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Portland's Best Cocktail Bars

Posted on November 14, 2023   |   Updated on September 30, 2025
City Cast Portland staff

City Cast Portland staff

dark basement bar with bright pink benches, Portland, Ore.

Sousòl, the sister bar to Kann. (John Notarianni / City Cast Portland)

City Cast

Portland’s Can’t-Miss Cocktail Bars

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What are Portland’s best cocktail bars? The City Cast Portland podcast team offers their recommendations:

Best Hack for an Impossible Restaurant Reservation: Sousòl (Buckman)

“It's the sister cocktail bar of Kann, which is one of the hardest restaurants to get into in Portland right now. We were going to get a cocktail and we're just like, let's have the chicken wings, and it came out, and I was like, ‘Did we just hack the system?’” — Claudia Meza, host

Best for a Cheap Cocktail: Abigail Hall (Downtown)

“My favorite thing about this spot is that they have all-day happy hour on Mondays. I always get the Monday blues, so it's something to look forward to, an excuse to go out. [It has a] very chic environment, but their cocktails are only nine dollars during their happy hour.” — Giulia Fiaoni, audio producer

Best All-Around: Rum Club (Buckman)

“My gold standard cocktail bar is the Rum Club. [It has] a tiny little horseshoe-shaped bar, and you just feel like you're right there with the bartenders. They're really friendly, but also just really killer at the drinks that they make.” — John Notarianni, executive producer

If you’re looking for more picks for best cocktail bars, there are a lot of recommendations on a recent podcast.

Manhattan and a Half
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