Whiskey Soda Lounge

I am in love. I have fallen in love with a fish sauce chicken wing, which is something I never imagined saying in my life.
My coworker talked up Pok Pok chicken wings for about 3 days straight before we managed to make our way to this part of town. BUT after extensive research we realized we could get the same chicken wing deliciousness if we went to the Whiskey Soda Lounge instead.
Guys. I liked these wings so much, I ate here twice in one night. I’m only a little ashamed.
I ordered (two) half orders of the spicy Vietnamese fish sauce wings. I will say that these wings don’t smell great when you get them. But fear not – the taste is so noooooomz it is nearly indescribable. There’s a strong umami flavor that’s ridiculously luscious and they’ve been cooked so perfectly that even the gristle is decadent.
I will dream of these wings for days to come and will definitely make a repeat visit the next time I find myself in Portland.

Hands down the worse service ever. Our waiter came by once or twice when we first arrived to take our order and drink order. Never saw him later. Had to beg to get the check from another waitress and then had to beg for someone to take our money. Waiter brought the check after he ran our credit card (and after we mentioned the wait to the other waitress) and said he was «sorry he ignored us.» That’s when you offer to take some $ off the bill or buy us dessert. Food was completely overpriced, too. I had 2 drinks, husband had 3, we shared 6 wings, a miniscule plate of dry, chewy beef and an appetizer-​sized portion of clams for $ 95. This place is overpriced and overrated.

The vibe is cool and they had good drinks. The place smelled like socks though… We had to leave after 1 drink. So… I guess go when you have a cold?

We came here for a drink while waiting for our table at pok pok. Seems like the common thing to do as the servers even asked us if we were waiting for a table there and what the name was (it seems like they have the waiting list and were checking our spot in line for us and they came and told us when our table was ready at pok pok, which was really nice). I got the Mango Alexander which was delicious and creamy.
Didn’t get any food here so can’t speak to that, but all in all good fast service, delicious drink and casual ambience!

Delicious!
We snacked and had a drink here while waiting for our table at Pok Pok a few nights ago, but ended up liking what we got at Whiskey Soda Lounge better than anything at Pok Pok. There’s a lot of overlap — you can get Ike’s Fish Sauce Wings (good, but a bit salty) at both locations and the refreshing drinking vinegars (recommended!). Granted we didn’t have the full menu here, but the Phat Hoi Laai, manila claims with chili, galangal, garlic, and thai basil, was amazing. Hot, sour, spicy and flavorful, we could not stop eating it. I’m not even a huge spicy fan and I couldn’t stop eating the clams and drinking the spicy, fragrant broth even though my mouth was on fire. We actually wanted to go back there again tonight, just for the clams, but alas, they are closed on New Years Day.

They did not tell us our table was called at Pok Pok, so we lost our table. Portions were also very small for the price.

a good alternative to busy pok pok.
If you want to get the pok pok chicken wings, you can get exact same thing here, plus they have nice cocktails.
I went here while waiting for my pok pok reservation with couple of my friends.
We ordered wings, shredded beef and crispy pork ear.
I never like pork ear, however this place know how to mask the gaminess and unpleasant smell of pork, and to my dismay I thoroughly enjoy this. It has some crispiness when my mouth bite, and the aroma of five spice really permeate down to the soft tissue.
Their cocktail is also very good!

I give Whiskey Soda Lounge one star more than Pok Pok, because I love quick and friendly service which is the standard here. We’ve tried numerous dishes, but for bar food we always order the fish sauce wings, spicy, with a side of sticky rice.
Drinks are *great* and I love being able to enjoy a delicious beverage sans alcohol. Pineapple drinking vinegar is my favorite, and tamarind a close second. They’re also good when mixed with alcohol!
PS. The most bizarre Thai TV plays above the bar, which is great if you’re enjoying happy hour on your own after work.

