Paymaster Lounge

The location and patio were excellent. The service, however, was horrible. Rude bartenders who blatantly ignored and skipped us multiple times. There were also only 2 bartenders for a very busy Saturday night and there was no bar outside. Drinks were strong so extra star for that.

Great bar! They have super tasty burgers and a wide array of tater tots, of all things. My favorite? Curly fries! My husband is quasi-​vegetarian and there are plenty of options to satisfy the both of us, including veggie burgers, vegan chili, and vegan nachos. We loved everything we ordered and the prices were really reasonable.
You order at the bar and take a number back to your table where they’ll bring the food out to you. Sucks to have to go to the bar for drinks, but the atmosphere is so great and the service is friendly so it’s worth it! Retro pinball & video games in the back room. There are picnic tables outside for nice weather. We’ll definitely be back!

Great spot with a large heated patio. The bar itself has a great local tap selection. Good vibes. All that to say what I came here to say. EAT THE CHEESEBURGER. I don’t know why it’s so good but it’s one of the best burgers in Portland. You’ll get hooked.

Fun bar with good vibes. Only 4 stars because the line to get drinks moves pretty slow.

What a fun spot!
We enjoyed the vending machine (one of our party got a spirit animal and one got a misfortune cookie).
Drinks were reasonable during happy hour and I also had a frozen drink after happy hour.
Lots of varied spots to sit. Outside small tables. Inside huge booth. At the bar. Small pub tables. Couches. Covered patio. Pinball area. Photo booth. Lots of options. This bar can be anything you need it to be.

This is one of my «Sunday Funday» spots.
Whoever said that you can only have fun at a bar on Friday and Saturday clearly has been to Paymaster.
The place is in a great location just outside the debauchery of the bars on 21^st and 23^rd Ave. The place is very inviting with a low key vibe. They have signature cocktail specials daily, cheap beer, and great bar food. There’s seating for large and small groups as well. For the pool shark and pinball machine junkies they have you covered as well. There’s inside and covered outside seating.
If you’re looking a cool spot to have a great drink and well priced food give this place a try. If I’m there say hello to me as well.

5 Stars when the place is a bit quieter, but when it’s busy it’s a bit crappy. Chill main bar area, pinball machines, surreal TV lounge area with no natural light, and a fantastic patio (if you don’t mind cigarette smoke).
Only issues are when it gets busy, the line for drinks snakes around the main lounge and is regularly ignored by people who just sneak in and order along the bar. Can take a while to get served at those times, otherwise — love this place!

This place is a really chill and fun spot to get a drink. The staff keeps it real while allowing for a good time. I always feel a good vibe from that place! I especially like that cool and funny dude with the beard. Good times.

From the minute we walked in the door, greeted by the friendly bearded bouncer, I knew it was going to be a great night. He informed us that he also cooks on some nights and we had to try the burgers (because they’re basically famous). Being as I can’t turn down a burger… it didn’t disappoint! Well crafted with obviously fresh ingredients and the fries came with a couple different dipping sauces to try. Who doesn’t like dipping sauce?
As for the vibe, it was a lot of fun. The patio is awesome, but it’s unfortunate they allow smoking out there because it’s a little overwhelming with drunken chain smokers at times. The bouncer was probably the most chipper door guy I’ve met around Portland in a while, which was refreshing given that this area can be overcrowded with douche-​centric, entitled drinkers on the weekends and I’d imagine that’s gets really old, really fast. Overall, a friendly experience with good cocktails and kind staff. I’ll be back!

Some co-​workers and I swung in here (at my suggestion) to have a beer or two one Friday. The guy behind the counter was a jerk. I don’t know if he was just having a bad day or if he was mad because we didn’t seem cool enough to be in there?
If you look at my review history I rarely dole out anything below a 3 Star. However, if you have people on your staff who DGAF, rude or seem to not like you based on your appearance then nothing can save your establishment.
I likely won’t be back, which is a shame because they have a great setup for summer evenings.

Bad service and unfriendly staff. This bar has gone down hill. I won’t ever be going back.

Worst bar I have ever been to!!! The bouncer was unprofessional and extremely creepy. This is not a bar I would visit if you want to feel safe. I was extremely disappointed with my experience.

Holy crap, I Iove the burger here.
Great staff, great (and cheap) bar food. Divey atmosphere. Great cheap drinks.
We’re constantly going back even though the hipster crowd is a bit annoying — at least they are fun to look at.

Great little dive bar! Good staff. Good drinks. Even good food! Specials I noticed were a ginger hot toddy and mulled wine. But I went with the spicy side car, made with chili-​infused brandy. And, they do not pull any punches. This one is only for the chili-​heads out there. Also, it was a great place to meet people. Cheers!

Fun little place. Decent drinks. Can’t say much else. Maybe more later as it’s only a couple of blocks from home.

Dig on this joint in the heart of the nauseatingly ‘gentlifried’ Pearl. Good drinx, average prices, generous shots and specials. Though the micro-​sized High Life in a bottle that backed a lower shelf whiskey for $ 8 seemed kinda «D-U-M”(DUMB)!
As a Rose City native, it was cool to speak with the bartender who also has lived in Portland and known the city longer then, sayyy, 6 months-​a year?
We spoke how disgusting it is that just like NE, this area has been gutted by transplant gentrification urban renewal treachery that’s seen leases and rent driven up to chase long time residents like the Matador, that’s «the Mat aka the ol’ Matador» out and cost folks homes and jobs.
So, go here & talk about the Pine St. Theatre, the Mat, Pagoda, Lucky’s and drrrty ol’ Portland. Or go wait in line at Voodoo (which Poster Boy cleans naked)

I once love this placed. Loved it. I mean I was a regular for booze and eats. I live right across the street.
Now, I don’t. It’s meh. Just another PDX bar, just with new staff and shitty service. One of the beer bettys has over charged me three times, and she talks to like I’m in idiot… but she never seams to talk like that to my white counterparts in front of me or after me, isn’t that weird. Maybe she doesn’t recognize it. Anyway.
Worse is that, it no longer has that coolness, it’s just filled with yuppies, and techies. Now I just take my business to 23^rd for burgers and booze at Lil biggie.

