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Underground Portland: Bars, Speakeasies, and More
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items Sure, there are plenty of places to “get high” in Portland: the top of a butte, the OHSU tram, Big Pink. But there are also places to go “down low” - and by that we mean underground bars, tunnels, and even a submarine.
Map
Sections
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Underground Bars and Speakeasies
Pools, Tunnels, and Cultural Spaces
Underground Bars and Speakeasies
These bars and speakeasies are below ground level, offering a dark and atmospheric space to relax in.
Originally called “Basement Bar,” this bar downstairs at the Hoxton Hotel in Old Town Chinatown offers inventive cocktails and snacks.
2NW5
Located underneath The Hazel Room on SE Hawthorne, this cozy basement bar offers cocktails, small bites, and private booths.
Bar Mame
This subterranean wine bar on NE Alberta Street is formerly known as Les Caves. Sure, wine is still very much a part of the world at Bar Nina, but also you'll also find beer and some tasty nibbles.
Bar Nina
Part of Chinatown’s bar scene, this gallery and speakeasy space is accessed by a set of stairs leading down from the patio, where you can “sip, savor, and groove.” Enjoy cocktails, music, live DJs and food by Hapa Barkada.
Below by Botanist
This dive bar is below street level and offers, along with its 12 taps, pretty substantial food choices, like a full turkey dinner on Tuesdays.
Gil's Speakeasy Tavern
Find the blue light on NW 23rd Ave, head down a short flight of stairs, and you’ll find yourself at Grandma’s Secret, a lively subterranean bar. There, you can relax, have some pho, and other Vietnamese bar snacks from nearby Lela’s Bistro.
Grandma's Secret
Head downstairs to the divey side of things at Life of Riley. There, you can play shuffleboard, pool, darts, and enjoy a drink or two, while you’re at it.
Life Of Riley Tavern
Located below street level and Zeus’s Cafe, you can have a drink, and enjoy some live music and comedy in a place named after Al Winter, “Portland's 1940's gambling overlord.”
McMenamins Al's Den
Self-proclaimed as “Old Portland's Best Underground Bar,” this dive bar is named after the historic Shanghai Tunnels in Old Town Chinatown. Enjoy inexpensive drinks, Asian and classic bar food, and a game or two of pool.
Shanghai Tunnel Bar
This subterranean, pan-Caribbean bar is below the celebrated James Beard Award-winning restaurant Kann from celebrated chef Gregory Gourdet. Enter on street level and head down the stairs to a dark, cool space where you can enjoy cocktails (including...
sousòl
Below the Loyal Legion Beer Hall is Voysey, offering creative cocktails in their 50-person bar. It is named after English architect Charles Francis Annesley Voysey, who inspired the building’s designers.
Voysey
Pools, Tunnels, and Cultural Spaces
From a swanky underground spa to the deepest station in Trimet's MAX system, here are places to check out and up your Portland cred.
Wellness reigns at Cascada, a relatively new spot on NE Alberta Street. There, underground, you’ll find mineral pools and a sauna, as well as steam, ice, and salt therapies.
CASCADA Thermal Springs + Hotel
Limited to hotel guests, this soaking pool is set below street level and is the perfect place to relax after a long day, before a show, or really any time!
McMenamins Crystal Hotel Soaking Pool
The lower, below-ground levels include the Bernard Osher Foundation Auditorium, where lectures, films, and other events take place. Nearby is an art study room, a workshop, exhibits from time to time, and bathrooms.
Portland Art Museum
AKA Old Portland Underground, this is a group of passages below Chinatown that connects the basements of some hotels and taverns to the Willamette River. You can take tours of these tunnels; some are rumored to be haunted.
Shanghai Tunnels
The USS Blueback submarine is docked in the Willamette River adjacent to OMSI. It is the Navy’s last active duty diesel-electric submarine, and you can take a 45-minute tour of it.
USS Blueback Submarine - OMSI
This is the deepest spot in the entire MAX (Metropolitan Area Express) train system in Portland - and, it is the system’s only underground station. There, you can easily access the amenities at Washington Park, including the Oregon Zoo, Hoyt Arboretu...
Washington Park MAX Station