Muddy Rudder Public House

My new favorite local watering hole. Awesome taplist, ambience and best pizza this side of Hood River. (If you love beer and pizza you’ll know what I mean.). The pizza is light, and cooked to a charred perfection at the edges. Someone knows what they’re doing and has the oven to prove it. The ambience is friendly and inviting with a diverse and welcoming crowd. The beers include a wide range of styles and top tier brewers beyond the usual offerings. I can’t wait to go back!

I am updating my review to give 5 stars instead of 4. I had originally given 4 because I wanted more of a variety of food on the menu, but with pizza this good (they also have sandwiches as well), who needs variety?! Went back yesterday and the pizza was even better than the first time. I’m so glad I don’t have to go all the way into Portland to get a fabulous pizza.

This place is so cozy in the winter and has a great side patio when it warms up. I’ve liked every beer and every pizza I’ve had here, and I’ve had plenty of both.

Good food. Reasonable price. Service was so great and they were dealing with st patricks day. I would stop in here again, especiallly when traffic is heavy. Great service, rachel gave best service in my life!

This place is a perfect fit for any season. Warm and cozy for the winter months and a gem of a little outdoor space for the sunny days. I haven’t had a thing I don’t like and they always have a decent beer selection and ready to make suggestions.

Went on a Sat night, busy place. Could be harder to get a seat due to the live music. Cheap beer, nice variety of cocktails. Service was okay, could’ve been faster.

Great happy hour deals. Great vibes and service. (Well-​behaved) kid friendly. Really nice inside and outside seating.

They really do it right here. Beer selection is good, food
is great, ambience is old-​world. Excellent, tasteful live
music and no cover.

Great beer selection. Interesting characters. Good food. Real fire place. Music, blues, bluegrass and whatever is on Sirius when the music isn’t live. Mixed drinks are made by hand with real fruit. From scratch hot buttered rum. Outside seating street side and tables in the back. My favorite place for drinking Micros. 8 to 10 handles and always rotating as the regulars are always drinking the good IPA’s a a high rate. I show up three to four days a week to help with the effort.

I don’t know how this place only has 4 stars… It is AMAZING. best pizza in Oregon by far. Happy hour menu is great and the atmosphere is incredible. I come here regularly and love ever single pizza on the menu.

Muddy Rudder… Got me by the bloody udder!!!
It’s ultra-​rare I’m willing to give 5 stars for a pub, but this one is just special. I real gem that stands out from the others. Perhaps part of the mystique lies in that it’s a bit disconnected from Sellwood and sits in a neighborhood of beautiful old homes just before you get stranded trying to make it across the bridge to the West side.
I stopped in here after a particularly long day of appointments and was in desperate need of a Happy Hour. Got myself over the bridge and saw the Rudder and it fit the bill and then some. It’s a very pretty early 1900’s home that’s been modified with a larger entrance to accommodate more guests. Inside you’ll find the perfect pub setting and a taste of old world Portland. Creaky original wood floors, small tables made for good conversations, and a craftsman designed back bar with a very welcoming staff awaiting to pour you something special.
Food here is a step above your average bar and pub. Expertly done pizzas, scratch made soups, salads, sandwiches, and some pretty fine antipasto as well. Stromboli is a specialty here, something you usually find on the East coast. They put the calzone to shame.
I opted for the «Pile Driver» pizza on this visit. Great Greek style pizza, with feta, roasted peppers, kalamata olives, and artichokes. Really wonderful crust, just the right amount of toppings, and a real steal at $ 9.75.
While they have a full bar, the beers are what makes this place special. They smartly rotate their taps constantly, and focus on smaller NW breweries. I had 3 pints that I will not soon forget. A Kolsch, an IPA, and a truly delicious Belgian style IPA that took me right back to days of café lounging in Brussels.
Just a great local favorite of mine, and I’ve never been disappointed. It feels like it’s been there 100 years, and the fun old– timey atmosphere and décor help bolster that feeling. I highly recommend this place. Great for music Thursday-​Sunday nights, or an awesome Happy Hour. I mean where else can you pull up at 4pm and grab a pint for $ 3.25.

I have been here many times. I like their classic American style. Their pizza is one of the best ones. The waitresses are super nice and the atmosphere is very friendly and nice. They have live music which almost always is country music. I strongly recommend this place to my friends and will go back again.

