Jax Bar & Restaurant

Why does this say the place is closed? I work right across the street from Jax and I see/​hear people up there all the time, it’s happenin’ up there right now! :) Fun music and ok food, ok priced drinks.

When this joint had Jazz I went there often (played there a lot too) but since they dont have music I dont really see any reason to frequent Jax. The roof top is OK. The view is mostly of other buildings.
The beer selection is standard as are the drinks. I played some great night there. St patties day, a new years and had a great time.
The servers are fun. I got to know them pretty well. Some of the food is good too. I woudld recommend the Smoked Salmon enchiladas if they still got um.
They had a pretty good little jazz scene going for awhile. And that gave good reason to visit but now it is just another generic sports joint. I probably would not go out of my way to go back.
Jax has nothing positive or negative. It just is.

We went here under the recommendation of our hotel concierge. We asked for a non-​smoking place with good food and TVs because we wanted to watch the baseball playoffs. Well, in her defense, we never tried the food and it did have TVs. The place was so empty that we were able to sit right in front of a 60″ TV which the waitress said we could change to any channel. Well, the courteous staff was about the only redeeming quality we found.
The atmosphere was just straight up boring. There appeared to be a book club meeting behind us. Seriously I’m all about books and all, but a bar where you can have a serious discussion about books is just a little too comfortable for me.
The beer selection was pathetic. I think they had about 6 – 8 taps, but they seemed to be out of about ¹⁄₃ of them. I ordered a lager of some sort. I was unimpressed.
We decided to leave and watch the game at BW3’s on my girlfriend’s suggestion. If you knew my girlfriend, you would understand what an unimaginable insult that is for Jax.

Lunch is busy but the staff is very friendly and as far as I’m concerned the service is awesome. Marty, Tessa, and Dave are amazing. I’ve been a regular for sometime and have to be good to them but if I didn’t believe it, I wouldn’t write it. Service is excellent and I never have to wait for a refill. Lunchtime is often jammin’ and like any other place downtown at lunch, there are a lot of suits and clones, but once I get past that, it’s all good. The food is a step up and not your typical bar food. Everything is freshly made including all the salad dressings and the falafel. They have the best honey mustard salad dressing ever. Don’t go looking for breakfast during the week because it’s only served on weekends. All you have to do is get past the nightmare parking that is Portland, and you’re in. Of course, you could always do what I do and take the bus.

If you’re looking for a place right in the heart of downtown to sit outside then Jax will fit the bill perfectly. I walked by this place 3 times a week for months on my way to Ballys and it finally took a Unilocal event to get me in the doors. Rooftop seating is great and plentiful. Bartenders were very nice. Music is great (?) throwback to the 80’s. What really sells this place is the fact that it has rooftop seating, besides that nothing else makes it stand out. Sitting on the roof in 90 degree weather while enjoying a cold drink and the breeze off the river really cant be beat.
Word of warning, no rooftop bathrooms. You need to take elevator back down to hit the head. Not sure about the ladies restroom but the men’s looked like what some of my worst nightmares are like. Be afraid of wearing flip flops in there.

Going to have to go with the 5* for Jax. Like Laura N., it was the music play list highlighting the great MJ and ELO as well as the Rigor mortis stiff drinks that made the evening (plus much love is given to any bar that serves Cherry Vodka).
Bartenders were awesome (I have to confess, I got a discount on my tab b/​c I was able to identify an ELO song… hell yes) and I never had to wait too long for service.
So put all the aforementioned greatness on a rooftop downtown and its a LEGEN…
wait for it …
hope your not lactose intolerant…
DARY night

I have had two experiences at Jax. The first was in the actual restaurant-​type establishment. It was OK; nothing to write home about.
However, the rooftop patio is pretty neat. The drinks were stiff enough and the view of the Yamhill District MAX stop was kind of amusing. The denizens of the Yamhill Pub make for some amusement, but I was there to hang with friends.
Be sure to check out Bally’s to see people sweating and not having fun. Or maybe they’re trying to make room for some…

I’ve been hearing about how wonderful Jax Rooftop was and I always want to go there. Every time, I was trying to go up there, they had something going on. From birthday party to a wedding. I thought WOW the rooftop must be AHHMAZZINGGG…
So we had an UYEPT on the rooftop and I was excited to go. Come Thursday, we had this scorching 100 degrees weather. Huffin and puffin I almost didn’t go, but I thought I might ever not see the rooftop if I didn’t go this time. Put a sun dress on and my favorite pair of flip flops, to the Jax Bar I went.
I didn’t expect the hallway to go to the elevator will be grand or anything like that, but I was surprised finding out that we need to pass Bally’s in order to get to the elevator. It just made me feel guilty that I’ve been slacking off in the working out department (pat muh belly).
I went inside the elevator with a quest to get to the third floor. There’s a sign on the elevator saying that the Restroom is downstairs. It made me nervous if I got sick from drinky drinky too much, I might need to use my purse to pukey pukey. Or even better puke all over sidewalks down below from the rooftop above. I kid I kid…
Overall, the view was amazing. I love the windy rooftop on a hot summer day. Bartender was nice. I didn’t have any alcohol, I had a lemonade. It was a nice rooftop patio to have get together, any event, weddings (if you don’t mind to pass bunch of sweaty guys staring at you at Bally’s) or maybe they have a secret entrance for weddings…

It looks quaint from your view of what’s on the floor downstairs. It looks like your typical dive that fungus-​ed out of that building. Add a little ribbon (opening doors-​wall) to make it cuter and not poisonous.
Then you’ll get redirected upstairs where the fun happens. Walking through the hall you’ll see Bally’s. It will give you a subconscious guilt that you need to work out like them. Or maybe it works the complete opposite, the people from the opposite side feels that they need a break and need a stiff drink.
3^rd floor is where its at. Here comes the laundry and I don’t use fabric softener on my load. So it may not be for all (some like it soft, fluffed and scented. mine’s just dry and odorless).
The ordering system they have there sucks. They are slow to attend to their customers. Having your order taken at the bar (they don’t come to your table which sucks) will take a good 15 mins. The bartenders seems to be too busy with their fustercluck of chaos.
The good part about it is when they do their drinks, they don’t mess around (two guy bartenders). They make good stiff drinks. The Grilled Ahi Tuna sandwich that I have was good as well. It’s a little bit on the tough side. It was simply made with the tuna, wasabi Mayo and pickled ginger. Simple yet tasty. You’ll have three other options for your side dish. I picked french fries over the soups and salads.

