marathon, thank you for being the first bar to kick me out- you suck. i dozed off for like 2 minutes and my whole party got kicked out.. lame.. very lame.. otherwise: relatively cheap alcohol, decent cheap food, pool tables, diverse crowds, good for watching games, empty at times, *real* busy on the weekends.. blah blah.. you kicked me out... read more

Wow. Lots of hoodies. Lots and lots of 'em. And no shortage of backwards ball caps. I bet if I went back on a Friday/Saturday night it would be nothing but stripey shirts and popped collars. Service was decent. It took forever for me to get a beer because of the stupid hootchies in line and generally people who don't know to GET THE HELL OUT THE WAY after they've been served. And then, $2.50 for a plastic cup of PBR? Seriously? I know we're close to PGE Park, but give me a break. The space was nice. Decently lit (what IS it with nocturnal bars?), mostly spacious, the bar is REALLY LONG, although I suspect some of it was a lunch counter. Lots of bouncers on a Thursday night. Not a good indicator of the clientele. read more

We go to the Marathon every year with our friends on Christmas Eve and after the occasional Portland Beavers game, so I'm kind of sentimental about this spot. If you're looking for a place to kick it with your homies, have way too many beers (= cheap pitchers of good draft beer), play some pool or darts, flirt with strangers, wearing no fashionable clothes, while listening to good music from every era, this is your place. If you're looking for a place to be seen looking super posh, drinking your rocktail with olives, in your $50 shirt from Urban Outfitters that pretends you're a mechanic, move on...you won't be sated at the Marathon. The Marathon has the BEST jukebox in all of Portland, as far as I've found. Trouble is, everyone plays their own taste, as usual, so it's pretty eclectic and surprising. I find it amusing to go from Led Zeppelin to Ricky Martin. It's kind of a meat market scene on weekends, but people are still friendly and the vibe is fun. The food here is good, laid-back pub grub. You'll have a tough time deciding what to eat, the menu is extensive. Do try the fried mushrooms and jalepeno poppers. Burgers and fries are great, too. Oh yeah, there's a teeny-tiny parking lot in the back, which can be nearly impossible to get out of, at times. I suggest parking on the street. The only bad thing about the Marathon is the incredibly slooooowwwww service, both at the bar and table. The waitstaff are usually nice and apologize for the wait, though. Honestly, I've never cared because I was already halfway to the floor, if you get my drift. Do what we always do to avoid waiting and get a couple of pitchers for your group right away. read more

My neighborhood sports bar. Many screens all around the bar & the biggest wide screen tv I've ever seen. $2 breakfast. Good burgers. Great gyros. Free popcorn. Easily one of the best places in Portland to watch sports. But be warned, when it's a Ducks football game or a Timbers match, this place gets loco. read more

This is my favorite bar in Portland for breakfast, weekday evening drinks, and sporting events on television. One of the best things about this place is the $2.00 breakfast. Two eggs, two strips of bacon, and two pieces of toast is the prefect way to begin the day. The breakfast is better on the weekdays as the cook on the weekends isn't as good. For food later in the day I like the beef gyro for $4.00 and the hamburger for $3.00. Either one will fill you up for cheap. Wash these down with a small pitcher of high life and your in for a great night. Marathon is a great place for watching televised sporting events, especially Blazer games. There are quite a few televisions and the crowd can get pretty into the games. Service can be a little slow during these times but you can always run a tab at the bar and get served quickly there. The crowd during the times I go is usually older men and the vibe is pretty mellow. I don't like going here on Friday and Saturday nights because it attracts a younger group and can get pretty packed. The bouncers during the day, Shawn and Kenny, are super friendly. Most of the servers are lovely but my favorites are Chelsea and Lucy. They are attentive and pleasant. Overall this place has everything you need for a great time and at a great value! read more

