Dots Cafe

By Enid Spitz

If aliens, Elvis and Marie Antoinette opened a diner, it might look like Dots. The walls are lined with black-and-white damask wallpaper, oil paintings of Elizabethan royalty, screenshots of Spock, and Warhol prints. The crowd is just as diverse. Here, Rocky Horror fans from the neighboring Clinton Street Theater mix with burly men in Harley vests. Stepping into the red light of Dots is like going down Alice's rabbit hole. It's a '50s-style diner with a killer bacon bleu cheeseburger. It's a dandy's lounge with potent lemon drops. It's a gutter-punk hang with no-nonsense bartenders. Come as you are.

Happy hour: 2-7 pm and 11 pm-1 am Monday-Friday.

Entertainment: Photo booth, DJ most weekend nights, unofficial Clinton Street Theater after-parties.

2521 SE Clinton St., 503-235-0203. dotscafeportland.com. Noon-2:30 am Monday-Friday, 10 am-2:30 am Saturday-Sunday.

Willamette Week

Willamette Week’s reporting has concrete impacts that change laws, force action from civic leaders, and drive compromised politicians from public office. Support WW's journalism today.