bar in a friends neighborhood in Sellwood. We came for darts and beer and were not let down.
(3)
L O.
This place is a completely different animal than it used to be! I'm not sure whether to talk about the food, the bar, the service or the ambiance first, but all are enormously improved and give Sellwooders something to brag about. (I'm personally tired of SE not having much to help make it deserving of the phenomenal food/drink reputation Portland metro has and the Sellwood Public House of yore was the epitome of dive-bar SE, seconded well by the Black Cat down the street... ) The food appears to no longer be a second thought to the ale flowing from the taps, developing a personality of its own and, from my few-but-becoming-more-frequent orders, has the perfect depth for what could be an upscale/downscale tavern, something very local, yet with quality and maybe even unique food. Fortunately (or unfortunately) I had the meatloaf the first time I was there under the new ownership and am now confidant that I always have something far better than Stouffers and almost as inexpensive whenever I want that homey-comfort-food so damn difficult to find when out and about! (I've had the meatloaf, the pizza, the Philly cheesesteak and fries... all yummy beyond belief... They just added chowder and chili, so I want to try those... ) The service is also refreshing. Attentive and friendly staff almost scared my girlfriend the first two times we were in. We're simply not used to it... The fact that the restaurant is up a long flight of stairs is inescapable, but the Cheers-kind of feel when you get there is worth it. The ambiance is actually mixed and I both liked and was intrigued by it... The bar and main dining room are what you enter when you walk through the hall leading into the place, and the elevated location on the corner of 13th and Tenino gives the place a very organically-local, but still open and light feel. The bar is not that dark, staring-at-death kind of scene so common in SE. The flat-screens showing sports and news were perhaps a little distracting, but certainly weren't loud or intrusive on a private conversation. And the back room was this interesting (and huge!) space that was accomodating a large party the first time I was there and some kind of dart competition the second time I was there. The way to the bathrooms (extremely clean, by the way!) was through that back room and I wondered about the real purpose of the room each time I had to use the bathroom. The first time I was there was around standard dinner time and there seemed to be quite a number of families with kids and couples of various ages. The feeling was not quite "chucky cheese" but still happy and upbeat; and then the second time I was there it was about 9:00 and the feel was completely different, with a mixed bar crowd in the front room, but a different mix of people in the back room, some dart thing going on with very serious people playing darts and some younger people playing ping-pong and watching a very large-screen television. The place seems to be getting better each time I go and I've even seen a few people I know. I hope this can last...!
(5)
Chezz C.
Low-stakes ($20 or so buy-in) real-money tournaments several nights a week, with cash games on the side. House does not charge a fee, but requires that you spend $10 on food and drink. Atmosphere charged with testosterone -- there is usually a big argument an occasionally a fight. Level of play pretty bad, including some serious drinkers. Blind level very steep. The players deal, with one director overseeing things and dealing final table. The problem with this place is the bad calls by the director. There is no established set of rules. He made one especially horrible call, declaring a hand dead after a player accidentally exposed it. Any rulebook will tell you this is not correct. But the director declared the hand dead -- with all the player's chips in at the final table! -- and even confirmed his decision with a phone call to the club owner. Anyone can make a mistake, but the owner should have overruled this one (he didn't respond to later email contact about this either). It's just not worth playing somewhere where you have to pay such a steep price for a mistake.
(1)
Jason H.
This review is really only about my 10 minute experience at this place, we didn't order food, or drinks - but in those 10 minutes I quickly figured out that this is not some place I would want to ever go again. We walked in the front door and headed up stairs and was greeted by the very familiar smell of a public bathroom (the air freshener from a public bathroom to be exact). We thought perhaps this smell was just in the stairwell and went in anyway. The pub itself was dark and dingy, and nearly empty. For being a Saturday night at 8:00, this says a lot. We were waiting for a couple more people to show up, so we sat down and the bartender brought us a menu. This awful bathroom smell seemed to be getting stronger and stronger. The other two people in our party showed up and sat down, and looked over the menu. Nothing on the menu really looked all that great. Many of the items on the menu were crossed our with a black sharpie. While everyone was deciding on what to order, a couple of the people in our party decided that they had to leave. The bathroom smell was just too bad. We all decided that maybe this wasn't the best place for us to eat, and we got up and quickly left. Once outside in the fresh air, we could still smell and taste the bathroom smell from inside of the pub. Classy.
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Joshua M.
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(5)
Elizabeth H.
I love SPH. I moved out of the neighborhood over a year ago and the handful of times I've been back they still remember the beer I always order! Is the service always perfect, no, sometimes they get busy and don't have enough staff or the bar staff is doing more waiting on tables. But it's a bar, it gets busy. The food is 100% reliable. My best friend loves the burger, and he is kind of a jerk about his burgers. best grilled cheese i've had in portland, with no close second to be found...butter, challah, and you can get cooked mushrooms AND cooked onions on it. So good! and they make nachos over tots or fries...just, why aren't all nachos over tots or fries? It almost became a running joke that every time i ordered a salad they would minorly screw up the order (bring me the wrong size, the wrong salad dressing). But they always happily fixed it, and quickly, and often didn't charge me. The salads aren't the most inspired thing they make, but, they are real and fresh and you can get them late at night! and if you ask for extra dressing, they just give it to you, no explanation needed (this doesn't seem like a big deal, but recently two other establishments gave me the side eye when i asked for extra dressing, i.e. not what i want from wait staff. no, i am not wrong, this salad IS underdressed i order it 3 times a week here, now give me some extra dressing and never ever question my tastebuds again!!!) And, the pool/table tennis/darts/shuffleboard are great. You can easily get a big group here and play games or not, and drink and eat, or not eat, or not drink, and it's totally casual. One of the best things about Sellwood. Last but so far from least...they always seem to have Ft. George Vortex IPA on draft. This beer, with the nacho-fied tots...forget it, there is no better indulgence than this combination. i love this bar!
(5)
Paula W.
I was looking for a spot for brunch while visiting the area and found that SPH has brunch according to Yelp. I was just blocks away and it was a gorgeous morning so off I set. I was a bit surprised at the entrance and scary stairs to the second floor location. Mostly because there were some boxes stacked at the top of the stairs. It just didn't look inviting as I trudge up. But I quickly made my way through the 'tunnel' and into the place, grabbing a window seat. The brunch menu isn't huge but there were enough options that I settled on the SPH Monte Cristo. Challah French Toast stuffed with bacon, eggs, cheese, and Canadian bacon. Oh, and served with home fries. Yes, please! I started with SPH Bloody Mary. Mind you, I like spicy. So a drink made with pepper and bacon infused vodka, spicy bloody mix, and pickled veg sounded right up my alley. Yikes! It was spicy! Just a bit too spicy to be honest. Next time I'll have them add a bit of tomato juice to tame it a down. The food arrived and I was not disappointed. The sandwich was amazing! Beautifully cooked french toast, thick cut bacon....I was in heaven. And the home fries??? Perfection. I would definitely recommend trying their brunch menu. But if you're not a football fan, you might want to wait until after the Superbowl. This place had at least five screens with football on each one. I happen to love the sport so was in my element.
(4)
(5)
Mike R.
(3)
A E.
It's very rare that I update a review but I went back tonight and it was completely different. That same beared dude that was unpleasant was super friendly and attentive tonight. Perhaps he was having a bad night that first time. Perhaps he had a change of heart. Regardless of the reason, he was so nice tonight and I understand, having worked in that industry throughout my 20s, that shit can happen. So I forgive and forget. The food... I'll stay away from for now. The drinks... You can't really mess up beers on tap so that remains awesome.
(4)
Katie R.
I really wanted to love SPH as it has so much potential to be a great local bar. They have Stumptown Stories (oral bits of local history) every second Monday of the month and I made this my reason to give SPH a try last night. Aside from the story portion of the evening, I was overall disappointed after this inaugural visit. It started out cool enough. We took a seat at an empty table (about half of the 12 or so tables were empty) and waited for someone to swing by and take our order. We watched two waiters/bartenders float around for 15 minutes without stopping by our table before we decided it must be a place-your-order-at-the-bar kinda place (a sign would be nice or a heads up from the staff). So, we went up to the bar. And waited for another five minutes. Keep in mind, this place wasn't jumping. There was no crowd. It was closer to empty than it was to full. Which leads me to say that it is so off-putting to see a pretentiously aloof person in a service position. And it's so rare to see this variety of ostentation in Sellwood that it felt infinitely more objectionable. Eventually we ordered the roasted veggie tacos, a side salad, and a ruben with tots. A beer for him and a vodka drink for myself and back to the table we went. The tap list was great (12 or so beers available, nice variety, maybe a bit too hop-centric). The mixed drink was tasty, but not as stiff as I expect from a good pub (and reliably get elsewhere in the area). The food arrived quickly (salad delivered simultaneously, which just ain't right) and was mediocre. If I return (likely as this could have simply been an off night), I will definitely order the pizza as it seemed to be the house specialty and looked delicious as I watched a few go by on their way to be eaten.
(3)
John D.
Awesome pizza! Great Drinks! Great place to party. The Ginger Fizz and Bloody Mary and the Fi Mojitos are the Best. The Pizza we got was the Single Guy. It had roasted garlic and pepperoni with salmi and to finish it had pesto. It was Awesome. Just take a chance and Go.
(5)
J L.
Updated review. Two words: FISH TACOS. And always great wait staff and games on tv and game room and variety of crowd and judgement free zone. One of sell woods finest.
(5)
Jeff B.
Our first experience (brunch) was hit and miss but we gave it another shot and were pleasantly surprised. I am raising my rating to 3-star and it may even be worthy of a 4-star and I'll report back after we try their dinner entrees. Darts, ping pong, pool, and Foosball! Oh my! On our brunch visit I was not paying much attention to the second room which provides all sorts of indoor gaming. Lemonade My wife opted for lemonade and the waiter suggested the bartender muddle her one. OMG! It was fantastic. Pizza by the slice For me, this pizza may make my top 10 list of pizza joints in Portland. I was pleasantly surprised. I ordered the Canadian Bacon + Bacon and if you read my review of the Monte Cristo you will know I am a fan of their bacon. My wife had Canadian Bacon + Olives and thought it was decent. This was our third time eating pizza this weekend so keep that in mind. Nachos Just how I like 'em. Real cheese, no meat, and plenty of salsa and sour cream on the side. We were having a slice of pizza as well so we substituted chips for the fries/tots. I can't wait to try the fries or tots versions. Brunch: Huevos Rancheros - Barely mediocre. The tortilla was hard for 1" around the edges. Monte Cristo - Pretty decent. Notably good bacon, syrup, and the use of texas toast. Biscuits and Gravy special - Just okay but the hash-browns were nice and crispy.
(3)
David M.
I went here for a Fort George tap takeover a year or so ago. Agree with some of the earlier reviews that it's a bit like the American Legion or something. Overall it's a bit divey for my usual taste, but the taplist is usually acceptable by my snobbish standards :)
(4)
Mike G.
This place is GREAT! I must admit...it is a bit funky inside but thats what makes it what it is! The food is NOT BAR FOOD! it is wonderful and the service is just as good. Beer selection is very good too. Check this place out...don't be afraid of the stairs or lodge type feel!
(5)
Anastasia K.
Love this place. The bartenders are great! Darts, pool, games, trivia nights! Friday night fish tacos are the best you'll ever have. $1 off your beer back with a hard A drink. Their specialty salads are amazing. Deserts by Hannah are to die for. I've never had anything on the menu that wasn't absolutely amazing.
(5)
Eric R.
Good beer options and decent food. Great place to start an evening bar hopping in Sellwood, or just a fun place to stop in for a beer and dinner during the week.
(4)
Kevin D.
(5)
Mike S.
(5)
Amanda Z.
(3)
Ian A.
Always a solid choice for carefully-prepared pub fare and good local beer. The pastrami on rye is my go-to here--salty, spicy piles of the eponymous meat, toasted bread, and Russian dressing (you can, of course, opt to add kraut and make it a full Rueben). The staff are always friendly and eager to recommend their own favorite menu items, including their house-infused vodka and fireball whiskey. I live nowhere near this place, but still manage to make it out from time to time because I've always had a good experience here.
(4)
Sonya L.
Really like this place. They always put our game on, good food, good beer, good service.
(5)
Tom C.
Not your average bar food- kitchen is solid. Fish and chips are killer - haven't had anything bad yet. Beer is cooooold!
(5)
Valarie B.
Great old pub in an historic building. Nice neighborhood, kind of a mellower, less yuppified area of Portland. The food is adequate, basically pub grub, but if you are hungry, the portions are plenty. Simple food, a selection of cocktails and IPA's, darts, pool, and even shuffleboard guarantee a fun time with friends. Excellent jukebox, too!
(3)
Don B.
The Sellwood Public House is a really weird place. Sitting upstairs and down a dark hallway, it's half bar, half American Legion hall (or at least reminiscent of one). The Bar side has live music sometimes and the "activity room" side (or whatever it's called) offers up darts, pool, ping-pong, guitar hero, Texas Hold'em tables and more. It's a veritable play-land for a drunken group on a pub crawl, I can say for sure. The space itself has likely seen better days. The bar side is dark and almost dive-y, and the other side is bright as a high-school gym (and with the hardwood floors, it might as well have been, but for the low ceilings). The bar itself is marginally appointed, with mostly large-brand spirits and some decent brew options. The food menu is 100-times better than the woeful offerings of its nearby dive bar cohorts (Black Cat, Sellwood Inn, and Penguin, I'm looking at you), and for a drunken late night group, that's a godsend. They also serve food late, which is awesome. The service? When we were in, it was incredible. We showed up with a large, drunken group of at least 12 people? More? I don't know, but the server was ON IT. She had us all on separate checks, dealt with food and drink order chaos, people moving around, etc. It was downright impressive. And she did it all with a smile. That right there is worth the 3 stars alone. Overall, it's a fun place to do some gaming, but I probably wouldn't spend a ton of time just kicking it here drinking.
(3)
Hung W.
The Sellwood Public House is a fantastic place! I've been here several times, and the service has been consistent. The food is good & it stays open late. The staff (Hannah & Becka) are friendly & engaging. Tonight, I met one of the owners (Jason) & his fiancee (Lisa). They treated me like a long lost friend, told me stories & plied me with treats. The desserts are amazing (& made by Hannah). Weekend breakfast is served until 3 PM! P.S. stay out of "The Book"! ;-)
(5)
Marcia S.
So cold and wet today I decided that I needed some homemade comfort food! As I am at work I thought long and hard about how I as going to get me a warming cup of healthy soup and a grilled cheese sandwich ( not quite as healthy ) the way I would make it if I were sitting at home in front of the fireplace. Gave Sellwood Public House a call and decided to try their soup of the day and sandwich. I am thrilled to say that the Roasted Butternut Squash soup was hearty and had a wonderful hint of spice that made me stop thinking of dipping my sandwich into it cause I enjoyed it as it was. Now the Grilled Cheese??? Exactly how I would have made it INCLUDING just the right amount of raw onion ( requested ) and the fresh tomatoes were perfect. I have to say that whenever I want home cooked food, reasonable and just like I would make it they will be the one I call!
(5)
Ann D.
I stopped off here on a recent bike ride on the Springwater Corridor to grab a beer and a bite to eat. I cozied up to the bar and ordered a local red ale and the hummus plate They have a nice selection of beers on tap, and the menu ranges from fried things to salads and pizzas (which looked great, btw). The inside was comfortable and charming and filled with what seemed like a lot of regulars. I took a peek out back while I was waiting for my food and checked out the patio which was cute with lots of seating. Overall, I enjoyed this place and will definitely return when I find myself in the area again.
(4)
Bob R.
