Ranger Tavern

Pretty friendly service. Clientele shifts from night to night.
It’s one of those places where you feel like you might get in trouble if you are too loud.

Don’t judge a bar by it’s curbside appeal. I did and that’s why I hadn’t tried this place out in the 2 years I’ve lived in St. John’s. I’ve waited at the bus stop in front of this place before and it always kinda made me nervous. But really there’s nothing to be nervous about. Once I got inside The Ranger, I felt as comfortable as going to my grandpa’s for cocktails and beers. One of the best things about this place is the waitress. I simply adored her. She was so super friendly and I kinda wanted her to be my older sister I never had. I got set up with a delicious raspberry cider and sat down with my new purple dino friend, Naurry, to wait for my other Unilocaler friends to arrive (UYE night, baby!). People started showing up and I kindly let Melvin T. know (since he was on his way) that this bar had a TouchTunes Juke Box. I knew he would take that thing over all night and have us bumpin and grindin to 90’s hip hop. I was right because one of his songs came on even before he walked in the door. Way to make your entrance, Melvin! Nicely done. As the night wore on, the jello shots were consumed, Jameson was shared, laughter flowed and booty’s jiggled. It’s seriously a great neighborhood bar to get cheap drinks, play pool, listen to tunes… PLUS, now that Dub’s is at this location… EAT GREAT FOOD! The only strange thing about this bar is how well lit it was in there. I expect dive bars to be super dark. I’m not sure how I felt about it being so lit up… can we dim the lights ovah heah? Kthx.
Even still… I’ll be back.
/​narrows eyes at everyone

Love this place! It has a history from what I hear, and some of it not pretty. But this place is cool. It’s half restaurant and half bar, and It’s quite well lit, so while it certainly qualifies as «divey», only in the good way do I mean this.
The place is kind of divided in two — Ranger Tavern, with pool tables, video poker, and the large bar to your left. On the right is Dub’s, where the tables are and the window to order food. Often my first comment about bars with video poker is to just get rid of them. But somehow, at the Ranger tavern — they fit perfectly. Between the games, pool and jukebox, it’s kind of a gaming area and has a fun feel.
The bartender was very nice. And drinks were wonderfully affordable at $ 3.30 for a well drink. They weren’t super strong, but my friend ordered a double for me (he knows me so well) which was the way to go!
To see how great Dub’s food was, read that review. But I’m just gonna put it out there — I like this bar! I can see myself hanging here. Of course, I don’t spend much time hanging at bars. but nonetheless, I can see it in my mind’s eye!

We went in at 12am on a random night after hanging with friends. You see, we consider ourselves «old» now. While our young friends were going out to rage, we decided to go somewhere close to home to enjoy a drink with eachother. We have a two year old at home and it’s not often we get a mommy and daddy night.
This place got me DRUNK. I had been drinking beers before we arrived but I wanted to kickstart myself. The whole time I was there, I only had two vodka tonics. They were cheap and strong.
Needless to say, I was hungover as hell the next day and had to take two naps. Like I said I’m OLD. (Ok I’m 30 but I just can’t hang the same anymore)
I give a lot of credit to bartenders who serve up strong drinks. I was there to drink and I meant BIZNAZ. Cheers!

Possibly the best hidden hamburger place in Portland. It’s actually a separate restaurant inside a dive bar. If you find yourself really hungry for awesome gourmet hamburgers and hand cut French fries and many other options try it. You won’t be sorry.

I love the ranger. One of those places you just feel comfortable, the drinks are cheap and the staff are nice. The regulars are always friendly too. That iced tea vodka drink they serve is delicious, try it!

Last chance gulch to getchya drink on, traversing N. Lombard, before it careens over into industrial oblivion and wraps around into Columbia Blvd. Because, you know, it’s not like the Lombard ‘strip’ can ever have enough taverns, cantinas, or sh*t hole shanties…
This is perhaps one of the quintessential N. Portland Taverns. Along with the lightly-​regarded and little-​known «Your Inn» a couple short blocks away, most of the younger set newcomers to the ‘hood are undoubtedly completely unaware of this watering hole. They are filled with «old guard» locals, who would like to keep it that way. The Ranger has been going for over forty years, it hardly needs a boost from the hipster transplant set.
The food menu is remarkable in its brevity, fried foods only, from fries to poppers to onion rings to mushrooms and of course chicken strips… I can’t swear to it, but one gets the impression the menu hasn’t changed much, if at all, since at least the 1980s…
Speaking of the glorious 80s, if you’re lucky, you may catch a sight of Len Denton quenching his eternal thirst, here at the Ranger. Denton, for the uninitiated, is also known as local Pro Wrestling legend, The Grappler. «Beat ME… if you can!»
Man, any given night you’ll have friendly, old-​time locals willing to chat with you and talk shop on all things, including and especially Portland Wrestling (I worked there at the now long-​defunct Portland Sports Arena for a brief stint as a teenager, it’s now a Baptist Church!). If you can’t get any entertainment out of that, shoot man, why are you even reading my review?
Portland Wrestling will rise again!