The Paymaster,
Good bartenders, fair prices, a little bit of a maze to the patio and the coolest vending machine ever. Bring two dollars you won’t be disappointed.

So, within an 88 hour trip to Oregon I made two visits to Paymaster. It’s not your typical bougie lounge that you go to to sip on martinis and be fancy. It has a small space inside where you can sit at the bar or booths and order food, or you can go outside to the larger patio. It is smoke friendly so be prepared to stink after. There’s also a vending machine where you can purchase your spirit animal. Granted, I got a friggin’ whale, but it was a fun experience… I guess.
First visit I got a greyhound and it was one of the top greyhounds I’ve had. The grapefruit juice was actually real! I’m so used to over sweetened, processed grapefruit juice mixed with vodka, but there’s was amazingly fresh. I approve.
Now onto the highlight of the place: THEIR FRIES & AIOLI SAUCE. That is the only reason why we went back because it was so delicious. $ 5 for a box of fries and three dipping sauces: ketchup, buttermilk, aioli. I got ketchup bc I love ketchup, but honestly, all you need is the aioli so ask for two of them.

I really love this bar… I loved it when it was called «moonshine». It’s the perfect mix of everything. In the summer they had an amazing watermelon margarita that I would drive from SE to NW to get. Currently they have a piña colada and fruity slushy on the menu. You should also check out the awesome vending machine near the bathrooms! I like the patio out back but it truly is for the smokers. I sat out there waiting for friends but had to go inside because of the smoke.

Cheap Olympia tall boys, delicious tater tots, outdoor (covered) patio with pool tables and large picnic tables… This place is a great local hangout in the Northwest if you are looking for a casual bar to meet-​up with friends.
Few things to note: Friends say the burger is great here, but never tried it myself. There only seems to ever be one bartender working the bar and cash register, so anticipate on waiting in line here to order your food/​drink.

The patio is gorgeous, perfectly made for Portland weather, and features an outdoor pool table. Thus far, and I’ve only been looking for a solid year, this is the only outdoor pool table in Portland I’ve been able to locate, which is a shame, because it’s nice to shoot a game in the sunshine once in awhile. Really, this is a five star spot even if you only count the patio. But, there’s so much more!
The food is generally great, if the menu is limited. They have some of the better bar burgers available in Portland, and they’re super cheap during happy hour. They have a really great spicy jalapeño aioli dip that I want to pour directly into my mouth.
Tangential Tirade-​Someone complained about the nachos in a recent review. They’re nothing excellent, but definitely not worth a frowny face. They are average Portland bar nachos. They are not as good as the nachos you will order at 2:30 AM at El Farolito in San Francisco’s Mission District. I have accepted this fact, because I have made my peace with the state of Mexican food in Oregon, where white people frequently complain about food being too spicy, even when they are in a THAI restaurant. Paymaster grills fresh jalapenos and then slice them up for the nachos, giving a nice smokey flavor with some nice heat while not tasting like pickles. Maybe he likes pickly nachos. I think we all know what that says about him as a person. Creep.
The only thing I can even complain about here is that the dark room/​bluelight room, whatever people are calling it and thinking that they sound hip, is just ridiculous. It is so dark you can’t even see the door to the patio. You also can’t see the coffee table exactly the height of the middle of your shin and directly in your path from bar to patio. If you come here and go out to the patio, there’s a 83% chance you will hit your shin on this thing so hard you collapse into a ball of white hot pain. And if you’ve ever strolled by the front door of this place and heard someone screaming like they were being stretched on the rack, it was probably me. I swear to god, Paymaster, put some more lights in that room. People would actually come watch the blazers games in there if they didn’t feel like they were in the cave system from The Descent.

I like Paymaster. They could bump up their tap list. Great indoor-​outdoor arrangement.
But the nachos are giving me a sad face. The chips are tasteless, the black beans and salsa dry, the cheese bland — I’m more for a sharp rather than the jack they use.
Nachos are not that hard to mess up, know what I’m sayin’?

Who doesn’t love a cozy, dimly-​lit lounge with multiple rooms to slink into with a delicious cocktail? More over, this town is OBSESSED with the bar patio scene, and Paymaster’s got that scene on lock. I can’t believe I didn’t bother to check this place out after they switched the name a year or two ago.
HIGH POINTS:
–Obvs the patio. Kitschy décor, a pool table, and space heaters.
–The tiny «bluelight» lounge you pass through on the way to the patio. Something about the mood in that small space screams «snuggle up, make out, and sip a drink.»
–The happy hour nachos! Fantastic, and it was a huge portion for a small price! Nacho afficionados will appreciate the melty, jack cheese-​smothered goodness.
LOW POINTS:
–The pours on drinks can be a little weak, depending on who’s working.
I’m still mourning the loss of Slabtown… but now I know I can shuffle right around the corner from there and grab a good drink and a decent bite. That’s about all I can ask for in my little industrial corner of town.

Good place for cheap drinks. I haven’t tried their food yet but the burger at the adjacent table looked amazing:) They also have couple good IPAs.