This is a review by a vegetarian 2.5 star pizza upgraded because the fries on the next table looked really good. I like the big windowless back room. In a rainy Portland at night it lends a collegial bowling club kind of atmosphere
(3)
Ron J.
They had a triple IPA need I say more? Oh and if you like darts bring an extra pair of shorts!
(4)
Miranda W.
Amazing! the food is unbelievable.. I will admit it is a weird set-up with the typical dive bar/garage area set-up. But that adds that much more character. On one occasion I had a long wait for chicken wings. Other than that its been great amazing service! This place has a little bit of everything and good food and good staff!
(5)
Angie K.
SPH is such a great place. Ping-pong, darts, poker, a cozy little bar and then a larger room in which my band performed last weekend. The service was great, the drinks were strong and my friends said the food was great as well. SPH just has this great, comfortable, real vibe that makes me want to return soon! Thanks for having us!
(5)
Cesar N.
This is a great destination in the Sellwood area. Friendly owners and staff, a great rotating beer selection with a monthly tap takeover, delicious food (the fish tacos and the jalapeño poppers are personal favorites) and a huge gaming room with plenty of dart boards. They also make a mean pizza. They have many house infused liquors and the spicy bloody Mary with house pickled veggies is outstanding.
(5)
Michael K.
Don't be put off by the entrance. Don't be put off by the staircase that needs painting. Once you get into Sellwood Public House and sit down, you're in for a treat. The Fish & Chips are the best in town. Seriously, I don't know who is cooking in the back, but they've got it down to an art. I had the tacos ($5 for two) and they were great. This is a friendly, low-key, neighborhood bar with great food. The beer list is ever changing and impressive. They have a huge game room next to the bar. Afternoons are quiet. Friday nights are busy.
(4)
Melissa L.
Again, another newly-discovered gem from the Sellwood pub-crawl. Once you ascend the stairs, this is a big, sprawling pub, complete with Guitar Hero, pool, ping-pong, darts, plus what looked like a fairly serious poker game in progress. It was the last stop of the night, and probably a good thing, because if it had been the first stop, I might have resisted moving on to the next stop. The waitress dealt with our large, unruly group with grace, seperating checks like it was no big, getting our orders right, and being prompt. The food was B+ pub grub, with a large selection. My chicken strips & fries were perfectly cooked, to the point where I had to ask her to please, for the love of my waistline, take away the remainder of the fries. As I was leaving, I noticed flyers for Wednesday-night live pub trivia here, as well, so I may return for trivia soon enough.
(4)
Thor N.
Overall one of the best bars and restaurants in the Portland area in one of the coolest neighborhoods. Fantastic game room with free games 24-7 like darts, pool, pong, and more, and plenty of flat screens. Amazingly good food, awesome service, and great prices and happy hour specials. I mean it. SPH is the perfect place to eat, drink, chill, play or watch a game on any Oregon afternoon.
(5)
Jennifer C.
I've lived in Sellwood for 4 years and have never been here before. It's on the 2nd floor above an antique store in an old building. The stairs and the entry is rough, but don't let it scare you off, it's fun up there. This place is a total unpretentious Portland bar = beardy guys, local beer, timbers gear, local photography for sale... I saw about 15 beers on tap and every one of the them were from either OR and WA. We tried 3 different beers and all were tasty. They have about 4 televisions for sports and were setting up for music when we arrived. The room is big and dark, total opposite of the even larger, bright room attached filled with pool tables, ping pong tables, dart boards and board games (hungry hungry hippo!). The staff were friendly and the service was good. They serve food, but we only went for drinks. I will definitely be back here. My kind of bar.
(4)
Lisa E.
Why does the food here suck so bad??? It's a cool venue! I went back again with friends to play darts and pool and ping pong. We had a great time doing those things. Especially since the place was totally empty! It was a Saturday night at 7:30 and no one else was there. Which was nice because we didn't have to fight for the ping pong table. But seriously, how do they stay in business? People started to show up around 10:30. But it was in no way busy. I remembered the food being blah, so I ordered a salad. It was blah. The mozzarella sticks were ok. The tots were really good. My boyfriend got the burger and said it was so overdone it was bad. Lame! I'd go here only for drinks and the bar games.
(1)
Ben R.
Great sports bar in a friends neighborhood in Sellwood. We came for darts and beer and were not let down.
(3)
Alyssa C.
So the food is great, the location (3 blocks from my place) is great, the atmosphere is calm and non pretentious but the only thing keeping this from a 5 star rating is the service. Generally the bartenders are rude and seem like you're a bother to them, even when you tip well and are a regular! Seriously, this place could use a coach in good service or new people who at least don't act like you're the scum of the earth for asking for a refill.
(4)
Evan C.
Sweet place. Great beer selection with awesome bar food. Good selection of games too (pool, shuffle board, darts and ping pong).
(5)
'Katherine V.
A little better than your typical bar good. The pachos nachos are amazing: its French fries topped with black olives, cheese, sour cream and salsa. I ordered a burger and it came out bleeding. I called the waitress and she said it was supposed to be medium rare. ..this was not medium rare (I love medium rare)... the bun was soaked in red. It seemed that the waitress might be afraid of the chef. I took the burger home and cooked it the rest of the way. :-\ Interesting drink selection like bacon infused vodka.
(3)
Paul D.
One of the best bars in town, hands down. Great local pub with a great selection of beers. You probably won't find better pub food either. The specials are consistently good and you can't beat ping pong, shuffleboard and darts in the back. My fave place to watch timbers and blazers games, too.
(5)
Tamara H.
Came here with a group of friends for dinner and drinks. The service was awesome. We were a group of 8. 4 of us showed up first and the rest of us straggled in. Each time a new person showed up the server was there right away to get a drink order. The food was not so great, at least for me. I ordered a burger with provolone and mushrooms with fries. The burger came with no mushrooms and what seemed to be a toasted stale bun. The burger itself was dry and unseasoned. The fries were terrible. I normally will munch on fries all day long but I couldn't stomach these ones. Limp, mushy and sad. My boyfriend loved his entree. A chicken club of some kind with tots. I must admit the tots were cooked perfectly and were very delicious. Everyone at the table seemed to love their food, so I'm hoping mine was just a miss. I will give this place another try and hope the food is better next time.
(2)
Ryan E.
My kind of place. Dark, divey (in the best of ways), friendly and beer-loving bartenders, and the food is awesome. If you like cards, darts, or pool, the brightly lit back half is perfect for you. If you want to drown a few, eat some grub, and casually watch a game in between squinted reading of Willamette Week, then sidle up to the bar and enjoy a night for under 20 bucks!
(4)
Karrari C.
I have now been here for dinner and brunch and Everything we've tried had been delicious. Pizza wings fish tacos and the SPH hash was delightful. Service is always happy to be here.
(5)
Ziva S.
This review is about the drinks only. They do infused alcohol, anything you can imagine, from ginger whiskey to cucumber gin. I got the "Fruit Tart" which was absolutely delicious, try it with the raspberry infused vodka, yum! My boyfriend got the "New Deal" which he enjoyed as well. Ambiance was nice, typical funky SE place. Looks a little sketchy from the outside but then once you are upstairs in the bar area, you realize why it's popular. There were a lot of stairs, fine for us but worth mentioning if you're going with someone who has trouble with stairs or is in a wheelchair. Happy hour is $1 off the whole menu, pretty reasonable. Don't know how the food is because we were going to a friend's place for dinner afterwards and didn't order anything but it sure looked good! We'll be back next time we're in the area.
(4)
Ramie M.
Nice menu. Nice drink selection. Friendly service. Lots of seating and/or open area for darts/pool/ping pong. Unfortunately, the service was atrociously slow. I'm not saying it was bad when they were around, but even ordering a drink or food was slow. It was about 10-15 minutes before our drink order was taken, another 10-15 before we received them. It took a little after that to order food, and then it was ~20 before we received it (one of the orders was wrong, but no big deal). We weren't asked during the entire meal if we wanted more drinks or anything (we did). Now, I could maybe understand this if the place was extremely busy. But it wasn't. We were one of maybe four total tables. I really just don't get it (and yes, a couple times we ended up just getting up from our table and flagging down the bartender to order). I will return, don't get me wrong. There are some things on the menu I want to try. The french dip was very good. I just hope the next go-around that service is a bit better.
(3)
Barbara W.
What a strange place! It's like 1/2 local bar, 1/2 brightly lit bingo hall/elementary school cafeteria. I stuck to the bar half, which offered a good selection of beers on tap. Be aware you will have to climb quite a flight of stairs to get in/out, so you may consider stopping here early in your evening rather than late in your bar-hopping.
(3)
Dave H.
I've been meaning to update my review since the new owners took over, but somehow I've forgotten to until now. Strong drinks, good happy hour deals, friendly and attentive staff, and even though the vegetarian options are a little limited, they're all great. (I personally suggest the grilled cheese on sourdough with cheddar and american with fries. I've been told it's even better with bacon and tomatoes, if you're into the whole bacon thing.) They have a great selection of infused liquors they make themselves, and the have a rotating selection of local beers (and usually one cider) on tap. They still of course have lots of dart boards, the pool table, actual poker games nightly, and Weds night trivia. You should be aware that while Yelp says it's good for kids, but it's been 21+ since last fall. If the kids want some pizza, you'll have to get it to go. By far it's my favorite place in Sellwood.
(5)
Melissa M.
I came here with nine other friends for drinks & food & games, and we were not disappointed! The staff were totally cool with our mixed group of singles and couples that probably came to seven separate tickets. I love that the entire food menu is available until last call, the ping pong, pool, darts, and air hockey are free, and it never got too loud to easily carry on a conversation. A great place to have fun with friends.
(5)
Alek C.
Well i like the people and micro beers. But they burnt my pizza really bad(I think the cook might have been drinking, the cheese was black) Whatever. I had one beer and left.
(3)
Jenn C.
Dear Lacey and Rachel and other SPH staff who treat us with love, hugs, and always charge us for our drinks like good employees should. We LOVE YOU! I apologize for the three star review I gave you earlier. I know better now (because you read the reviews and guilt your regulars). However, whenever we need to go have a good time, please know that we are coming to the best place we know, because you know our names, what we want to drink, and that the darts are for us and no one else. Hugs and kisses, jenn, liv, tracy, and gabe
(5)
Amanda M.
I actually don't drink, but good food, and amazing service. Hopefully I can drop by again. :)
(4)
Jessi S.
The tap list is great and rotates frequently. The trivia that is held on Wednesday evening is difficult and fun!
(3)
Noland B.
Great beer selection, especially for this area, and pints were just $4. Their jalapeno poppers are a nice change from traditional fried fare, being a fresher option. HUGE gaming area that's nicely separated from drinking/dining area also a nice feature.
(4)
Paige H.
Terrible service, our waiter got our order wrong at least three times, had to be reminded to bring drinks we ordered and down right disappeared when it came time for the bill. The chili- lackluster, should always be served with cheese and onions, mine wasn't. The famous game room- rented out to a private party on a saturday night, and unavailable to the rest of us. Bathrooms- in said game room so we had to walk awkwardly through the private party we weren't allowed to go to. Live music- too loud, a bad Ani DiFranco rip off. The pizza- the toppings were sad, I've had better frozen pizza We were desperate for food in the neighborhood, so sad!
(1)
Andrea L.
We just found this place and we will go back again very soon. The service was quick and friendly, and the food is very reasonable and very tasty! I love the feel of the bar, you feel like you are walking into someones dining room and are immediately comfortable. Try anything that has bacon in it. This is a basic rule to life, but their bacon is amazing!
(4)
Brian P.
Best pizza in this zip code, hands down. Wide selection of beer. Friendly helpful staff. Terrific specials and happy hour choices. GIANT game room!!!! This place could handle group meetings / 10 or 20 person parties, particularly during weekdays. They have on tap beer selections from Off The Rail Brewery, I think three of them.
(5)
Avenge C.
The pros: Friendly service; free pool, darts, and recently added ping-pong; Really good food most days; live music on the weekends that are mostly local acts; pretty good beers that the staff seems to know a little about; not too busy The cons; SOmetimes understaffed when it gets busy, poker games in the back most week days break up the game room ambiance a little, upstairs
(5)
Kevin D.
Great place in Sellwood. They have a wonderful rotating beer selection. The flavored vodkas are a nice way to mix it up. The food is good and the people there are super friendly and nice. A fun place to hang out with friends.
(5)
Cody W.
The Bad: Having to walk up 20 stairs to get to it (winded). The possibility of falling down 20 stairs leaving (drunk). Bourbon that had the faint taste of peanut butter (taste bud confusion..but delicious). Overly drunk 40 year old + patrons fighting/joke fighting with each other (Dad?). The Good: 8 dart boards A ping pong table Poker tables Cheap drinks (Crown and coke was only $5) Live Music Friendly staff and gaming vibe I was really surprised by this bar, because I hadn't even heard of it before and ended up having a great time. Being a somewhat proficient dart player, I couldn't believe that they had 8 dart boards and good quality darts to play with. I went on a Saturday night and it wasn't very crowded, but not dead by any means. We played poker, ping pong, and darts all night while only spending around $30. I highly recommend this place to anyone looking for a fun night out.
(5)
Mike R.
It was pretty good... The service was a bit off (my wife whispered to me "we have a bad waitress"), took a while to get menus, brought a wheat beer w/o lemon, then took two trips to bring one (in her hand, not on a napkin or anything). They have a game room, but kids can't go in there (they did suggest we bring ping pong paddles and ball out to play with). We had chicken wings and pizza. The wings looked bad (lots of breading and sauce), but were surprisingly good. Pizza was close to being really good...if it was cooked a little longer. But it was still good (although for $2 per topping I expect more than ten or so mushroom slices). Ordered the chicken strips and frys for our 3-year-old and they were good. Overall, I think we'll go back...
(3)
Mike S.
DART BAR. (p.e.r.i.o.d.) This place rocks! 8, count 'em 8 dart boards! Two different lanes of four. A wide open room dedicated to the art of launching tiny steel projectiles 100's of times over the course of a night. The staff kicks ass, and caters to the dart crowd. They have a lot of good beers on tap. Their prices are reasonable, and the food is good -- for bar fare it's real good! They also have poker nights, and although they can be a raucous crowd when they get their cards, we all generally get along. As a dart bar goes you couldn't ask for more. Well lit, new - high quality boards, friendly folks, and good brew!
(5)
Jacob G.
I was part of a large group of photography nuts (about 20 of us) and we arrived here to see it not so busy, despite live music with no cover. It wasn't a hassle at all for the staff to have us drop in so unexpectedly. I got French dip and some beer, and the sandwich was pretty good! So I like that there was a free concert, good food, and plenty of room for us.
(4)
Amanda Z.
I'll always think of Sellwood Public House fondly, however something has changed... Appetizers: Go to Oaks Bottom instead. Sandwiches: Small (we tried the Reuben and Philly Cheese Steak ). Service: Great, I really wish I liked the food more because our waitress was so friendly! Atmosphere: At times it feels like you're in a banquet room in a huge Chinese restaurant, but when the live band starts to play you get that warm tender feeling. Could have been the beers though... My recommendations: - Come during happy hour: I think it runs from 4-7 PM. $2.50 microbrews & well drinks (as well as appetizers...). That means I can have my chocolate stout for much cheaper than anywhere else, which is really the best reason to come here (it's the only reason I come here). My whiskey sour was watered down. OK, that's what I get for ordering a well drink during happy hour, right? Although the list of beers was quite extensive, about three times we got the "Ohhh you know what? We're out of that." - Order pizza. Maybe other things on the menu are good, but I think pizza is their thing.
(3)
J R.
I liked this place. Was part of a party ~30 people. My one and only kvetch was that I once got the wrong drink, but I drank it and ordered the right thing after. I suppose it is worth mentioning that they ran out of a few things during the night, but substitutions were offered and happily taken. Good food and atmosphere. Great staff. Appears that their happy hour is something to take part in. Did not find the stairs to be too cumbersome.
