The Crown Room

I used to work here and I have nothing but positive things to say about the club and the owners. Brad is a honest club owner who treats his employees like family and Brady the GM is one of my dearest friends who has great customer service skills and takes pride in his work. I would come back to the crown in a heart beat and will always be my home club.

White girl who LOOOOVES Crown Room!

First things first — The Crown Room is the epitome of a Portland Dive Bar; cheap drinks, a fun loving crowd and an eclectic assortment of dubstep, rap and old school hip-​hop beats.
A great place to come with friends to get your Friday night on but don’t expect big things; just go with an open mind and the will to get your groove on.

I’m admittedly not a club person at all, but reviews and talk threads said this was probably the best hip hop only club in Portland — its all relative and I wasn’t expecting much, but this was way below even my extremely low expectations.
We went on a Friday night around 12:30am. Bouncers were nice and pretty cute, we got in and paid their stupid $ 5 cover even though it was an hour before last call. Stood right at the bar for almost 15 min with a $ 20 on the bar waiting for the ahole bartender w black glasses to stop ignoring us. Never happened but funny enough he kept serving everyone else. Combine that with the fact that it was a small club w no AC on a hot summer night, and they werent even playing any hip hop. I was pissed and went to the door girl asked for money back because I didnt pay for a crappy club AND sh*tty service. She texted the manager, who never showed up and we got our money back after standing there for another 10 min.
Talk threads said its the place for white girls to hook up w black dudes, which is what my friend was looking for. I know that it’s Portland, but there were 2 middle aged black guys and a lot of hippies. Makes sense since they seemed to be playing mostly reggae/​dub music so maybe we picked an off night, but I’ll never go back to find out. I just went out to get drunk and I couldn’t even do that.

Went here last night for their weekly Dubstep night and was blown away! I was not expecting such quality mixing and free-​styling from a place with no cover, let alone in Chinatown. I will definitely come back here every week when I’m in Portland for business over the next couple months. Local Dubstep for the win!

I’m not sure if I would love this place as much if i didn’t get to see GasLampKiller there, but since he was an integral part of my experience, 5star it is!
The bass on the outside sounds like a ghetto rattling car with a bad system. Once you’re on the inside though, it’s on! Great crowd, friendly bartenders, plenty of room to dance.
GLK was off the hook that night. He moved the crowds, his energy was contagious! My only complaint the whole night was a group of ppl there that lived up to the ‘stereotypes of hip-​hop heads’. Literally fighting to the ground even with security on them. It’s too bad too since the rest of the room was in a joyful mood!
Definitely one of the better nights out in Portland!

My home away from home… my favorite bartenders and staff!

I came here last night for their dubstep night. I had done a few searches for any places that have «UK» nights and this was one spot that showed up.
+The music is boomin. I wasn’t sure how the DJ or the sound system was going to be, but when I walked up to the door I heard a crazy bass drop that shook the SHIT out of the building… ok, I’m at the right place. Plus some moombahton got played and I was a happy camper.
+The DJs are feelin it. A DJ who isn’t groovin to his/​her own music is a DJ I don’t trust, and let me tell you these guys up there last night had crazy energy and really loved what they were playing. The vibes were infectious
+The staff are nice. Yes they do check your purses and backpacks, but honestly I’d rather they check everyone’s stuff to make sure no one acts a fool later after a few drinks and causes problems. The guy was as polite as he could be while riffling around my lip gloss, phone, and cards lol. In addition the bartenders are quick, the bouncers are cool as hell, and the owner makes it a point to be around.
+The layout. I really liked how they had the dance area surrounded by booths and how it created a divide between the bar area and the dance area.
+The people. So I rolled in solo dolo (the bf is out of town) having *just* moved to Portland not knowing anyone and was looking to just have a drink and listen to some music. The crowd was surprisingly mixed… and varying levels of drunk, which was hilarious but material for great people watching. Also I had the chance to chat with a few people (ehh, more so yelling at the top of our lungs) and that further confirmed it’s a pretty chill crowd.
+The drinks. Strong and cheap (well at least coming from Cali where two gin and tonics would have cost me $ 17 and here it was $ 10).
–The bathroom is a disaster. Someone had mentioned it earlier and holy crap. I don’t know if it’s «user error» lol or what but it was alllll bad. Something was up with the guys bathroom because they actually had a line… a sight I’ve rarely seen
-$ 10 minimum for cards at the bar. Booo. I generally don’t like minimums on using my card because then I have to buy one or two more drinks than I’d like to = /​
I’m a fan of this place and just might become a Tuesday night regular. I hope the other events they have here are on point as well.

