Hidden East Tavern

The bartenders are awesome, the drinks are cheap, and if you’re like me and like an unpretentious place to have a drink or three this is the perfect spot. The regulars are all really friendly too.

Hidden East has acquired an asset! Most friendly bar tender in town is working here now– she’ll make you a regular! I follow her everywhere she goes :-) Great company and conversation while relaxing with some cocktails is the best

Perfect little dive bar with nicely poured, cheap booze. Heather is an awesome bartender! Covered smoking patio is nice for the rainy season.

Great little dive bar with friendly staff and cheap drinks. What more do you need?

I live down the street. I go there all the time. I don’t cause trouble. I order, tip 30% and talk to friends. that’s it. tonight was the last straw. I ordered a drink, Carrie made it wrong and comped it, which she didn’t have to do which was great. I said that I would drink it anyway so I’d pay for it instead, I tipped her an additional $ 5 which she took.
we were listening to the band and I met a guy and offered to buy him a beer. I went back to the bar to order it but she was in the weeds and could not take care of her patrons because a food order came up and she was alone. I get it. S.E. dive bar owners abuse their employees. I told the guy that I was buying a beer for that they should have a cook there so that she would have the time to serve customers. she took my drink and threw me out, saying that she cut her finger and didn’t need me talking sh@t about her, notwithstanding that along with myself. there were three others that had been waiting at the bar for awhile, looking around wondering where the tender was.
I don’t think she is the problem but the culture created by the owners. the people that work there are not happy and it shows.
go to putters.

great place, but lacking in personal attention. sat barside for 20 min trying to get another round. after the half passed out regular to my right got served twice, finally walked up and did so, closed out. marvelled at their attention once last call came. very expedient with closing tab, extremely slow addressing me beforehand. standard?

i love this place! i live close by & have always felt welcome here. i like the waitresses, love the phillidelphia steak & cheese melts, enjoy the music & am pretty lucky on video poker at this place. all in all, great place with $ 1 jello shots, strong as hell too!!!:)

I dig this place! Cheap food and strong cocktails for cheap! Can’t go wrong! The staff is pretty friendly as well. We frequent pretty often. We would go more if there was outdoor seating that allowed our friendly and well behaved pup but it’s only for the smokers and I don’t smoke.
I like the felony flats cheeseburger and jello shots!
They have a pool table that is pretty popular.
They have a parking lot and great hours. Breakfast is pretty good as well! They have good specials on weekends for breakfast, I usually get that with a bloody mary.

I don’t write a lot of 1-​star reviews. I tend to focus on places I like. But the Hidden East truly deserves 1 (or zero?) stars, and I want people to know why. And please realize that the incident I describe below is so far the opposite of my normal bar experiences that it would be laughable if it didn’t suck so much.
So my group of friends has an annual prom. We get awesome, garish outfits together and go out for a night of fun. Previous years were a huge success. Lots of fun for us, lots of compliments from other bar patrons on our outfits and general zest for life.
Not last year.
Prom 2009 ended sadly. And maybe it’s my fault, because I went with the «keep it in the neighborhood» idea, and our neighborhood is sorely lacking in good bars. But I thought it would be great to give this place a shot and have a fun dive bar night.
Never, ever again. In fact, I will be surprised if someone doesn’t literally GET shot at this place!
I could deal with the bartender who was notably slow, both in speed and comprehension. Hey, there was cheap fried food and they sell $ 1 jello shots, yeah! We’ll just ignore the evil eye we’re getting from some hefty women, for no apparent reason (except that maybe we’re on «their turf»?). Hmm. Creepy decrepit 70-​year man perving all over my shy barely-​21 sister? Ok, back off buddy. No, really. Stop touching her. Stop. Touching. Her. I mean it! I don’t care if you’re the owner’s friend!
And yes, the owner and his family members are posted up, not working but drinking. I tell him I appreciate his bar. Our group goes on to spend a good bit of of money there — 30-​ish people buying food and drinks, playing pool, etc. Then… what? Racist comments to our friend who’s from Guam? Really?
Oh and then physically attacking said friend when he stuck up for himself, sparking a shoving fest between a few of our guy friends and some angry-​looking dudes who have been making increasingly hostile comments for the past 30 minutes? Awesome! Would you care to let my friend out of that headlock? Oh, you’re the owner’s son? Double awesome!
The fuss grinds to a stalemate without any major damage to anyone, but there is a serious atmosphere of hyped-​up aggression in the air — one that we did NOT bring in with us. A couple of haggard woman (owner’s daughter-​in-​law I believe?) are shrieking «GET THE F**K OUT! GET THE F**K OUT!» in a brainless, rhythmic chant. One seemed taken aback when I said to her, in a normal voice, «We’re going, there’s no need to scream.»
So we were there for a couple of hours, pumping business into this place, and it culminated in «the locals» deciding they didn’t want us on «their turf» (which is crazy because we live in the neighborhood) and decided to be racist a-​holes. I very much believe they deliberately tried to provoke a fight so that they could kick us out.
So yeah — maybe my fault for going with an unknown venue. Thinking, oh it’ll be fun, dive bar, how bad can it be? If only I’d known… I can’t believe these people can run a business this way. I can’t believe ANYONE in Portland can. Maybe backwoods Alabama, but… MAN.
Don’t go to this place, even if you live in the neighborhood. It will be a supreme waste of your time and money, and they won’t want you there anyway. Or go, if you’re a masochistic who likes to gamble with your personal safety.

Obviously, this is not the Plaza of the dive bar world. And «hidden» is apparently a good word for it, seeing as how it’s only had one other reviewer. My guess is that its general clientele aren’t really hip to the world of technology.
This is the sort of place that started the dive bar movement: cheap drinks, good bar food, a group of regulars who aren’t looking for anything but to get out of the house and have a few pitchers of macrobrew after a long day at a shitty job.
Being conveniently close to my house, this has become my home bar over the last six months. My first few times in were like going to the dentist. And to be honest, the saucy mid-​lifers scared me a bit.
But six mozarella sticks on top of a pile of tater tots, accompanied by marinara sauce and ranch dressing for $ 2.75? Heck yes! That’s enough to get me to pull out my favorite NASCAR and Budweiser paraphernalia and bounce on over to the bar, right quick-​like. Mm hmm. There is also heartier fare if you’re looking to fill your gut with something other than Coors (you won’t find anything but domestic beer here): chicken tenders and burgers for $ 5, with daily specials like pot roast and potatoes.
The nightly drink specials are poured stiff and usually run about $ 2.75−3.75. And they have a full bar. Also to be found here: one pool table, a juke box, a nice covered patio, a buttload of video poker, two touch screens, and a big flat screen TV.
If you’re ever in the ‘hood, stop by for a drink and enjoy a psychological beating by one of the feisty bartenders. Like athletes foot, they’ll grow on ya after awhile…
Heads up: they close at 1:30 on weekdays, 2:30 weekends.

How is it that I found this hidden gem, you ask? Well, long story short… it’s the second closest available cocktail to my home. The first closest won’t serve me because I have a California ID (you suck, Nancy’s!).
I actually prefer the location of this place though, because as the name suggests, it is hidden. Which is good for times when you need a good stiff cocktail for yourself. It is also conveniently located just next to a gas station, might you need smokes or a post cocktail hour Gatorade, and just across the street from a massive church of some kind should you feel the need to worship.
Hidden East has all the basics. Jukebox, pub grub, several TVs usually featuring sports, pool, lottery and a obvious group of regulars. In any case, I appreciate the totally laid back vibe, once everyone gets over the fact that I’m the youngest person in the bar FER SHER!
In any case, their cocktails get the job done.