(5)
Jodi K.
Not bad. Loved my slice of cheese pizza. Nice beer selection. Chocolate draft that tasted like you could put a scoop of vanilla ice cream in it and call it a chocolate soda. Funky old time atmosphere. Nice people.
(3)
Joshua M.
Pretty much a dive, which is fine I suppose, but my experience there was pretty lackluster. We had stopped in for lunch on a weekday. Fairly dead in there, just a band setting up. Well the children of one of the band's members were literally running around the establishment screaming and yelling at each other. Granted the children weren't employees, but it was totally obnoxious that it was allowed to go on. -2 stars for kids allowed to run around like a chapter from Lord of the Flies. We ordered a philly cheesesteak (always a dangerous proposition), based on the fact that the owner is from Philadelphia. Yep, not so good. I'd probably give it another chance if needed, but I'm not seeking it out.
(3)
Heath K.
We threw an awesome party for the big Ducks game here and the owners and staff were very helpful and accommodating. The pizza and drinks were good. They took great care of me and the 20+ people I brought there.
(4)
Buford C.
I had hopes for this joint when they came under new ownership. Those hopes have been dashed. I was willing to put up with the mildewy staircase to get there, the pizza seemed good at first, but the service was affable and reasonable when they are dead, but when there is even the smallest crowd, they become slow and inconsistent. The ownership seems more interested in Poker than food. It is a shame that no one can seem to make that space work. That space seems to have a curse. I hope they can find a solution.
(1)
Tabitha R.
Sellwood's Public House is a very non-descript place in our neighborhood -- with yummy pizza. They're under new ownership so in a slight state of flux. There are good and bad things about this place ... the good: 1. pizza is pretty good - just be sure to note the sauce -- as many pizzas are made without sauce or with pesto ... etc. They have a few other italian items on the menu ... but it's limited mostly to pizza. 2. service rocks - waitresses are attentive but not overbearing and very friendly ... in a good way 3. beer rocks - many local brews available on tap - winner! 4. pool tables are always available - we haven't actually played but it's nice to know they're available if/when we do. 5. never crowded - the way I like it Under the new owners the hours seem to have evened out a little. They're closed on Monday's but seem to stick to their hours the rest of the time. It's a pretty non-descript place between Tacoma and Tenino on SW 13th ... in the door and up the stairs ... and there you are. Check it out man!!
(4)
Chezz C.
Low-stakes ($20 or so buy-in) real-money tournaments several nights a week, with cash games on the side. House does not charge a fee, but requires that you spend $10 on food and drink. Atmosphere charged with testosterone -- there is usually a big argument an occasionally a fight. Level of play pretty bad, including some serious drinkers. Blind level very steep. The players deal, with one director overseeing things and dealing final table. The problem with this place is the bad calls by the director. There is no established set of rules. He made one especially horrible call, declaring a hand dead after a player accidentally exposed it. Any rulebook will tell you this is not correct. But the director declared the hand dead -- with all the player's chips in at the final table! -- and even confirmed his decision with a phone call to the club owner. Anyone can make a mistake, but the owner should have overruled this one (he didn't respond to later email contact about this either). It's just not worth playing somewhere where you have to pay such a steep price for a mistake.
(1)
Jason H.
This review is really only about my 10 minute experience at this place, we didn't order food, or drinks - but in those 10 minutes I quickly figured out that this is not some place I would want to ever go again. We walked in the front door and headed up stairs and was greeted by the very familiar smell of a public bathroom (the air freshener from a public bathroom to be exact). We thought perhaps this smell was just in the stairwell and went in anyway. The pub itself was dark and dingy, and nearly empty. For being a Saturday night at 8:00, this says a lot. We were waiting for a couple more people to show up, so we sat down and the bartender brought us a menu. This awful bathroom smell seemed to be getting stronger and stronger. The other two people in our party showed up and sat down, and looked over the menu. Nothing on the menu really looked all that great. Many of the items on the menu were crossed our with a black sharpie. While everyone was deciding on what to order, a couple of the people in our party decided that they had to leave. The bathroom smell was just too bad. We all decided that maybe this wasn't the best place for us to eat, and we got up and quickly left. Once outside in the fresh air, we could still smell and taste the bathroom smell from inside of the pub. Classy.
(1)
L O.
This place is a completely different animal than it used to be! I'm not sure whether to talk about the food, the bar, the service or the ambiance first, but all are enormously improved and give Sellwooders something to brag about. (I'm personally tired of SE not having much to help make it deserving of the phenomenal food/drink reputation Portland metro has and the Sellwood Public House of yore was the epitome of dive-bar SE, seconded well by the Black Cat down the street... ) The food appears to no longer be a second thought to the ale flowing from the taps, developing a personality of its own and, from my few-but-becoming-more-frequent orders, has the perfect depth for what could be an upscale/downscale tavern, something very local, yet with quality and maybe even unique food. Fortunately (or unfortunately) I had the meatloaf the first time I was there under the new ownership and am now confidant that I always have something far better than Stouffers and almost as inexpensive whenever I want that homey-comfort-food so damn difficult to find when out and about! (I've had the meatloaf, the pizza, the Philly cheesesteak and fries... all yummy beyond belief... They just added chowder and chili, so I want to try those... ) The service is also refreshing. Attentive and friendly staff almost scared my girlfriend the first two times we were in. We're simply not used to it... The fact that the restaurant is up a long flight of stairs is inescapable, but the Cheers-kind of feel when you get there is worth it. The ambiance is actually mixed and I both liked and was intrigued by it... The bar and main dining room are what you enter when you walk through the hall leading into the place, and the elevated location on the corner of 13th and Tenino gives the place a very organically-local, but still open and light feel. The bar is not that dark, staring-at-death kind of scene so common in SE. The flat-screens showing sports and news were perhaps a little distracting, but certainly weren't loud or intrusive on a private conversation. And the back room was this interesting (and huge!) space that was accomodating a large party the first time I was there and some kind of dart competition the second time I was there. The way to the bathrooms (extremely clean, by the way!) was through that back room and I wondered about the real purpose of the room each time I had to use the bathroom. The first time I was there was around standard dinner time and there seemed to be quite a number of families with kids and couples of various ages. The feeling was not quite "chucky cheese" but still happy and upbeat; and then the second time I was there it was about 9:00 and the feel was completely different, with a mixed bar crowd in the front room, but a different mix of people in the back room, some dart thing going on with very serious people playing darts and some younger people playing ping-pong and watching a very large-screen television. The place seems to be getting better each time I go and I've even seen a few people I know. I hope this can last...!
Takes Reservations : No Delivery : No Take-out : Yes Accepts Credit Cards : Yes Good For : Dinner Parking : Street Bike Parking : Yes Wheelchair Accessible : No Good for Kids : No Good for Groups : Yes Attire : Casual Ambience : Casual Noise Level : Average Music : Live Good For Dancing : No Alcohol : Full Bar Happy Hour : Yes Best Nights : Wed, Thu, Fri Coat Check : No Smoking : Outdoor Area/ Patio Only Outdoor Seating : No Wi-Fi : Free Has TV : Yes Dogs Allowed : No Waiter Service : Yes Caters : Yes
Tabitha R.
(4)L O.
(5)Chezz C.
(1)Jason H.
(1)Ron J.
They had a triple IPA need I say more? Oh and if you like darts bring an extra pair of shorts!
(4)Ziva S.
This review is about the drinks only. They do infused alcohol, anything you can imagine, from ginger whiskey to cucumber gin. I got the "Fruit Tart" which was absolutely delicious, try it with the raspberry infused vodka, yum! My boyfriend got the "New Deal" which he enjoyed as well. Ambiance was nice, typical funky SE place. Looks a little sketchy from the outside but then once you are upstairs in the bar area, you realize why it's popular. There were a lot of stairs, fine for us but worth mentioning if you're going with someone who has trouble with stairs or is in a wheelchair. Happy hour is $1 off the whole menu, pretty reasonable. Don't know how the food is because we were going to a friend's place for dinner afterwards and didn't order anything but it sure looked good! We'll be back next time we're in the area.
(4)Ramie M.
Nice menu. Nice drink selection. Friendly service. Lots of seating and/or open area for darts/pool/ping pong. Unfortunately, the service was atrociously slow. I'm not saying it was bad when they were around, but even ordering a drink or food was slow. It was about 10-15 minutes before our drink order was taken, another 10-15 before we received them. It took a little after that to order food, and then it was ~20 before we received it (one of the orders was wrong, but no big deal). We weren't asked during the entire meal if we wanted more drinks or anything (we did). Now, I could maybe understand this if the place was extremely busy. But it wasn't. We were one of maybe four total tables. I really just don't get it (and yes, a couple times we ended up just getting up from our table and flagging down the bartender to order). I will return, don't get me wrong. There are some things on the menu I want to try. The french dip was very good. I just hope the next go-around that service is a bit better.
(3)Barbara W.
What a strange place! It's like 1/2 local bar, 1/2 brightly lit bingo hall/elementary school cafeteria. I stuck to the bar half, which offered a good selection of beers on tap. Be aware you will have to climb quite a flight of stairs to get in/out, so you may consider stopping here early in your evening rather than late in your bar-hopping.
(3)Bob R.
This is a review by a vegetarian 2.5 star pizza upgraded because the fries on the next table looked really good. I like the big windowless back room. In a rainy Portland at night it lends a collegial bowling club kind of atmosphere
(3)Miranda W.
Amazing! the food is unbelievable.. I will admit it is a weird set-up with the typical dive bar/garage area set-up. But that adds that much more character. On one occasion I had a long wait for chicken wings. Other than that its been great amazing service! This place has a little bit of everything and good food and good staff!
(5)Elizabeth H.
I love SPH. I moved out of the neighborhood over a year ago and the handful of times I've been back they still remember the beer I always order! Is the service always perfect, no, sometimes they get busy and don't have enough staff or the bar staff is doing more waiting on tables. But it's a bar, it gets busy. The food is 100% reliable. My best friend loves the burger, and he is kind of a jerk about his burgers. best grilled cheese i've had in portland, with no close second to be found...butter, challah, and you can get cooked mushrooms AND cooked onions on it. So good! and they make nachos over tots or fries...just, why aren't all nachos over tots or fries? It almost became a running joke that every time i ordered a salad they would minorly screw up the order (bring me the wrong size, the wrong salad dressing). But they always happily fixed it, and quickly, and often didn't charge me. The salads aren't the most inspired thing they make, but, they are real and fresh and you can get them late at night! and if you ask for extra dressing, they just give it to you, no explanation needed (this doesn't seem like a big deal, but recently two other establishments gave me the side eye when i asked for extra dressing, i.e. not what i want from wait staff. no, i am not wrong, this salad IS underdressed i order it 3 times a week here, now give me some extra dressing and never ever question my tastebuds again!!!) And, the pool/table tennis/darts/shuffleboard are great. You can easily get a big group here and play games or not, and drink and eat, or not eat, or not drink, and it's totally casual. One of the best things about Sellwood. Last but so far from least...they always seem to have Ft. George Vortex IPA on draft. This beer, with the nacho-fied tots...forget it, there is no better indulgence than this combination. i love this bar!
(5)J L.
Updated review. Two words: FISH TACOS. And always great wait staff and games on tv and game room and variety of crowd and judgement free zone. One of sell woods finest.
(5)Paula W.
I was looking for a spot for brunch while visiting the area and found that SPH has brunch according to Yelp. I was just blocks away and it was a gorgeous morning so off I set. I was a bit surprised at the entrance and scary stairs to the second floor location. Mostly because there were some boxes stacked at the top of the stairs. It just didn't look inviting as I trudge up. But I quickly made my way through the 'tunnel' and into the place, grabbing a window seat. The brunch menu isn't huge but there were enough options that I settled on the SPH Monte Cristo. Challah French Toast stuffed with bacon, eggs, cheese, and Canadian bacon. Oh, and served with home fries. Yes, please! I started with SPH Bloody Mary. Mind you, I like spicy. So a drink made with pepper and bacon infused vodka, spicy bloody mix, and pickled veg sounded right up my alley. Yikes! It was spicy! Just a bit too spicy to be honest. Next time I'll have them add a bit of tomato juice to tame it a down. The food arrived and I was not disappointed. The sandwich was amazing! Beautifully cooked french toast, thick cut bacon....I was in heaven. And the home fries??? Perfection. I would definitely recommend trying their brunch menu. But if you're not a football fan, you might want to wait until after the Superbowl. This place had at least five screens with football on each one. I happen to love the sport so was in my element.
(4)Marcia S.
So cold and wet today I decided that I needed some homemade comfort food! As I am at work I thought long and hard about how I as going to get me a warming cup of healthy soup and a grilled cheese sandwich ( not quite as healthy ) the way I would make it if I were sitting at home in front of the fireplace. Gave Sellwood Public House a call and decided to try their soup of the day and sandwich. I am thrilled to say that the Roasted Butternut Squash soup was hearty and had a wonderful hint of spice that made me stop thinking of dipping my sandwich into it cause I enjoyed it as it was. Now the Grilled Cheese??? Exactly how I would have made it INCLUDING just the right amount of raw onion ( requested ) and the fresh tomatoes were perfect. I have to say that whenever I want home cooked food, reasonable and just like I would make it they will be the one I call!
(5)Jeff B.
Our first experience (brunch) was hit and miss but we gave it another shot and were pleasantly surprised. I am raising my rating to 3-star and it may even be worthy of a 4-star and I'll report back after we try their dinner entrees. Darts, ping pong, pool, and Foosball! Oh my! On our brunch visit I was not paying much attention to the second room which provides all sorts of indoor gaming. Lemonade My wife opted for lemonade and the waiter suggested the bartender muddle her one. OMG! It was fantastic. Pizza by the slice For me, this pizza may make my top 10 list of pizza joints in Portland. I was pleasantly surprised. I ordered the Canadian Bacon + Bacon and if you read my review of the Monte Cristo you will know I am a fan of their bacon. My wife had Canadian Bacon + Olives and thought it was decent. This was our third time eating pizza this weekend so keep that in mind. Nachos Just how I like 'em. Real cheese, no meat, and plenty of salsa and sour cream on the side. We were having a slice of pizza as well so we substituted chips for the fries/tots. I can't wait to try the fries or tots versions. Brunch: Huevos Rancheros - Barely mediocre. The tortilla was hard for 1" around the edges. Monte Cristo - Pretty decent. Notably good bacon, syrup, and the use of texas toast. Biscuits and Gravy special - Just okay but the hash-browns were nice and crispy.
(3)David M.
I went here for a Fort George tap takeover a year or so ago. Agree with some of the earlier reviews that it's a bit like the American Legion or something. Overall it's a bit divey for my usual taste, but the taplist is usually acceptable by my snobbish standards :)
(4)Mike G.
This place is GREAT! I must admit...it is a bit funky inside but thats what makes it what it is! The food is NOT BAR FOOD! it is wonderful and the service is just as good. Beer selection is very good too. Check this place out...don't be afraid of the stairs or lodge type feel!
(5)Anastasia K.
Love this place. The bartenders are great! Darts, pool, games, trivia nights! Friday night fish tacos are the best you'll ever have. $1 off your beer back with a hard A drink. Their specialty salads are amazing. Deserts by Hannah are to die for. I've never had anything on the menu that wasn't absolutely amazing.
(5)Eric R.
Good beer options and decent food. Great place to start an evening bar hopping in Sellwood, or just a fun place to stop in for a beer and dinner during the week.
(4)Sonya L.
Really like this place. They always put our game on, good food, good beer, good service.
(5)Tom C.