Like so many others, I always recommend visitors come here to get a taste of Pok Pok. You can grab the same wings & appetizers here without the long lines, although the revamped menu got rid of the (veg-​friendly) Pad Thai, which I consider a loss.
I’ve always had prompt service, but I wouldn’t come here for a deep conversation as it gets quite loud inside. The interior is dark and cozy, the downside being that you might need to move your table’s candle or use a phone flashlight to read the menus at night. As you’d expect, you can find a great variety of whiskey here. You can also snag some cheap (~$ 4) foreign beers here, and it’s a good spot to hit up for a casual night hopping place to place with friends.

Eh drinks were ok but for $ 10 a pop, definitely not worth it. The server also messed up our tab and split it unevenly which I don’t understand because all drinks were $ 10. I ended up paying $ 10.40 for my drink and it’s hard for me to imagine that a server can’t split a $ 50.00 check worth of drinks into tens. oh well.

I love the food here. I really do. The clams, rib tips, sweet potatoes. So dang good.
The thing is, when 2 of the 3 servers are just sour as the vinegar drinks… I just can’t give any more stars than this. I gotta say, other tables got some decent service but I have no idea why not us. I guarantee their bill didnt come close to ours. But none the less, service is service ~ bad service is just… bad service.
Go for the food. It is really good.

ITINERARY: SUNDAY NIGHT DINNER
Don’t really want to reveal this secret… but since I won’t be back to Portland for a while, I guess it’s alright to write about it.
One day at brunch, a local informed us that instead of waiting the hour plus line at Pok Pok, hop across the street to Whiskey Soda Lounge and enjoy the SAME CHICKEN WINGS and SAME APPETIZERS while enjoying yummy craft cocktails with NO WAIT.
YES YOU HEARD ME RIGHT!
For someone visiting Portland, trying to maximize their time, this is totally the way to go!
The cocktails were kick butt and the chicken wings delicious.
DELICIOUS!
My hubs and I ordered two orders (spicy & nonspicy) and gobbled them up with room to spare for other delicious Portland eats.
We did, however, swing by the famous Pok Pok, laughed inside at all of the fools waiting in line, and peeked in to check out the interior and vibe. According to my husband, who is from Thailand, the restaurant is very authentic, down to the smell, the music, and décor. If I ever get a chance to go back to Portland and have more time to hang out, I will definitely brave the wait. Until then, Whiskey Soda Lounge for the win!

It’s cool that this place exists as an alternative for the people that want to try Pok Pok but don’t want to bear the wait. The waiters here are extremely nice and will even coordinate with Pok Pok on your behalf so that you can stay and finish your drinks without your table being given away.
We came here to pass the time while waiting for our table at Pok Pok (one and a half hours eek) so we passed on the food and just ordered cocktails and the cashews as an accompaniment to our drinks. Both of our drinks sounded very promising but the final result of flavors was underwhelming and just very mediocre. Cashews were good – served hot and seasoned with chiles, green onions, along with other seasoning – but definitely on the very salty side.

We were spending an out of town friend’s last PDX night trying to get some stuff scratched off her culinary to-​do list. Pok Pok was on that list. Even though it was a Monday night, the wait at Pok Pok was an hour and a half to two hours. Not wanting to wait that long, I remembered that a Unilocal friend had told me WSL had the same owner and portions of the Pok Pok menu. We headed over and there was no wait.
It was a warm October evening, so we opted for an outside table. Even though, it was just as dark and we had to use our cell phone flashlights to even see the menu. Our server was knowledgable, assumed correctly we’d be ordering the wings, and perfectly described the drinks and dishes we asked her about. She explained that one of the dishes (I can’t remember the name, but it’s a really spicy noodle dish) was very, very spicy. Being overconfident that we’d be able to handle the heat, we ordered it. A few minutes later, we were mouth breathers with runny noses and burning lips. If your server describes the dish as spicy, believe her.
We also tried a pumpkin dish, some cashews, and my friends had beer they said they really liked. I’m glad this place is here. Oh, and Pok Pok called us when we were almost done with our meal here.

