The Station

The food here was great. We had the Kung pao wings and the grilled calamari. Super delicious. The service on the other hand was seriously lacking. The girl had a bad attitude and was extremely rude when I had to change my order due to my gluten allergy. She then proceeded to charge me for an extra dish anyway. Very disappointing since the food was pretty good.

So I went for Unilocal event but this is a place that I’ve wanted to go to ever since I moved to this area. I adore the building itself. I had peeked in a few years back and it seemed like a full on sports bar complete with blaring televisions, etc. Definitely not my scene.
When I found out where the event was happening, I didn’t recognize the name and was a little concerned but it turned out great. They do have times when it’s not wall to wall people and it’s fine for small group get-​togethers.
I didn’t want a specialty grilled cheese but a basic and they were kind enough to make that for me and it was great.
The drinks were spot on — nice and strong and accurate.
I did have the opportunity to try two other dishes — the nachos; going back this month to have some because they have this awesome jalapeño creamy sauce on them that is to *die* for. It’s like the thinner version they have at taquerias but thicker somehow although you couldn’t taste how– no mayo (god forbid, but people do it) and no sour cream that I could taste.
I also had an encounter with the crater tots (probably spelled wrong). So, first I must say that I don’t eat seafood and I usually ask a lot of questions about what I put in my mouth (not a vegan, organic, crunchy type — just fussy) but I sorta heard what it was and thought ‘what could someone do to a tater tot that could be wrong’ (although I do NOT understand the whole ‘tot’ trend — didn’t eat them as a child and really I don’t feel like I missed out on anything there). So I bite into it and it’s really good. Little bit of spice, nice and crunchy — tasted like a cajun deep fried thing. Well, the encounter was priceless — my face, the reactions of my fellow diners to my reaction… I took it poorly but was laughing and not crying but I couldn’t stop laughing because I just don’t do that — eat without knowing exactly I’m eating. But, they were good. And I did finish it because I could not escape the logic of my fellow diners in that I did say it was good. Took a while but I managed to finish the other half and it still tasted good. Will I order them again? Hell, no. Will I recommend them to others? Hell, yeah.
I enjoyed the staff and the restaurant was well laid out and clean. Will be back soon.

This is one of my favorite places to come watch sports (I can’t believe I just wrote that sentence). Anyway…
But seriously, they have an awesome set up, great drinks, and the staff is super friendly. And the food is on point as well. Even when they’re super busy they still manage to do a great job and provide exceptional service. I’d like to come back here to try more of the food items. Tasted some nachos that were delish. I came here for happy hour once and was disappointed in the food which is why it gets 4 stars instead of 5, but the last couple times I’ve been have been great.
I shall return!

My first three entrée choices were not available and then a soup was not available. That’s cool then you get the check and their pints are 6 $.

We arrive after happy hours but there were still a crowd. The Double brie Burger is good, but the ramen is not good, more like buckwheat noodles and it wasn’t tasty. Maybe we had really good ramen before, so ramen here is disappointing. Stars for the burger!

A great place for sports fans. TV’s everywhere. Menu is decent, burgers are great, service is great.

Great neighborhood place. Good bartender and solid menu.

Solid.
That seems like the best word to describe the Station, and that’s not a bad thing.
I’ve been in twice in the last couple of months (once for HH, once for dinner), and both times I’ve left satisfied.
The service is prompt and friendly, the place is clean (and if the big corner booth is dirty, they’re happy to quickly clear it so you can squeeze in there with your big family), and the food is eclectic (cratertots, taquitos, and pork belly ramen?!) and tasty (although watch out for that unexpected spicy bite!). The drink menu and rotating taps aren’t super extensive, but they offer a decent enough selection that pretty much everyone will be satisfied. And, one of my favorite things is that the place never seems to be overwhelmingly busy, so getting a table and service is easy, even on a Friday evening.

