Gay bars in portland

This one directly traces its lineage to the ’80s club Flossie’s, which had multiple addresses but moved to Old Town in 2018 and set up shop as a street-level bar with a basement strip club. Inspired by the Oakland restaurant Gay4U Vegan Eats, Reynoso and Bañuelos offer free food to trans people of color upon request. 2015 | pearl district

Stag’s interior—dark leather and bordello velvet, antler trophies and graffitied antique paintings—feels like a gay après-ski chalet strip club.

The bar hosts a calendar of drag shows, game nights, and dance parties to unite the LGBTQ+ community’s full spectrum, like the Nu-Glitter queer comedy open mic and monthly tarot evenings. Communities here have been embracing gender and sexuality for centuries, and the city continues to be a hub for the whole queer community. The restaurant’s social media accounts are worth a follow for the staff’s cheeky content.

You'll find dishes like wood-fired pizza and house-made pasta on the menu, made with a selection of local produce that changes with the seasons. The welcoming, unpretentious vibe extends to all members of the LGBTQ+ community. (Friendship Kitchen, 2333 NE Glisan, 2764 NW Thurman, saigonsingapore.com; Stem Wine Bar, 3920 N Mississippi, stemwinebarpdx.com)

Kann

Top Chef star Gregory Gourdet's celebrated wood-fired Haitian restaurant Kann, which was named Best New Restaurant at the 2023 James Beard Awards, serves delightful dishes like akra (crispy taro root fritters), coffee-rubbed steaks, and twice-cooked griyo (Haitian fried pork).

Then, while waiting for strip clubs to reopen in 2021, she launched her own brick-and-mortar inside The Redd’s Powerhouse Cafe space. Not in the mood for pizza? 2007 | piedmont

Eagle Portland isn’t related to the other gay leather bars called Eagle found across the country, but it might as well be. 1981 | old town

Though technically on the outskirts of Old Town’s Entertainment District, CC’s is very much at the center of the queer downtown Portland scene.

The vegetarian bowl-style dishes have names inspired by her customer base, like "I Like to Cha Cha" (seasoned rice, citrus slaw, black olives, mild salsa, cheddar, and cotija, topped with avocado, crushed Juanita's tortilla chips, salsa lizano, pickled red onions, and cilantro) and the "Verbal Tipper" (lemon pepper couscous, Italian pickled vegetables, marinated artichokes, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, crumbled cotija cheese, crispy quinoa, and a balsamic drizzle).

The Chicago native and Cubs fanatic sources regional produce and uses locally baked bread to construct the sandwiches that showcase her house-smoked meats. From Meals 4 Heels to Taqueria Los Puñales, we've rounded up some of our favorite queer-owned bars, restaurants, and cafes in Portland. Hungry? Inside are drag stars, touring musicians, and sweaty bodies to dance against.

(1015 SE Stark, speed-ocappuccino.square.site)

The Sports Bra

Chef-owner Jenny Nguyen opened this women-focused sports bar and restaurant with a name inspired by a long-standing joke between her and her friends.

Jacques Strappe

various locations

Christopher Sky founded this “trashy-chic” queer dance party weeks before the pandemic hit Oregon, but the party goes on.

The drinks are cheap, the greatest gay pop hits and deep cuts are on repeat. (7955 N Lombard, mosaictaps.com)

Red Sauce Pizza

Apizza Scholls alum Shardell Dues believes less is more when it comes to the eponymous sauce that she tops her gently charred pies with.

(2137 E Burnside, sammichrestaurants.com)

Speed-O Cappuccino

Flipping the script on the classic "bikini barista" format, this cheeky Barbie-pink espresso stand and vegan food cart founded by sex workers Dahlia Hanson and Joseph Miller employs a staff of queer sex workers, or as they put it, "thembos and flirts." Besides coffee drinks, you can expect to find vegan versions of Crunchwraps and deep-fried Oreos.

(1670 NE Killingsworth, mistaconespdx.com)

Mosaic Taphouse

The craft beer scene can often feel like an exclusive club for straight white guys, but married couple Jarek and Laurence Oliver set out to change that with their LGBTQ-friendly taproom Mosaic Taphouse, which opened in St. Johns in November 2023.

After a change in management a few years back, the newest in Portland’s modest collection of mostly male queer strip clubs feels infused with fresh energy.