Not your average bar food- kitchen is solid. Fish and chips are killer - haven't had anything bad yet. Beer is cooooold!
(5)Valarie B.
Great old pub in an historic building. Nice neighborhood, kind of a mellower, less yuppified area of Portland. The food is adequate, basically pub grub, but if you are hungry, the portions are plenty. Simple food, a selection of cocktails and IPA's, darts, pool, and even shuffleboard guarantee a fun time with friends. Excellent jukebox, too!
(3)Don B.
The Sellwood Public House is a really weird place. Sitting upstairs and down a dark hallway, it's half bar, half American Legion hall (or at least reminiscent of one). The Bar side has live music sometimes and the "activity room" side (or whatever it's called) offers up darts, pool, ping-pong, guitar hero, Texas Hold'em tables and more. It's a veritable play-land for a drunken group on a pub crawl, I can say for sure. The space itself has likely seen better days. The bar side is dark and almost dive-y, and the other side is bright as a high-school gym (and with the hardwood floors, it might as well have been, but for the low ceilings). The bar itself is marginally appointed, with mostly large-brand spirits and some decent brew options. The food menu is 100-times better than the woeful offerings of its nearby dive bar cohorts (Black Cat, Sellwood Inn, and Penguin, I'm looking at you), and for a drunken late night group, that's a godsend. They also serve food late, which is awesome. The service? When we were in, it was incredible. We showed up with a large, drunken group of at least 12 people? More? I don't know, but the server was ON IT. She had us all on separate checks, dealt with food and drink order chaos, people moving around, etc. It was downright impressive. And she did it all with a smile. That right there is worth the 3 stars alone. Overall, it's a fun place to do some gaming, but I probably wouldn't spend a ton of time just kicking it here drinking.
(3)Hung W.
The Sellwood Public House is a fantastic place! I've been here several times, and the service has been consistent. The food is good & it stays open late. The staff (Hannah & Becka) are friendly & engaging. Tonight, I met one of the owners (Jason) & his fiancee (Lisa). They treated me like a long lost friend, told me stories & plied me with treats. The desserts are amazing (& made by Hannah). Weekend breakfast is served until 3 PM! P.S. stay out of "The Book"! ;-)
(5)Marcia S.
So cold and wet today I decided that I needed some homemade comfort food! As I am at work I thought long and hard about how I as going to get me a warming cup of healthy soup and a grilled cheese sandwich ( not quite as healthy ) the way I would make it if I were sitting at home in front of the fireplace. Gave Sellwood Public House a call and decided to try their soup of the day and sandwich. I am thrilled to say that the Roasted Butternut Squash soup was hearty and had a wonderful hint of spice that made me stop thinking of dipping my sandwich into it cause I enjoyed it as it was. Now the Grilled Cheese??? Exactly how I would have made it INCLUDING just the right amount of raw onion ( requested ) and the fresh tomatoes were perfect. I have to say that whenever I want home cooked food, reasonable and just like I would make it they will be the one I call!
(5)Elizabeth H.
I love SPH. I moved out of the neighborhood over a year ago and the handful of times I've been back they still remember the beer I always order! Is the service always perfect, no, sometimes they get busy and don't have enough staff or the bar staff is doing more waiting on tables. But it's a bar, it gets busy. The food is 100% reliable. My best friend loves the burger, and he is kind of a jerk about his burgers. best grilled cheese i've had in portland, with no close second to be found...butter, challah, and you can get cooked mushrooms AND cooked onions on it. So good! and they make nachos over tots or fries...just, why aren't all nachos over tots or fries? It almost became a running joke that every time i ordered a salad they would minorly screw up the order (bring me the wrong size, the wrong salad dressing). But they always happily fixed it, and quickly, and often didn't charge me. The salads aren't the most inspired thing they make, but, they are real and fresh and you can get them late at night! and if you ask for extra dressing, they just give it to you, no explanation needed (this doesn't seem like a big deal, but recently two other establishments gave me the side eye when i asked for extra dressing, i.e. not what i want from wait staff. no, i am not wrong, this salad IS underdressed i order it 3 times a week here, now give me some extra dressing and never ever question my tastebuds again!!!) And, the pool/table tennis/darts/shuffleboard are great. You can easily get a big group here and play games or not, and drink and eat, or not eat, or not drink, and it's totally casual. One of the best things about Sellwood. Last but so far from least...they always seem to have Ft. George Vortex IPA on draft. This beer, with the nacho-fied tots...forget it, there is no better indulgence than this combination. i love this bar!
(5)J L.
Updated review. Two words: FISH TACOS. And always great wait staff and games on tv and game room and variety of crowd and judgement free zone. One of sell woods finest.
(5)'Katherine V.
A little better than your typical bar good. The pachos nachos are amazing: its French fries topped with black olives, cheese, sour cream and salsa. I ordered a burger and it came out bleeding. I called the waitress and she said it was supposed to be medium rare. ..this was not medium rare (I love medium rare)... the bun was soaked in red. It seemed that the waitress might be afraid of the chef. I took the burger home and cooked it the rest of the way. :-\ Interesting drink selection like bacon infused vodka.
(3)Tamara H.
Came here with a group of friends for dinner and drinks. The service was awesome. We were a group of 8. 4 of us showed up first and the rest of us straggled in. Each time a new person showed up the server was there right away to get a drink order. The food was not so great, at least for me. I ordered a burger with provolone and mushrooms with fries. The burger came with no mushrooms and what seemed to be a toasted stale bun. The burger itself was dry and unseasoned. The fries were terrible. I normally will munch on fries all day long but I couldn't stomach these ones. Limp, mushy and sad. My boyfriend loved his entree. A chicken club of some kind with tots. I must admit the tots were cooked perfectly and were very delicious. Everyone at the table seemed to love their food, so I'm hoping mine was just a miss. I will give this place another try and hope the food is better next time.
(2)Paul D.
One of the best bars in town, hands down. Great local pub with a great selection of beers. You probably won't find better pub food either. The specials are consistently good and you can't beat ping pong, shuffleboard and darts in the back. My fave place to watch timbers and blazers games, too.
(5)A E.
It's very rare that I update a review but I went back tonight and it was completely different. That same beared dude that was unpleasant was super friendly and attentive tonight. Perhaps he was having a bad night that first time. Perhaps he had a change of heart. Regardless of the reason, he was so nice tonight and I understand, having worked in that industry throughout my 20s, that shit can happen. So I forgive and forget. The food... I'll stay away from for now. The drinks... You can't really mess up beers on tap so that remains awesome.
(4)Katie R.
I really wanted to love SPH as it has so much potential to be a great local bar. They have Stumptown Stories (oral bits of local history) every second Monday of the month and I made this my reason to give SPH a try last night. Aside from the story portion of the evening, I was overall disappointed after this inaugural visit. It started out cool enough. We took a seat at an empty table (about half of the 12 or so tables were empty) and waited for someone to swing by and take our order. We watched two waiters/bartenders float around for 15 minutes without stopping by our table before we decided it must be a place-your-order-at-the-bar kinda place (a sign would be nice or a heads up from the staff). So, we went up to the bar. And waited for another five minutes. Keep in mind, this place wasn't jumping. There was no crowd. It was closer to empty than it was to full. Which leads me to say that it is so off-putting to see a pretentiously aloof person in a service position. And it's so rare to see this variety of ostentation in Sellwood that it felt infinitely more objectionable. Eventually we ordered the roasted veggie tacos, a side salad, and a ruben with tots. A beer for him and a vodka drink for myself and back to the table we went. The tap list was great (12 or so beers available, nice variety, maybe a bit too hop-centric). The mixed drink was tasty, but not as stiff as I expect from a good pub (and reliably get elsewhere in the area). The food arrived quickly (salad delivered simultaneously, which just ain't right) and was mediocre. If I return (likely as this could have simply been an off night), I will definitely order the pizza as it seemed to be the house specialty and looked delicious as I watched a few go by on their way to be eaten.
(3)John D.
Awesome pizza! Great Drinks! Great place to party. The Ginger Fizz and Bloody Mary and the Fi Mojitos are the Best. The Pizza we got was the Single Guy. It had roasted garlic and pepperoni with salmi and to finish it had pesto. It was Awesome. Just take a chance and Go.
(5)Ryan E.
My kind of place. Dark, divey (in the best of ways), friendly and beer-loving bartenders, and the food is awesome. If you like cards, darts, or pool, the brightly lit back half is perfect for you. If you want to drown a few, eat some grub, and casually watch a game in between squinted reading of Willamette Week, then sidle up to the bar and enjoy a night for under 20 bucks!
(4)Paula W.
I was looking for a spot for brunch while visiting the area and found that SPH has brunch according to Yelp. I was just blocks away and it was a gorgeous morning so off I set. I was a bit surprised at the entrance and scary stairs to the second floor location. Mostly because there were some boxes stacked at the top of the stairs. It just didn't look inviting as I trudge up. But I quickly made my way through the 'tunnel' and into the place, grabbing a window seat. The brunch menu isn't huge but there were enough options that I settled on the SPH Monte Cristo. Challah French Toast stuffed with bacon, eggs, cheese, and Canadian bacon. Oh, and served with home fries. Yes, please! I started with SPH Bloody Mary. Mind you, I like spicy. So a drink made with pepper and bacon infused vodka, spicy bloody mix, and pickled veg sounded right up my alley. Yikes! It was spicy! Just a bit too spicy to be honest. Next time I'll have them add a bit of tomato juice to tame it a down. The food arrived and I was not disappointed. The sandwich was amazing! Beautifully cooked french toast, thick cut bacon....I was in heaven. And the home fries??? Perfection. I would definitely recommend trying their brunch menu. But if you're not a football fan, you might want to wait until after the Superbowl. This place had at least five screens with football on each one. I happen to love the sport so was in my element.
(4)Alyssa C.
So the food is great, the location (3 blocks from my place) is great, the atmosphere is calm and non pretentious but the only thing keeping this from a 5 star rating is the service. Generally the bartenders are rude and seem like you're a bother to them, even when you tip well and are a regular! Seriously, this place could use a coach in good service or new people who at least don't act like you're the scum of the earth for asking for a refill.
(4)Evan C.
Sweet place. Great beer selection with awesome bar food. Good selection of games too (pool, shuffle board, darts and ping pong).
(5)Karrari C.
I have now been here for dinner and brunch and Everything we've tried had been delicious. Pizza wings fish tacos and the SPH hash was delightful. Service is always happy to be here.
(5)A E.
It's very rare that I update a review but I went back tonight and it was completely different. That same beared dude that was unpleasant was super friendly and attentive tonight. Perhaps he was having a bad night that first time. Perhaps he had a change of heart. Regardless of the reason, he was so nice tonight and I understand, having worked in that industry throughout my 20s, that shit can happen. So I forgive and forget. The food... I'll stay away from for now. The drinks... You can't really mess up beers on tap so that remains awesome.
(4)Ann D.
I stopped off here on a recent bike ride on the Springwater Corridor to grab a beer and a bite to eat. I cozied up to the bar and ordered a local red ale and the hummus plate They have a nice selection of beers on tap, and the menu ranges from fried things to salads and pizzas (which looked great, btw). The inside was comfortable and charming and filled with what seemed like a lot of regulars. I took a peek out back while I was waiting for my food and checked out the patio which was cute with lots of seating. Overall, I enjoyed this place and will definitely return when I find myself in the area again.
(4)Angie K.
SPH is such a great place. Ping-pong, darts, poker, a cozy little bar and then a larger room in which my band performed last weekend. The service was great, the drinks were strong and my friends said the food was great as well. SPH just has this great, comfortable, real vibe that makes me want to return soon! Thanks for having us!
(5)Cesar N.
This is a great destination in the Sellwood area. Friendly owners and staff, a great rotating beer selection with a monthly tap takeover, delicious food (the fish tacos and the jalapeño poppers are personal favorites) and a huge gaming room with plenty of dart boards. They also make a mean pizza. They have many house infused liquors and the spicy bloody Mary with house pickled veggies is outstanding.
(5)Michael K.
Don't be put off by the entrance. Don't be put off by the staircase that needs painting. Once you get into Sellwood Public House and sit down, you're in for a treat. The Fish & Chips are the best in town. Seriously, I don't know who is cooking in the back, but they've got it down to an art. I had the tacos ($5 for two) and they were great. This is a friendly, low-key, neighborhood bar with great food. The beer list is ever changing and impressive. They have a huge game room next to the bar. Afternoons are quiet. Friday nights are busy.
(4)Melissa L.
Again, another newly-discovered gem from the Sellwood pub-crawl. Once you ascend the stairs, this is a big, sprawling pub, complete with Guitar Hero, pool, ping-pong, darts, plus what looked like a fairly serious poker game in progress. It was the last stop of the night, and probably a good thing, because if it had been the first stop, I might have resisted moving on to the next stop. The waitress dealt with our large, unruly group with grace, seperating checks like it was no big, getting our orders right, and being prompt. The food was B+ pub grub, with a large selection. My chicken strips & fries were perfectly cooked, to the point where I had to ask her to please, for the love of my waistline, take away the remainder of the fries. As I was leaving, I noticed flyers for Wednesday-night live pub trivia here, as well, so I may return for trivia soon enough.
(4)Thor N.
Overall one of the best bars and restaurants in the Portland area in one of the coolest neighborhoods. Fantastic game room with free games 24-7 like darts, pool, pong, and more, and plenty of flat screens. Amazingly good food, awesome service, and great prices and happy hour specials. I mean it. SPH is the perfect place to eat, drink, chill, play or watch a game on any Oregon afternoon.
(5)Jennifer C.
I've lived in Sellwood for 4 years and have never been here before. It's on the 2nd floor above an antique store in an old building. The stairs and the entry is rough, but don't let it scare you off, it's fun up there. This place is a total unpretentious Portland bar = beardy guys, local beer, timbers gear, local photography for sale... I saw about 15 beers on tap and every one of the them were from either OR and WA. We tried 3 different beers and all were tasty. They have about 4 televisions for sports and were setting up for music when we arrived. The room is big and dark, total opposite of the even larger, bright room attached filled with pool tables, ping pong tables, dart boards and board games (hungry hungry hippo!). The staff were friendly and the service was good. They serve food, but we only went for drinks. I will definitely be back here. My kind of bar.
(4)Lisa E.
Why does the food here suck so bad??? It's a cool venue! I went back again with friends to play darts and pool and ping pong. We had a great time doing those things. Especially since the place was totally empty! It was a Saturday night at 7:30 and no one else was there. Which was nice because we didn't have to fight for the ping pong table. But seriously, how do they stay in business? People started to show up around 10:30. But it was in no way busy. I remembered the food being blah, so I ordered a salad. It was blah. The mozzarella sticks were ok. The tots were really good. My boyfriend got the burger and said it was so overdone it was bad. Lame! I'd go here only for drinks and the bar games.
(1)Ben R.
Great sports bar in a friends neighborhood in Sellwood. We came for darts and beer and were not let down.
(3)Ian A.
Always a solid choice for carefully-prepared pub fare and good local beer. The pastrami on rye is my go-to here--salty, spicy piles of the eponymous meat, toasted bread, and Russian dressing (you can, of course, opt to add kraut and make it a full Rueben). The staff are always friendly and eager to recommend their own favorite menu items, including their house-infused vodka and fireball whiskey. I live nowhere near this place, but still manage to make it out from time to time because I've always had a good experience here.
(4)Tamara H.
Came here with a group of friends for dinner and drinks. The service was awesome. We were a group of 8. 4 of us showed up first and the rest of us straggled in. Each time a new person showed up the server was there right away to get a drink order. The food was not so great, at least for me. I ordered a burger with provolone and mushrooms with fries. The burger came with no mushrooms and what seemed to be a toasted stale bun. The burger itself was dry and unseasoned. The fries were terrible. I normally will munch on fries all day long but I couldn't stomach these ones. Limp, mushy and sad. My boyfriend loved his entree. A chicken club of some kind with tots. I must admit the tots were cooked perfectly and were very delicious. Everyone at the table seemed to love their food, so I'm hoping mine was just a miss. I will give this place another try and hope the food is better next time.
