Seven Lovely Lounges Worth Donning Your Raincoat For

Early drinks, late night vibes.

Collector Bar Oregon Winter 2024, Early Drinks, Late-Night Vibes (Allison Barr)

When winter’s gloom descends, Portland knows how to bring the brightness inside. (After all, we get plenty of practice.)

And by brightness, we don’t just mean booze. But let’s be honest: It helps.

When it gets dark early, you can get your night started early—and, even more importantly, get home early to make dinner and head to bed for a nice long sleep and (hopefully) hangover-free morning. But to draw us from our winter cocoons (and, most likely, our stash of at-home spirits), it’s got to be a top-notch tavern. Otherwise, why go out in the rain?

These cozy, candlelit bars offer a resounding answer to that question. They’re perfect for a relaxed winter sip, whether solo or accompanied—and well worth breaking your winter home hibernation.

Angel Face

“Cozy” can be a high bar—pun absolutely intended—when you’re wandering one of the busiest parts of town.

But Angel Face (14 NE 28th Ave., 503-239-3804, angelfaceportland.com), tucked into the trendiest part of Kerns, is not every bar. Even as the mirror behind the horseshoe-shaped counter visually doubles the room, the vibe can only be described as intimate—though the rightfully famous hand-painted floral wallpaper adds a vibrant pop.

That intimacy increases when you learn there is no cocktail list—just bartenders savvy enough to put together something you’ll love based solely on your mood. (They also knock the classics out of the park.) Happy hour includes upscale nibbles like a meat and cheese board for just $12, and a full dinner menu is available if you decide to stay a while longer.

Bible Club & Revival Patio

Chances are you’ve heard of this Sellwood speakeasy, which has been swinging since 2016.

At Bible Club (6716 SE 16th Ave., 971-279-2198, bibleclubpdx.com), the indoor bar is truly a living museum, catapulting an unassuming 1922 bungalow back in time with an irreplaceable collection of authentic Prohibition-era fixtures—including not just the décor, but the bar tools and glassware.

What you may not yet have discovered, though, is the joint’s backyard, known as Revival Patio. Owner Katrin Rollins describes it as “the speakeasy behind the speakeasy,” and it offers a slightly more casual atmosphere (and regular live music) with the same creative cocktail menu—including hot toddies in the winter. And yes, it’s covered and heated.

Collector Bar

Kerns legendary late restaurant 24th & Meatballs is rightfully mourned—but the art-gallery-themed bar that replaced it last year, Collector (2341 NE Glisan St., 971-383-5166, collectorbar.com), has proved itself worthy of the space. Softly lit, wood-paneled and hung with work by a rotating exhibition of local artists, the bar is snug in the same way a good hug can be—and equally suited to a few hours of evening laptop work as it is to a third date.

Collector Bar Oregon Winter 2024, Early Drinks, Late-Night Vibes (Allison Barr)

I wanted everything on the cocktail list—and bartender Elizabeth Sherwin, who helped open the place in November 2023, was happy to help me winnow my selection: “6:45 on a Wednesday? It’s gonna be a Jewel Heist,” she says, already readying its Nick & Nora glass.

A gleaming jewel of gin, vermouth and grapefruit, the cocktail was gone in a flash—so I stayed for the Drifter, a citrusy concoction complete with a smoldering sage leaf on its big rock. Ten out of 10.

Wonderly

Twenty paces from Pip’s Original Doughnuts & Chai, Wonderly (94727 NE Fremont St., 503-288-4520, wonderlypdx.com) brings an airy, Mediterranean vibe to the Cully neighborhood. Candles line the bar and lush plants offer a touch of vibrance all year round. Along with its robust full cocktail list (which features twisted classics as well as some fresh inventions) and dinner menu (which ranges from hot-honey fried cheese curds for $10 to steak frites for $23), there’s a daily (!) happy hour from 5 to 6 pm.

Wonderly Oregon Winter 2024, Early Drinks, Late-Night Vibes (Allison Barr)

That’s when I arrived—and owner Kate Wood was working the floor in a to-die-for pair of mushroom-print overalls. I had the Whiskey Drink, which Wood describes as an “old fashioned-y, Sazerac-y thing” that brings the best of both worlds. The brussels sprouts and be-deviled eggs were perfect accompaniments.

Division Wines

Will and Danyelle Prouty opened the Richmond neigborhood’s Division Wines (3564 SE Division St., 503-234-7281, divisionwines.com) in 2011 as a bottle shop. The wine bar portion of the operation didn’t happen until 2016, but these days it’s where the party’s at: “The bar cranks,” bartender Andrew Edwards told me as he was polishing a glass. “It can get wild in here.” (But, you know, in a chill way.)

Division Wines Oregon Winter 2024, Early Drinks, Late-Night Vibes (Allison Barr)

The menu is perfect for those who love a wild card: There’s a Big Red of the Day and an Oregon Red of the Day—and the top secret is, there might be more than one. (When I asked, there were two and three, respectively, one of which became the glass of syrah I enjoyed.) They also serve half-glasses for a demure “just one more,” and if you need a bite, choose from an assemblage of elegant snacks, including a cheese board covered in Cowbell offerings and bread by Little T.

Havalina

You may have already heard through the grapevine that this hip yet comfy St. Johns locale is owned by Ezra Holbrook, once-drummer of hometown favorite The Decemberists (and a fine musician in his own right). But he didn’t just open Havalina (8927 N Lombard St., 971-217-7727, havalinapdx.com), he “built it from the ground up,” says Ian Sieren, who’s been tending the bar since the beginning about a year and a half ago—and who’s also in the local theater scene.

Havalina Oregon Winter 2024, Early Drinks, Late-Night Vibes (Allison Barr)

No surprise: Artistic expression is all over this place, with jazz on Mondays, karaoke on Sundays, and plenty of smaller acts at just about every time of day. A lengthy happy hour of noon to 5 pm encourages patrons to stay a while on workdays, and the menu offers a lengthy list of mocktails (all reasonably priced under $10) as well as harder stuff. Beto’s Taqueria next door serves up some of the best Mexican food in town, delivered straight to your barstool. What’s not to love?

Muse Winebar

Another quiet oasis in a loud part of the city, Muse Winebar (2264 NW Raleigh St., 503-444-7670, musewinebar.com) is located in the happeningest part of Northwest—but a couple doors off 23rd, which affords it a bit of quiet. Soft lighting and smiles from the staff seal the warm ambience.

The wine list—which features a wide variety of by-the-glass options, including multiple bubbles—is handwritten in the scroll-like penmanship of Cerissa Linder. She’s also responsible for the bespoke Cowbell cheese plates made for your table based on the wine everyone’s sipping. Her husband, Christopher Vazquez, is the sommelier and proprietor. The bar opened nine years ago.

Retail bottles are also available, topping shelves also lined with games (Scrabble and UNO) and books (travel guides to Lisbon and Seville; How to Raise Goats). Did I mention there’s a flight of any three pours for $25? You can choose, or “we can take you on a journey,” as Linder put it to me on the night of my visit. My trip took me to Spain, France, and Italy—but the permutations are endless.


This story is a part of Oregon Winter, Willamette Week’s annual winter activity magazine. It is free and can be found all over Portland beginning Friday, December 13, 2024. Find your free copy at one of the locations noted here or at our online store, before they all get picked up!

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