Not too bad, this place is nice and dark and chill if you’re not trying to be too high profile. The music is usually pretty good, depending on the night. The bathrooms weren’t as bad as Dante’s, at least ?! haha. Place is alright but I can’t say that I’ve ever had a raging good time here

UPDATE (2÷16÷12):
This place has gone through it’s growing pains, and now it’s finally settled into a niche that is the perfect medium between the club owners, patrons, and the Portland Police Dept. This is a good thing.
–The seperate entry/​exitways create less traffic and congestion out front, which is nice.
–Bathrooms have been renovated and are much cleaner… at least the girl’s room, anyways.
–Security is decently friendly, given the amount of bullshit they encounter from Chinatown club patrons.
–The ceiling was gutted and opened up; it creates a much roomier vibe in there and it’s actually a nice switch. I’ll miss the lounge-​like vibe of the low ceiling, but this gives the dancefloor a much larger feel, and that’s necessary since they’ve been booking a TON of huge headliners there.
–Still love the boys behind the bar. They are the best thing about the Crown Room. Oh, and the sound in there is GREAT.
I will never get over the mix of cool, decent people and total douchenozzles that occupy this club. There’s nothing the Crown Room can do about that, though. They’re smack in the middle of Chinatown and get the weirdest crossbreed of people.

Came here on a late Thursday night. Camel cigarette spokesgirl recommended it to us an told us that it was Dubstep night, which they have weekly. This was my friend’s 21^st birthday so we were up for getting toasted here.
From outside almost 2 blocks down we could literally FEEL the bass kicking at full blast. Inside it was dark, grimy, and sweaty; perfect Dubstep venue! No cover was a treat and drinks were moderately priced. There was no official coat rack but right behind the entrance was an area and the bartender was nice enough to watch the girl’s purses.
In the back they had a photo op booth going on which was pretty entertaining. One point in the night there was a fight about to break out but the security made quick work of that, they were also polite and quick to respond. Some regulars there were up on stage wearing costumes and dancing around, it’s entertaining to watch as well as dance with them!
Overall expect to go in and get soaked with sweat. If that is your forté, then you’ve come to the right place!

I like to dance. Scratch that (rikka-​rikka-​rikka!), I LOVE to dance.
I do like the crown room because there’s a nice open space to chill with people, but also a good dance floor to move around in. And depending on the time you go, the music’s not bad, either.
Next to Society, Crown Room is one of the places that I usually go for dancing. At other places (that play weird techno, electronica or sometimes *shudder* country stuff), I sometimes find myself on the sidelines, grabbing a drink because I can’t dance to the music the way others can. And by that, I mean I’m not high on X.

Came here for a video shoot afterparty. Walking up to the place you can tell this is a venue that isn’t interested in becoming flashy. In fact, there was a slight odor of refuse near the entrance, prompting the thought «Ok, so it’s a hipster bar.»
My assumptions were not immediately dismissed upon entering. The dance floor was covered in a moderate film of some sort, making shoes slightly stick while dancing. A few times a boy with a wet mop would come out and push the grime around the floor, but it didn’t seem to help much. No one really cared though; they were all too busy dancing and enjoying the awesome bands.
The hosts provided ample free beer, so I didn’t get to order any drinks other than what was in the free kegs. I did tip though! The bartender was super-​efficient considering how many people were hovering on the bar clamoring for free beer.
There’s a retro cigarrette machine in the back, stocked with various American Spirit flavors, Camel Crush etc.; it had just ran out when I went to take a photo. The guy was nice enough to turn it back on so I could get my shot.
The booths are plentiful and open right to the dancefloor, so if you’re tuckered out and need a little rest you can just slide right in. Bathrooms (at least the mens) are covered in the typical grafitti blocking out all but the tiniest specks of the mirror, but the hands-​free paper towel machines are nice.
While many will read this review and wonder why anyone would want to go to a place like this, many others will read it and say to themselves «That’s my shit right there, bro!» Live it up, hipsters. Don’t ever let anyone tell you that you don’t know how to party!

A Haiku Review of Crown Room:
Enter the dark hole.
Grab a stiff drink on the rocks.
Try not to get jumped.

Saturday night, came with a group of 7, free cover, lots of space, bought two drinks, $ 13, danced a little with my girl, watched my bro’s hit on a few chicks, so that was some good entertainment. I didn’t see any drug deals go down, but I did almost have to fight a guy that was sitting on the coats that we left in one of the booths. He made a huge deal about it when we asked him to get up so we could get them! what a chump.
DJ sucked, and only played two out of ten good songs. You could tell he sucked because there was next to no one on the floor, except for the extremely wasted ditsy chicks. Most people were at the bar or in booths. When he played a good track, people got up and danced. When we asked him to play a certain song, he replied in a cold rude way «No requests!» Wow, they really know how to please the crowd.
There was plenty of space inside, despite the slightly run-​down appearance. And a worn out pool table in back.
I went because my friend suggested it, but I think he only went there because it was free cover. I might go to a better place next time, and pay a cover if I know the joints hot.
two out of five stars for Crown room, the place reminded me of Reno, NV? Oh and by the way I was there yesterday, March 21^st.

