Alibi Restaurant and Lounge

Extremely disappointing. Came in Thursday night around 9:30 for drinks and karaōke. Walked in to a busy bar with only one bartender trying to take 7 orders at once. Waited 15 minutes until the bartender took our drink orders. I understand she was the only one, but still, they should be better prepared for a Thursday night. Karaōke was terrible. Waited TWO HOURS after we requested our songs for them to be played. The entire time they kept playing only one (very drunk, very obnoxious, very annoying) table’s requests. It was grueling. We ended up leaving before singing, after the DJ told us it would be (at least) another 30 MINUTES. I’m sorry, but that is completely ridiculous.

Karaōke was fun, until my friend was inexplicably kicked out by the ginger-​bearded bouncer for dancing with himself. When I objected to this, I was also kicked out. Plus, the drinks were watered down, and service was slower than molasses (expect a forty minute wait for the first sign of a server). This place is pure garbage. What a waste of time and money. Never coming back.

This place was hard to rate.
Clean interior, specialty drinks, friendly knowledgeable bartender, inviting music, drinks allowed outside on smoking patio.
By all the listed above, this place should get 5 stars.
So, why 4?
Food is an important part of the dive bar scene. Atleast, it is if your going to advertise ot that way with a legitimate menu set up and multiple options.
I ordered the chicken wings. Some were way to hot, over cooked, dry, chewy. Others were cold, soggy, and tasted like everything that had ever been in the deep fryer. A few bite and i was done.
I havent given up on this place, willing to try ither foods, and continue going as long as the atomsphere stay clean, friendly and inviting.

A great bar with great karaōke too. Drinks are strong and cheap, which is always great. Atmosphere is amazing, and the servers are always helpful and friendly. Highly recommended.

At first glance, I basically had to be talked into coming here. But upon arrival we received super warm welcomes, fast service, great drinks and food. The staff was so friendly and engaging even on a busy Friday night. Not to mention their food is AWESOME. You won’t find service like this elsewhere. Love the alibi.

This place was fun. Our party tried to reserve a table for karaōke but seemed to be booked…(couple weeks in advance?) anyways they did what they could to get our party of 8 a table and they certainly did which was very nice of them. The bartenders were both very kind and funny.
Karaōke starts at 9… and boy does this place fill up QUICK about 10 minutes before so I’d suggest getting there 30 minutes before to push people out of the way.
Once we made our way to the tables, we got switched to a server and he was great… very friendly but also doing his job… (apparently i needed a glass of water haha). Everyone seems to be having fun here and I enjoyed that there seemed to be a variety of people and songs being chosen (can suck sometimes when its all the same stuff different day).
This place is cool with the hawaiian tiki theme for sure.
I did totally feel like I was on a sail boat in the bathroom with how small and narrow it was. Anyways, I’d suggest this place for a birthday or group outing, but do plan accordingly.

I’ve been wanting to go here for years. A Unilocal event was held here. Looking forward to the tiki experience, we got what we came for.
I’m giving it two stars for the atmosphere, sweet rum drinks (way, way too sweet-​coconut rum), and the food.
I’d give it two stars in my book… We picked a drink off the menu and asked the bartender if he could make this but cut back on the sweetness. He might of thought he did but we couldn’t drink them. We sent both back and ordered a simple cocktail. The food order was a chicken, rice and Mac salad. It was perfect, moist, and flavourful. We cleaned the plate, finished our cocktail and left all within an hour. It’s just not for us.