Within the last year, The Station has become the official bar of the University of Wisconsin Alumni Association’s Portland Chapter. Having married into a Wisconsin family, I find myself watching lots of college football and basketball games here. They also show every Timbers, Blazers, Ducks, Beavers, and Seahawks game. All things considered, these guys are great hosts and The Station is a perfect place to spend 2 – 3 hours watching sports.
One of the struggles of being a fan of an East Coast or Midwest college football team is 9 AM kickoffs. It’s hard enough to get out of bed before 9 on a Saturday. It’s even harder to find a sports bar that doesn’t make you feel gross about being there early in the morning. With that in mind, The Station is perfect. These guys will open early on game days and offer a decent brunch menu (I’m a big fan of the Carnitas Chilaquiles) and have pretty good coffee.
The physical space is an old electric company power station (hence the name). It is naturally divided into two halves, which will often be devoted to two separate fan bases. They have a handful of flat screen TVs to supplement their two projector screens. If you’re not here for the sports and the weather is nice, their back patio is also spectacular.
These guys have a rotating selection of 10-​ish craft beers on tap in addition to more in cans and bottles, wines, and an impressive library of spirits. Happy hour runs from 4 – 6:30, during which time draft beers are $ 1 off and you have access to a really nice happy hour food menu. You can count on me to order some Korean Tri Tip Tacos if I’m at The Station during happy hour.
If there’s a downside to this joint, it’s that they only have two single stall unisex bathrooms. If it’s (for instance) halftime of the NCAA championship game and 100+ fans who have been drinking draft beer at happy hour prices decide it’s time to relieve their bladders at the same time, some of them are going to be waiting for a long time.
I’ll certainly be back to The Station many times, especially now that football season is upon us. If you’re looking for a sports bar that doesn’t really feel like a sports bar, you should probably check it out too.

A great, usually quiet yet beautiful place to stop in for food and drinks. I could eat their green beans everyday. The crater tots are amazing as well. The staff are kind and unpretentious.

Super friendly staff, food is delicious, drinks are great, kitchen is open late, back patio is laid-​back, crowd-​friendly and somehow intimate at the same time (maybe it was the lighting). Not that a manly guy like me cares for «intimate». Ah shucks, who am I kidding? This place was pure, tender goodness. If you aren’t looking to get crazy, and just want that night to drink and talk it up with friends, this is your spot. Or I guess just get crazy. Either way, go.

Great drinks, tasty food, extremely pleasant vibe. I don’t know what to do except keep going back there.

We were staying in the area for business and came across this place. The street it’s on is adorable-​tons of shops, bars and restaurants. Inside The Station is super cool, a large ladder bar, old electrical accents and unique furnishings. They were offering happy hour samplings so we tried the green beans and tots. The green beans were great and the tots were alright (to be fair, I didn’t realize they would be fried/​battered). To go with it, I got the greens salsa with chicken and my boyfriend got the sesame chicken salad. They looked small when they came out but both were very filling and tasty. Overall, cool place with nice, attentive servers.

Stopped in after we discovered that DarSalam was closed. The Alberta Street Fair was in progress and folks said to just walk about as there are many places to dine. Interesting historical building. Good beer (Whiskey Back) and Cider. It took a while to order but the lady was pleasant. We ordered Korean style tacos, a chicken sandwich and a bacon cheeseburger, both with garlic fries. Glad we were «on vacation» as it took 45 minutes before we saw any food. A different waitress came by. She said that two servers were «no shows»; this on the day of the street fair. I’m sure they’ll have some career counselling in their future. At any rate, the team did their best to pull together and get it done.
When the food did arrive, all items were delicious. The Korean tacos had a nice bite to them and the burger was very good. The garlic fries won the day, however. I’ve always thought that Block 15 in Corvallis had the trophy for garlic fries but these were crisper and the garlic was more subtle.