Last Wednesday I took out my BF for a date to this place, as he is now 21 and I thought it would be nice of him to explore the bars in Portland. We also dislike driving (enough of that to work) so we picked this place close the to the PGE Max Station just walk down the street. At first I was little nervious if the customers would be rowdy and noise of sports TV would overwhelm us as some review has complained, but when we visited around 6pm on Wednesday evening it was relatively laid back and the girl who greeted us was very friendly and helpful, so she eased my fears. We already make sure to eat and drink water before we consume any alcoholic beaverage, so I ordered steak (killer deal for $11) and he ordered a 1/3 pound burger. Food arrived in no time, and we were so full I was not sure we could even drink afterward! I even called my friend over and he had no trouble finding the place, and my BF even met his co-worker, who states he is a regular. We played pool and enjoyed the ambient music without having to raise our voices to speak. This was also my first time using the coupon from restaurant.com, and I was afraid of being discriminated (even with automated 18% gratuity fee and $35 min. purchase). But the server just smiled and said it was her first time processing the coupon, and she did just fine! We gave her extra tip and left very happy. I shall have to come back for the famous chicken gyro next time... and no, I only use coupon once and pay the full price next time aroun if we like the place! :) read more

Reasons to go here: -cheap beer. -good CHEAP food! Yeah, its greasy..... but it is super cheap and tastes super yummy. -Awesome people watching from the window seats at the bar. -lots of TVs and lots of tables. Reasons to not go here: Whelp..... none come to mind. Unless you are pretentious and don't like "dive" type bars. But if that is the case, what are you doing in Portland? read more

$4 breakfast and Nate the DJ are wonderful. You cannot get better. Come here for Nate.

Wanted to escape the heat last night, so I decided to go to The Marathon, one of my old hangouts. It's been a few years since I've been there. Food and drink were tasty as usual. Tried a new item (for me anyways), the Marathon Pizza. It's a grilled pita with an olive oil and garlic base, topped with feta and cheddar cheese, olives, onions and mushrooms, and gyro meat. Really good. Also drank a Lagunitas IPA. Tasty stuff. I used to visit this place in the afternoon, around lunchtime. A lot of winos and blue collar types back then. This evening crowd was definitely different. A lot of yuppie/ hipster types hanging out, making noise and irritating me. Couldn't even hear the game on the TV. At least the place was air conditioned. The gals behind the bar/ waitresses were also sending out some negativity. Not very friendly, as I remember in the past. A bit of attitude. Slow service. Wouldn't look me in the eye. WTF? Maybe it was the heat, maybe it was the evening crowd, I don't know. But not a good vibe there. Not one smile. Went off to Trader Joe's after that for supplies. At least the employees smiled, made small talk with me, and made me feel appreciated. And they put a smile back on my face. read more

I tend to find myself at the Marathon quite frequently, as I hang out with a group of guys that seem to have a special place in their hearts for this bar. At first I didn't like it, but it's really grown on me. They have cheap, but decent food and patrons can get a mini pitcher of Miller for something like $2.50. Great atmosphere to watch sporting events, with plenty of TVs. It's also a great spot to hit up before a Timbers game. read more

Hmmm, what would my dream bar consist of??? Really super good cheap food. Really super cheap drinks, quality optional. Lots of pool tables. Great Juke Box. Oh and did I mention super cheap drinks. This is it. No need to impress when you come here. I don't feel like I need to dress up to blend in. There is such a variety of people here no one sticks out. I think the only time I stuck out was when I came shortly after my wedding. Apparently a girl in a wedding dress can get alot of attention. I did get a free bottle of champagne! I also use to work here years and years ago. But that was a different lifetime . . . . . read more

There's a drop of two stars for my own little personal issues... kind of a little of what I read, customer service FAILURE. Basically my current boyfriend used to date a girl that loves this bar. The problem is she'll come here and hang out- and her friends are the bartenders. Hence, I am now a collective hated object when the other girl is around. Ladies- I hate to tell you, but history is history and money is money. I'm sure the owners can get you to tweak the attitude. Aside from this for $3.75 you get like a shot and a half of vodka type beverage. Literally it numbs the mouth, so go in for some drinkage. As a warning, this area is a bit slummy so you have to sidestep the puking homeless people and watch where you walk... Overall it's.. OK. read more

