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The Lighthouse
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Where to Eat and Drink Like a Pirate in Portland, Mapped

Nautical-themed restaurants and bars and other places for salty dogs

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The Lighthouse
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Despite its proximity to water, Portland isn’t really the seafood town it once was. But there are still a solid handful of places to get a good fish supper, or to drink like a pirate, depending on your needs. Soak up the seafaring atmosphere at these Portland restaurants and bars, so every day can be Maritime Monday.

(Note, the points on this map guide are not ranked; rather, they're organized geographically.)

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The Lighthouse

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Owned by the same restaurateur as Clyde’s Prime Rib, The Lighthouse is a necessary stop on the way to Sauvie Island and worth the journey just for its nautical, rustic, and raw-wood decor. Located in an 1886 bank and post office, it’s been serving heart attack burgers to longshoremen and city slickers alike since 1950, and it recently updated its menu with better quality ingredients and new dishes, including more seafood.

Salty's on the Columbia

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Unlike most of Portland’s dining options, Salty’s puts you right on the water. It’s the classic Portland seafood venue, right on the Columbia, with a full seafood menu and a slightly more dressed-up vibe than you get at most fried fish spots.     

Sextant Bar & Galley

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Like its neighbor Salty’s, the Sextant gets points for being on the water, but bonus points for being named after a navigational device AND a boat kitchen. Fried seafood is the move here: clam strips, oysters, calamari, popcorn shrimp, and the like are all for the taking, or just get a shrimp cocktail and cup of chowder.    

Dan & Louis Oyster Bar

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If you want proper kooky nautical finery, Dan & Louis Oyster Bar is the top of the line. This venerable old seadog on Old Town’s Ankeny Alley has been keeping Portlanders in oyster stew and shooters for more than a century.  

Outdoor seating at Dan & Louis
Facebook/Dan & Louis

Ringside Fish House

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If you want Salty’s menu options and buttoned-up atmosphere without that pesky riverfront view, there’s always Ringside. It’s a nice spot for a fancy downtown dinner date.    

Headwaters

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Though it eschews the yacht-rock atmosphere, Headwaters gets honorable mention: Here’s high-end seafood in the Heathman Hotel, with the added bonus of offering shellfish by the towerful. Happy hour in the bar delivers a $5 cocktail and other noteworthy deals.    

Headwaters
Headwaters
Dina Avila/EPDX

Jolly Roger

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Maybe the only pirate-themed dive bar in Portland? True to a pirate’s reputation, the Jolly offers Wine, Women and Whiskey Wednesdays, or if that isn’t your vibe, Fish and Chip Fridays.     

There Be Monsters

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Why yes, Portland does want a British pub with an obliquely cartographic vibe. The haddock fish sandwich gives a Filet O’ Fish a run for its money, or skip the bread and do the fish and chips, between these map-decorated walls.    

Hale Pele

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Technically this is a tiki bar, but islands and boats go hand in hand, so it’s making the list (sea glass and coconut floats totally go in the water!). Have a zombie punch and a poke bowl and you can almost hear the lapping waves.     

Reel M Inn

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It may be famous for fried chicken and jo jos, but the Reel M Inn can’t be missed if you want that low-key Wet Hot American Summer/Kamp Krusty feel. The rafters come decorated with fishing nets, lures, lines, and even a few trophy fish.    

Jacqueline

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If you want an upper-crust seafood menu served with an ichthyologist’s eye for decor, this intimate little corner spot in St. Jack’s former location offers the best of both worlds: design inspired by the movie, Life Aquatic, replete with portrait of lead man Bill Murray hanging over the bar, and a local-seafood-heavy menu, including $1 oysters most days of the week. Good cocktails and mocktails, too.    

Ship Ahoy Tavern

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Though the sailors don’t come in like they used to, the Ship Ahoy still serves up cheap tallboys and plenty of local flavor. This beloved dive has lots of regulars (and $1 Miller High Lifes on Thursdays, from 6:30 to midnight).    

The Muddy Rudder Public House

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This Sellwood neighborhood pizzeria looks just like the kind of place you’d go with your Uncle Randy after a long day salmon fishing on the Clack. The smoked salmon sandwich is the only thing on the menu that stays on theme.    

