Gil’s Speakeasy Tavern

What an absolute shit show. We went there Sunday and the bartender was either high, drunk or just plain stupid. Terrible service, could not figure out chips and salsa, kicked the salsa container out of the kitchen into the bar and then proceeded to try to get into a fight with my friends telling us «we don’t belong» because we were apperantly dressed to nice for that shit hole.

Not bad. A total divey rock and roll bar, so get used to the loud music and having your bartender ignore you. It was light for a Saturday night, but the drinks were all right, so what have I go to lose?

Great place for some suds. Smaller quiet neighborhood bar.

3.5 — a solid score for an absolute dive bar. As far as dive bars go, though, it tries just a little too hard without delivering. It does feature a decent lunch special and reasonable drink prices, I’m not going to deny them this truth. However, ambivalent service may be the norm.
It’s hard to say, but the target crowd isn’t likely to be sporting dressy clothes at this location. Graffitti and spray paint, stickers and scuff marks show this to be a well-​abused drinking establishment, favored by a punk-​ish crowd covered more in ink than anything else.
Some local craft brews sit on the tap rail, often ignored for the trendier PBR on hand… or the whiskey. always the whiskey.
This is a stop for your rowdy nights, when you really just DGAF. It’s also a legit historical-​sorta feeling basement bar hangout where i suppose one might get into some trouble if you spent enough time in the darker corners…

He switched from rum to whiskey, then he put her down. Swinging In the breeze. It’s been some time but the time passes and there are many books with different covers. Been there done that. Fucked it up, won’t be back!

Shuffleboard, pinball, pool table, booze, AND great food! What more can you ask for?!

Best bar food and staff I have seen in my outstanding 2 years of bar hopping experience!

We have a standing Friday night date: Check out a new cocktail place, ideally far from our normal routine. Last Friday we opted for Gil’s, and I have to say it met all the criteria: cocktails, and far from our routine. Gil’s is a dive bar located in the basement of an apartment building. It’s a place that looks like it’s been doing a robust business as a dive bar since my Dad was what ever hipsters were called back then, looking for a cheap drink and a bit of company. (My Dad would be 90 this year, so here’s to him.) We settled in at the bar, and were met by a great bar tender. We were served promptly and the drinks (margarita and a brown bomber: stout w/​a shot of bourbon side car) were up immediately, and generous. We tossed those back STAT and ordered ’round II (margarita and martini). The martini was a surprise… served in a water glass (. charmingly enough because they don’t have martini glasses we were told) and m.a.s.s.i.v.e. I was a bit to eager, tossed that down a little quickly I think given the subsequent buzz. We left a bit later to scout out something to eat, but realized much, much later that I’d left my briefcase hanging on the purse hook under the bar. The buzz continued unabated and it wasn’t until we were driving home, hours later, that my fuzzy memory kicked in and I remembered that my briefcase was sitting at Gil’s. That was not good. I had a mass of important documents in there, a shiny new laptop, other gear. etc. We called Gil’s, got the same awesome bartender, and she promised that she had my case. We tore back to Gil’s, and there was the bartender, and there was my case. 100% in tact.
I think that all says a lot about the place, and I will be forever grateful to the staff and customers at Gil’s that night for the integrity and civility they showed to a complete stranger who was buzzed enough to leave something very very important in their care.

Huge disappointment and missed opportunity here. The place is in an old speakeasy and you can see the bulletproof sliding door to see who is coming in but it is not a nice place to visit.
Main reasons for 1 star:
Too many homeless
Not Clean
No theme or identity

Hungry? Only have a few bucks in your pocket? Head to Speakeasy, the food specials are amazing. They serve good quality bar food and the specials are insanely cheap.
The drinks are also cheap. The vibe of this place is completely what you bring to it. This dive features a busted foosball table in the front, and no one really cares enough to fix it or move it. There are absurd quotes written in chalk on the wall. People will hang outside on the sidewalk, smoke cigarettes and politely deposit them in a provided cig-​butt mailbox.
All of these things together make Speakeasy what it is. If you come here expecting a high end gastropub or an actual bonafide speakeasy, take some time to reexamine your life.

in my top 5 dives in portland. this place is great. drinks are reasonable, strong pours, and the food is great and affordable. check out their turkey dinner. delicious, home made, cant be missed. place is cozy.
oh, and porn bingo. enough said :)

Love this place. Great neighborhood bar where you can feel at home. Bartenders are rad, and good company. Food is always above and beyond what you would expect from you’re local dive bar. If you’re looking for some games, there is a pool table, shuffle board, and pinball. Easily my favorite bar in Portland.

Great divey haunt. Good character. an abundance of solid draft beer.
No info on food.

