Gay bar portland or

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2014 | old town

In the former home of LGBTQ+ institution Embers, Badlands is helping to rebuild Old Town’s once thriving queer scene. In the years since, it’s grown a community that regularly shows up for karaoke, game nights, salsa and bachata dance nights, and dance parties spun by some of Portland’s best DJs.

Featured Events: Queeraoke, queer country nights

Back 2 Earth

Est.

Live DJs are always there to provide great music, and on Sundays there's a popular drag brunch with cheap but quality food.

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The duo also owns Stem Wine Bar, which offers tastings, wine flights, and weekend tarot readings.

Featured Events: sunday afternoon jazz, Sister Bingo

Eagle Portland

Est.

Happy Pride Month! If a Portland movie night could give Carla Rossi a run for her box office, it would be the Eagle’s round-the-clock double feature of hardcore gay porn and TV movies routinely screened behind the bar.

The clientele is as diverse as Portland gets, all ages and bodies mingling under the spinning disco ball or squeezed into booths.

Featured Events: fresh paint amateur drag, women crush wednesdays, thursday trivia

Low-Key Venues

Darcelle XV Showplace

Est.

Gourdet has been vocal about his sobriety, and both the bar and restaurant offer plentiful zero-proof options in addition to cocktails, beer, and Oregon wines. Today, the upstairs lounge hosts biweekly karaoke and plays music softly enough to comfortably hold a conversation, but it’s tough to drown out the bass from down below.

Back2Earth

This lively gay bar, owned by Eagle Portland proprietor Dan Henderson, features bar grub like burgers, barbecue fried chicken sandwiches, and loaded fries, not to mention drinks like espresso martinis and Tajín-rimmed watermelon mojitos. The city has a prominent feminist and lesbian scene, which is focussed on the Hawthorne District with its trendy bars and coffee shops.

Tragically, the beloved institution announced it will be closing its doors on August 3, 2025. To go with your drinks there's an extensive and pretty cheap menu that includes everything from breakfast comfort foods to classic burgers, nachos, and fried chicken.

Scandals

Drag

Located downtown in the original Pink Triangle, Scandals has been a staple in the gay scene since 1979.

Part cocktail bar and part dance club, it’s an approachable introduction to LGBTQ+ nightlife, which is why it’s most Portlanders’ first gay bar. Dancers of all experiences and expressions shake whatever they got. (3312 SE Belmont, lospunales.com)

Related: At Taqueria Los Puñales, Excellent Tacos Are Served With Queer Joy

Tin Shed Garden Cafe

Christie Griffin and Janette Kaden run this homey eco-friendly and dog-friendly cafe, bringing longtime Shed employee Eric Pottenger aboard as a co-owner in early 2025.

The entire LGBTQ+ community should, in the best bars, feel safe and free to let loose, have fun, and maybe nibble on something tasty, on menu or off. (2512 NE Broadway, thesportsbraofficial.com)

Taqueria Los Puñales

Brian Aster and David Madrigal’s Belmont taqueria specializes in soul-satisfying guisados made with a variety of proteins, like cachete (braised beef cheeks), chipotle-sauced soy curls, mole poblano shredded chicken, and cochinita pibil.

Most of the city’s dozen-plus queer bars opened in eras hostile to the queer community.