I have to give this place 5 stars. Its been around much longer than I have, its the real deal man.
My parents used to drive me past this place back when the sign rotated still, and the Palms Motor Inn across the street had actual Palm Trees.
If only walls could talk, yet I’m not sure I’d want to know… If anyone wanted to remake a Perry Mason episode, they could do it in this bar and the hotel across the street, done deal. The Parking lot screams out for Dodge Darts, huge convertibles, and ladies with gloves, tight skirts, pointy bras, and cigarette holders.
So much of old Interstate has gone, Mel’s, Wong’s Chinese food, that shitty Safeway which is now New Seasons. This is a good thing, change is natural.
I’ve only been to the Alibi as an over 21 person twice and its a grand piece of over done lit up North Portland that I was glad to visit. Our own lovely Miss Tamara set up a UYE and even though she wasn’t feeling her best she looked amazing as always and I loved seeing my friends and each time we meet we get to know each other a bit more. The Alibi was a perfect setting. I didn’t drink last night, as I was driving, and to my amazement, the bartender gave me my soda for free as it was happy hour. The staff were excellent, the artichoke dip and chips I tried were tasty, and I’m pretty sure its impossible to be in a bad mood in an honest to goodness tiki bar from the 50’s-60’s. I didn’t stick around for the Karaōke as that’s not my thang, but if its yours, I hear its swingin’. When I was there for happy hour, the noise level was average but I bet it can get pretty loud when people are banging out the Harry Belefonte.
Of course the company of my Unilocal friends made the evening, and next time, Tamara, I promise we’ll Ginger and Mary Ann up this place like nobody’s biznessss.

Oh my God, Alibi, I’m in love with everything about you.
Your kitschy tiki décor seriously gives me heart palpitations and that fluttery, butterfly feeling in my stomach. I get all doe-​eyed staring at how cute you are and just gape, open mouthed at how incredibly cool you are. Those are definitely symptoms of my deep love for you.
So naturally, when I wanted to have a little themed get-​together, complete with «most interesting» Hawaiian shirt contest, Alibi is where we headed. I got there a little early to snag tables for our group of about 10 or so. The waitstaff folks were awesome. They were regularly checking on us and making sure nobody was hungry or thirsty. I shared a plate of the wings, ½ Thai peanut sauce and ½ honey bourbon. Both were really good.
Alibi is the epitome of old school Portland cool. They’ve been in the business of facilitating fun since 1947. That’s a long time! God willing, they’ll be around another 69 years. Long live the Alibi!
2016 — Review # 34

Good wings and reasonably priced drinks. Had both the BBQ and peanut sauce wings. Both were good but I personally give the edge to the BBQ.

What a fun spot to hear some great karaōke These are regulars who know what they are doing be warned. Get there early we ended up not singing because the wait was 2 hours. We had fun

The Vegas-​Esque neon sign is outrageously bright and bleeping kewl… you cant miss it…
Escape the rain and get as close to a tropical isle as you can in tne wetness-​ness-​ness of Portland.
Fun Karoke.
Spendy tropical drinks could use a bit more pour… my komoniwannaleiya was low on vodka over juiced. for the price.
A crowd mixture of all shapes and sizes there to have and share a good time… sing away all enjoy.

i cannot believe i went 2 – 3 years without reviewing alibi! how can i forget? it’s almost my reference tiki joint to compare other tiki joints.
1. tiki glasses. yes.
2. tiki drinks– decent, not the best, but what you expect.
3. décor– out of the world!
4. omg, karaōke!
5. polynesian menu (did not try)
this place is far out, i wish i lived here just for alibi!

Great drinks; however, if you would like to sing in the first two hours you will have to slip the Kareoke DJ a $ 20. Blatant corruption.

Very different from 15 years ago when it was a convenient and regular spot for my work crew. Place was SLOW, COLD and DARK.
I won’t be returning.

Our server was attentative and the food was yummy. The pulled pork platter was delicious and was only $ 7.95. Came with pulled pork, white rice and mac salad. Drinks are always great as well. If want to sing karoke though, forget it. You can maybe since once every 3 hours. There’s always a line and the «DJ» or whatever you call him has full control. He needs to step off his high horse, haha. Lucky I’m not big into karoke so this doesn’t affect me. People watching is fun, but if you want to sing I suggest going else where.