Oh dear! I should not be given soo many options for happy hour!
They had my favorite: mac and cheese. They also had a nacho. To try something new, I opted for the Hoisin ginger green beans and korean Korean Tri-​tip Tacos tacos.
The green beans were fantastic, but… the taco’s were incredibly small. «Tri-​tip» is also misleading because it actually seemed to be pulled pork — a very small amount of it. While it was good, dipped in the Sriracha sauce, I had to pull out the pickles — because that’s just weird.
My friend got the Lobster Bisque — which was a but thin and did not have much in the way of lobster.
I’m not sure about the rest of the items, but I’d be willing to come back and try them because the atmosphere was so cool, the service so good and they play Blazer games on game night.

had a nice visit here with a friendly waitstaff: a local IPA and a good happy hour meal of Mac N Cheese.
Wall of booze resembles their sister bar-Paddy’s downtown and the North45. The building cool history, as it once was a power station. You can read the menu. I can’t recall all the deets.
But they’ve kept it authentic and updated at the same time. Their tap line up has usuals-​local and out of town. Guinness on Nitro, too.
I liked their happy hour food offerings and settled on the Mac n Cheese, I upgraded for some tomatoes on top. The portion was good — could’ve used more zest.
The hospitality was solid. They weren’t too busy when I was here, but started to fill up pre-​Blazers.

The Craytots. I’m drooling thinking about them. These nuggets of pure gold come to you on a plate spread with thousand island dressing for dip, they are a delicious morsel that I cannot get enough of.
I really enjoyed their calamari as well, not deep fried or battered, just perfectly cooked squid on a bed of well dressed greens. Absolutely awesome fit.
The atmosphere for a local game is awesome, large screens, comfortable seats, lots of good vibes!

I can’t believe I didn’t try the mac and cheese. What’s wrong with me? In all fairness, I will come back and try it — and then update my review.
I had the Legume burger which by all rights sounded amazing, but came off tasting more like chewy flavorless cardboard. The tastiest part of this burger were the garlic fries I ordered with it. Disappointing — I had high hopes. The fries were GREAT, we also started with Crater Tots (crawfish croquettes) which were tasty — so I guess I expected more of the same.
Next time I’ll go with my crack: mac and cheese. People seemed to really enjoy theirs.

You know when you’re walking home from the bus stop after a brutal day at work, and it’s bitterly cold out, and you forgot your earmuffs and your pants are too thin, and the world feels cold and harsh and mean and abandoned, and you feel as if the wind will howl in your face for all eternity? But then you get to your destination and peer through the warmly lit windows and suddenly everything is cozily aglow and welcoming, and you can feel the tension draining out of your poor little frozen body, and someone’s made you a hot toddy? That’s how I felt going to The Station. Especially peering at their tall, lit-​up bar complete with rolling ladder.
What wonders awaited me inside that welcoming glow? High ceilings, lots of wood, high-​top tables and cozy booth/​banquettes, and a wonderfully varied menu with something for everyone. Hearty food choices include mac ‘n’ cheese with a ton of different add-​on options, including carnitas. And let’s not forget the real reason you’re here: Expertly made cocktails to fittingly reflect that dazzling bar array (your choice of Kentucky, Mexican or Moscow mule, served in a copper cup like all decent mules should be!) to warm you up proper.

Alberta is always a great neighborhood to hit up with friends on a Monday night. Because it’s football season, my friends and I decided to visit The Station to indulge in happy hour and SPORTS! I can never say no to mac and cheese so I ordered the Beer Mac ($ 6) while my boyfriend ordered the Pork Carnitas Nachos.
I could definitely taste the essence of beer in my mac, however it tasted somewhat bland. It was better with the addition of some pepper and the spritz of Cholula hot sauce. My boyfriend pigged out on those nachos. He came up for air to only scream at the television. FOOTBALL! I guess that tells you how good the nachos were!
Other than that, the atmosphere was relaxing with only the Patriots fans filling the air.