Proof

I like this place, cozy, friendly staff, good drinks and great service. The food is good bot for the 12 $ I paid for the bison burger I’d expect something a bit more exciting/​tasty. It wasn’t bad but just a bit small/​bland for my tastes. Perhaps I’m just a cheap ass though.

The WORST customer service I have EVER had. I would not recommend this place to my worst enemy. The bartender spent more time checking herself out in the mirror than she did trying to serve us. Also, she seemed inconvenienced by us even coming into the bar and making her do her actual job. We weren’t actually offered anything, we had to ask, and then she questioned our beer orders as if she didn’t think we knew what we were talking about. Maybe it would be an okay place to go if they had a different bartender.

Bland food and the service was not much better.
There’s a small window to the kitchen that allowed you to hear the cook complain about all the orders being placed… Awkward!
Portland has way to many amazing bars and restaurants to waist time here.

Nice ambiance and we were excited to try on a Friday at 5:00. Yet when we sat in their very small space for 8 – 10 minutes, the gal behind the bar never stopped by. No, «I’ll be with you in a moment» or any basic customer service verbiage. She didn’t look very busy, and was maybe helping one other customer. I get the «laid-​back» style, but not avoidance and I don’t give a shit if you’re here vibe.
Hellooooo owner, we’re trying to give you money, you know, the lifeblood of what keeps your lights on. Send that person to a basic service class.

Love the food, friendly staff, and the best happy hour around! Jalapeño Mac and cheese is decadent, and the bison sliders are tasty! Full bar and craft beers.

The proof is in the proofalicious pudding: this place is awesome.
I will try to hold back my grumblies about previous reviewers who are low-​ballin’ this place for one visit — since no bar or restaurant can nail it every single time — and just share my experiences. I’m usually hesitant to share the hidden gems of this land for fear of overcrowding, but I don’t want this place to go away. KEEP IT ALIVE!
It’s hard to describe why I love this place so much to someone who doesn’t, but it’s really pretty simple — this is a great spot to chill out from the Hawthorne crawl craze, have a beer or cocktail, and talk to a very friendly bartender. I’ve had great experiences every time I visit, and have met 4 different bartenders. They’ve all been laid-​back and friendly, and it’s such a breath of fresh air on Hipster Avenue.
I’m very much ambiance-​driven and beer-​lovin’ so I can’t attest for the cocktails personally. What I can attest to is their consistent supply of delicious microbrews, friendly banter and some tasty food (but I go here more for the beer and atmosphere).
I’ve come here with a date, with friends, and by myself and a laptop. I’ve seen other patrons do the same, just depends on the time of day. It’s a great place to chill. And it just. feels good. You can barely tell what it is like from the outside, so take a brave step and open the door for your own proof of mind.

Decent ambience, interesting basic drink selections. But holy sh**show is the service slow with our cutie-​chatty bartender. Ordered a margarita and a Ginger Rogers, took a full 20 minutes to get the drinks. I counted seven other patrons inside, and not one of them needed a drink (or anything else other than a break from the talking) before us.
Proof, the most basic thing about running a drinking establishment is making sure every patron has a drink as soon as humanly possible. Your Friday night bartendress is probably having a bad night but this is good reason never to come back.

Limited but good selection of beer. Ambience not great, horrible art for sale on the walls. Friendly staff, but food was not good at all. I’m not sure why you would choose to go here when there are so many better options around.

Came here with a friend on a Sunday night. We just missed happy hour (3 – 6 daily) but we were able to get two drinks and food for about $ 25 each. The place is tiny so I’m glad it wasn’t too busy.
Good beer selection and the cocktail list is small but well thought out. The menu is pretty eclectic (typical soup, salad, burgers but also a burrito and pasta). Sunday night is happy hour all day for couples which sounds fun on its face until you think about how do they decide who’s a couple and who isn’t…
Will definitely come back for a date with the boyfriend (on a Sunday).

We tried this place (mid-​August) since name and menu indicated it would be a good place for a cocktail. There are only about 6 signature drinks listed. We chose two, and the bartender/​server warned us it would take awhile since she was inexperienced. That should have been our cue to leave or order a beer.
After a very long wait, we got our drinks and it was the worst margarita I’ve ever had. I wouldn’t even call it a margarita, it tasted like orange juice gone bad. My husband’s drink was not good either. We asked for water 3 times but never got it even though it was not busy. Despite the name, stick with beer for this place.

