Bill’s Steakhouse

OK, Portland is a foodie place with lots of different takes on food and it’s presentation. This is not that place. It presents itself as a rather rundown restaurant on the exterior. Cold beer, great steaks even the nachos were good. It’s sports bar interior and friendly staff provide a quiet simple good food. No nose in the air needed.

Service was horrible. Sat at a table and watched waitress/​bartender talk to ladies at the bar for ten minutes. Got up and left. Very ghetto any how.

So this place is kinda «ghetto». The bathrooms are covered in gang «art» and that makes me a bit uncomfortable. Along with the set of rules and dress code on the door. Food was pretty good. Had the NY steak. Service was friendly. Prices were cheap to be honest.

Well, the food isn’t that good, but the waitress was nice.
We were greeted and seated right away for a weekday lunch. I ordered a lemonade which came promptly, along with a water which I didn’t order but turns out was much needed. The lemonade was way too sweet. Diabetes in a cup. I ended up diluting it with almost a full cup of water and even then it probably could have been less concentrated.
I also ordered nachos to share. We asked for the taco meat to be switched with guacamole which she gladly accommodated. However, they were pretty gross. Most of the chips were soggy with poorly tasting nacho cheese. Improvements to the nachos could be made with less fake cheese, more tomatoes, and adding green onions. Over $ 10 paid for some of the worst nachos I’ve ever had.
Our family seemed to like their food well enough. I was envious of the steak fries I saw happily being scarfed down across the table.
Wouldn’t be my first choice for lunch. Perhaps this place serves as a sports bar better that it does a lunch spot.

A solid 3 star visit; nothing bad I could give the place. Super friendly wait staff working the classic dive bar. We got here late enough it was only deep fried bar menu available, but our fried things were very fresh. Drinks were very «well», but cheap enough to make sense. Certainly not a destination, but perfect for passing by.

This place was recommended to us by the front desk person at the hotel we were staying at. It is a little hole in the wall establishment.
Very little parking out front so head out back and pick a spot. Enter at the rear at the «saloon» entrance. You have to walk past the Bar area to get to the restaurant.
It has been decorated as a sports bar and they had several TVs set to various sorts channels.
The waitress was quick to greet us and was very friendly and helpful. The food arrived quickly and our steaks were cooked exactly as we had asked for them.
If you are looking for a high class steakhouse that will break your bank, this isn’t it. This is a local hole in the wall sports bar and Grill that gives you good food at a fair price. We will be back.

The best thing about this place was leaving. We waited for near an hour for our food with a waitress running around without a clue that customers needed service. We happened to be seated by the kitchen so sadly we could see how long food sat in the window, darn near 10 minutes in some cases. Our food came after we saw it get put into the service window. However, my wife’s ‘halibut’ dinner? Well I can hardly say anything good about it, for 13 bucks, you got 4 small pieces of fish, I personally think it was cod and not a nice piece of meaty halibut as stated. The garlic bread was so incredibly salty, it was not edible. We were never asked once as our waitress wizzed by several times, how are food was, did we need a refill on our drinks, etc… I sucked on ice cubes and then took my wife’s drink. My pork sliders tasted as if they had been sitting all day long, the chicken cordon blue bites were mostly chicken not horrible, but a small bit of ham with maybe if you were lucky some cheese. We left unhappy after having to flag her down for a box, not sure why I even brought it home except it was alot of money to spend for the meal. Oh and the salad is just plain olé salad out of a bag, no added anything, no tomatoes, nothing. As I said the best part was getting the heck out. Would not recommend unless you are there to play pool get enough drinks in you that anything at that point would taste good. Maybe it was an off night? But I doubt it, there was no bell that even let her know food was up, but then again? there was only a handful of us in there… Would not return or recommend.

Great cadillac margaritas. I recommend having only one, though! Super-​friendly staff. All of the food is great and they serve you more than generous portions.

Our flight arrived late into Portland and this place was near the car rental we used. It turned out to have excellent burgers and some great beer on tap. The décor isn’t much, but the price is right and and food makes it a terrific bargain. We also stopped here before dropping the rental off.

Terrible! Not busy at all and we go zero service except to check our IDs. Couldn’t even get a drink. Left after 15 minutes of being ignored. Waitress was very rude. Will not ever be back.

Still a Great place. I was first here in 1942. It has changed but still a neighborhood center. It changes with the neighborhood. My Dads name was Bill so it has a warm place for me as he would still like it. Last time I there in 2010 the bar it was quite, friendly, and Parkrose. I will drop in again when I get back to Parkrose. Dan Manassau

Amazing. This place is great. It is a bar, but they are one of the nicest looking bars I’ve seen. Stiff drinks, nice staff, and some freaking amazing food. Their lunch special from 11 – 4 makes me sad I work the 9 – 5, especially Fridays, butterfly shrimp, or fish and chips for $ 7.50 and huge portions. It comes with salad, too much dressing, get it on the side. Then later we have it for dinner too, and they’re the best butterfly shrimp I’ve ever had.
Hubby says the fish and chips are right up with the best too. They have steak sandwiches, great burgers, and so much more. The first time I came I had fabulous scallops, but they don’t have those anymore. Still, lots of choices, happy hour, lunch specials, bomb breakfasts. Also, the health department gave them a health score of 100 at least 2 years in a row. Great place to stop on the way to the airport, too.

