When Portland's macaron doyenne Cheryl Wakerhauser installed Bar Vivant during a 2012 consolidation of Pix Patisserie on a dry stretch of lowish East Burnside, the ensuing Spanish tapas/French pastry border wars only further drew attention from a spacious lounge area hidden toward the rear of the whimsically renovated former daycare. While a bigger room for more small plates necessarily surrendered Pix' past-date-night atmospherics, the benign neglect and sheer space of the bar encourages a considerably more diverse clientele: proto-bros bending an elbow on the circular bar's seamier side (beer, sans ice-cream-float pairing), golden girls drinking their way through the wine cellar, a steady stream of confectionery shoppers. All are equally at home, though some may have wished the Foreigner medley at slightly lower volume.
Happy hour: 2-4 pm and midnight-2 am daily. Wine discounts, oyster special, $1 off cocktails, free tapas with each drink.
Entertainment: Pétanque court. Patio.
WWeek 2015