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A & L Sports Pub
Category: Nightlife Bars Sports Bars Sports Bars [Edit]
5933 NE Glisan StPortland, OR 97213
Neighborhoods: Northeast Portland, North Tabor - Center
(503) 234-7607
- Hours:
Mon-Sun 11 am - 2 am
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Price Range:
-
$
- Best Nights:
- Mon, Fri, Thu
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Smoking:
- No
- Coat Check:
- No
- Has TV:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
24 reviews for A & L Sports Pub
Review Highlights
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"Especially if you're a Steelers fan." In 3 reviews -
"by far A&L has been the best venue for tournament viewing." In 4 reviews -
"...recommend the A&L for large groups, parties, and the like." In 3 reviews
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24 reviews in English
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Review from Alethea P.
Portland, OR
8/22/2011
Great place! Especially if you're a Steelers fan! There's a huge & awesome group of Steelers fans that take over to watch the games, whom I was pleased to find after recently moving to the area.
Other perks include: tons of tvs, games, pool, the place is quite large, close to public transit, friendly staff, decent bar food & good prices. -
Review from anthony k.
Portland, OR
4/23/2012 1 Check-in Here
Not a bad place. Been in exiestence for a long time and is a good place to watch sports. Could sue a little TLC inside but the food is good and the owners are very friendly people. Big Steelers bar during football season.
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Review from Barney F.
Portland, OR
1/11/2012
Lots of TV's. Staff very helpful in finding the obscure game you want to watch. Food is better than most. Parking is atrocious, the seats are awful and the layout is weird. Still, great place to catch a game with that divorcee from down the street.
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Review from Nickole C.
Portland, OR
3/27/2011
So as I write this review we are in the midst of March Madness and I have been spending a fair amount of time in sports bars. by far A&L has been the best venue for tournament viewing.
First it it huge so there are lot's of places you can sit and have a good view of multiple TV's, which is very important when there are multiple games going on.
Second the food is decent and cheap which when you are spending up to six hours in a bar over a three week period how much you spend is important. It's standard bar fair nothing fancy or gourmet but I had fried fish and a side salad and the salad was surprisingly fresh. I also had 2 glasses of wine and was floored that my bill was under 15$.
Now I read some other reviews and I can't really speak to watching football at A&L...but I will say as a fantasy football player who does like to spend an occasional Sunday morning catching multiple games I would definitely think of going to A&L. It's not in my hood...and ON Deck which is, has ample TV's so is my sports bar of choice, but the cost difference is staggering between A&L and ON Deck so if you live anywhere out on the East side you should be checking this place out.
And bring all your friends because there is definitely room for big groups. -
Review from Christy h.
Portland, OR
12/1/2011
Meh...nothing too special about this place. It is a really big "sports pub" if you want to call it that I guess. There usually isn't more than a couple of people in this pub. I am not totally sure how they stay in business but maybe they get a large crowd for the big games. The people are really friendly. Staff and patrons are always fun to chat with. I just think that for a "sports pub" they could use a little work. The place is a little rough around the edges. They have a pool table and some fun games like pin ball but there isn't really anything special that draws me here for drinks except that it is close to my bus line. They have a few good winter beers. My favorite is the ebinezer beer from bridgeport.
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Review from Katya J.
Portland, OR
12/19/2010
Despite not being a sports bar type of girl, I came in here once because it's close-ish to where I live. (And because my upstairs neighbor REALLY wanted company while she watched LeBron get his ass handed to him by the Celtics.)
That said, maybe my opinion shouldn't factor too heavily here. However, this place is super dirty, divey and dank even as sports bars go. Surprisingly quiet the night I was there, too. Nothing really struck me as remarkable in any sense, but the staff was pretty cool and very friendly. So that's a plus. -
Review from Emily W.
Portland, OR
4/11/2011 1 Check-in Here
TVs were too staticy, bartender had no clue how to make my drink, and the whole place was dark and dank (not in a good way).
Would I return? No thank-you. -
Review from Kade M.
Portland, OR
3/18/2010 ROTD 2/18/2011
Say it with me, kids: "A & L Tavern."
Now imagine saying it after some vodka soda/Guinness St. Patty's Day pre-funcing at home.
"A&L" quickly becomes "anal." As in "Screw you Biddy's and your $10 cover, let's go across the street to the Anal Tavern."
Hours of hilarity ensue.
I drank my weight in car bombs. The bar was a bit overwhelmed by the overflow crowd from Biddy's but the bartenders were quick and tolerant of those who had over-imbibed.