(2)Paul D.
One of the best bars in town, hands down. Great local pub with a great selection of beers. You probably won't find better pub food either. The specials are consistently good and you can't beat ping pong, shuffleboard and darts in the back. My fave place to watch timbers and blazers games, too.
(5)Ryan E.
My kind of place. Dark, divey (in the best of ways), friendly and beer-loving bartenders, and the food is awesome. If you like cards, darts, or pool, the brightly lit back half is perfect for you. If you want to drown a few, eat some grub, and casually watch a game in between squinted reading of Willamette Week, then sidle up to the bar and enjoy a night for under 20 bucks!
(4)Karrari C.
I have now been here for dinner and brunch and Everything we've tried had been delicious. Pizza wings fish tacos and the SPH hash was delightful. Service is always happy to be here.
(5)Ziva S.
This review is about the drinks only. They do infused alcohol, anything you can imagine, from ginger whiskey to cucumber gin. I got the "Fruit Tart" which was absolutely delicious, try it with the raspberry infused vodka, yum! My boyfriend got the "New Deal" which he enjoyed as well. Ambiance was nice, typical funky SE place. Looks a little sketchy from the outside but then once you are upstairs in the bar area, you realize why it's popular. There were a lot of stairs, fine for us but worth mentioning if you're going with someone who has trouble with stairs or is in a wheelchair. Happy hour is $1 off the whole menu, pretty reasonable. Don't know how the food is because we were going to a friend's place for dinner afterwards and didn't order anything but it sure looked good! We'll be back next time we're in the area.
(4)Anastasia K.
Love this place. The bartenders are great! Darts, pool, games, trivia nights! Friday night fish tacos are the best you'll ever have. $1 off your beer back with a hard A drink. Their specialty salads are amazing. Deserts by Hannah are to die for. I've never had anything on the menu that wasn't absolutely amazing.
(5)Tabitha R.
Sellwood's Public House is a very non-descript place in our neighborhood -- with yummy pizza. They're under new ownership so in a slight state of flux. There are good and bad things about this place ... the good: 1. pizza is pretty good - just be sure to note the sauce -- as many pizzas are made without sauce or with pesto ... etc. They have a few other italian items on the menu ... but it's limited mostly to pizza. 2. service rocks - waitresses are attentive but not overbearing and very friendly ... in a good way 3. beer rocks - many local brews available on tap - winner! 4. pool tables are always available - we haven't actually played but it's nice to know they're available if/when we do. 5. never crowded - the way I like it Under the new owners the hours seem to have evened out a little. They're closed on Monday's but seem to stick to their hours the rest of the time. It's a pretty non-descript place between Tacoma and Tenino on SW 13th ... in the door and up the stairs ... and there you are. Check it out man!!
(4)Katie R.
I really wanted to love SPH as it has so much potential to be a great local bar. They have Stumptown Stories (oral bits of local history) every second Monday of the month and I made this my reason to give SPH a try last night. Aside from the story portion of the evening, I was overall disappointed after this inaugural visit. It started out cool enough. We took a seat at an empty table (about half of the 12 or so tables were empty) and waited for someone to swing by and take our order. We watched two waiters/bartenders float around for 15 minutes without stopping by our table before we decided it must be a place-your-order-at-the-bar kinda place (a sign would be nice or a heads up from the staff). So, we went up to the bar. And waited for another five minutes. Keep in mind, this place wasn't jumping. There was no crowd. It was closer to empty than it was to full. Which leads me to say that it is so off-putting to see a pretentiously aloof person in a service position. And it's so rare to see this variety of ostentation in Sellwood that it felt infinitely more objectionable. Eventually we ordered the roasted veggie tacos, a side salad, and a ruben with tots. A beer for him and a vodka drink for myself and back to the table we went. The tap list was great (12 or so beers available, nice variety, maybe a bit too hop-centric). The mixed drink was tasty, but not as stiff as I expect from a good pub (and reliably get elsewhere in the area). The food arrived quickly (salad delivered simultaneously, which just ain't right) and was mediocre. If I return (likely as this could have simply been an off night), I will definitely order the pizza as it seemed to be the house specialty and looked delicious as I watched a few go by on their way to be eaten.
(3)John D.
Awesome pizza! Great Drinks! Great place to party. The Ginger Fizz and Bloody Mary and the Fi Mojitos are the Best. The Pizza we got was the Single Guy. It had roasted garlic and pepperoni with salmi and to finish it had pesto. It was Awesome. Just take a chance and Go.
(5)Alyssa C.
So the food is great, the location (3 blocks from my place) is great, the atmosphere is calm and non pretentious but the only thing keeping this from a 5 star rating is the service. Generally the bartenders are rude and seem like you're a bother to them, even when you tip well and are a regular! Seriously, this place could use a coach in good service or new people who at least don't act like you're the scum of the earth for asking for a refill.
(4)Evan C.
Sweet place. Great beer selection with awesome bar food. Good selection of games too (pool, shuffle board, darts and ping pong).
(5)'Katherine V.
A little better than your typical bar good. The pachos nachos are amazing: its French fries topped with black olives, cheese, sour cream and salsa. I ordered a burger and it came out bleeding. I called the waitress and she said it was supposed to be medium rare. ..this was not medium rare (I love medium rare)... the bun was soaked in red. It seemed that the waitress might be afraid of the chef. I took the burger home and cooked it the rest of the way. :-\ Interesting drink selection like bacon infused vodka.
(3)Ramie M.
Nice menu. Nice drink selection. Friendly service. Lots of seating and/or open area for darts/pool/ping pong. Unfortunately, the service was atrociously slow. I'm not saying it was bad when they were around, but even ordering a drink or food was slow. It was about 10-15 minutes before our drink order was taken, another 10-15 before we received them. It took a little after that to order food, and then it was ~20 before we received it (one of the orders was wrong, but no big deal). We weren't asked during the entire meal if we wanted more drinks or anything (we did). Now, I could maybe understand this if the place was extremely busy. But it wasn't. We were one of maybe four total tables. I really just don't get it (and yes, a couple times we ended up just getting up from our table and flagging down the bartender to order). I will return, don't get me wrong. There are some things on the menu I want to try. The french dip was very good. I just hope the next go-around that service is a bit better.
(3)Barbara W.
What a strange place! It's like 1/2 local bar, 1/2 brightly lit bingo hall/elementary school cafeteria. I stuck to the bar half, which offered a good selection of beers on tap. Be aware you will have to climb quite a flight of stairs to get in/out, so you may consider stopping here early in your evening rather than late in your bar-hopping.
(3)Jeff B.
Our first experience (brunch) was hit and miss but we gave it another shot and were pleasantly surprised. I am raising my rating to 3-star and it may even be worthy of a 4-star and I'll report back after we try their dinner entrees. Darts, ping pong, pool, and Foosball! Oh my! On our brunch visit I was not paying much attention to the second room which provides all sorts of indoor gaming. Lemonade My wife opted for lemonade and the waiter suggested the bartender muddle her one. OMG! It was fantastic. Pizza by the slice For me, this pizza may make my top 10 list of pizza joints in Portland. I was pleasantly surprised. I ordered the Canadian Bacon + Bacon and if you read my review of the Monte Cristo you will know I am a fan of their bacon. My wife had Canadian Bacon + Olives and thought it was decent. This was our third time eating pizza this weekend so keep that in mind. Nachos Just how I like 'em. Real cheese, no meat, and plenty of salsa and sour cream on the side. We were having a slice of pizza as well so we substituted chips for the fries/tots. I can't wait to try the fries or tots versions. Brunch: Huevos Rancheros - Barely mediocre. The tortilla was hard for 1" around the edges. Monte Cristo - Pretty decent. Notably good bacon, syrup, and the use of texas toast. Biscuits and Gravy special - Just okay but the hash-browns were nice and crispy.
(3)David M.
I went here for a Fort George tap takeover a year or so ago. Agree with some of the earlier reviews that it's a bit like the American Legion or something. Overall it's a bit divey for my usual taste, but the taplist is usually acceptable by my snobbish standards :)
(4)Mike G.
This place is GREAT! I must admit...it is a bit funky inside but thats what makes it what it is! The food is NOT BAR FOOD! it is wonderful and the service is just as good. Beer selection is very good too. Check this place out...don't be afraid of the stairs or lodge type feel!
(5)Don B.
The Sellwood Public House is a really weird place. Sitting upstairs and down a dark hallway, it's half bar, half American Legion hall (or at least reminiscent of one). The Bar side has live music sometimes and the "activity room" side (or whatever it's called) offers up darts, pool, ping-pong, guitar hero, Texas Hold'em tables and more. It's a veritable play-land for a drunken group on a pub crawl, I can say for sure. The space itself has likely seen better days. The bar side is dark and almost dive-y, and the other side is bright as a high-school gym (and with the hardwood floors, it might as well have been, but for the low ceilings). The bar itself is marginally appointed, with mostly large-brand spirits and some decent brew options. The food menu is 100-times better than the woeful offerings of its nearby dive bar cohorts (Black Cat, Sellwood Inn, and Penguin, I'm looking at you), and for a drunken late night group, that's a godsend. They also serve food late, which is awesome. The service? When we were in, it was incredible. We showed up with a large, drunken group of at least 12 people? More? I don't know, but the server was ON IT. She had us all on separate checks, dealt with food and drink order chaos, people moving around, etc. It was downright impressive. And she did it all with a smile. That right there is worth the 3 stars alone. Overall, it's a fun place to do some gaming, but I probably wouldn't spend a ton of time just kicking it here drinking.
(3)Hung W.
The Sellwood Public House is a fantastic place! I've been here several times, and the service has been consistent. The food is good & it stays open late. The staff (Hannah & Becka) are friendly & engaging. Tonight, I met one of the owners (Jason) & his fiancee (Lisa). They treated me like a long lost friend, told me stories & plied me with treats. The desserts are amazing (& made by Hannah). Weekend breakfast is served until 3 PM! P.S. stay out of "The Book"! ;-)
(5)Michael K.
Don't be put off by the entrance. Don't be put off by the staircase that needs painting. Once you get into Sellwood Public House and sit down, you're in for a treat. The Fish & Chips are the best in town. Seriously, I don't know who is cooking in the back, but they've got it down to an art. I had the tacos ($5 for two) and they were great. This is a friendly, low-key, neighborhood bar with great food. The beer list is ever changing and impressive. They have a huge game room next to the bar. Afternoons are quiet. Friday nights are busy.
(4)Eric R.
Good beer options and decent food. Great place to start an evening bar hopping in Sellwood, or just a fun place to stop in for a beer and dinner during the week.
(4)Sonya L.
Really like this place. They always put our game on, good food, good beer, good service.
(5)Tom C.
Not your average bar food- kitchen is solid. Fish and chips are killer - haven't had anything bad yet. Beer is cooooold!
(5)Valarie B.
Great old pub in an historic building. Nice neighborhood, kind of a mellower, less yuppified area of Portland. The food is adequate, basically pub grub, but if you are hungry, the portions are plenty. Simple food, a selection of cocktails and IPA's, darts, pool, and even shuffleboard guarantee a fun time with friends. Excellent jukebox, too!
(3)Ann D.
I stopped off here on a recent bike ride on the Springwater Corridor to grab a beer and a bite to eat. I cozied up to the bar and ordered a local red ale and the hummus plate They have a nice selection of beers on tap, and the menu ranges from fried things to salads and pizzas (which looked great, btw). The inside was comfortable and charming and filled with what seemed like a lot of regulars. I took a peek out back while I was waiting for my food and checked out the patio which was cute with lots of seating. Overall, I enjoyed this place and will definitely return when I find myself in the area again.
(4)Bob R.
This is a review by a vegetarian 2.5 star pizza upgraded because the fries on the next table looked really good. I like the big windowless back room. In a rainy Portland at night it lends a collegial bowling club kind of atmosphere
(3)Miranda W.
Amazing! the food is unbelievable.. I will admit it is a weird set-up with the typical dive bar/garage area set-up. But that adds that much more character. On one occasion I had a long wait for chicken wings. Other than that its been great amazing service! This place has a little bit of everything and good food and good staff!
(5)Ron J.
They had a triple IPA need I say more? Oh and if you like darts bring an extra pair of shorts!
(4)Angie K.
SPH is such a great place. Ping-pong, darts, poker, a cozy little bar and then a larger room in which my band performed last weekend. The service was great, the drinks were strong and my friends said the food was great as well. SPH just has this great, comfortable, real vibe that makes me want to return soon! Thanks for having us!
(5)Cesar N.
This is a great destination in the Sellwood area. Friendly owners and staff, a great rotating beer selection with a monthly tap takeover, delicious food (the fish tacos and the jalapeño poppers are personal favorites) and a huge gaming room with plenty of dart boards. They also make a mean pizza. They have many house infused liquors and the spicy bloody Mary with house pickled veggies is outstanding.
(5)Ian A.
Always a solid choice for carefully-prepared pub fare and good local beer. The pastrami on rye is my go-to here--salty, spicy piles of the eponymous meat, toasted bread, and Russian dressing (you can, of course, opt to add kraut and make it a full Rueben). The staff are always friendly and eager to recommend their own favorite menu items, including their house-infused vodka and fireball whiskey. I live nowhere near this place, but still manage to make it out from time to time because I've always had a good experience here.
(4)Dave H.
I've been meaning to update my review since the new owners took over, but somehow I've forgotten to until now. Strong drinks, good happy hour deals, friendly and attentive staff, and even though the vegetarian options are a little limited, they're all great. (I personally suggest the grilled cheese on sourdough with cheddar and american with fries. I've been told it's even better with bacon and tomatoes, if you're into the whole bacon thing.) They have a great selection of infused liquors they make themselves, and the have a rotating selection of local beers (and usually one cider) on tap. They still of course have lots of dart boards, the pool table, actual poker games nightly, and Weds night trivia. You should be aware that while Yelp says it's good for kids, but it's been 21+ since last fall. If the kids want some pizza, you'll have to get it to go. By far it's my favorite place in Sellwood.
(5)Melissa M.
I came here with nine other friends for drinks & food & games, and we were not disappointed! The staff were totally cool with our mixed group of singles and couples that probably came to seven separate tickets. I love that the entire food menu is available until last call, the ping pong, pool, darts, and air hockey are free, and it never got too loud to easily carry on a conversation. A great place to have fun with friends.
(5)Alek C.
Well i like the people and micro beers. But they burnt my pizza really bad(I think the cook might have been drinking, the cheese was black) Whatever. I had one beer and left.
(3)Jenn C.
Dear Lacey and Rachel and other SPH staff who treat us with love, hugs, and always charge us for our drinks like good employees should. We LOVE YOU! I apologize for the three star review I gave you earlier. I know better now (because you read the reviews and guilt your regulars). However, whenever we need to go have a good time, please know that we are coming to the best place we know, because you know our names, what we want to drink, and that the darts are for us and no one else. Hugs and kisses, jenn, liv, tracy, and gabe
(5)Amanda M.
I actually don't drink, but good food, and amazing service. Hopefully I can drop by again. :)
(4)Jessi S.
The tap list is great and rotates frequently. The trivia that is held on Wednesday evening is difficult and fun!
(3)Noland B.
Great beer selection, especially for this area, and pints were just $4. Their jalapeno poppers are a nice change from traditional fried fare, being a fresher option. HUGE gaming area that's nicely separated from drinking/dining area also a nice feature.
(4)Paige H.