Best bar in Portland. If you don’t like it it’s because you’re a gigantic shitbag. Sorry.

Came here on a Tuesday to catch their trivia night (my first one!). There was barely any room to sit — it’s a small place, and they had a good turnout for trivia. After finding some seats at the bar, we ordered drinks from *the* nicest bartender I’ve encountered in a long while. He was playing along with trivia as he worked, cracking jokes and just being generally awesome. The guy hosting trivia seemed a bit bummed about doing so, but it may have just been in comparison to the bartender.
If I lived near here, this would be «my bar,» and I’m glad I went once, but there’s nothing that stuck out strongly enough to bring me back.

Good ol’ bar food, but it is a long time dive bar that was smoked in forever… get over it and eat.
Portions are very generous for great prices. Check out the daily specials for even more savings… a friend and I once had tacos and sodas for lunch, the both of us ate for $ 7. Had the french dip today and you just can’t beat it for $ 5.
The only thing I’ve ever had the slightest complaint about is the ladies room is a bit scary… watch your step for the bump in the floor and bring a friend to watch the door.

WEIRD bar but i guess i was expecting speakeasy & that IS NOT what you get at all!
it’s pretty much a dive bar w/​arcade games, shuffleboard, a pool table, & the most disturbing hipster movies playing in the background!
there’s a jukebox, 3 songs for $ 1, but if you don’t feed the machine there’s NO music playing which i’m not a huge fan of
DRINKS are kind of weak on the alcohol but the bartender did make a tasty vodka gimlet

I’ve been here once or twice before. And I know giving a dive bar a five star review might seem strange, but it’s not trying to be one. It just exists as one.
Here’s the thing… some dive bars try really hard to be dive bars, so dirty hipsters will go and feel like they are having a dive experience while being able to get all their picky vegan comfort food and not at all being inconvenienced by actual and real dive bar types.
This isn’t that bar. This bar doesn’t give a fuck. In a good way.
It has everything a good dive should. Shuffle board, pool, amazingly cheap food and drink specials… I went in there for $ 1.00 sloppy joes, and was expecting a White Castle sized thing, but got a regular burger sized one. Their $ 7.00 nachos were massive.
Beer was cheap, including their Imperial IPA they had on tap, which was priced the same as everything else. The bartender, unlike some shitty hipster bars I have gone to before, was super sweet, attentive, and overall a wonderful. I’ve had much worse service at bars nearly deserted before. But not this bartender. She was on top of it, and it was pretty full. AND she was the only bartender.
Went on a Sunday, on an early afternoon, and it was full of crusty older fellows, and a few blue collar types. Everything about this place was amazing. Chalk drawings all over the wall, and the background music was awesome (mostly 60s garage rock).
Love this place.

Ladies, if you don’t like your privacy while peeing and having the door have no lock on it so men can just open it and come inside if they so choose– then by all means, come to the Speakeasy!
I had this happen to me just yesterday, and prior to the incident I had a positive view of this little dive. I was visibly shaken up by it and it has sworn me off from ever returning to this place until I know for sure there is a lock for the women’s restroom.
Their food is pretty good and for the most part the bartenders are friendly, but I find it hard to believe I am the first person that this has happened to and no one has complained and– thus– rectified the situation with A LOCK ON THE WOMEN’S RESTROOM DOOR.

*Tainted Ribs*
This was my brothers phrase for the time we spend at Gil’s. Please let me explain.
Brother. 25^th birthday. Time to kill before Blazer game and looking for a place that we had never been to and had cheaper drinks. Low and behold Gil’s. (Thanks fellow Unilocalers).
We go in. It’s an odd location so to speak. The place is more crowded than I would expect. Small. One pool table. One shuffle board and some video poker.
We order some $ 2 Sessions and get our shuffleboard on. It was actually quite hard to play becuase between the board and the chairs/seating…no space. Had to walk back and forth between other patrons watching football.
Then we see it. Some huge table with a plethora of yummy looking food. Just sitting there. Waiting.
«Wonder what that’s for» I say.
Who knows. We keep playing.
Then there’s an announcement and people start getting their grub on… and I mean everyone in the bar.
«Is this for something special? Can you buy it? What’s going on? It must be free?
FREE RIBS???»
NOM NOM NOM NOM
My brother orders another drink. $ 3.50 for a well and it’s not even happy hour. Awesome. Then his drunken hunger gets the best of him and before I know it he’s back with a plate of some tasty looking ribs. And not just any ribs… these looked gah damn amazing and they tasted even better.
Long story short he got caught. The food was for a Holiday Party and now my brother’s delicious ribs were tainted. He felt really bad. Needless to say we left shortly after said incident.
All in all: Not a bad little place. Bartender was nice. Definitely a true dive bar.
*Tainted Ribs*