This New NE Sandy Cocktail Bar Is Something Out of ‘the Jetsons’ With an Old Portland Edge

NE Sandy Boulevard’s new cocktail lounge is how Portlanders in the ‘50s may have imagined bars in the 21st Century: with glowing green lights, mod silver finishes, and banana daiquiris aplenty.

The Lift Off Lounge opened with no major announcement in early November — Bridgetown Bites broke the news of its impending opening back in August, and that it’s a project of Casey Maxwell, owner of the late Matador. The cocktail lounge evokes a retro-futurist vibe with its dark, electric-green decorum and images of vintage spaceships, and serves a menu of classic cocktails at affordable prices, plus bar snacks, soups, salads, and pot pies.

Despite its quiet opening, the bar is already pulling in crowds for its daiquiris and cognac Old Fashioneds, none of which exceed a $10 price tag — an increasing rarity in this city. Alongside the more classic cocktails, the bar also serves sweet drinks like a grasshopper similar to Pépé le Moko’s, with creme de menthe and cacao, Fernet Branca, and ice cream. A modest but fun menu includes a few different savory pies as the main focus, including a veggie and a chicken pot pie, as well as fried pies like ham and cheese. The multi-chambered space is dark with black leather and low green lights, but upbeat with vintage-style art of moons and rockets.

Lift Off Lounge is located at 5216 NE Sandy Boulevard, and is currently open from 4 p.m. to 2 a.m. daily.

• The Lift Off Lounge Is Coming To NE Sandy Blvd [Bridgetown Bites]
• West Burnside Dive Bar the Matador Calling It Quits [EPDX]