Skip to main content3356 SE Belmont St., 235-6041, aaltolounge.com. 5 pm-2:30 am daily.
Don't go to Aalto after 10 pm if you want to see it
properly. After 10 it's an oddly cacophonous place, the sound from
various rotating DJs pinging off the walls amid mostly private
conversations amid a mix of techies, bridge-and-tunnelers and
old-school, Portland indie types who remember it from way back when. But
come early, and you'll discover a bar that gets prettier on seemingly
every visit, from its Swedish spa walls to the
abstract, 3-D graffiti explosion in the front, to tastefully backlit
wall panels to the intricate geometries of its side-room seating. Throw
in a patio and one of Portland's most generous happy hours—if not,
indeed, its best—and you've got one of the greatest
daytime/early-evening respites in the city.
Happy hour: 5-7 pm daily. $2 cocktails, $2 food specials, $10 bottles of wine.
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WWeek 2015