Convenient alternative to Pok-​Pok if you’re short on time and want to grab a lighter meal/​snack.
PROS:
+self-​seating: first come, first served
+fish sauce wangs served here! (Pok-Pok’s signature dish)
+quick service
CONS:
+limited menu (large offering of fried items, not much variety)
Recommendations:
+drinking vinegar (comes in a variety of flavors — was a little hesitant at first, but the vinegar taste blends well and is subtle, apparently good for you too!)
+roasted cashews (simple dish executed well — generously garnished with green onions & Thai chiles for the perfect salty-​spicy combo)

Glad my friend did his research knowing where to go during the long wait at pok pok. This is the sister restaurant to it and the servers have walkie talkies to notify you when your table is ready at pok pok.
We were tempted to order the famous fish sauce wings but resisted because we wanted the whole experience to be at pok pok, so instead we ordered the pumpkin fries and corn fritters. (It was fun trying to pronounce the Thai names for each dish). The only pumpkin dish I only eat is pumpkin pie during thanksgiving so it was interesting to see pumpkin used in a different way. It was like I was eating sweet potato fries. The corn fritters were good cause you could actually see each corn kernel it was not just a pancake with some corn in it.
For drinks i ordered the Tamarind whiskey sour (if there is a drink with the name tamarind I’m sold I love tamarind) and the Lao saparot shot which was a Thai style pineapple rice whiskey which came in a cute little metal mug. Both drinks were delicious and the shot didn’t need any chaser with it, it went down smooth.

We planned on being on this side of town for the food cart pod and for the tiny culinary mecca that is this little neighborhood featuring mainstays like Pok Pok and maybe about a thousand foodcarts and divebars alike.
We had planned on stopping at WSL as it’s an affiliate of Pok Pok. If I understand the story correctly, Pok Pok has long waits to get in, so they’d send their business to the neighboring bars and call the bar to let the patrons know their table is ready. Understanding that they are missing a brilliant business opportunity, they made their own bar to capture all that lost revinue. Whiskey Soda Lounge is that bar. They can tell you when your table is ready at Pok Pok and you can drink whiskey while you wait.
We ate at the food carts so were waiting on no table for Pok Pok. The server asked just to double check. The place was pretty filled but we were just passing through for a quick taste. There’s two standup tables and we grabbed one.
The noise level was pretty high, but we could pretty easily hear our table companions. The selection of Japanese whiskeys caught my eye as many of the top 100 whiskeys in the world right now are comming from Japan. Downside is they are shipped over and thus expensive. Asked the server who I’m guessing was new for a recomendation and he went to talk to the bartender after getting a price range. Let’s not get out of control, I told him I’d pay no more than 20 bucks for a glass of whiskey. In that price range the recomendations were very similar in taste and character as explained by the bartender. So I allowed price to delegate and went with the one that was $ 2 cheaper.
We went with something a little out there, and something close to home. Our dinner mates had the same sentiment and went with the lone Thai whiskey on the menu and some fru fru cocktail that doesn’t belong in my mouth or who’s name doesn’t belong in my memory.
I’m guessing most of Asia doesn’t have a rich history of coopers to keep the whiskey tradition bold and oakey. Very light whiskeys with astringent tones. Almost delicate, if that adjective can be used to describe a whiskey. I was satisfied with the size of the pours as well. Seeing some of these Japanese whiskeys in the ball park of $ 200 for a bottle I didn’t think 13 for a glass was too absurd, and while I was expecting an ounce, It was a heavier pour. We’ve all been to those swanky little joints that charge 14 bucks for a Maker’s and Coke. I didn’t feel $ 13 was too much to ask for a little something eccentric when the menu also showcases household names at reasonable prices offering something for other tastes and budgets.
These were my tasting notes I penned at the table.
Nikka Coffey Grain Japanese whiskey. Zero notes of oak. Light and boozey with a peaty finish.
Mekhong Thai Whiskey. Bouquet of maple syrup that carries over into the pallet. Smooth and light.