Terrible service, our waiter got our order wrong at least three times, had to be reminded to bring drinks we ordered and down right disappeared when it came time for the bill. The chili- lackluster, should always be served with cheese and onions, mine wasn't. The famous game room- rented out to a private party on a saturday night, and unavailable to the rest of us. Bathrooms- in said game room so we had to walk awkwardly through the private party we weren't allowed to go to. Live music- too loud, a bad Ani DiFranco rip off. The pizza- the toppings were sad, I've had better frozen pizza We were desperate for food in the neighborhood, so sad!
(1)Andrea L.
We just found this place and we will go back again very soon. The service was quick and friendly, and the food is very reasonable and very tasty! I love the feel of the bar, you feel like you are walking into someones dining room and are immediately comfortable. Try anything that has bacon in it. This is a basic rule to life, but their bacon is amazing!
(4)Brian P.
Best pizza in this zip code, hands down. Wide selection of beer. Friendly helpful staff. Terrific specials and happy hour choices. GIANT game room!!!! This place could handle group meetings / 10 or 20 person parties, particularly during weekdays. They have on tap beer selections from Off The Rail Brewery, I think three of them.
(5)Avenge C.
The pros: Friendly service; free pool, darts, and recently added ping-pong; Really good food most days; live music on the weekends that are mostly local acts; pretty good beers that the staff seems to know a little about; not too busy The cons; SOmetimes understaffed when it gets busy, poker games in the back most week days break up the game room ambiance a little, upstairs
(5)Kevin D.
Great place in Sellwood. They have a wonderful rotating beer selection. The flavored vodkas are a nice way to mix it up. The food is good and the people there are super friendly and nice. A fun place to hang out with friends.
(5)Cody W.
The Bad: Having to walk up 20 stairs to get to it (winded). The possibility of falling down 20 stairs leaving (drunk). Bourbon that had the faint taste of peanut butter (taste bud confusion..but delicious). Overly drunk 40 year old + patrons fighting/joke fighting with each other (Dad?). The Good: 8 dart boards A ping pong table Poker tables Cheap drinks (Crown and coke was only $5) Live Music Friendly staff and gaming vibe I was really surprised by this bar, because I hadn't even heard of it before and ended up having a great time. Being a somewhat proficient dart player, I couldn't believe that they had 8 dart boards and good quality darts to play with. I went on a Saturday night and it wasn't very crowded, but not dead by any means. We played poker, ping pong, and darts all night while only spending around $30. I highly recommend this place to anyone looking for a fun night out.
(5)Mike R.
It was pretty good... The service was a bit off (my wife whispered to me "we have a bad waitress"), took a while to get menus, brought a wheat beer w/o lemon, then took two trips to bring one (in her hand, not on a napkin or anything). They have a game room, but kids can't go in there (they did suggest we bring ping pong paddles and ball out to play with). We had chicken wings and pizza. The wings looked bad (lots of breading and sauce), but were surprisingly good. Pizza was close to being really good...if it was cooked a little longer. But it was still good (although for $2 per topping I expect more than ten or so mushroom slices). Ordered the chicken strips and frys for our 3-year-old and they were good. Overall, I think we'll go back...
(3)Mike S.
DART BAR. (p.e.r.i.o.d.) This place rocks! 8, count 'em 8 dart boards! Two different lanes of four. A wide open room dedicated to the art of launching tiny steel projectiles 100's of times over the course of a night. The staff kicks ass, and caters to the dart crowd. They have a lot of good beers on tap. Their prices are reasonable, and the food is good -- for bar fare it's real good! They also have poker nights, and although they can be a raucous crowd when they get their cards, we all generally get along. As a dart bar goes you couldn't ask for more. Well lit, new - high quality boards, friendly folks, and good brew!
(5)Amanda Z.
I'll always think of Sellwood Public House fondly, however something has changed... Appetizers: Go to Oaks Bottom instead. Sandwiches: Small (we tried the Reuben and Philly Cheese Steak ). Service: Great, I really wish I liked the food more because our waitress was so friendly! Atmosphere: At times it feels like you're in a banquet room in a huge Chinese restaurant, but when the live band starts to play you get that warm tender feeling. Could have been the beers though... My recommendations: - Come during happy hour: I think it runs from 4-7 PM. $2.50 microbrews & well drinks (as well as appetizers...). That means I can have my chocolate stout for much cheaper than anywhere else, which is really the best reason to come here (it's the only reason I come here). My whiskey sour was watered down. OK, that's what I get for ordering a well drink during happy hour, right? Although the list of beers was quite extensive, about three times we got the "Ohhh you know what? We're out of that." - Order pizza. Maybe other things on the menu are good, but I think pizza is their thing.
(3)J R.
I liked this place. Was part of a party ~30 people. My one and only kvetch was that I once got the wrong drink, but I drank it and ordered the right thing after. I suppose it is worth mentioning that they ran out of a few things during the night, but substitutions were offered and happily taken. Good food and atmosphere. Great staff. Appears that their happy hour is something to take part in. Did not find the stairs to be too cumbersome.
(5)Jodi K.
Not bad. Loved my slice of cheese pizza. Nice beer selection. Chocolate draft that tasted like you could put a scoop of vanilla ice cream in it and call it a chocolate soda. Funky old time atmosphere. Nice people.
(3)Joshua M.
Pretty much a dive, which is fine I suppose, but my experience there was pretty lackluster. We had stopped in for lunch on a weekday. Fairly dead in there, just a band setting up. Well the children of one of the band's members were literally running around the establishment screaming and yelling at each other. Granted the children weren't employees, but it was totally obnoxious that it was allowed to go on. -2 stars for kids allowed to run around like a chapter from Lord of the Flies. We ordered a philly cheesesteak (always a dangerous proposition), based on the fact that the owner is from Philadelphia. Yep, not so good. I'd probably give it another chance if needed, but I'm not seeking it out.
(3)Heath K.
We threw an awesome party for the big Ducks game here and the owners and staff were very helpful and accommodating. The pizza and drinks were good. They took great care of me and the 20+ people I brought there.
(4)Buford C.
I had hopes for this joint when they came under new ownership. Those hopes have been dashed. I was willing to put up with the mildewy staircase to get there, the pizza seemed good at first, but the service was affable and reasonable when they are dead, but when there is even the smallest crowd, they become slow and inconsistent. The ownership seems more interested in Poker than food. It is a shame that no one can seem to make that space work. That space seems to have a curse. I hope they can find a solution.
(1)Jacob G.
I was part of a large group of photography nuts (about 20 of us) and we arrived here to see it not so busy, despite live music with no cover. It wasn't a hassle at all for the staff to have us drop in so unexpectedly. I got French dip and some beer, and the sandwich was pretty good! So I like that there was a free concert, good food, and plenty of room for us.
(4)Melissa L.
Again, another newly-discovered gem from the Sellwood pub-crawl. Once you ascend the stairs, this is a big, sprawling pub, complete with Guitar Hero, pool, ping-pong, darts, plus what looked like a fairly serious poker game in progress. It was the last stop of the night, and probably a good thing, because if it had been the first stop, I might have resisted moving on to the next stop. The waitress dealt with our large, unruly group with grace, seperating checks like it was no big, getting our orders right, and being prompt. The food was B+ pub grub, with a large selection. My chicken strips & fries were perfectly cooked, to the point where I had to ask her to please, for the love of my waistline, take away the remainder of the fries. As I was leaving, I noticed flyers for Wednesday-night live pub trivia here, as well, so I may return for trivia soon enough.
(4)Thor N.
Overall one of the best bars and restaurants in the Portland area in one of the coolest neighborhoods. Fantastic game room with free games 24-7 like darts, pool, pong, and more, and plenty of flat screens. Amazingly good food, awesome service, and great prices and happy hour specials. I mean it. SPH is the perfect place to eat, drink, chill, play or watch a game on any Oregon afternoon.
(5)Jennifer C.
I've lived in Sellwood for 4 years and have never been here before. It's on the 2nd floor above an antique store in an old building. The stairs and the entry is rough, but don't let it scare you off, it's fun up there. This place is a total unpretentious Portland bar = beardy guys, local beer, timbers gear, local photography for sale... I saw about 15 beers on tap and every one of the them were from either OR and WA. We tried 3 different beers and all were tasty. They have about 4 televisions for sports and were setting up for music when we arrived. The room is big and dark, total opposite of the even larger, bright room attached filled with pool tables, ping pong tables, dart boards and board games (hungry hungry hippo!). The staff were friendly and the service was good. They serve food, but we only went for drinks. I will definitely be back here. My kind of bar.
(4)Lisa E.
Why does the food here suck so bad??? It's a cool venue! I went back again with friends to play darts and pool and ping pong. We had a great time doing those things. Especially since the place was totally empty! It was a Saturday night at 7:30 and no one else was there. Which was nice because we didn't have to fight for the ping pong table. But seriously, how do they stay in business? People started to show up around 10:30. But it was in no way busy. I remembered the food being blah, so I ordered a salad. It was blah. The mozzarella sticks were ok. The tots were really good. My boyfriend got the burger and said it was so overdone it was bad. Lame! I'd go here only for drinks and the bar games.
(1)Ben R.
Great sports bar in a friends neighborhood in Sellwood. We came for darts and beer and were not let down.
(3)L O.
This place is a completely different animal than it used to be! I'm not sure whether to talk about the food, the bar, the service or the ambiance first, but all are enormously improved and give Sellwooders something to brag about. (I'm personally tired of SE not having much to help make it deserving of the phenomenal food/drink reputation Portland metro has and the Sellwood Public House of yore was the epitome of dive-bar SE, seconded well by the Black Cat down the street... ) The food appears to no longer be a second thought to the ale flowing from the taps, developing a personality of its own and, from my few-but-becoming-more-frequent orders, has the perfect depth for what could be an upscale/downscale tavern, something very local, yet with quality and maybe even unique food. Fortunately (or unfortunately) I had the meatloaf the first time I was there under the new ownership and am now confidant that I always have something far better than Stouffers and almost as inexpensive whenever I want that homey-comfort-food so damn difficult to find when out and about! (I've had the meatloaf, the pizza, the Philly cheesesteak and fries... all yummy beyond belief... They just added chowder and chili, so I want to try those... ) The service is also refreshing. Attentive and friendly staff almost scared my girlfriend the first two times we were in. We're simply not used to it... The fact that the restaurant is up a long flight of stairs is inescapable, but the Cheers-kind of feel when you get there is worth it. The ambiance is actually mixed and I both liked and was intrigued by it... The bar and main dining room are what you enter when you walk through the hall leading into the place, and the elevated location on the corner of 13th and Tenino gives the place a very organically-local, but still open and light feel. The bar is not that dark, staring-at-death kind of scene so common in SE. The flat-screens showing sports and news were perhaps a little distracting, but certainly weren't loud or intrusive on a private conversation. And the back room was this interesting (and huge!) space that was accomodating a large party the first time I was there and some kind of dart competition the second time I was there. The way to the bathrooms (extremely clean, by the way!) was through that back room and I wondered about the real purpose of the room each time I had to use the bathroom. The first time I was there was around standard dinner time and there seemed to be quite a number of families with kids and couples of various ages. The feeling was not quite "chucky cheese" but still happy and upbeat; and then the second time I was there it was about 9:00 and the feel was completely different, with a mixed bar crowd in the front room, but a different mix of people in the back room, some dart thing going on with very serious people playing darts and some younger people playing ping-pong and watching a very large-screen television. The place seems to be getting better each time I go and I've even seen a few people I know. I hope this can last...!
(5)Chezz C.
Low-stakes ($20 or so buy-in) real-money tournaments several nights a week, with cash games on the side. House does not charge a fee, but requires that you spend $10 on food and drink. Atmosphere charged with testosterone -- there is usually a big argument an occasionally a fight. Level of play pretty bad, including some serious drinkers. Blind level very steep. The players deal, with one director overseeing things and dealing final table. The problem with this place is the bad calls by the director. There is no established set of rules. He made one especially horrible call, declaring a hand dead after a player accidentally exposed it. Any rulebook will tell you this is not correct. But the director declared the hand dead -- with all the player's chips in at the final table! -- and even confirmed his decision with a phone call to the club owner. Anyone can make a mistake, but the owner should have overruled this one (he didn't respond to later email contact about this either). It's just not worth playing somewhere where you have to pay such a steep price for a mistake.
(1)Jason H.
This review is really only about my 10 minute experience at this place, we didn't order food, or drinks - but in those 10 minutes I quickly figured out that this is not some place I would want to ever go again. We walked in the front door and headed up stairs and was greeted by the very familiar smell of a public bathroom (the air freshener from a public bathroom to be exact). We thought perhaps this smell was just in the stairwell and went in anyway. The pub itself was dark and dingy, and nearly empty. For being a Saturday night at 8:00, this says a lot. We were waiting for a couple more people to show up, so we sat down and the bartender brought us a menu. This awful bathroom smell seemed to be getting stronger and stronger. The other two people in our party showed up and sat down, and looked over the menu. Nothing on the menu really looked all that great. Many of the items on the menu were crossed our with a black sharpie. While everyone was deciding on what to order, a couple of the people in our party decided that they had to leave. The bathroom smell was just too bad. We all decided that maybe this wasn't the best place for us to eat, and we got up and quickly left. Once outside in the fresh air, we could still smell and taste the bathroom smell from inside of the pub. Classy.
(1)Joshua M.
(3)J R.
(5)Dave H.
(5)Melissa M.
(5)Jacob G.
(4)Jodi K.
(3)Paige H.
(1)Andrea L.
(4)Brian P.
(5)Alek C.
(3)Jenn C.
(5)Amanda M.
(4)Jessi S.
(3)Elizabeth H.
I love SPH. I moved out of the neighborhood over a year ago and the handful of times I've been back they still remember the beer I always order! Is the service always perfect, no, sometimes they get busy and don't have enough staff or the bar staff is doing more waiting on tables. But it's a bar, it gets busy. The food is 100% reliable. My best friend loves the burger, and he is kind of a jerk about his burgers. best grilled cheese i've had in portland, with no close second to be found...butter, challah, and you can get cooked mushrooms AND cooked onions on it. So good! and they make nachos over tots or fries...just, why aren't all nachos over tots or fries? It almost became a running joke that every time i ordered a salad they would minorly screw up the order (bring me the wrong size, the wrong salad dressing). But they always happily fixed it, and quickly, and often didn't charge me. The salads aren't the most inspired thing they make, but, they are real and fresh and you can get them late at night! and if you ask for extra dressing, they just give it to you, no explanation needed (this doesn't seem like a big deal, but recently two other establishments gave me the side eye when i asked for extra dressing, i.e. not what i want from wait staff. no, i am not wrong, this salad IS underdressed i order it 3 times a week here, now give me some extra dressing and never ever question my tastebuds again!!!) And, the pool/table tennis/darts/shuffleboard are great. You can easily get a big group here and play games or not, and drink and eat, or not eat, or not drink, and it's totally casual. One of the best things about Sellwood. Last but so far from least...they always seem to have Ft. George Vortex IPA on draft. This beer, with the nacho-fied tots...forget it, there is no better indulgence than this combination. i love this bar!
(5)Paula W.
I was looking for a spot for brunch while visiting the area and found that SPH has brunch according to Yelp. I was just blocks away and it was a gorgeous morning so off I set. I was a bit surprised at the entrance and scary stairs to the second floor location. Mostly because there were some boxes stacked at the top of the stairs. It just didn't look inviting as I trudge up. But I quickly made my way through the 'tunnel' and into the place, grabbing a window seat. The brunch menu isn't huge but there were enough options that I settled on the SPH Monte Cristo. Challah French Toast stuffed with bacon, eggs, cheese, and Canadian bacon. Oh, and served with home fries. Yes, please! I started with SPH Bloody Mary. Mind you, I like spicy. So a drink made with pepper and bacon infused vodka, spicy bloody mix, and pickled veg sounded right up my alley. Yikes! It was spicy! Just a bit too spicy to be honest. Next time I'll have them add a bit of tomato juice to tame it a down. The food arrived and I was not disappointed. The sandwich was amazing! Beautifully cooked french toast, thick cut bacon....I was in heaven. And the home fries??? Perfection. I would definitely recommend trying their brunch menu. But if you're not a football fan, you might want to wait until after the Superbowl. This place had at least five screens with football on each one. I happen to love the sport so was in my element.