Bar hopping on a Saturday and this was one of our stops. I dont know what about it made me not want to leave. It was very quiet when we were there. I think I felt like I was in Hawaii.
Ambiance: Quiet with good music you would think to hear in Hawaii and also some new stuff that was cool. Felt like I was on vacation
Drinks: Very tasty. Very tropical themed, obviously
Food & Service: We ordered a few things to share and everything was great. Even the tater tots were awesome. Our waitress was very nice and attentive.
I will definitely make my way back here.

I had 2 beers before heading over to this bar with a few of my friends. They had been at bars all day drinking and doing shots. I was at work. They were all quickly allowed in the bar ahead of me, but the asshat of a bouncer stopped me checked my ID a few times, declared me too drunk to go inside, and watched like a twat as my husband went inside the bar to SHOUT OVER THE DIN the fact that I was not allowed to enter the establishment. I was the sober one in the group… but I was not allowed in. Oh, and I was made to feel super embarrassed by this whole situation in front of lots of strangers.
I will never go back to this bar, and I will never encourage anyone else to go to this bar on their own. This place can get f#%ked.

The Alibi is everything I want a tiki bar to be. Neon signs and colored lights, fake bamboo and palm trees everywhere, and rainbow-​colored sugary drinks with ridiculous names. Plus karaōke! Plus a somewhat sketchy late-​night buffet!
You can’t miss the place as you’re driving up, thanks to the giant old-​fashioned ALIBI neon sign flashing over the parking lot. The inside reminds me of Reno’s casinos in a good way — all that delightfully tacky tropical-​themed décor. It’s surprisingly big inside, and if you sit at one of the booths near the front, you can still hear yourself talk when karaōke starts up. If you want to be part of the karaōke, head to the back near the stage, and you’ll pass the table where the late-​night buffet is served (starting at 10 pm, I think).
The cocktail menu is standard tiki-​drink fare, with pina coladas, Blue Hawaiians, mai tais and the like. Prices range from $ 8 – 10 for most drinks, but they’re tall and come festively decorated with lots of fruit and umbrella garnish. I don’t really come here for the food, but they have some standard bar snacks like fries that are good for soaking up all that sugary booze.
The karaōke is entertaining to watch and you can search their song list online via their website, so no grubby song books covered in spilled alcohol. You can reserve seats for public karaōke, which starts at 9 pm, and tables are held until 9:15. Or you can reserve private karaōke at $ 45/​hour if you’re shy.
I’ve always had friendly service here, although it can be a little slow on busy weekend nights if you’re not sitting at the bar. But that’s a minor quibble. Mostly, this is just an awesome bar for anyone who likes the wacky tiki experience.

Karaōke me crazyyy!!!
Who doesn’t love a karaōke bar? Do you like tiki bars??? Or a good karaōke spot. And drinking out of a punch bowl? If you say yes to one of those things, you should definitely come here! Definitely.
The décor is funky, dark and colorful. The place itself is pretty big! Karaōke is in the back bar which have a massive projector with lyrics and can seat 50, 60 people comfortably.
Or you can sit at the bar and talk to the bartenders! My bartender actually danced for me as he made our punch bowl! He got moves to match each ingredient, including the fire! Talk about fun people. They are known for their tropical drinks like piña coladas and so on. But I wanted the punch bowl! And for $ 30, that thing can knock you out!
Four of us shared the sweet, guava/​banana/​mango/​pineapple tasting thing and we were done for the night! It’s the sweetness that can sneak up on you! Quite tasty though. We also had some kinds of fuzzy peachy shots. Bartenders surprise! Definitely helped us in singing our songs. And the songs we’ve sang! Some random grabdpa came up and danced in between me and gf as we sang… he was let down when we didn’t dance with him? He made sure that I know he was let down! Told me so many times. Made us laugh! Free entertainment?! Totally.
In short– go, drink, sing and have fun! This place keeps Portland weird. And fun!