This is a great dive bar, full of interesting people. Both the drinks and food are at good prices. There's plenty of pool tables and tv's. Its a good place to hang out either during the week or on a weekend. ... and at $2.50 for a vodka 7up, you really can't complain. read more

I rather like this place. It's one of the cheapest places to get a drink: $2.50 wells, which while metered are still cheap enough to get you drunk on a budget. Most of the bartenders are friendly, too, with Will being the ultimate best (though he often seems to work with a rather surly, scrawny girl, who I think is usually a server). The eclectic gathering that frequent this place are anywhere from civilized to congenial. And, they have pool tables, and tables that aren't leaning like the tower of Pisa! I'm not sure that I'd eat here, though: the meat in the burgers is gross, the fries are those thick and flavorless frozen things that have some sort of fryer-retardant coating on the outside that prevents them from crisping up properly, the gyros are a study in greasy blandness, and the nachos come with bleu cheese instead of sour cream - and no salsa! Correction: I would eat breakfast here. The Marathon now has the best $2 breakfast deal in town. Two eggs, two pieces of bacon, and two slices of toast. read more

Much like batters in the baseball games that frequently take up a sizeable number of the ample television screens in this establishment, Marathon Taverna is hit or miss. The good: Cheap beer (like, under $5 pitchers of shitty beer cheap), which if I was ranking this place on the dive bar scale, would kick it up to 4 stars easily. This place is definitely going for sports bar though, as evidenced by the huge number of television screens, viewable from all areas of the bar. They were good about switching screens over when big games started or upon request, making this a great place to go to get shitty and watch any kind of sports. Their happy hour is also great, the food is cheap and the beer gets even cheaper. The bad: There is a definitively negative air about the bouncers and some of the bartenders which made me feel less than welcome sometimes. The servers, on the other hand, have been welcoming if a bit brisk when they're busy. There's also a crowd of regulars who is fond of giving the stink-eye to young folk such as myself. The ugly: The first time I went here, I had a gyro that had great proportions of meat, vegetables, and tangy tzatsiki sauce. It was so good that I ordered it again--this time, I got almost entirely meat and bread, an anemic tomato slice, and almost no tzatsiki sauce. That time, my food took 30+ minutes and I had to ask the server to check on it as well. Service was also noticeably worse that day despite it being similarly packed. Other ugly things include the way my guts felt after eating a pita bread/meat bomb and chasing it with pbr and french fries--ouch. I had one good and one less good experience here, so I give it an A-OK for the time being. I plan to be back sometime and will update based on that visit. read more

Marathon has been one of my favorite dive bars for a long time. They have a great selection of beers on tap and pints and pitchers are inexpensive. Their food is really good. I love the gyros, and again inexpensive. They have $2 breakfasts, which is awesome. The staff is always friendly, there is pool and ping pong. This is a great place to go if you want to eat and drink and have fun on the cheap! read more

stopped in for a pint while walking around. It was cool place. Was mainly just relaxing on my phone and watching the tv...since it wasn't busy and bartenders were doing other things...I liked it..would come back read more

This bar is decent to watch sports on the numerous television screens situated around the bar, but lacks anything beyond that. If you think hanging with washed up drunks and total bro dudes is cool on any day or night of the week, The Marathon is the happening place to be! Witnessing the bro dudes trying to pick up the ladies that wear less clothes than Paris Hilton on a yacht is highly amusing--it's like witnessing an animal planet episode of wild mating season but animals have more class and structure than the dating pool at this bar. There are no disclaimers when you enter (there should be), and I always feel like taking an hour long shower whenever I walk by the outside of this hell hole. The one thing I can say that's positive about this place is the bathroom smells like bubblegum. The pleasant smell doesn't prevent you from contracting herpes from the toilets seats. read more

