Marie’s

Does anyone else remember when this place was Shagnasty’s?
So, the ambiance leaves a lot to be desired. It’s all old motel furniture, lots of mirrors and carpeting. Mauve.
The food is much better than you would ever expect, though I wouldn’t really go there for that purpose. It’s a bar, and it happens to have an entertainingly random backyard area.
Good beer selection and friendly service. Nice option when you get sick of waiting for help at Slim’s.
Only real complaint is that the video poker is totally louder than the background music. Annoying.

My favorite place to sit back, relax and slow down in St. Johns. The bartenders treat you right and are knowledgeable. The space is large so you can bring friends. Ask for the wifi password to sit back and do what you need to do online in a comfortable booth.

I too really like this place. Caveat being — I’ve never eaten here. Do they serve food? I guess they do. But drinks are cheap, I’m happy/​sad to say the place is almost always empty or empty enough– because that’s what we love about it. A couple friendly folks at the bar who reminded me that the life-​size cardboard cutout of Snoop Dog should henceforce be referred to as Snoop Lion — a step in the right direction I would say!
The back room has a pool table and a ping pong table. At 10:00 pm on a Friday night, the only people in the large pool room were my friend, her daughter and daughter’s boyfriend playing ping pong — I joined them for a rousing match.
Not another soul — at the pool table or among the many empty seats in the cushy booths. It would be super cool if they had live bands or cool events — it’s a big room! But for now, I’ll take it just as it is and one of these days. I’ll try the food.

As far as dives go this is absolute perfection. It’s got board games, pool, ping pong, good beer, nice service, jazz, and an oddly quaint air of tacky class. Sweet backyard area too.

I’m not embarrassed to admit that I have serious love for this super weird, totally st johns place. The staff is always super friendly and knew my name by my second visit. Their ping pong table is really nice and there is tons of room to play. Their back patio is way underrated — partially covered and huge. I’ve never eaten here and don’t plan to — this is a place to drink. Their cocktails are strong and they have a decent beer selection — I just wish they served it colder. Overall though, a weird and rad place to kick it for a mellow night out.

Clean
Comfy place to sit
Pool table area
Pretty chill place to be.

We went in Monday for dinner. I really liked the staff. When so many places are trying to be something cool this place seemed to be straight forward, food, drinks, games and video poker. It does not have that seedy feel some of the bars have in the area. It was very clean. Lots of people having fun playing ping pong. The food was good, I had a burger and my friend had meatloaf.
The bar is pink with giant old school booths which kinda hits you when you walk in. They would be great for groups if you dont mind the games going on in the middle of the room. The bar video poker side also had some additional sitting.
Def a thumbs up if you just want to relax have a beer and some food.

Do you ever have that dream where Frank Sinatra is wearing a polo shirt with a popped collar and he attacks you with a Lisa Frank pee chee? I have that dream almost every other night. It may actually be classified as a nightmare. Anyways. Marie’s in St Johns is that nightmare come to life.
Giant pink booths. Foosball. Spangers. Shake n’ bake chicken. Cheap beer.
This a place you take your grandmother to for mint juleps and then you yell at her for dressing like a hussy and she cries.

Yanno, I’m kind of torn here, because I really love Marie’s and I think it deserves a better rating than most people are giving it, but part of its charm is definitely rooted in the fact that it’s not overrun by hipsters … or anyone. So, I’m compromising. Four stars. Probably one more than it deserves on an objective level, but one less than it has in my heart. Aw.
So, what are we talking here? Good beer selection. Decent wines. Solid menu and good food. An outdoor patio in back. Pool table. Ping pong. But mostly, I just go there for ambiance. That’s right: It’s a chill place to hang out and drink a drink.
But that’s me. Maybe you’re too insecure to hang out in a peach bar and enjoy a drink. In that case, there’s a million bars in Portland for you. I’ll take Marie’s.

Graeme W. completely calls it like it is. You either enjoy how awful it is or you writhe in horror from it being a reality.
I did not eat here. I don’t see it in my future either. I go for the pinball, and the pool (there is only one cue that isn’t wrecked completely and please don’t break it, I like to use it) and I sit and sometimes stare at the ping pong table and wish I could play it without injuring other patrons, but I can’t so I spare them my antics.
This should at least make it to your experiencing Portland list.

