#1830 - Trader Vic's, Portland, OR - 8/5/2011

Update: The Portland Trader Vics closed in March 2016.

You will excuse, I hope, a little bitter envy from up north. Seattle may retain a little tiki vibe in HulaHula (and let us politely ignore the ghastly sham called  "Tiki Bob's"). But with the return of Trader Vic's in 2011, Portland has the trifecta: the fine, vintage tiki dive (The Alibi), the modern, classy tiki (Thatch/Hale Pele), and the old classic.

Trader Vic's, of course, started it all. Not just the tiki bar, but the tiki movement, resurgent now after a couple decades of decline.  Starting as "Hinky Dink's, across from his parents' Oakland grocery store, Victor Bergeron spread his vision of exotic, idealized Polynesian escape across the country and eventually the world. Of course many others contributed (and some contend Vic's claim on the invention of the Mai Tai), but Don the Beachcomber et. al. were never as expansive and iconic.

 In Seattle we had the very first franchised Trader Vic's (long called "The Outrigger"), from 1948 to 1991, in the Benjamin Franklin / Westin Hotel, then recently had a brief, abortive attempt across Lake Washington in Bellevue. The large thatch lamps from the old Seattle place hung for years in the Crocodile Cafe, before disappearing altogether with the recent change in ownership. I never made it to the old Portland TV's (in the Benson Hotel from 1959 to 1996). But the new one feels just as right and enduring as the Bellevue one felt out of place and fragile. It is large (250 seats) but feels intimate, it looks terrific, and has drinks good enough to make you almost forget all the horrific attempts at tiki drinks you get almost anyplace else.

1203 NW Glisan St (at NW 12th Ave), Portland, OR 97209 - (503) 467-2277
Est. July 28, 2011

Web site: tradervicspdx.com - facebook
Ranked Reviews: oregonlive - portlandmonthlymag - critiki - flickr - eater - tikicentral - portlandmonthlymag - oregonlive - rumconnection - barfly - urbanspoon

#1829 - Jantzen Beach Bar & Grill, Portland, OR - 8/4/2011

A fairly typical hotel lounge in a Red Lion, but with a very nice view of the Columbia River.

909 N Hayden Island Dr, Portland, OR - (503) 283-4466


Web site: redlionontheriver.com - facebook
Reviews: link - urbanspoon - yelp

#1828 - Bullseye Bar, Lakewood - 8/3/2012

The Lakewood, WA instance of the fairly large bars in the 28-restaurant Black Angus Steakhouse chain.

9905 Bridgeport Way SW, Lakewood, WA 98499 - (253) 582-6900
Web site: blackangus.com

#1827 #S1048 - China Gourmet, Seattle - 7/29/2012

Update: China Gourmet closed in Nov 2014

Counting this restaurant in north Seattle as a bar is somewhat dubious, but they do have a physical bar where they serve wine and beer. (If it does count as a bar, it is the northernmost bar in the Seattle city limits.) They also serve reasonably good Chinese (Taiwanese to Northern Chinese) food for very reasonable prices. And their Superpages entry reads charmingly "We have been here for three years to service the wonderfully neighborhoods of north Seattle ..."

14411 Greenwood Ave N, Seattle, WA - (206) 363-3866
Est. 2009 - Closed Nov 2014 - Building constructed: 1928
Previous bars in this location: Ha Roo Japanese Restaurant and Bar
Web site: chinagourmetwa.com
Reviews: yelp - tripadvisor

#1826 #S1047 - Gaspare, Seattle - 7/26/2012

Gaspare and Dianne Trani decided to retire for the full-time restaurant business just three months after this visit to their charming Italian place in a Greenwood bungalow. They operated here for eight years, previously running Gaspare's Ristorante Italiano in Maple Leaf for fourteen, and then Il Gambero in Belltown from 1999 to 2003. They now offer catering services.

Langostino from Gaspare, Seattle

6705 Greenwood Avenue North Seattle, WA 98103 - (206) 297-3600
Est. 2004 - Closed Oct 27, 2012 - Building constructed: 1924
Previous bars in this location: None known
Web site: gasparesrestaurant.com
Reviews: seattletimes - phinneywood - urbanspoon - thestranger - yelp

#1825 #S1046 - Eddie's Pan Asian - 7/18/2012

It's not often that an interesting chef moves his restaurant from Mercer Island to Aurora Avenue, but north Seattle now benefits from this hidden gem and its variations on Thai, Vietnamese, Japanese, etc. plates. "Chef Eddie" (Sirichai Khoabtrakool) established well liked Thai Pepper and then Thai on Mercer beginning in 1989, and moved to a corner space just west of the north end of Greenlake in 2010. The bar is tiny and limited, and not the sort of place one would hang out in just for drinks, but the food and service are more than good enough to bring you back repeatedly. Familiar dishes are more inventive and high quality than most Thai restaurants, and the service from Eddie himself, his wife and staff is very pleasant. He surprised us with a gift of a signature desert.  We will definitely be coming back.

7821 Aurora Avenue North Seattle, WA 98103 - (206) 706-4569
Est. 2010 - 1989 in Mercer Island location - Building constructed: 1923
Previous bars in this location: None known
Web site: eddies1989panasianrestaurant.com - facebook
Reviews: hungrybloggers - voiceplaces - seattletimes - urbanspoon - yelp - tripadvisor

#1824 - The Melting Pot, Bellevue, WA - 7/17/2012

In general, the Melting Pot chain of pricey fondue entrees is best suited for high school prom dates and group outings where a different experience is more desirable than particularly fine food. And if you are familiar with the Bellevue location, it's hard not to laugh at some of the web site's description ("Situated in the hub of Bellevue's energy and social scene ..."). Nevertheless, you can get a decent cocktail at the small bar there and you can find some pretty tasty appetizers, like their pesto goat cheese plate.

302 108th Avenue Northeast Bellevue, WA 98004 - (425) 646-2744

Web site: meltingpot.com - facebook
Reviews: zagat - yelp - urbanspoon