Restaurant Guide 2013: Belly Bars

3131 SE Division St., 232-0102, whiskeysodalounge.com.

Here's how you make money off a wildly popular but affordable restaurant without upping prices: Don't take reservations and open a bar across the street. Pok Pok's Andy Ricker figured this out early, and has profited handsomely. It's a pleasant room with nice drinking vinegar-based cocktails, Ike's Wings and a huge menu of small plates.

Kask

1215 SW Alder St., 241-7163, grunerpdx.com.

West End Alpine restaurant Grüner is best saved for high-rolling Kaisers who had a good day at the track. Who else would pay $8 for a pint of Alaskan Summer Ale or $26 for two deep-fried, underseasoned hunks of duck? Kask, Grüner's self-consciously downmarket alley bar, has bargains like a $4 Coors Heavy and $6 smashed potatoes.

Beer

1410 SE Stark St., 233-2337, facebook.com/BeerPortland.

Meat Cheese Bread owner John Stewart opened this little beer bar in the same plaza as his beloved sandwich shop late last year, and used the same naming convention. The selection is well-curated and the room is warm and woody. 

Expatriate

5424 NE 30th Ave., 867-5309, expatriatepdx.com

You won't need Lonely Planet to find Beast chef Naomi Pomeroy's new lounge, Expatriate. Just look for the assorted national flags—Cuba, South Vietnam, Micronesia. Inside, snacks inspired by Pomeroy's time in India and Southeast Asia include a salad of crunchy green papaya, fried shallot and fermented Burmese tea leaves ($12). Cocktails (all $10) are boozy, citric and often fruity.

Barwares

4605 NE Fremont St., 971-229-0995, smallwarespdx.com.

Barwares is Smallwares—just with a smaller menu and later hours. Originally, chef Johanna Ware wanted to keep her restaurant and bar in sleepy Beaumont Village open until last call. She's since compromised a bit, slimming down the bar's menu in later hours. This stylish cave is still a fabulous place to eat and drink late into the night.

Delibar

3901 N Williams Ave., 287-0782, kennyandzukes.com/delibar.

Kenny & Zuke's Deli Bar is the only deli bar. What's a deli bar, exactly? A brightly lit cake-display fridge, a back bar of spirits and wines, candles on the table, boxes of bagels behind the counter and a Cel-Ray Collins drink made with gin, lemon juice and the eponymous East Coast soda.

Whey Bar

2225 NE MLK Jr. Blvd., 284-3366, oxpdx.com.

Everything at Ox is mammoth except the next-door garage-cum-cocktail lounge, where drinks and snacks are more delicately sized. Try a rye-and-Fernet concoction called La Yapa ($10) while digging through the chimichurri-laced ricotta cup ($5). Overindulgence remains an option with the Mason jar of Dirty Grandma Agnes ($36, serves four). Plus, newly, an oyster bar.

WWeek 2015