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    Bar Maven

    4.1 (220 reviews)
    InexpensiveBars
    Closed • 4:00 pm - 2:30 am (Next day)
    Updated over 3 months ago

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    BAR MAVEN ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Casual
    Classy
    Moderate noise
    Juke Box

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    Recommended Reviews - Bar Maven

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    One of my favorite dive bars post pandemi. I've never felt as much queerness, social camrader or gay pride in a "straight" presenting establishment as I have at this bar. Aside from the fact that people are waiting literal HOURS I get food here, I have never seen a PDX bar with such a strong fanbase. Considering that this establishment has been flourishing since 2013, I know that any "bad"experience here has been purely circumstantial. Idk how many times I've witnessed a customer being upset that their 110lb bartender didn't kick a man out for being extra when it was 10mins to close. 10/10 giving Bar Maven a visit.

    Happy hour fried chicken with jalapeño sando
    C... D.

    We go for Happy Hour - well priced drinks and enjoy the food ( except for the smash burgers - it's been 10 years sorry , no)... love the Brussels sprouts, the beef skewers , and tonight's fried chicken sando was delicious!!!! Also low key vibe and a juke box ... the outdoor pool table is a definite plus!!!

    Cauliflower
    Hannah W.

    Love coming here. Friendly staff and consistently solid food - my go-to neighbor bar. Some complain about the volume of the music, but I enjoy it! Decent selection of games and plenty of seating in the heated outdoor area.

    Mary N.

    This place is awesome! Bar food was good. Great happy hour and drinks were delicious. It's a super chill and mellow bar. Good vibes and good atmosphere. I would return and try some of the other drinks and food. My party order the original gyro wrap, the cheeseburger, the maven burger, the brussels, and wings. Everything was delicious. We had fries with the burger and that was very good too! Can't wait to come back!

    Smash Burger + fries & Beef Skewers from happy hour (Sun/Mon ALL day/Tues-Sat 4-7 & 10-1:30)
    Mika L.

    Top 3 for my bf & I. Great happy hour. Good beer & great food. Service is efficient and our bartender is always so friendly. Will always come back. 10/10 recommend!

    Sandwich week sandwich and onion rings
    Sarah C.

    Bar Maven is a neighborhood bar in Foster Powell. They're a little dive-y, with a lot of beer options, cocktails, and in-house made food. They participate in a lot of the "weeks" that Portland does, like sandwich week, nacho week, etc. It's a cool spot. I visited for the first time recently during sandwich week. I appreciate that they offered a vegetarian option. Bartenders were friendly but not over-the-top, food was pretty good, the cocktail was good if a little sweet. The table we sat at inside was a little grungy, but this place offers two outdoor patios which is a huge bonus. While we were there it was a lovely day so the garage doors and windows were wide open for a nice breeze. Just a low-key, chill spot with decent food.

    Chopped Chicken Salad
    Sarah R.

    My FAVORITE spot! Hands down the best place for a drink and SMASH BURGER! Personally Bernard is my favorite bartender! He's the most approachable easy going bartender that works there always makes me feel welcomed and GREAT VIBES. It's Always busy in there when he's working!! You HAVE to try the smash burgers!!

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    Nope. Every time I've been here the employees are rude. Food is sub par and the bathrooms are gross.

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    3 years ago

    I made the mistake of trying to get a to-go order during happy hour. It's a great place to go hang out if you are not in a hurry. My bad.

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    Loved this Dive bar, food and drinks were great. Our lady bartender did a great job making our margaritas. We will be back

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    Page 1 of 6

    Ask the Community - Bar Maven

    Review Highlights - Bar Maven

    “My go to food items are gyro nachos or chicken wings, but I've never been disappointed by anything I order.”

    Mentioned in 15 reviews

    Read more highlights

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    This was some of the best food I've had in a while! I was a little iffy about coming here for lunch…read moresince I had been here once for dinner and it wasn't my favorite experience, but I'm so glad I gave it another try. The lunch portions were incredibly generous, especially the grilled cheese and fries, which were actually a kids meal! The buffalo chicken Caesar wrap was a little lacking in Caesar flavor, but where it lacked in Caesar, it definitely made up for it with the buffalo flavor, and it was still incredible. 10/10 across the board! The customer service was also amazing, and the staff were genuinely such a pleasure to interact with. And the little doodle on the bag was just the cutest added bonus! Definitely left much happier with this visit than my first one!

    Came here recently with a friend and left thoroughly impressed. We started with the oregano fried…read morebread appetizer, served with a crème fraîche basil sauce and a roasted tomato dipping sauce -- it was absolutely delicious and set the tone for the rest of the meal. For mains, my friend ordered the elk burger, and as a self-proclaimed elk burger connoisseur, her approval means something -- she thoroughly enjoyed it. I went with the pulled pork sandwich, which was good and flavorful, and paired really well with their pepper & cabbage coleslaw on the side. We also split a cup of the roasted red pepper and tomato bisque, which was honestly a highlight of the whole meal -- rich, well-balanced, and worth ordering on its own. Drinks deserve a shoutout too: their non-alcoholic options were great. My friend raved about the guava lemonade, and I had the blueberry vinegar shrub, which was excellent -- bright, crisp, and refreshing.

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    Cozy classy and caring should be their slogan As a young…read morepunk in the neighborhood I was worried I might feel out of place in a classy place like this but the bartenders are so kind a friendly and they had Creature of the Black Lagoon playing in the background- can't go wrong there. Good music playing from the turntable, All my questions answered wo any judgment- unfortunately hard to find that in the city, drinks prices were only barely slightly above the average rate but crafted with care Love this place love these folks pls give them your money

    The first thing to say is that happy hour is from 4 to 6 PM and absolutely worth making time for…read more Walking into the space, the vibe is beautiful. Fantastic wallpaper that has the feeling of William Morris gone wild or jungle. Black and white film noir with Gene Kelly and other is playing on the screen and there is a black-and-white ink drawing of a recognizable actor in the corner complete with candles lit in vigil. We all had cocktails, mine was a chilled bar martini dirty with extra olives. And they really understood the assignment with the olives. Between us we had a dozen and a half Shigoku oysters from Washington state. And fresh grated horseradish was a bonus alongside the mignonette. The table favorite after the oysters were the deviled eggs. You have to try the truffle popcorn with the fluffy freshly grated Parmesan. That will disappear quickly. The service was attentive throughout our two hour visit. Matthew checked in regularly without being overly solicitous. Looking forward to returning again. Wonderful outdoor eating area that we didn't take advantage of this time but absolutely plan to.

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