Stag Gets Buck Wild

At Stag, my ripped, shirtless bartender offered me a free “Barbie shot.”

(Courtesy of Stag's Facebook)
By Jack Rushall

317 NW Broadway, 971-407-3132, stagpdx.com. 7 pm-2 am Monday, 3 pm-2 am Tuesday-Saturday, 11 am-2 am Sunday. Happy hour 3-7 pm Wednesday-Sunday.

Established: May 1, 2015

Two of the only gay strip clubs in the country on the west coast (thanks, Hotlanta!) that offer full nudity are in Portland—Stag and Silverado—and the rate of cross-employment between the two reads like the twin Uber and Lyft stickers on a Prius. At Stag, my ripped, shirtless bartender offered me a free “Barbie shot” if I quoted him as saying, “It never rains in Stag.” So there you are. But whatever the weather, Stag offers much more atmosphere than the grittier strip club down the way. With its deer taxidermy, Christopher David-designed upholstery and wall of bottles, Stag is a gentleman’s gentleman’s club—Multnomah Whiskey Library with male nudity. Stag also offers a host of weekly traditions aside from men who show you their penises every night after 9 pm: Throwback Thursdays bring together drag and hits from the 1980s to the aughts, while TESTIFY! Brunch is a Sunday melding of drag and breakfast. If you’re not into strippers, Stag also includes a yuppie bar in back called Stag Annex, which kicks out karaoke on Monday nights. Robyn, anyone?

Bar story: When Tiger Bar closed in Stag's current location after 15 years, a fast succession of spots opened there within months—first a bizarre game room called Whiskey Dolls that played entire Nickelback albums on the P.A., and then a drag-oriented bar called Royale that quickly shuttered amid accusations performers weren't getting paid. The drag Sunday brunch at Stag is a holdover from Royale.

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