Buffalo is my favorite red meat. I was pretty excited about this place. The sliders were just okay. I would come back.

Hard to find many faults here. The beer is well chosen and very reasonable. They always seem to have a favorite or two of mine on tap. The happy hour menu offers several tasty options priced around $ 5.00. Musicians often show up around 7:00 and play americana, jazz, etcetera for no cover. DJ or Mark are usually behind the bar and offer service that is consistent and considered. Overall it feels like a place you might stumble on in Greenwich Village or San Francisco’s Mission. Just a really decent place.

Went into Proof because of their happy hour on Sunday evening and was pleasantly surprised. The waitstaff was spacey but good (and I don’t know how they manage to be both but those are the most accurate words to describe them) and the place was very inviting with dark woods and an open layout. We ordered the happy hour buffalo sliders and cheese plate, both of which were ridiculously tasty. My cheese plate was serious business: three kinds of cheese given in generous portions with sides of fruit and bread. Very filling and very worth the $ 5.

We came upon Proof while exploring Hawthorne, because apparently grabbing pre-​dinner beers is
While hanging out on Hawthorne filling the voids in our lives with vintage clothing and figurines of cats, my friend and I couldn’t decide where to go for food, and decided pre-​dinner beers were probably the best idea ever.
So, we stumbled into Proof, which was the first pub we saw, and I wasn’t even mad. I was immediately settled by its quietness, chill crowd, and delightfully dorky artwork on the walls. They had melting bead art of video game characters and stuff which I stared at for way too long.
It gets better though. I looked at the beer menu and was ready to propose to this little establishment. $ 4 PINTS ALL THE TIME OF AWESOME BEER?! $ 2.75 HAPPY HOURS!!! WHAT THE FUCK PORTLAND I LOVE YOU.
I decided on a Vanilla Oatis and it was the best decision I made that whole day. When paying our bill and heading out, I mentioned to the friendly gentleman working there that we were only leaving because I wanted to track down a certain vegan restaurant. He then suggested a handful of places I should try during my visit, a few of which I hadn’t even heard of. Seriously, had I more time, I would have tried to befriend all of these rad friendly folk I kept coming across while in Portland. Or would that be creepy?
Anyways, I really enjoyed Proof and it was one of the highlights of Hawthorne for me.

Proof… is proof that cool hole-​in-​the wall places still exist.
Walking along Hawthorne my group came upon Proof and low and behold Sunday’s are all day happy hour. Score.
$ 2.75 pints all day is quite the deal. They had some great beers on tap and a pretty good looking menu.
We decided upon some delicious IPA and fried green beans.
The fried green beans were
status. Spicy aioli to dip them in… the beans were perfectly cooked, still crisp, and oh so tasty.
There’s a decent amount of seating for a smaller place.
Staff is super cool and friendly. Also appreciated the taster of beer to try out the varieties they had on tap.
I would highly recommend this place. They seem to have specials every day of the week and it looked like Tuesdays were all day happy hour as well!

One of my favorite hole in the wall bars. Great food like their mac and cheese and bison burger. Even though it’s a tiny place, they often have live music.

Proof has the best margaritas and the Kobe Sliders during happy hour are awesome, though we wish that they were available until 7

Good spot, good food. New place that shares kitchen with Cup & Saucer.

Yummy food. Super cheap drinks. Ridiculously friendly service. Knowledgeable staff. Lovely, cozy tiny spot. One of the better ones on Hawthorne.

$ 2.75 pints all day Tuesday??? Really great local beers like Double Mountain, Burnside Brewing and Ninkasi? Yes please!
I’m not exactly sure when they opened but am thinking pretty recently as they still share a phone number with Cup and Saucer and were working through a couple pricing/​billing hiccups. The bar is swanky with boldly painted walls, big pieces of art and light yellowish curtains separating spaces. I didn’t have any cocktails so I can’t speak to them; but the drink menu looked creative and tasty. The food we had was alright… nothing special. The olive plate and the antipasti plate would have been 10x better if they would have used something other than the weird white bread they served. I would have liked to try some other items like the tequila shrimp or buffalo sliders.
I will go back for sure, on a Tuesday and with some yummy Pearl Bakery baguette in my purse.