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Conquistador
2045 SE Belmont St., 232-3227. 4 pm-2:30 am daily.
The Conquistador is sister bar to the Matador, the longtime hall of degeneracy across the river. It maintains its ties to old-guard rocker Portland and legions of off-shift service industry drinkers, but the little things have been upgraded: empanadas and arepas, not tater tots. Long-table shuffleboard, not Pop-A-Shot. Cocktails with elderberry, rather than breakfast sausage in a whiskey. There is dignity, perhaps, to the Spanish black-velvet portraits hung on the walls. The bar's condo neighbors happily own happy hour, but at night the DJ decks come out, the deep soul cuts play and the smoking patio fills to capacity until 2 am. A touch of strangeness, though? A weird-ass post-druggie bachelor den upstairs that seems to scare everyone away unless it's their birthday, when such things feel OK again. MATTHEW KORFHAGE.
Happy hour: 4-7 pm daily. $2 PBR, $3 micros, $3.25 wells, $4.50 house wine, $5.25 margaritas, $2-$5 food menu.
Entertainment: Free jukebox, DJs, shuffleboard, pinball, pool, patio.
WWeek 2015