Definitely, without reservation, my new fave maritime-​themed bar. There are some model ships and topical trinkets about, but what makes this place special is that you feel like you are in the hull of a ship right when you sit down. It is nice when a maritime bar actually makes you feel like you are on a ship. Most just make you feel like you are in a shitty bar.
The beer list is a real tempest. The cocktails are not too pricey, though I can’t speak for their quality. The cup of vegetable soup I had, with a hot plank of flatbread, is ought to keep scurvy at bay for many a cold fortnight at sea. I’m sure the pizza is fine.
This is a family-​friendly brig: don’t think Carnival cruise. Think sailing in the Santa Monica harbor at sunset with a bottle of red and a bottle of white, and the kids too. I didn’t personally care for the bluegrass over the speakers, but it made sense. The red glowing clock above the liquor bottles is a nice touch — you’ll know what I mean.
And although the barlass was keen to push another beer on me when it was clear I’d had my fill, she took my polite refusals in stride. With an $ 8 tab I left 10 in cash, and she seemed strangely surprised when I told her to keep it. Then she wished me a goodnight, repeatedly. That was nice.
So go get your sea legs, but make sure to level your ballast before the drive home. And if you don’t that’s ok because there are plenty of dark places to pee outside in Sellwood.
(If this doesn’t get me more Cool votes I don’t know what will…)

Food is always good, beer cold (though not as many lighter beer styles as I’d like). This would be my favorite local watering hole IF
— they had any outdoor lighting. You can sit outside and it’s lovely, but once it’s dark it is DARK.
— the interior had a better layout. Inside always feels crowded and loud.
It’s still probably my favorite local watering hole, but it’s not perfect.

Great ambiance, if a little bit dark inside. Nice taplist. Excellent pizza. Crust is a really nice consistency.
Skip the bruschetta, though.

this place has good food, a great beer selection, an awesome dog friendly back patio, and a nice laid back atmosphere. one of our favorites in our neighborhood, especially during the summer.

Great place for a beer with brothers who want to talk about their dad. Great place for a writing club to meet, share their writing, and compose the great American novel. Great place on a cold winter day to meet for whiskey in front of a fire.
Go to this neighborhood bar and celebrate living in Portland.

We stopped for a beer and bite to eat, we shard the chickpea salad and mucca lenta Stromboli. Both were very tasty! Great selection of beer on tap too, will definitely go back!

Get the bruschetta.
Enjoy the outside seating. Summer win.

Delicious pizza, great atmosphere, music and service. I ordered the Nunzeo pizza. The meatball was succulent, the red peppers were lovely and sweet. Great flavor! ! Will definitely come back.

Great pizzas and drinks! Love the rustic décor with the beautiful rugs and hardwood everywhere. The live band here on a Monday night was a pleasant surprise.

Stopped here last Friday around 7 for a bite to eat. Would love to have reviewed the food but after waiting at our table in the middle of the restaurant for 20 minutes as the wait staff walked past at least 15 times w/​o even making eye contact they let us know it would be 30 – 45 minutes for a pizza. It looked like relatively good pizza, but it was just off putting to have waited so long for even the opportunity to order that we took our business to the Leipzig… which was equally as busy and we still waited but they at least acknowledged us when we came in.

This a Cheers-​like, bar with beautiful hardwood everywhere, eccentric regulars sitting at the bar.
It stands just east of the Sellwood bridge like a tourist welcome center to one of the friendliest neighboorhoods in Portland.
The pizza here is fresh, and tastes great! Can’t go wrong with the margarhita. Did I spell thjat right? I doubt it. Bartend and wait staff are are kind, attentive, and competent.
Al; fresco dinging options both on the side, facing Tacoma and on the south side, a series of wood picnic tables surrounded by a private fence.
Always something I like on tap.
This place is one of my favorite chill spots.

Great pizza, drinks and casual local environment. Even with the bridge traffic, worth the wait. Yum! Music most evenings at 8pm.

Came back to enjoy the atmosphere, this time without kids… much better. The conversation at my table was easily heard, amidst other diners and the music being piped in… Made it in time for happy hour, and today’s selection was beautifully varied. Went with the brown ale, and was not disappointed. Appetizer was the Anti-​pasto (had this last time), and was once again on point. My highlight was the Sitka sandwich and Chicken n Thyme Soup. The bread was soft inside and just enough crunchy on the out… the vegetables were a great compliment to the smoked salmon, but I think there could be more of the yogurt dill spread. The soup was damn near perfect, and would definitely order that again.
As a transplant from Texas, Ive been off n on exploring the eating scene here in Portland, and this little place has a very appealing vision for what they serve. Our guests had the Caprese salad, and it looked too good to eat, its presentation only preceding how good it was. Looking forward to coming back and getting down on an Imperial Stout and the Stromboli.

We stumbled in here last weekend. We had been to an event at Oaks Park and needed lunch. This was close, it was a place we had not tried, so in we went. Glad we did.
Rebecca and I enjoy a well made Lager; sorry, but an IPA does not head my list. They had a very flavorful Lager made by Hopworks that we enjoyed. We ordered a salad with a dill yogurt dressing; it was just right. They did not drown the greens with the dressing. Go the taste without being over whelmed. We then ordered and split a personal pizza. We got the meal ball and it was very good. They had sliced the meatball, so it did not roll of the pizza slice. It had good flavor; I wish i knew what spice they used.
This is a relaxed place and relatively quiet for lunch on a Saturday. It was just what we needed. I will go again, if we are in the neighborhood.