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    Bar Maven

    4.1 (220 reviews)
    InexpensiveBars
    Open 4:00 pm - 2:30 am (Next day)
    Updated over 3 months ago

    Order Bar Maven Takeout or Delivery

    Bar Maven Photos

    Business Info

    BAR MAVEN ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Juke Box
    Moderate noise
    Casual
    Classy

    Recommended Reviews - Bar Maven

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    Reviews With Photos

    One of my favorite dive bars post pandemi. I've never felt as much queerness, social camrader or gay pride in a "straight" presenting establishment as I have at this bar. Aside from the fact that people are waiting literal HOURS I get food here, I have never seen a PDX bar with such a strong fanbase. Considering that this establishment has been flourishing since 2013, I know that any "bad"experience here has been purely circumstantial. Idk how many times I've witnessed a customer being upset that their 110lb bartender didn't kick a man out for being extra when it was 10mins to close. 10/10 giving Bar Maven a visit.

    Happy hour fried chicken with jalapeño sando
    C... D.

    We go for Happy Hour - well priced drinks and enjoy the food ( except for the smash burgers - it's been 10 years sorry , no)... love the Brussels sprouts, the beef skewers , and tonight's fried chicken sando was delicious!!!! Also low key vibe and a juke box ... the outdoor pool table is a definite plus!!!

    Cauliflower
    Hannah W.

    Love coming here. Friendly staff and consistently solid food - my go-to neighbor bar. Some complain about the volume of the music, but I enjoy it! Decent selection of games and plenty of seating in the heated outdoor area.

    Mary N.

    This place is awesome! Bar food was good. Great happy hour and drinks were delicious. It's a super chill and mellow bar. Good vibes and good atmosphere. I would return and try some of the other drinks and food. My party order the original gyro wrap, the cheeseburger, the maven burger, the brussels, and wings. Everything was delicious. We had fries with the burger and that was very good too! Can't wait to come back!

    Smash Burger + fries & Beef Skewers from happy hour (Sun/Mon ALL day/Tues-Sat 4-7 & 10-1:30)
    Mika L.

    Top 3 for my bf & I. Great happy hour. Good beer & great food. Service is efficient and our bartender is always so friendly. Will always come back. 10/10 recommend!

    Sandwich week sandwich and onion rings
    Sarah C.

    Bar Maven is a neighborhood bar in Foster Powell. They're a little dive-y, with a lot of beer options, cocktails, and in-house made food. They participate in a lot of the "weeks" that Portland does, like sandwich week, nacho week, etc. It's a cool spot. I visited for the first time recently during sandwich week. I appreciate that they offered a vegetarian option. Bartenders were friendly but not over-the-top, food was pretty good, the cocktail was good if a little sweet. The table we sat at inside was a little grungy, but this place offers two outdoor patios which is a huge bonus. While we were there it was a lovely day so the garage doors and windows were wide open for a nice breeze. Just a low-key, chill spot with decent food.

    Chopped Chicken Salad
    Sarah R.

    My FAVORITE spot! Hands down the best place for a drink and SMASH BURGER! Personally Bernard is my favorite bartender! He's the most approachable easy going bartender that works there always makes me feel welcomed and GREAT VIBES. It's Always busy in there when he's working!! You HAVE to try the smash burgers!!

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    Nope. Every time I've been here the employees are rude. Food is sub par and the bathrooms are gross.

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    3 years ago

    I made the mistake of trying to get a to-go order during happy hour. It's a great place to go hang out if you are not in a hurry. My bad.

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    3 years ago

    Loved this Dive bar, food and drinks were great. Our lady bartender did a great job making our margaritas. We will be back

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    Page 1 of 6

    Ask the Community - Bar Maven

    Review Highlights - Bar Maven

    My go to food items are gyro nachos or chicken wings, but I've never been disappointed by anything I order.

    Mentioned in 15 reviews

    Read more highlights

    The Observatory - Tomato Bisque

    The Observatory

    4.3(2.6k reviews)
    2.2 miMontavilla, Southeast Portland
    $$

    Add this to your must visit list, Now!…read more Oh my gosh, the observatory is the best place to go especially if you're in town and about to fly out the next day! Close enough to PDX hotels to Uber. The food was spectacular. The salads are huge. The ribs looked amazing. The lamb meatloaf was extremely tasty and the chicken pesto fettuccine was able to be made without fettuccine for me with just extra veggies and it was stellar. They did not even balk at substituting the extra veggies.. the swordfish special with the mushroom risotto and grilled asparagus was awesome. Everything was cooked to perfection and our waiter. Torben was the highlight. He had a wonderful, can-do attitude, very accommodating and extremely friendly. He really treated us amazing and his workplace as though restaurant was his taking pride in his job. The desserts that walked by our table made me wish I had only shared a meal with someone. Everything looked incredible. This needs to be put on your top five to try list.

    We forgot to take pictures of our outstanding food! We were talking and laughing so much! My mom…read moreand I went there for lunch. The service, the ambiance, the background music and the menu were all top notch! It was like a McMenamin feel with a way better menu. The menu had refreshing eclectic choices! We had the oregano fry bread. So fragrant and we loved the dipping sauces. Mom had the lamb burger and she kept saying how tender and savory it was. She never has had lamb before. We were chit chatting with the people next to us about the food and then grew to a wonderful visit with a husband, wife and his mother. They were lovely! We had the lamb burger

    Photos
    The Observatory - Love the decor and ambiance

    Love the decor and ambiance

    The Observatory - Sesame Sweet Chili Glazed Chicken Wings ($12)

    Sesame Sweet Chili Glazed Chicken Wings ($12)

    The Observatory - Buffalo chicken salad (instead of a wrap)

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    Buffalo chicken salad (instead of a wrap)

    Bar Maven - bars - Updated September 2026

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