Actually deserves 0 stars. Visitors to Portland. We were inhospitably refused service due to what we were wearing. They made us leave. HORRIBLE. Do not give them your business. read more

Asshole bouncer on Monday night March 9,2015 which sucks, but great for the bar across the street because we bought everyone in the bar 3 rounds and tipped him 100% read more

There are few things I love more than a perfect dive bar. Marathon is touted as a dive bar (and it mostly is), but on a given Thurs/Fri/Sat night, it's overrun by Portland hipsters, yuppies with popped collars, and frat boys. That still doesn't change the fact that it's effin CHEAP. #1 dive bar must. $3 wells? $2 pitchers? What? Where am I? So I can overlook that the clientele isn't exactly your standard dive bar patrons (but hell, neither am I). Inevitably, whenever I'm back home in Portland, a large group of us always ends up here, drinking cheap beer and reliving our high school days. I'll take it. read more

Pro's: Place hasn't changed since I lived here back in the early 2000's..Cheap gyros and good looking ladies behind the bar. Con's: Place hasn't changed since the early 2000's :p read more

By the time we got to Marathon our group had a big missing credit card debacle and had to pull apart an almost brawl over a game of pool. However, there were decent drinks, decent gyros, and tons of beers on tap. The most important thing though was the friendly crowd. I met a bunch of cool dudes and one of my friends even got the bouncer involved in a discussion over our favorite Taco Bell treats. The other most important thing was the price: cheap! read more

Asked for a water, then sat for twenty minutes while the two female bartenders blatantly ignored me. I literally had to pull up the menu on my phone to figure out what I wanted, and even then I had to make an effort to flag down an employee standing directly in front of me. read more

You know those days when you are short on cash but long on your desires to drink and eat? They have beer/well drink specials. Stick with those, if you are the jerk that is ordering the passion fruit infused Moscow mules...go someplace else. Lots of room when your motley crew grows at the last minute and don't have reservations. Plenty of TVs and they have less standard toys like an old school cigarette machine and a popcorn maker. read more

If you are looking to watch sports with an up beat atmosphere, or play some pool with your friends, this is the place to go! The music is upbeat fantastic to the point where you can't help but dance. People are friendly and it's a great happy environment. When I am hungry, I always count on the Beef Gyro with some fries! it's one of the best in town!! I count it even when it's late at night and no one else is serving food... The pita with the Gyro beef, feta, tomato and sauce is amazing at any time. read more

Pool, a juke box, and fried food. What else could you as for you when you're drunk out of your mind. The guys that frequent this pseudo dive are lack luster but I only went there this one time. The options are cash up front, or leave a tab open, not very flexible in that sense. My friend and I had fun, but to go there sober and to have fun I think would be much tougher fete. Get there already sh*t faced, or well on your way to being so. Don't go there completely sober and looking to hit on some cute girls/guys. The girls all look as if American Apparel ate a burrito and threw up all over them, same for the guys. But other than that this is an A- OK place. read more

When I lived in Goose Hollow during my college days at PSU Marathon was my go to dive bar. Cheap drinks, tasty gyros, great people watching and free popcorn. Every time I drive by I am hit with a touch of nostalgia, and drop in when I can. read more

A great place to catch ANY game and down cheap drinks. TVs Galore! Food is cheap and p retty decent. And as much as we all describe this as a "dive bar", it's pretty clean. Great place for Sports junkies on a budget. read more

