Portland gay bars

1967 | old town

In its late namesake’s absence, Darcelle’s family runs the historic Old Town club Darcelle XV Showplace, and resident castmate-turned-city-treasure Poison Waters reigns as the club’s emcee and grande dame. Diners who aren’t able to snag a coveted reservation should check out the restaurant’s downstairs pan-Caribbean sibling bar Sousòl (Haitian Creole for "basement").

2012 | Sumner

This queer oasis in the Parkrose-Sumner neighborhood—blocks from a popular bingo hall and the scenic Catholic shrine the Grotto—is the PDX airport’s closest destination for a long, gay layover. From Meals 4 Heels to Taqueria Los Puñales, we've rounded up some of our favorite queer-owned bars, restaurants, and cafes in Portland.

Not in the mood for pizza? 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. 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.

2015 | pearl district

Stag’s interior—dark leather and bordello velvet, antler trophies and graffitied antique paintings—feels like a gay après-ski chalet strip club. 2014 | old town

In the former home of LGBTQ+ institution Embers, Badlands is helping to rebuild Old Town’s once thriving queer scene. (2930 NE Killingsworth, chelopdx.com)

Clarklewis

Fine dining restaurateur Bruce Carey took over this pioneering farm-to-table restaurant in 2007.

Here, visitors dine on "vegetable-driven multifaceted Mexican fare" inspired by street food, with locally sourced dishes like shrimp-and-huitlacoche quesadillas, empanadas stuffed with local mushrooms, and vegetable-laden tlayudas. 1979 | downtown

Scandals, “Portland’s gay Cheers,” is the last queer vestige of the city’s long-gone Vaseline Alley and sits next door to the ghost of forever-famous queer diner the Roxy, which devastatingly shuttered in 2022.

1981 | old town

Portland’s longest-running male strip club started life amid a string of ’60s gay clubs, one of them in the building that now houses McMenamins’ Crystal Hotel. The basement club’s ceiling is low, and the rack seating—the stage’s front row—is intimate.

Featured Events:Monday Amateur Night, Thunderdome Thursdays

Stag

Est.

(7955 N Lombard, mosaictaps.com)

Red Sauce Pizza

Apizza Scholls alum Shardell Dues believes less is more when it comes to the eponymous sauce that she tops her gently charred pies with. (1670 NE Killingsworth, mistaconespdx.com)

Mosaic Taphouse

The craft beer scene can often feel like an exclusive club for straight white guys, but married couple Jarek and Laurence Oliver set out to change that with their LGBTQ-friendly taproom Mosaic Taphouse, which opened in St.

Johns in November 2023. You'll find a full calendar of performances, parties, festivals, and other events across the city that are focussed pride, plus a great selection of nightlife destinations.