Ship Tavern

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This Multnomah Village dive bar has purportedly been around since the early 1900s, and still has a few boats and lifesavers inside to keep the vibe up. Other than a few “new and improved” sub sandwiches and Buoy Beer on tap, there isn’t much nautical about the joint on the menu, but the friendly staff helps balance the scales.     

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The Lighthouse

Owned by the same restaurateur as Clyde’s Prime Rib, The Lighthouse is a necessary stop on the way to Sauvie Island and worth the journey just for its nautical, rustic, and raw-wood decor. Located in an 1886 bank and post office, it’s been serving heart attack burgers to longshoremen and city slickers alike since 1950, and it recently updated its menu with better quality ingredients and new dishes, including more seafood.

Salty's on the Columbia

Unlike most of Portland’s dining options, Salty’s puts you right on the water. It’s the classic Portland seafood venue, right on the Columbia, with a full seafood menu and a slightly more dressed-up vibe than you get at most fried fish spots.     

Sextant Bar & Galley

Like its neighbor Salty’s, the Sextant gets points for being on the water, but bonus points for being named after a navigational device AND a boat kitchen. Fried seafood is the move here: clam strips, oysters, calamari, popcorn shrimp, and the like are all for the taking, or just get a shrimp cocktail and cup of chowder.    

Dan & Louis Oyster Bar

If you want proper kooky nautical finery, Dan & Louis Oyster Bar is the top of the line. This venerable old seadog on Old Town’s Ankeny Alley has been keeping Portlanders in oyster stew and shooters for more than a century.  

Outdoor seating at Dan & Louis
Facebook/Dan & Louis

Ringside Fish House

If you want Salty’s menu options and buttoned-up atmosphere without that pesky riverfront view, there’s always Ringside. It’s a nice spot for a fancy downtown dinner date.    

Headwaters

Though it eschews the yacht-rock atmosphere, Headwaters gets honorable mention: Here’s high-end seafood in the Heathman Hotel, with the added bonus of offering shellfish by the towerful. Happy hour in the bar delivers a $5 cocktail and other noteworthy deals.    

Headwaters
Headwaters
Dina Avila/EPDX

Jolly Roger

Maybe the only pirate-themed dive bar in Portland? True to a pirate’s reputation, the Jolly offers Wine, Women and Whiskey Wednesdays, or if that isn’t your vibe, Fish and Chip Fridays.     

There Be Monsters

Why yes, Portland does want a British pub with an obliquely cartographic vibe. The haddock fish sandwich gives a Filet O’ Fish a run for its money, or skip the bread and do the fish and chips, between these map-decorated walls.    

Hale Pele

Technically this is a tiki bar, but islands and boats go hand in hand, so it’s making the list (sea glass and coconut floats totally go in the water!). Have a zombie punch and a poke bowl and you can almost hear the lapping waves.     

Reel M Inn

It may be famous for fried chicken and jo jos, but the Reel M Inn can’t be missed if you want that low-key Wet Hot American Summer/Kamp Krusty feel. The rafters come decorated with fishing nets, lures, lines, and even a few trophy fish.    

Jacqueline

If you want an upper-crust seafood menu served with an ichthyologist’s eye for decor, this intimate little corner spot in St. Jack’s former location offers the best of both worlds: design inspired by the movie, Life Aquatic, replete with portrait of lead man Bill Murray hanging over the bar, and a local-seafood-heavy menu, including $1 oysters most days of the week. Good cocktails and mocktails, too.    

Ship Ahoy Tavern

Though the sailors don’t come in like they used to, the Ship Ahoy still serves up cheap tallboys and plenty of local flavor. This beloved dive has lots of regulars (and $1 Miller High Lifes on Thursdays, from 6:30 to midnight).    

The Muddy Rudder Public House

This Sellwood neighborhood pizzeria looks just like the kind of place you’d go with your Uncle Randy after a long day salmon fishing on the Clack. The smoked salmon sandwich is the only thing on the menu that stays on theme.    

Ship Tavern

This Multnomah Village dive bar has purportedly been around since the early 1900s, and still has a few boats and lifesavers inside to keep the vibe up. Other than a few “new and improved” sub sandwiches and Buoy Beer on tap, there isn’t much nautical about the joint on the menu, but the friendly staff helps balance the scales.     

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