Awesome if you want to get drunk (elsewhere) then dance with this mix of people from your high school in 1997:
¹⁄₃ alternacool kids that go to shows
¹⁄₃ band/​drama folk who get wacky
¹⁄₆ jockulars
¹⁄₆ foreigners
And get real sweaty in another of not-​paying-​for-​AC club.

Big room, kinda swanky. Deffo not stuffy. Big booths, lots of space that I’m guessing is meant for dancey dance.
Not that I do that.
Some of us came in on a slow day, then the DJ action started and it got super duper loud. Ridiculously loud. I think I could sue loud. Fortunately we were winding down so we just left. Good for grooving, I’m willing to bet, but I don’t know if they can live up to their «old school lounging» slogan.

Our proposed night of getting a quick bite to eat, possibly meeting up with friends for a drink and laying low for the evening (which is not a clever innuendo for having sex on the floor, getting it on with midgets, or laying pipe in a large home improvement mega store), ended up turning into more. Much more. It always does.
Destiny thy name is debauchery… and debauchery and I just happen to be on a first name basis.
After wrapping up our Civil War viewing at Kelly’s Olympian and making a few stops along the way, our rag tag group of long time friends decided to extend the evening and make an appearance at the Crown Room. We knew some friends would be there that night as Matt Rock from Hardplace Records was planning on dropping some serious beats from his label.
Cruising in with our crew and seeing several old school «late night» friends brought back warm fuzzy memories of glow stick days long gone. From 1201, Level, Ohm, Crush, The Rat… the venues changed, but the family forming friends and great music remained the same. Now that years have passed, the seeds of maturity have taken root, and these evening are few and far between. Losing dear friends along the way has a way of making one take stock of decisions, choices and focus.
Yet for this evening, while it wasn’t overly busy, most of the usual suspects were present and it was fun to kick it with them once again.
The Crown Room is a good venue. Plenty of seating available in their old school booths, medium sized dance floor, smoking already regulated to outside and no cover charge for this particular evening of music. Beer selection was good, servers and staff friendly and there was an all around positive vibe to the place.
The Crown Room is definitely a downtown destination I would return to should the occasion arise, or if the new found maturity decides to regress.

This is a new place since I moved away from Portland and honestly, I don’t think I would ever have gone on my own. I’m glad a group of people suggested it.
I’m not sure about the drug deals mentioned in another Unilocal review. It seemed pretty mellow for a Saturday night. The inside is not impressive, but the music makes up for the dingy looking inside. DJ Mello Cee knows how to spin a good mix of hip hop, old school and current.
There was a big group of us and we kind of made our own party on the dance floor. I could see it not being that fun if it were just two people, but if you’ve got a big group and want to create your own party, the Crown Room is the place to do it.
My feet were killing me by the end of the evening so I took my shoes off and danced in my bare feet. Big mistake! My feet were so black and dirty at the end of the evening. I just hope I don’t get some weird foot fungus from acting impulsively and throwing off my shoes!

Okay, so I read the review on the Crown Room yesterday before deciding to check it out myself. First of all it is a bit hard to find. No lit up outdoor signage (though for future reference they are next door to the Magic Gardens and directly across from Republic Café) so I drove right by on my first time through. Upon walking into the joint, I was surprised at how clean it was. Yeah, so the place looks like it’s still got the original booths and décor from the 70’s, it was in great condition and definitely lent a great ‘lounging’ feel.
I went to check out the band who was doing a Prince review — see Julian’s Ride on MySpace. After finally getting the kinks worked out with the sound, they rocked the house! Though there really isn’t a dance floor, that didn’t stop the smallish crowd from getting up and groovin’ to the tunes. The band had high energy and definitely played to the crowd, even calling up a rapper (Controversy???) to get up on the stage for a couple of tunes.
My friend and I had the Hummus plate and the Buffalo wings. Though I thought the $ 7 price for each was a bit on the high side, both plates came with plenty of food. The wings were plentiful and came with carrot and celery sticks. The Hummus plate came with slew of kalamata olives and peppers as well as a couple of dolmas. I would definitely recommend the food.
Our bartender was Nick and I thought he did a fabulous job… friendly, efficient and informative.
Overall, a great place that I will most certainly visit again — especially if they keep having great music like last night.