Love love the popcorn here that is the one thing I can tout about this place. I love it because when you go into these types of places they should have some kind of nuts or something else like popcorn to snack on. I have been in here many times and it is so comfortable here. I enjoy the easy going feel here and recognize the staff in here even after awhile. They still remember me even after a few months. This is one of my top choices for "divy" bar of the area, definitely one of my favorites. I love the decor of the place and they have potters on well if you're a vodka fan. Myself I like to to try almost anything, and Potters isn't too bad, but anything is better than Monarch. EWW. Had a few drinks and popcorn with hot sauce. (Tabasco) go for it! Try it. You have to ask for a popcorn bowl, but even if you have eaten you will enjoy having munchies with your drinks if you aren't that hungry. I know I do.. one of the few places that still practices this. Kudos to this place, enjoy this place immensely!! read more

Seriously, we went to a LOT of bars on our trip to Portland...I think this is my third or fourth Rose City review. Anyway, had some beers here after a bus trip to/from Seattle for a Chicago Fire/Seattle Sounders soccer game and was eager for something greasy to nosh on. Fired mushrooms, fried zucchini and a gyro were just what the Dr. (Cardiologist) ordered. I liked the grilled pita, others didn't. Atmosphere is totally laid back and the place feels like a locals joint. Which is a good thing since by this point in our trip, I was getting sick of tourists. ;-) read more

Bouncers are JERKS. But they have to be lots of Burnside Cadillac's and punks like me who have been physically removed on every birthday they have had since they were allowed to show up. Prices and food quality are the same as Bullpen, Bitter End, or any other dive in the area. Its a love/hate relationship that brings me back. Bartenders are sometimes awesome (Julie), sometimes slow and rude. ITS THE PEOPLE...Packed with old men drinking in the morning, suburban punks on the weekend, hipsters, homeless, 40 year old women mixed in. read more

Decent pub for 20-something I finally decided to try this place after passing it up many times on our way to another place. It's a decent pub, although the crowd was a bit on the younger side. Being in our 30s, I think we were the oldest ones there on a Friday night! It was still a good vibe, though, offering affordable cocktails and even cheaper food. You can get a pretty decent Gyro here for less than $5, which is always a nice change compared to your standard pub burger. This is known for being a sports bar, so I'd like to go back for a game to check out the crowd or maybe after a game at PGE. Maybe then, we won't look like we're retired! Tip: Parking can be an absolute pain. If you plan on leaving by 11 p.m., drive up the street and park at Freddy's. read more

Good drinks, but the bartender who served them needs an attitude adjustment. I think she slept through Customer Service 101, like many Portland servers who are too cool for school. I'd much rather go to the Matador down the street. Or Scooters. Hell, even the Bitter End. read more

Good spot for soccer in the heart of the city, near the Timbers stadium. I was there twice while traveling on my book tour. The first time was after a Timbers game, the second time was the next morning watching the opening match of the World Cup. Cons: A little dark and greasy. But hey, it's a dive bar. Pros: Good beer selection, cheap pitchers, lots of screens, pro-soccer slant. read more

I very much enjoy playing pool here. The tables are nice, the room is bright, the windows re large, the music is good and the beer is cold. What more do you need in a Portland bar on Burnside? We never spend much, as the beer is cheap. We play a lot of games as the tables only cost 50 cents and we enjoy the crowd and the music they keep pumping out on the jukebox. read more

Marathon Taverna - Pool tables for 0.50 cents. They also have a pong pong table! - Sports Bars Near Me - Portland, Oregon

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A Haiku Review of Marathon Taverna: Burnside Behemoth. Seems like the perfect sports bar. Good gyros, to boot. read more

So I have been to the Marathon a few times for a quick brew prior to Timber's games. A dim, yet spacious establishment, furnished with all the goodies (pool, a plethora of TVs, and Buck Hunter!). In short, a solid place to experience in the area. Upon my last visit I braved the menue not expecting much... However, after recieving a SOLID burger the Marathon grows on me more and more. Experience it, enjoy it, and like the last review... be prepared for a mix of what makes Portland, well, Portland! read more

This is an awesome bar. If they had some form of a dance floor, with all of the GOOD music that they played back-to-back, they would get 5 stars. Will definitely be going back again. read more

The Salsa leaves a lot to be desired. I would recommend management go with a different brand