(4)Mike R.
(3)A E.
It's very rare that I update a review but I went back tonight and it was completely different. That same beared dude that was unpleasant was super friendly and attentive tonight. Perhaps he was having a bad night that first time. Perhaps he had a change of heart. Regardless of the reason, he was so nice tonight and I understand, having worked in that industry throughout my 20s, that shit can happen. So I forgive and forget. The food... I'll stay away from for now. The drinks... You can't really mess up beers on tap so that remains awesome.
(4)Katie R.
I really wanted to love SPH as it has so much potential to be a great local bar. They have Stumptown Stories (oral bits of local history) every second Monday of the month and I made this my reason to give SPH a try last night. Aside from the story portion of the evening, I was overall disappointed after this inaugural visit. It started out cool enough. We took a seat at an empty table (about half of the 12 or so tables were empty) and waited for someone to swing by and take our order. We watched two waiters/bartenders float around for 15 minutes without stopping by our table before we decided it must be a place-your-order-at-the-bar kinda place (a sign would be nice or a heads up from the staff). So, we went up to the bar. And waited for another five minutes. Keep in mind, this place wasn't jumping. There was no crowd. It was closer to empty than it was to full. Which leads me to say that it is so off-putting to see a pretentiously aloof person in a service position. And it's so rare to see this variety of ostentation in Sellwood that it felt infinitely more objectionable. Eventually we ordered the roasted veggie tacos, a side salad, and a ruben with tots. A beer for him and a vodka drink for myself and back to the table we went. The tap list was great (12 or so beers available, nice variety, maybe a bit too hop-centric). The mixed drink was tasty, but not as stiff as I expect from a good pub (and reliably get elsewhere in the area). The food arrived quickly (salad delivered simultaneously, which just ain't right) and was mediocre. If I return (likely as this could have simply been an off night), I will definitely order the pizza as it seemed to be the house specialty and looked delicious as I watched a few go by on their way to be eaten.
(3)John D.
Awesome pizza! Great Drinks! Great place to party. The Ginger Fizz and Bloody Mary and the Fi Mojitos are the Best. The Pizza we got was the Single Guy. It had roasted garlic and pepperoni with salmi and to finish it had pesto. It was Awesome. Just take a chance and Go.
(5)J L.
Updated review. Two words: FISH TACOS. And always great wait staff and games on tv and game room and variety of crowd and judgement free zone. One of sell woods finest.
(5)Jeff B.
Our first experience (brunch) was hit and miss but we gave it another shot and were pleasantly surprised. I am raising my rating to 3-star and it may even be worthy of a 4-star and I'll report back after we try their dinner entrees. Darts, ping pong, pool, and Foosball! Oh my! On our brunch visit I was not paying much attention to the second room which provides all sorts of indoor gaming. Lemonade My wife opted for lemonade and the waiter suggested the bartender muddle her one. OMG! It was fantastic. Pizza by the slice For me, this pizza may make my top 10 list of pizza joints in Portland. I was pleasantly surprised. I ordered the Canadian Bacon + Bacon and if you read my review of the Monte Cristo you will know I am a fan of their bacon. My wife had Canadian Bacon + Olives and thought it was decent. This was our third time eating pizza this weekend so keep that in mind. Nachos Just how I like 'em. Real cheese, no meat, and plenty of salsa and sour cream on the side. We were having a slice of pizza as well so we substituted chips for the fries/tots. I can't wait to try the fries or tots versions. Brunch: Huevos Rancheros - Barely mediocre. The tortilla was hard for 1" around the edges. Monte Cristo - Pretty decent. Notably good bacon, syrup, and the use of texas toast. Biscuits and Gravy special - Just okay but the hash-browns were nice and crispy.
(3)David M.
I went here for a Fort George tap takeover a year or so ago. Agree with some of the earlier reviews that it's a bit like the American Legion or something. Overall it's a bit divey for my usual taste, but the taplist is usually acceptable by my snobbish standards :)
(4)Mike G.
This place is GREAT! I must admit...it is a bit funky inside but thats what makes it what it is! The food is NOT BAR FOOD! it is wonderful and the service is just as good. Beer selection is very good too. Check this place out...don't be afraid of the stairs or lodge type feel!
(5)Anastasia K.
Love this place. The bartenders are great! Darts, pool, games, trivia nights! Friday night fish tacos are the best you'll ever have. $1 off your beer back with a hard A drink. Their specialty salads are amazing. Deserts by Hannah are to die for. I've never had anything on the menu that wasn't absolutely amazing.
(5)Eric R.
Good beer options and decent food. Great place to start an evening bar hopping in Sellwood, or just a fun place to stop in for a beer and dinner during the week.
(4)Kevin D.
(5)Mike S.
(5)Amanda Z.
(3)Ian A.
Always a solid choice for carefully-prepared pub fare and good local beer. The pastrami on rye is my go-to here--salty, spicy piles of the eponymous meat, toasted bread, and Russian dressing (you can, of course, opt to add kraut and make it a full Rueben). The staff are always friendly and eager to recommend their own favorite menu items, including their house-infused vodka and fireball whiskey. I live nowhere near this place, but still manage to make it out from time to time because I've always had a good experience here.
(4)Sonya L.
Really like this place. They always put our game on, good food, good beer, good service.
(5)Tom C.
Not your average bar food- kitchen is solid. Fish and chips are killer - haven't had anything bad yet. Beer is cooooold!
(5)Valarie B.
Great old pub in an historic building. Nice neighborhood, kind of a mellower, less yuppified area of Portland. The food is adequate, basically pub grub, but if you are hungry, the portions are plenty. Simple food, a selection of cocktails and IPA's, darts, pool, and even shuffleboard guarantee a fun time with friends. Excellent jukebox, too!
(3)Don B.
The Sellwood Public House is a really weird place. Sitting upstairs and down a dark hallway, it's half bar, half American Legion hall (or at least reminiscent of one). The Bar side has live music sometimes and the "activity room" side (or whatever it's called) offers up darts, pool, ping-pong, guitar hero, Texas Hold'em tables and more. It's a veritable play-land for a drunken group on a pub crawl, I can say for sure. The space itself has likely seen better days. The bar side is dark and almost dive-y, and the other side is bright as a high-school gym (and with the hardwood floors, it might as well have been, but for the low ceilings). The bar itself is marginally appointed, with mostly large-brand spirits and some decent brew options. The food menu is 100-times better than the woeful offerings of its nearby dive bar cohorts (Black Cat, Sellwood Inn, and Penguin, I'm looking at you), and for a drunken late night group, that's a godsend. They also serve food late, which is awesome. The service? When we were in, it was incredible. We showed up with a large, drunken group of at least 12 people? More? I don't know, but the server was ON IT. She had us all on separate checks, dealt with food and drink order chaos, people moving around, etc. It was downright impressive. And she did it all with a smile. That right there is worth the 3 stars alone. Overall, it's a fun place to do some gaming, but I probably wouldn't spend a ton of time just kicking it here drinking.
(3)Hung W.
The Sellwood Public House is a fantastic place! I've been here several times, and the service has been consistent. The food is good & it stays open late. The staff (Hannah & Becka) are friendly & engaging. Tonight, I met one of the owners (Jason) & his fiancee (Lisa). They treated me like a long lost friend, told me stories & plied me with treats. The desserts are amazing (& made by Hannah). Weekend breakfast is served until 3 PM! P.S. stay out of "The Book"! ;-)
(5)Marcia S.
So cold and wet today I decided that I needed some homemade comfort food! As I am at work I thought long and hard about how I as going to get me a warming cup of healthy soup and a grilled cheese sandwich ( not quite as healthy ) the way I would make it if I were sitting at home in front of the fireplace. Gave Sellwood Public House a call and decided to try their soup of the day and sandwich. I am thrilled to say that the Roasted Butternut Squash soup was hearty and had a wonderful hint of spice that made me stop thinking of dipping my sandwich into it cause I enjoyed it as it was. Now the Grilled Cheese??? Exactly how I would have made it INCLUDING just the right amount of raw onion ( requested ) and the fresh tomatoes were perfect. I have to say that whenever I want home cooked food, reasonable and just like I would make it they will be the one I call!
(5)Ann D.
I stopped off here on a recent bike ride on the Springwater Corridor to grab a beer and a bite to eat. I cozied up to the bar and ordered a local red ale and the hummus plate They have a nice selection of beers on tap, and the menu ranges from fried things to salads and pizzas (which looked great, btw). The inside was comfortable and charming and filled with what seemed like a lot of regulars. I took a peek out back while I was waiting for my food and checked out the patio which was cute with lots of seating. Overall, I enjoyed this place and will definitely return when I find myself in the area again.
(4)Bob R.
This is a review by a vegetarian 2.5 star pizza upgraded because the fries on the next table looked really good. I like the big windowless back room. In a rainy Portland at night it lends a collegial bowling club kind of atmosphere
(3)Ron J.
They had a triple IPA need I say more? Oh and if you like darts bring an extra pair of shorts!
(4)Miranda W.
Amazing! the food is unbelievable.. I will admit it is a weird set-up with the typical dive bar/garage area set-up. But that adds that much more character. On one occasion I had a long wait for chicken wings. Other than that its been great amazing service! This place has a little bit of everything and good food and good staff!
(5)Angie K.
SPH is such a great place. Ping-pong, darts, poker, a cozy little bar and then a larger room in which my band performed last weekend. The service was great, the drinks were strong and my friends said the food was great as well. SPH just has this great, comfortable, real vibe that makes me want to return soon! Thanks for having us!
(5)Cesar N.
This is a great destination in the Sellwood area. Friendly owners and staff, a great rotating beer selection with a monthly tap takeover, delicious food (the fish tacos and the jalapeño poppers are personal favorites) and a huge gaming room with plenty of dart boards. They also make a mean pizza. They have many house infused liquors and the spicy bloody Mary with house pickled veggies is outstanding.
(5)Michael K.
Don't be put off by the entrance. Don't be put off by the staircase that needs painting. Once you get into Sellwood Public House and sit down, you're in for a treat. The Fish & Chips are the best in town. Seriously, I don't know who is cooking in the back, but they've got it down to an art. I had the tacos ($5 for two) and they were great. This is a friendly, low-key, neighborhood bar with great food. The beer list is ever changing and impressive. They have a huge game room next to the bar. Afternoons are quiet. Friday nights are busy.
(4)Melissa L.
Again, another newly-discovered gem from the Sellwood pub-crawl. Once you ascend the stairs, this is a big, sprawling pub, complete with Guitar Hero, pool, ping-pong, darts, plus what looked like a fairly serious poker game in progress. It was the last stop of the night, and probably a good thing, because if it had been the first stop, I might have resisted moving on to the next stop. The waitress dealt with our large, unruly group with grace, seperating checks like it was no big, getting our orders right, and being prompt. The food was B+ pub grub, with a large selection. My chicken strips & fries were perfectly cooked, to the point where I had to ask her to please, for the love of my waistline, take away the remainder of the fries. As I was leaving, I noticed flyers for Wednesday-night live pub trivia here, as well, so I may return for trivia soon enough.
(4)Thor N.
Overall one of the best bars and restaurants in the Portland area in one of the coolest neighborhoods. Fantastic game room with free games 24-7 like darts, pool, pong, and more, and plenty of flat screens. Amazingly good food, awesome service, and great prices and happy hour specials. I mean it. SPH is the perfect place to eat, drink, chill, play or watch a game on any Oregon afternoon.
(5)Jennifer C.
I've lived in Sellwood for 4 years and have never been here before. It's on the 2nd floor above an antique store in an old building. The stairs and the entry is rough, but don't let it scare you off, it's fun up there. This place is a total unpretentious Portland bar = beardy guys, local beer, timbers gear, local photography for sale... I saw about 15 beers on tap and every one of the them were from either OR and WA. We tried 3 different beers and all were tasty. They have about 4 televisions for sports and were setting up for music when we arrived. The room is big and dark, total opposite of the even larger, bright room attached filled with pool tables, ping pong tables, dart boards and board games (hungry hungry hippo!). The staff were friendly and the service was good. They serve food, but we only went for drinks. I will definitely be back here. My kind of bar.
(4)Lisa E.
Why does the food here suck so bad??? It's a cool venue! I went back again with friends to play darts and pool and ping pong. We had a great time doing those things. Especially since the place was totally empty! It was a Saturday night at 7:30 and no one else was there. Which was nice because we didn't have to fight for the ping pong table. But seriously, how do they stay in business? People started to show up around 10:30. But it was in no way busy. I remembered the food being blah, so I ordered a salad. It was blah. The mozzarella sticks were ok. The tots were really good. My boyfriend got the burger and said it was so overdone it was bad. Lame! I'd go here only for drinks and the bar games.
(1)Ben R.
Great sports bar in a friends neighborhood in Sellwood. We came for darts and beer and were not let down.
(3)Alyssa C.
So the food is great, the location (3 blocks from my place) is great, the atmosphere is calm and non pretentious but the only thing keeping this from a 5 star rating is the service. Generally the bartenders are rude and seem like you're a bother to them, even when you tip well and are a regular! Seriously, this place could use a coach in good service or new people who at least don't act like you're the scum of the earth for asking for a refill.
(4)Evan C.
Sweet place. Great beer selection with awesome bar food. Good selection of games too (pool, shuffle board, darts and ping pong).
(5)'Katherine V.
A little better than your typical bar good. The pachos nachos are amazing: its French fries topped with black olives, cheese, sour cream and salsa. I ordered a burger and it came out bleeding. I called the waitress and she said it was supposed to be medium rare. ..this was not medium rare (I love medium rare)... the bun was soaked in red. It seemed that the waitress might be afraid of the chef. I took the burger home and cooked it the rest of the way. :-\ Interesting drink selection like bacon infused vodka.
(3)Paul D.
One of the best bars in town, hands down. Great local pub with a great selection of beers. You probably won't find better pub food either. The specials are consistently good and you can't beat ping pong, shuffleboard and darts in the back. My fave place to watch timbers and blazers games, too.
(5)Tamara H.
Came here with a group of friends for dinner and drinks. The service was awesome. We were a group of 8. 4 of us showed up first and the rest of us straggled in. Each time a new person showed up the server was there right away to get a drink order. The food was not so great, at least for me. I ordered a burger with provolone and mushrooms with fries. The burger came with no mushrooms and what seemed to be a toasted stale bun. The burger itself was dry and unseasoned. The fries were terrible. I normally will munch on fries all day long but I couldn't stomach these ones. Limp, mushy and sad. My boyfriend loved his entree. A chicken club of some kind with tots. I must admit the tots were cooked perfectly and were very delicious. Everyone at the table seemed to love their food, so I'm hoping mine was just a miss. I will give this place another try and hope the food is better next time.
(2)Ryan E.
My kind of place. Dark, divey (in the best of ways), friendly and beer-loving bartenders, and the food is awesome. If you like cards, darts, or pool, the brightly lit back half is perfect for you. If you want to drown a few, eat some grub, and casually watch a game in between squinted reading of Willamette Week, then sidle up to the bar and enjoy a night for under 20 bucks!
(4)Karrari C.
I have now been here for dinner and brunch and Everything we've tried had been delicious. Pizza wings fish tacos and the SPH hash was delightful. Service is always happy to be here.
