Life of Riley Tavern

Perhaps a good spot for a quick beer. We had 2 apps during their HH — just OK all around.

It’s a pretty standard and classic looking Sports bar restaurant. We popped in here at the end of the night after several rounds of drinking. All I wanted was a simple burger and french fries, which their menu easily provided. The burger was great, and I devoured it in just a few moments. It was super tasty and then it was perfectly cooked. In my opinion the fries could have been better, but given that we arrived almost at midnight, it’s hard to get fresh fries anywhere at that time.
Overall though the place was very clean, the staff was very courteous and professional and the food was delicious. It wasn’t the best burger and fries I had during my stay in Portland, but it was exactly what I needed that late at night. I recommend this place to anybody looking for the same.

Another great bar! Cozy. But we didn’t do much. This poor spot ended up last at the end of a long night barhopping. We found a large enough space for the 20 of us. But a lot of the group was so drunk, we didn’t really order drinks! Still a cool atmosphere and pretty poppin’.
Oo and the philly cheesesteak! Yum.

If you want an authentic, Portland «fuck you if you’re not a hipster» experience, stroll on into Life Of Riley when it’s not busy. Sit at the bar behind an empty drink and watch how long it takes to get a new drink or at least an offer of a new drink.
If you want to re-​live some memories of when the building housed a good bar (Jimmy Mak’s), pop in for a drink, but don’t expect good service nowadays.

Underground dive bar… Super chill! Plus I put a few bucks in the slots and won back beer money! Bartender was super lax and accommodating.

We went here for drinks based on a recommendation. The first visit wasn’t so bad. The service was okay. I figured that it was because it was busy and there was only one person working the tables, so it wasn’t a big deal. The server and the bartender were both friendly.
The second time, we stopped in for drinks while we were in the area and early for a reservation. This time the service was poor. It wasn’t busy at all. The server looked upset when we said we were only ordering drinks. She didn’t come by until 10 minutes after finishing my drink. I reluctantly ordered a second for myself and asked for the bill. She brought a drink for me and for my wife, who did not order a second drink. She got lucky that my wife was going to order one when she was finished with her first.
Other people ordered food, and it looked and smelled like it could be decent. But, we decided to ignore the recommendation for food and write this place off for dinner the next night. I doubt we will be back the next time we are in Portland. There are plenty of other choices in the area.

We stopped in here on a sunny Saturday afternoon as we had time before we hopped on the train to head up north to Seattle and it wasn’t far from the train station. This is a Red Sox bar as the owner is a fan.
We had great service and conversation from the girl that was working pretty much working all alone… I think her name was Kelsey or something like that. She had great conversation and was pretty cynical. She gave us some local brews that were ok… my buddy enjoyed them more than I did.
Not the most appealing place compared to some of the other joints nearby, but not too bad either.

This is kind of a unique bar. Downstairs it’s basement like, wet and dingy but there is a shuffleboard table and pool table. It’s probably not a place I would go on a regular basis but if you’re looking for cheap drinks without the crowds, it’s probably a decent place to hit up. Upstairs kind of reminds me of a 50’s diner, there are semi-​circle booths that can probably fit 6 or so people, it’s well lit and open. I went there on a Saturday night and it wasn’t super crowded so if you’re looking for a spot to just chill, chat and drink, this could be a good spot because the drinks are cheap and it’s not super crazy crowded.

I had great service here!
The food was good, and the drinks are yummy too.
Great and easy location with lots of easy and fun loving people around.
I adore the servers too.
I’m so thankful I stopped in.

Probably one of my new favorite spots in the pearl/​brew blocks. Uncrowded, dive bar feel with a great tap list and EXCELLENT barbecue. The brisket is so tender you don’t need a knife to cut it.

Excellent sandwiches and daily specials. Any bar that promotes the Boston Red Sox is a regular stop on my route.

Horribly rude servers and bartender. Threw menus at us when realized we ordered at the bar instead of through a server. Thanks for letting us know you guys can’t figure it out. Also ate our fries before delivering them… Thanks ladies. Gain some class.

Amazing bar, exemplary staff. I don’t usually find myself in The Pearl but I do make it down here at least once a week because of the great service (Cali & Dave are the absolute best!), free billiards, shuffleboard, and darts in the basement nightly.
The upstairs is nice as well, but the basement feels more homey. Both the upstairs and downstairs have great TVs for sports viewing. However, when they’re are no games on, the music in the basement is top-​notch and suited for whatever crowd may be in at the time.
Oh yeah, they’re happy hour is ridiculously awesome.