I don’t mind snacking here instead of waiting for that ridiculous line at pok pok across the street.
Some of their yummy offerings of Thai street food include:
— Ike’s fish sauce wings
— Khai Luuk Khoei (fried boiled eggs)

Delicious Thai street-​style eats, innovative and amazing drinks (Drinking Vinegar!), relaxed and chill atmosphere with prompt and friendly service, and even offers the same famous fish sauce wings at Pok Pok. This place is a gem in Portland.
We visited Pok Pok’s sister restaurant Whiskey Soda Lounge while waiting for our table at Pok Pok across the street, per their recommendation. Boy, are we glad we did! As we crossed the street, I saw one of the outdoor tables open up and so we got seated right away. We were tempted to order the wings here, but decided to try other dishes here and do wings at Pok Pok instead. I am so glad we did, because other food and drink we ordered here were just as delicious!
Drinking Vinegar — I loved this drink! I have been reading about health benefits of drinking vinegar and have been meaning to try it. The flavor was crisp and refreshing, with a bold tart flavor serve iced. I picked the Thai Basil flavor, which was sweet and herby. Highly recommend!
Thai-​iced tea with fresh lime — This was an interesting twist on Thai-​iced tea. It had a bold tea flavor with a hint of the citrus. It wasn’t terrible, but we wouldn’t order this one again.
Krabong Thawt — we really enjoyed this delicious snack! Deep fried pumpkin fritters with a hint of curry flavor went perfect with the sweet Thai chili and crushed peanut sauce. Reminded me of sweet potato fries. A perfect little crunchy dish.
Phat Hoi Laai — one of the best clams we have had. Stir fried with chilies and herbs, served with an aromatic broth make of Thai basil, garlic and Thai spices. The clams were large and cooked to a chewy perfection.
Service was friendly and prompt. The waitress did a good job giving us menu recommendations and was patient while we decided on our order. She came by our table several times to check on us.
Overall a cool, relaxed atmosphere, and perfect place to chill outdoor on an evening when the weather is nice. Really great that there was no wait at all, and the food and drinks were good. I would consider coming here for the famous fish sauce wings next time, and avoid the crowds at Pok Pok.

I don’t come to Whiskey Soda Lounge to wait for a table across at Pok Pok. I come here to get my Thai food snacking and drinking on!
Behold what is known as Thai drinking food, it is salty, spicy, MSG kissed, and served snack sized bites to accompany your drinking style and most of it smells of fish sauce-​limey-​funkiness in the best ways.
Foods We’ve enjoyed :]
one of my favorites is MIANG KAHM
they are nice little mounds of shrimpy, sour, spicy, crunchy happiness on a betel leaf. Do not smell it and absolutely do not dissect it, just put it past your lips and masticate on it, you will be surprised how many flavors you can pull from that little flesh color mound of thai love.
Those House Roasted Peanuts tho: great snacking nuts to join your mouth in between sips.
Huu Muu Thawt:
deep fried pork ears strips, we ordered this out of curiosity, we even managed to get our little picky eater friend Brad H to try them, homeboy loved the caramelized sweet meat taste that comes with these little strips, I just couldn’t appreciate them for being little hunks of sweet fat.
Muu Sawan: dried pork, just like pork jerky, salted meat goodness.
Jin Tup Roht Dii: hard to share this plate with anyone, its’ best to just cough on the entire dish and claim as yours! take an already delicious cut of flank steak, season well, and pound it to shreds, served with a dry and wet set of dipping sauces, savory yums!
Drink:]
a little bit of everything here, hand crafted cocktails, beer on draft and bottles, ciders and non alcoholic teas and assorted beverages.
Don’t forget their drinking vinegars mixed with soda water
Favorite drink is Hunny; it’s grapefruit juice, lime, honey vinegar and tequila– tartness perfection!
Honorable Mention:]
3 cards per check, $ 1 additional charge for each additional card beyond 3.
2 individual co-​ed bathrooms.
street parking, you might have to circle a few times, but the neighborhood is beautiful and there is lots to see, so enjoy the walk.
Did she just say MSG? yeah, I did, and ya know what, it is also pointed out clear as day on a few of the menu items. Quit wearing your hipster daydreams about being all local and pure and realize you’ve been consuming that stuff long before you knew what Mono-​sodium glutamate was in acronym form.