(5)Ziva S.
This review is about the drinks only. They do infused alcohol, anything you can imagine, from ginger whiskey to cucumber gin. I got the "Fruit Tart" which was absolutely delicious, try it with the raspberry infused vodka, yum! My boyfriend got the "New Deal" which he enjoyed as well. Ambiance was nice, typical funky SE place. Looks a little sketchy from the outside but then once you are upstairs in the bar area, you realize why it's popular. There were a lot of stairs, fine for us but worth mentioning if you're going with someone who has trouble with stairs or is in a wheelchair. Happy hour is $1 off the whole menu, pretty reasonable. Don't know how the food is because we were going to a friend's place for dinner afterwards and didn't order anything but it sure looked good! We'll be back next time we're in the area.
(4)Ramie M.
Nice menu. Nice drink selection. Friendly service. Lots of seating and/or open area for darts/pool/ping pong. Unfortunately, the service was atrociously slow. I'm not saying it was bad when they were around, but even ordering a drink or food was slow. It was about 10-15 minutes before our drink order was taken, another 10-15 before we received them. It took a little after that to order food, and then it was ~20 before we received it (one of the orders was wrong, but no big deal). We weren't asked during the entire meal if we wanted more drinks or anything (we did). Now, I could maybe understand this if the place was extremely busy. But it wasn't. We were one of maybe four total tables. I really just don't get it (and yes, a couple times we ended up just getting up from our table and flagging down the bartender to order). I will return, don't get me wrong. There are some things on the menu I want to try. The french dip was very good. I just hope the next go-around that service is a bit better.
(3)Barbara W.
What a strange place! It's like 1/2 local bar, 1/2 brightly lit bingo hall/elementary school cafeteria. I stuck to the bar half, which offered a good selection of beers on tap. Be aware you will have to climb quite a flight of stairs to get in/out, so you may consider stopping here early in your evening rather than late in your bar-hopping.
(3)Dave H.
I've been meaning to update my review since the new owners took over, but somehow I've forgotten to until now. Strong drinks, good happy hour deals, friendly and attentive staff, and even though the vegetarian options are a little limited, they're all great. (I personally suggest the grilled cheese on sourdough with cheddar and american with fries. I've been told it's even better with bacon and tomatoes, if you're into the whole bacon thing.) They have a great selection of infused liquors they make themselves, and the have a rotating selection of local beers (and usually one cider) on tap. They still of course have lots of dart boards, the pool table, actual poker games nightly, and Weds night trivia. You should be aware that while Yelp says it's good for kids, but it's been 21+ since last fall. If the kids want some pizza, you'll have to get it to go. By far it's my favorite place in Sellwood.
(5)Melissa M.
I came here with nine other friends for drinks & food & games, and we were not disappointed! The staff were totally cool with our mixed group of singles and couples that probably came to seven separate tickets. I love that the entire food menu is available until last call, the ping pong, pool, darts, and air hockey are free, and it never got too loud to easily carry on a conversation. A great place to have fun with friends.
(5)Alek C.
Well i like the people and micro beers. But they burnt my pizza really bad(I think the cook might have been drinking, the cheese was black) Whatever. I had one beer and left.
(3)Jenn C.
Dear Lacey and Rachel and other SPH staff who treat us with love, hugs, and always charge us for our drinks like good employees should. We LOVE YOU! I apologize for the three star review I gave you earlier. I know better now (because you read the reviews and guilt your regulars). However, whenever we need to go have a good time, please know that we are coming to the best place we know, because you know our names, what we want to drink, and that the darts are for us and no one else. Hugs and kisses, jenn, liv, tracy, and gabe
(5)Amanda M.
I actually don't drink, but good food, and amazing service. Hopefully I can drop by again. :)
(4)Jessi S.
The tap list is great and rotates frequently. The trivia that is held on Wednesday evening is difficult and fun!
(3)Noland B.
Great beer selection, especially for this area, and pints were just $4. Their jalapeno poppers are a nice change from traditional fried fare, being a fresher option. HUGE gaming area that's nicely separated from drinking/dining area also a nice feature.
(4)Paige H.
Terrible service, our waiter got our order wrong at least three times, had to be reminded to bring drinks we ordered and down right disappeared when it came time for the bill. The chili- lackluster, should always be served with cheese and onions, mine wasn't. The famous game room- rented out to a private party on a saturday night, and unavailable to the rest of us. Bathrooms- in said game room so we had to walk awkwardly through the private party we weren't allowed to go to. Live music- too loud, a bad Ani DiFranco rip off. The pizza- the toppings were sad, I've had better frozen pizza We were desperate for food in the neighborhood, so sad!
(1)Andrea L.
We just found this place and we will go back again very soon. The service was quick and friendly, and the food is very reasonable and very tasty! I love the feel of the bar, you feel like you are walking into someones dining room and are immediately comfortable. Try anything that has bacon in it. This is a basic rule to life, but their bacon is amazing!
(4)Brian P.
Best pizza in this zip code, hands down. Wide selection of beer. Friendly helpful staff. Terrific specials and happy hour choices. GIANT game room!!!! This place could handle group meetings / 10 or 20 person parties, particularly during weekdays. They have on tap beer selections from Off The Rail Brewery, I think three of them.
(5)Avenge C.
The pros: Friendly service; free pool, darts, and recently added ping-pong; Really good food most days; live music on the weekends that are mostly local acts; pretty good beers that the staff seems to know a little about; not too busy The cons; SOmetimes understaffed when it gets busy, poker games in the back most week days break up the game room ambiance a little, upstairs
(5)Kevin D.
Great place in Sellwood. They have a wonderful rotating beer selection. The flavored vodkas are a nice way to mix it up. The food is good and the people there are super friendly and nice. A fun place to hang out with friends.
(5)Cody W.
The Bad: Having to walk up 20 stairs to get to it (winded). The possibility of falling down 20 stairs leaving (drunk). Bourbon that had the faint taste of peanut butter (taste bud confusion..but delicious). Overly drunk 40 year old + patrons fighting/joke fighting with each other (Dad?). The Good: 8 dart boards A ping pong table Poker tables Cheap drinks (Crown and coke was only $5) Live Music Friendly staff and gaming vibe I was really surprised by this bar, because I hadn't even heard of it before and ended up having a great time. Being a somewhat proficient dart player, I couldn't believe that they had 8 dart boards and good quality darts to play with. I went on a Saturday night and it wasn't very crowded, but not dead by any means. We played poker, ping pong, and darts all night while only spending around $30. I highly recommend this place to anyone looking for a fun night out.
(5)Mike R.
It was pretty good... The service was a bit off (my wife whispered to me "we have a bad waitress"), took a while to get menus, brought a wheat beer w/o lemon, then took two trips to bring one (in her hand, not on a napkin or anything). They have a game room, but kids can't go in there (they did suggest we bring ping pong paddles and ball out to play with). We had chicken wings and pizza. The wings looked bad (lots of breading and sauce), but were surprisingly good. Pizza was close to being really good...if it was cooked a little longer. But it was still good (although for $2 per topping I expect more than ten or so mushroom slices). Ordered the chicken strips and frys for our 3-year-old and they were good. Overall, I think we'll go back...
(3)Mike S.
DART BAR. (p.e.r.i.o.d.) This place rocks! 8, count 'em 8 dart boards! Two different lanes of four. A wide open room dedicated to the art of launching tiny steel projectiles 100's of times over the course of a night. The staff kicks ass, and caters to the dart crowd. They have a lot of good beers on tap. Their prices are reasonable, and the food is good -- for bar fare it's real good! They also have poker nights, and although they can be a raucous crowd when they get their cards, we all generally get along. As a dart bar goes you couldn't ask for more. Well lit, new - high quality boards, friendly folks, and good brew!
(5)Jacob G.
I was part of a large group of photography nuts (about 20 of us) and we arrived here to see it not so busy, despite live music with no cover. It wasn't a hassle at all for the staff to have us drop in so unexpectedly. I got French dip and some beer, and the sandwich was pretty good! So I like that there was a free concert, good food, and plenty of room for us.
(4)Amanda Z.
I'll always think of Sellwood Public House fondly, however something has changed... Appetizers: Go to Oaks Bottom instead. Sandwiches: Small (we tried the Reuben and Philly Cheese Steak ). Service: Great, I really wish I liked the food more because our waitress was so friendly! Atmosphere: At times it feels like you're in a banquet room in a huge Chinese restaurant, but when the live band starts to play you get that warm tender feeling. Could have been the beers though... My recommendations: - Come during happy hour: I think it runs from 4-7 PM. $2.50 microbrews & well drinks (as well as appetizers...). That means I can have my chocolate stout for much cheaper than anywhere else, which is really the best reason to come here (it's the only reason I come here). My whiskey sour was watered down. OK, that's what I get for ordering a well drink during happy hour, right? Although the list of beers was quite extensive, about three times we got the "Ohhh you know what? We're out of that." - Order pizza. Maybe other things on the menu are good, but I think pizza is their thing.
(3)J R.
I liked this place. Was part of a party ~30 people. My one and only kvetch was that I once got the wrong drink, but I drank it and ordered the right thing after. I suppose it is worth mentioning that they ran out of a few things during the night, but substitutions were offered and happily taken. Good food and atmosphere. Great staff. Appears that their happy hour is something to take part in. Did not find the stairs to be too cumbersome.
(5)Jodi K.
Not bad. Loved my slice of cheese pizza. Nice beer selection. Chocolate draft that tasted like you could put a scoop of vanilla ice cream in it and call it a chocolate soda. Funky old time atmosphere. Nice people.
(3)Joshua M.
Pretty much a dive, which is fine I suppose, but my experience there was pretty lackluster. We had stopped in for lunch on a weekday. Fairly dead in there, just a band setting up. Well the children of one of the band's members were literally running around the establishment screaming and yelling at each other. Granted the children weren't employees, but it was totally obnoxious that it was allowed to go on. -2 stars for kids allowed to run around like a chapter from Lord of the Flies. We ordered a philly cheesesteak (always a dangerous proposition), based on the fact that the owner is from Philadelphia. Yep, not so good. I'd probably give it another chance if needed, but I'm not seeking it out.
(3)Heath K.
We threw an awesome party for the big Ducks game here and the owners and staff were very helpful and accommodating. The pizza and drinks were good. They took great care of me and the 20+ people I brought there.
(4)Buford C.
I had hopes for this joint when they came under new ownership. Those hopes have been dashed. I was willing to put up with the mildewy staircase to get there, the pizza seemed good at first, but the service was affable and reasonable when they are dead, but when there is even the smallest crowd, they become slow and inconsistent. The ownership seems more interested in Poker than food. It is a shame that no one can seem to make that space work. That space seems to have a curse. I hope they can find a solution.
(1)Tabitha R.
Sellwood's Public House is a very non-descript place in our neighborhood -- with yummy pizza. They're under new ownership so in a slight state of flux. There are good and bad things about this place ... the good: 1. pizza is pretty good - just be sure to note the sauce -- as many pizzas are made without sauce or with pesto ... etc. They have a few other italian items on the menu ... but it's limited mostly to pizza. 2. service rocks - waitresses are attentive but not overbearing and very friendly ... in a good way 3. beer rocks - many local brews available on tap - winner! 4. pool tables are always available - we haven't actually played but it's nice to know they're available if/when we do. 5. never crowded - the way I like it Under the new owners the hours seem to have evened out a little. They're closed on Monday's but seem to stick to their hours the rest of the time. It's a pretty non-descript place between Tacoma and Tenino on SW 13th ... in the door and up the stairs ... and there you are. Check it out man!!
(4)Chezz C.
Low-stakes ($20 or so buy-in) real-money tournaments several nights a week, with cash games on the side. House does not charge a fee, but requires that you spend $10 on food and drink. Atmosphere charged with testosterone -- there is usually a big argument an occasionally a fight. Level of play pretty bad, including some serious drinkers. Blind level very steep. The players deal, with one director overseeing things and dealing final table. The problem with this place is the bad calls by the director. There is no established set of rules. He made one especially horrible call, declaring a hand dead after a player accidentally exposed it. Any rulebook will tell you this is not correct. But the director declared the hand dead -- with all the player's chips in at the final table! -- and even confirmed his decision with a phone call to the club owner. Anyone can make a mistake, but the owner should have overruled this one (he didn't respond to later email contact about this either). It's just not worth playing somewhere where you have to pay such a steep price for a mistake.
(1)Jason H.
This review is really only about my 10 minute experience at this place, we didn't order food, or drinks - but in those 10 minutes I quickly figured out that this is not some place I would want to ever go again. We walked in the front door and headed up stairs and was greeted by the very familiar smell of a public bathroom (the air freshener from a public bathroom to be exact). We thought perhaps this smell was just in the stairwell and went in anyway. The pub itself was dark and dingy, and nearly empty. For being a Saturday night at 8:00, this says a lot. We were waiting for a couple more people to show up, so we sat down and the bartender brought us a menu. This awful bathroom smell seemed to be getting stronger and stronger. The other two people in our party showed up and sat down, and looked over the menu. Nothing on the menu really looked all that great. Many of the items on the menu were crossed our with a black sharpie. While everyone was deciding on what to order, a couple of the people in our party decided that they had to leave. The bathroom smell was just too bad. We all decided that maybe this wasn't the best place for us to eat, and we got up and quickly left. Once outside in the fresh air, we could still smell and taste the bathroom smell from inside of the pub. Classy.
(1)L O.
This place is a completely different animal than it used to be! I'm not sure whether to talk about the food, the bar, the service or the ambiance first, but all are enormously improved and give Sellwooders something to brag about. (I'm personally tired of SE not having much to help make it deserving of the phenomenal food/drink reputation Portland metro has and the Sellwood Public House of yore was the epitome of dive-bar SE, seconded well by the Black Cat down the street... ) The food appears to no longer be a second thought to the ale flowing from the taps, developing a personality of its own and, from my few-but-becoming-more-frequent orders, has the perfect depth for what could be an upscale/downscale tavern, something very local, yet with quality and maybe even unique food. Fortunately (or unfortunately) I had the meatloaf the first time I was there under the new ownership and am now confidant that I always have something far better than Stouffers and almost as inexpensive whenever I want that homey-comfort-food so damn difficult to find when out and about! (I've had the meatloaf, the pizza, the Philly cheesesteak and fries... all yummy beyond belief... They just added chowder and chili, so I want to try those... ) The service is also refreshing. Attentive and friendly staff almost scared my girlfriend the first two times we were in. We're simply not used to it... The fact that the restaurant is up a long flight of stairs is inescapable, but the Cheers-kind of feel when you get there is worth it. The ambiance is actually mixed and I both liked and was intrigued by it... The bar and main dining room are what you enter when you walk through the hall leading into the place, and the elevated location on the corner of 13th and Tenino gives the place a very organically-local, but still open and light feel. The bar is not that dark, staring-at-death kind of scene so common in SE. The flat-screens showing sports and news were perhaps a little distracting, but certainly weren't loud or intrusive on a private conversation. And the back room was this interesting (and huge!) space that was accomodating a large party the first time I was there and some kind of dart competition the second time I was there. The way to the bathrooms (extremely clean, by the way!) was through that back room and I wondered about the real purpose of the room each time I had to use the bathroom. The first time I was there was around standard dinner time and there seemed to be quite a number of families with kids and couples of various ages. The feeling was not quite "chucky cheese" but still happy and upbeat; and then the second time I was there it was about 9:00 and the feel was completely different, with a mixed bar crowd in the front room, but a different mix of people in the back room, some dart thing going on with very serious people playing darts and some younger people playing ping-pong and watching a very large-screen television. The place seems to be getting better each time I go and I've even seen a few people I know. I hope this can last...!
(5)