Cheap whiskeys and tall cans!!! Big Buck hunter, Ping Pong, Pool, Pinball, and Foosball! The staff are awesome, food is good, and oh yeah FOOSBALL!!! Plus probably the biggest fire pit ever at a bar. Which is nice seeings how it is chilly and rainy for 10 months out of the year.

I’ve been here twice now, and each time the bartender has been very nice, they give me the lowdown on a particular beer on tap, and then again the PBR is really cheap.
I like the garden area in the back, one time I played darts with some friends from out of town, but it got a little wreckless, long range dart throwing isn’t a great idea. I noticed the next time I went that it was taken down, hopefully not because of us! Foosball is always a good time, though the table leans to the left, in red versus blue, blue has easier shots.
The interior reminds me of a peach, in both texture and colour.

I am giving this place a star less deserved as I don’t want you guys ruining a self loathing drinking spot with a shot gun game, pinball, cheap drinks and, and some crazy ass booths.
I watched with the other patrons, (and enjoyed) some countdown of stupid human tricks presented by the where are they now’s brothers… note (baldwins and Tonya Harding)
They have a pinball machine that yells fuck a lot. They have 5 or 6 VLT’s (video lottery terminals… got it from TPB ((Trailer park boys)))and keno. The drinks are cheap and strong, they have some interesting taps (arrogant bastard, and amnesia, as well as 4 others.) I ordered the JoJo’s which were cheap and hit the spot. 2 screwdrivers and 2 beers and an ap 18 bucks… the math adds up to me not hating Marie’s. Actually I kinda love it.

Marie’s exists simply to test the capacity for irony amongst the Portland dining public. From the entrance on, this restaurant/​bar defies you to stay, dares you to sit down in one of the absurdly large booths the color of sunburnt muppet, and order food. Needless to say, dinner here wasn’t my idea.
Most of the patrons when we visited on a friday at dinner hour were video poker enthusiasts, firmly planted in front of the gleaming line of the machines that make up most of the bar portion of Marie’s. Moving through the bar into the restaurant is like exploring a long-​abandoned banquet hall in a dusty casino, the lighting going from dim in the bar, save the shaft of light that comes through the skylight over the bar, to the dining room, where you’re met with the garish glow of an airport Ramada conference room.
The dining room features a suspended ceiling, shell sconces, and the aformentioned booths, which retain all the funk from the smoking era. The feel is funereal, despite the placement in the center of the room of a ping-​pong table and pool table surrounded by more mauve furniture. In fact, the owners of the business clearly got a deal on this shade of paint by the pallet, since every surface inside is covered in dusty salmon, aside from the floors, which are wall to wall in thick green casino carpeting.
Should you choose to seek some fresh air (and you will,) you’ll discover the ancient diner burial grounds out back, where vinyl banks sit abandoned near fire pits and other detritus, looking every bit like a set from The Road.
All that being said, this IS Portland, so even Marie’s has a strong selection of local beers, and the burger features an unlimited amount of toppings, which are excellent, and make it easy to forget the dry biscuit of beef at the bottom, or the fact that you’re having dinner at the hall where they held the wake for Uncle Cranston.

I really, really want to like Marie’s. It’s a nice alternative to the divey places in St Johns, and right across from the theater.
But I always just feel uncomfortable there. The bar section feels a little like a Denny’s with some old furniture awkwardly placed in an attempt to feel cozy. The majority of people there are usually attached to the video poker machines. The dining room is cute but not inviting and always empty. When I have eaten there, the food has been less than impressive, and my salad tasted like dish soap.
Please Marie’s, make me like you.

I’ve been here twice and hated both times. Like everyone else has said, the dive is smoky. The first time there, my food was wrong and tasted terrible when they finally got the menu item right. On the 2^nd trip (a friend talked me into giving it a 2^nd chance) the food was so greasy I felt sick for hours afterward. Never again.

I have been here several times, as I have a friend that loves it. It should be mentioned that this friend smokes like a chimney and does not mind eating in a smoky bar.
There is little physical delineation between the bar and the restaurant. Luckily they have some seriously bad interior design elements to keep your mind off the smoke. Marvel at the mauve walls, teal carpet and brass fixtures. As if some 80s airport lounge was transported right into Portland– wow.
The food here is actually good, I would definitely call & get it to go.

I’ve been here twice. Its a St. John’s neighborhood bar. Kind of smoky. But the one side is definite bar. The other is more restaurant. This place is nothing special and I’d give them 2 starts except they have the coolest booths here.
The staff is short handed so go to the bar to get your drink.