This is one of my favorite, go-​to bars in downtown Portland. I’ve been here about 30+ times in the last several years and every time I have a great time with friends! If you want a relaxing, more quiet night, their upstairs lounge is great. If you want a casual, dive bar-​night then their downstairs section is perfect: pool table, shuffle board, darts, VP and a great staff. Two levels with two different vibes, love it. The only downside is that their bathrooms have a funky smell. If you like chill bars, I highly recommend this one!

Great food. The spicy italian sandwich is beyond awesome. 25 taps with some Belgian beers available

We stopped here for lunch while walking through Portland. The interior is very nice and comfortable. There was plenty of seating for a variety of sized parties, to include outside seating.
The waitress was polite and helpful in making recommendations. The young lady was a little stressed as there were a large number of patrons, both inside and outside, and she was the only waitress on duty. However, she was still very polite and professional.
My girlfriend ordered the chicken salad sandwich and I ordered the special, beef brisket. She stated that it was the best chicken salad every. The beef brisket was very good as well.
Since the waitress was so busy, another gentleman (manager?) started checking around to ensure everyone had what they wanted and carried out plates, etc.
To our surprise, when the waitress brought the ticket, she stated that the drinks had been removed from our bill because we had to wait too long. We hadn’t complained or anything, so this was a surprise. In my opinion, this is a wonderful gesture from the restaurant and should be applauded!
If we make it back to Portland, we will definitely visit here again because the food is good, the wait staff polite (no matter what), and the management goes that extra step.

My friends and I were all planning on meeting here for a before dinner cocktail. I arrived early and walked up to the bar for service. It was mostly empty. The server didn’t bother to acknowledge me so I stood there fairly patiently as she talked/​flirted with a male customer. Finally I walked down to the end of the bar where she was and asked for a beer, which she begrudgingly served.
I went and sat down at a booth and grabbed the happy hour menu. I had to flag down the server to place my order for the hand made potato chips. These were the best thing about the place.
My friends arrived and again, the server was busy chatting with the male customer so she took her sweet time getting to the table. Everyone placed their order with the unfriendly server. When we were almost finished with our drinks, we flagged down the server for our check, looked it over and then sat… and sat… and sat… while, you guessed it, the server continued to chat with the same male customer! We caught her attention again and she finally came by and picked it up but on her way back to the cash register, stopped and continued her conversation with the male customer!!! And not just or a minute. She was leaning on the table and talked for several minutes. I understand the benefits of schmoozing customers as I was a server for many years but this was ridiculous!
My friend got tired of this and interrupted this waitress and asked her to process our card, letting her know we had to go because we had dinner reservations. The server ran the card and when she came back to the booth, she literally threw the credit card bill and pen on the table without saying a word, turned on her heels and walked away. We all looked at each other with shock and amazement at just how blatantly rude this server was and we all agreed we would never step foot in Life of Riley again.
By the way, management/​owner, if you are reading this, you should fire Sarah, the server. Or place her in the kitchen washing dishes where customers aren’t subjected to her insanely rude behavior!

I have had my credit card negligently lost or stolen here twice.
The first time was an honest mistake: the bartender gave my card to another «Cameron».
The second time was last night, on my birthday. My friends suggested we go and I figured that lightning wouldn’t strike in the same place twice. When I went to close out my tab, they had lost it without any record of me having a tab, despite me ordering at least two drinks off it. The bartender who was serving me previously, Megan, wasn’t there anymore.
When the blasé bartender was unable to find my card, he took to ignoring me.
So thanks, Life of Riley, for ruining my birthday and forcing me to cancel my upcoming travel plans.

Going down south in the Pearl District for street side BBQ-​Draper Valley, ½ organic chicken, mesquite smoked in house with coleslaw and hickory smoked potato chips also made in house. Here at Life of Riley you’ll often see the smoker on the street spewing smoke as the streetcar screeches by. The smell of Mesquite and a smoke screen flouds the corner of 10^th & Everett in a hickory haze. Add the Boneyard RPM IPA with my soul-​food mate & her ma and we are ready to dig in family style.
Really good service. Good views on the street action from inside. Sports bar downstairs. Where else can you get BBQ in the Pearl?
Feelin like a southerner, hey ya all. Maybe I’ll prop my feet up on the porch, if I had a porch, and spit watermelon seeds around. Take it slow now ya all!

I was in here on Tuesday night — actually waiting for friends to pay their bill. We must’ve waited 10 minutes while the waitress, and apparently only person working in the place, stood chatting with another cute boy customer, our credit card in her hands, oblivious to the fact we were waiting. Obviously talking to the male customer was more important than ringing up our bill so we could leave. I had to walk over to her, interrupt her flirting conversation and let her know we needed to leave. Well that didn’t go over very well but she went and processed our bill and came back and THREW it on the table.
This is one place I won’t ever frequent again. There’s lot to choose from around there and I’ll give my business to a tavern that cares.