I was never very good at Jacks. Bounce — pick up one — bounce — pick up two — etc… Not my forte. I was more of a sidewalk chalk and paddle ball kind of kid.
The idea of a UYE Patio Event here kind of puzzled me. I’d walked by the downstairs bar many times… never really seemed that exciting.
But Jax, like the game, I learned, is much better outdoors rather than in. The rooftop deck is surprisingly awesome– offering a nice place to debate the iconic buildings that surround the area. Bartenders are cool, the area is big, and it’s an overall good place to stop if you’re in the area with a group.
While I might not seek this place out for an evening when it wasn’t sunny or dry, one thing is for sure, nowadays I’d pick «jax» over any bar with «paddle» in the title…

All I want to do at Jax is grab my whiskey and soda (with bitters, if you’re into that) at the rooftop bar, take the elevator downstairs, and dangle my drink like a doughnut in front of the huffing worker-​outers on the exercise bikes and treadmills. «So very good,» I’d mouth, «better than sweat.» Which is basically what the building wants you to do when you opt to sandwich a gym between a heavy pouring, multi-​level bar. Mmm, sandwich.
If you can stomach the sadism of the property managers, the rooftop patio is a cute place to drink, mingle, and treat your body like the Jameson-​filled temple it is.

Maybe I’m just easy to please — but when I mix a couple of stiff drinks with a rooftop downtown, stir in some amazing weather (not gonna lie, I love the heat…) and add some of the best folks in Portland, a-​ok is likely low-​balling this fine, fine spot.
For the sake of rebuttal, here are some of the star rating qualities:
–It’s a bar. On a roof.
–You get to enjoy a full spandex view from the elevator and be thankful that it’s not you in there
–Stiff stiffy stiff drinks. Big win
–Tasty bar food (incredible honey mustard dressing if’n you’re interested)
–Tons of available seating
–Friendly, completely unpretentious staff. I wanted to invite these guys to pull up a chair.
But I must be honest — until now, this was a 4-​star review. Then I remembered to take a look at the man in the mirror…
The Michael Jackson love-​fest pushed the star rating over the edge. If Axel F would have come on, I would have personally written the powers that be to include more stars in their ranking system. (how can you not love THIS:
)

Ah, $ 6 gouda fondue, generously portioned to share, how I love to enjoy you on the rooftop bar late on a summer evening. You’re my favorite.

Jax has really, really good food, and the drinks are usually well-​poured. I especially appreciate that they know how to make a tasty Tom Collins, my usual, as it’s tough to find a bartender these days who can do it right. The 3^rd floor patio bar is incredibly inviting on summer nights. Happy hour here is well done, also. Service is usually on point (and I used to know a few of them). The music played in the bar is quite good and eclectic, depending on who’s tending bar. I also admire the local art for sale on the walls, most of which I could possibly even afford (!). Overall, Jax is a chill place to have a drink with a few friends (I’ve even been here with large groups and it was cool). The most entertaining aspect of visiting this little bar is watching the Bally’s fitness people come and go from their workouts… all while you sit and sip your cocktail. Love it!

Ssshhh… Don’t tell anyone about the spectacular bar on the roof. I would hate for this little mecca of downtown summer sipping perfection to get too crowded. And no, I don’t want to share my favorite bartender Corey with the undeserving.
Only downfall is that you can’t get HH on the roof — not that I blame them, it is quite a commute from the kitchen with arms full of plates.

Jax is a good place to take someone to hang out away from the mecca of partying downtown, but it’s not too far away that you can’t go right back into that mecca if you need too.
The food is good, but I seldom eat here. More often than not I order a bottle of Coors Light and see how long it takes for the mountains to go from blue to silver. (You’re welcome for that useless fact)

Stopped in here for lunch the other day, nothing really stood out on the menu and the chicken sandwich I order was good/​ok.
They have a nice ranch dressing and you can choose salad, soup or fries with entrees at no extra charge. The salad was fresh and green so that was nice.
Can not say i would stop in again over trying a new place but if someone wanted to meet there I would have no problems with it. Maybe the happy hour is the time to go.

I almost hesitate to mention Jax because I think it’s an undiscovered gem. Sandwiched around FootLocker and Bally’s, it’s almost unnoticable, but has one of the best Happy Hours in town… great cheap HH food like thin pizzas, salads, and a killer cheesy spinach-​artichoke dip. The HH runs *all day* on Sundays and includes HH pricing for cocktails too. The rooftop view is amazing, but off-​limits when booked for private parties and wedding receptions.

Jax Bar looks like a total downtown dive bar when you first walk in. It’s the kind of place that screams tacos, fried mozzarella sticks, buffalo wings and ESPN. Don’t be fooled my friends.
Head up to Jax rooftop and you will find an incredible view of the entire city. The rooftop is huge and has it’s own private bar where you can order food and drinks. This is definitely one of Portland’s hidden gems, so head to the rooftop and you will feel like you are on top of the world while you watch the sun go down with a drink in your hand.