I don’t know why the last review of this place was March of 2009 or why it has such low stats because Bill’s Steakhouse is awesome. It’s a bar that serves steak, how could this place possibly be bad? It’s definitely not a classy steak restaurant, it’s a bar. Repeat: THIS IS A BAR. That serves steak.
Shari, Tyler and I saddled up to the bar and plugged the jukebox full of bad 80s songs (that were mostly from the Footloose soundtrack), watched pre-​season football and drank cheap delicious cocktails. Oh yea, and Tyler got a steak.
The regulars in the place were awesome and sang along to Let’s Hear it for the Boy with us. The couple in the corner… well…they were weird. They played Shakira and didn’t want to wear shoes. And the lady next to me ordered two day old chowder (on the 95 degree day), a glass of water and an ice back. But that’s ok, because that was Shari and she was with me.
So basically, come to Bill’s for better than average bar food, good drinks, and great regulars. The bartender will treat you like an old friend and you will want to come back often.

Living in the Parkrose area, I wanted Bill’s Steakhouse to be a decent restaurant that I could frequent on a regular basis. Sadly, my experience did not come close to satisying my hopes. There were colorful characters hanging out near the backside of the building, enjoying their cigarettes while learning-​up against their Harleys. From the front, the old fast-​food-​chain style building implies that maybe this establishment is a dive-​bar. Unfortunately, it is just a run-​down, cigarette smoke encrusted, small diner with attached bar. Upon entering we allowed our eyes to adjust to the darkness and were greated wtih a «sit wherever you like». The tables were sticky and uninviting. The crunchy waitress made her way over to us and asked if we would like something to drink. My dining companion requested Coke or Pepsi and was offered RC. While we inspected the menus, we also observed the waitresses interactions with the other guests and the food that they were eating. We decided that even with the buy-​one-​get-​one-​free coupon we found in the local paper, we should pass on ordering and leave. While I seriously doubt that I will ever know how the food tastes, I know that the atmosphere is not comfortable enough to find out.

Service was great… steak was not. My prime rib (ordered medium well) came out gray-​ish in color and just was not tasty or good to look at. The baked potato tasted ok. I’ve had better steak and potatoes at Black Angus!

UPDATED.
After a fresh remodel — Spring 2009 — Bill’s was clean, and
no longer on the edge of tacky. A friend staying at my house to work on my Electric Car became a BIG fan of their free WiFi and CHEAP Tuesday Breakfast. I joined him several times and was impressed.
The central wall is down, and pool tables added, so Bills is now a casual Sports Bar with amenities — comfy café seating — and full Menu. Sad to say, since the remodel year the staff quality has gone down WAY too much to want to return. A few inebriated regulars consume all their attention, and what is advertised as a Taco Tuesday — WASN’T happening ** 3x ** I dropped in with a friend… so I won’t try that again.
Sometimes this crew even forgets to unlock the Front Door in the mornings. I wouldn’t mention it if it hadn’t happened SEVERAL times. Regulars park around back… so you can try to find you way in that way, but it’s sadly, now no guarantee of service within 10 minutes.
Dining tastes better when your Servers and Cooks are protected by a Union Contract. This has long been a reliable place for a traditional Breakfast, served by charming, experienced workers who have been in the biz here for years, and who aren’t a bit impressed by trendy newcomers… and who might even call you honey. Not anymore.
Ample parking, and accessible. If your plane is late at the nearby PDX, you can hop on Red Line MAX to Parkrose Transit Center and stroll east over to Bill’s, for a bit of excercise, a Brew, and bite to eat — while you await your flight. It’s just a couple blocks east of the Parkrose Bus Mall/​Airport MAX Park and Ride. The #15, 71 and 12 buses stop here on Sandy, so it’s easy to get your Steak and Eggs at Bills.
I usually order a Cajun, or a Denver Omelette. Funny how the Denver is still a favorite all over the Western States, no matter how fancy food gets. Bill’s has it, so come home for breakfast.
Afterward maybe stop in at Better Bargains Thrift, where I really have gotten BETTER Bargains than you can get at Goodwill stores. (see my detailed BB review here on Unilocal)
Bill’s dishes out all-​American Fare, which i WISH was still served by friendly folks, Members of HERE Local 9. I remember once supporting Workers when they renegotiated their Contract, with a Sip In… in which we filled tables all day and tipped nice, but ordered no food, until their Contract was signed.
This whole street has good food and businesses of interest — maybe check out the other spots till I update this with an IMPROVED SERVICE note. The 2008 Classic Car Rally transforms this end of Sandy and with the Farmers Market and Retro feel this area finally made sense to many.
Bill’s has a full bar (and separate Oregon Lottery area) for those who are so inclined. Better than sitting in traffic — and right off 2 freeways, so stop in to escape the freeway during peak hours. Don’t be shy — Holler for a Staffer if necessary. Enjoy some grub, and Tip nice.