Driving by I had always assumed it was an old-timey alcoholic bar. It's really more of an old-timey alcoholic bar with flat screens and a pretty clean bathroom.
I may watch some tourney action there. Come by if you want some anal fun. -
Review from Christian L.
Portland, OR
10/27/2010
I love me some Redskins Football. And in a town where there is no pro-football team to compete with, it really levels the field in terms of finding a good sports bar to go watch a game. Now- A & L is definitely a Steelers bar. And that's cool. They're loud, scary and sadistic. They smell funny and double fist pitchers of beer. All in all they are loud, rowdy and rude.
And if I had ended the review there, the place would have gotten four stars. Because really all A&L has going for it is atmosphere and character. And the Steeler's fans brought that in, along with the box labeled "Cool Steelers Shit".
Here's the thing, it was an early game and so my father who is visiting PDX, my friend, and I head out to watch the skins game, as there is a competing Steelers game, it makes things fun. They had an all you can eat breakfast deal which we got:
Coffee in cardboard cup: Cold and yet burned.
Eggs: Cold and Rubbery.
Bacon: There was so much charcoal that future generations will use it to carbon date things.
Sausage patty: Cold and greasy.
Hash browns: Passable but slightly burned.
Toast.: Hooray they didn't fail the toast! That was decent!
Bloody Mary : WAY too peppery.
And again, all this was served on cardboard plates with plastic cutlery. I don't ask for a lot. Maybe they knew that we Redskins fans are used to losing and likely suffering from brain damage for supporting a 10 year rebuilding team and that was the reason they gave us unbreakable dishes.
Whatever the case may be, I won't be going back unless... well, check that. I won't be going back. -
Review from Kimberly V.
Portland, OR
12/3/2008
Hey, I've seen this movie before.
This is the part when the poker tournament goes all sour because the one guy convinces the other guy to go all in but the first guy is actually working with the other guys at the table on a grand scheme to scam the second guy out of his money. But what they don't know is that the wannabe duped guy suspected the other guys of treachery all along because he's really a big-time mob guy from way back, so as soon as the hand is played and the chips are swept away from him, guys enter the bar and they have sleek, serious guy guns.
What commences is a loud and gory shoot-em-up sequence done without music save for the commercial break jingles from the Steelers game on the plasma screen and without artificial lighting except for the neon beer signs and the draining halogens above the pool tables. You can barely see parts of the massacre because of the cigarette tinge from decades before that clouds the air.
You have to give it points for verisimilitude but eh, no need to see it twice.Listed in: These Bars Have Scabies, But…
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Review from Maura W.
Portland, OR
Updated - 4/1/2011
On a Sunday night in February A & L had two live bands playing before a huge crowd. Transformed from a sports bar to a nightclub for the night, guests danced, ate, drank and had a great time. I was amazed at how good the service was with so many people there.
A & L should have live bands more often!!! Awesome venue for it.2 Previous Reviews: Show all »
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2/7/2011
This is like the Cheers bar for Portland. Everyone knows you. You can get any kind of drink you… Read more »
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Review from Travis T.
Portland, OR
6/4/2008
Spain-1, USA-0.
French Fries. Hefeweizen. -
Review from Nader A.
Portland, OR
2/15/2009
I'm not really sure why, but I'm just not a "sports bar" type of guy. I like watching sports, though Golf and NASCAR barely qualify as such in my book, and I'm not that into baseball...basically I'm down with basketball, football (including American Football), and ice hockey. But for some reason many in my circle of drinking buddies just don't give a rip, so I don't often find myself drinking in sports bars.
The good thing about the A&L though is that I wouldn't really call it purely a sports bar. Sure they've got a few big screens, and they prominently advertise that you can watch Blazers and NFL games when in season, but I just get a different vibe here. It's the type of place where you can watch the game if you'd like, but you can also shoot some pool, throw some darts, or just hang out and chat no matter the size of your group.
They have a much better than average beer selection (I'd guess nearing 20 brews on tap), and they've been pretty friendly about giving me a sample if they've got an interesting seasonal or something I'm just not familiar with. You also get fan-freakin-tastic pours on well drinks and straight up top shelf alike, and they charge you next to nothing. I know they have happy hour specials, but to be honest the A&L is so cheap all the time it's hardly necessary.
The menu is actually pretty large, but mostly straight forward pub grub. Assorted fried stuff, nachos, sandwiches, burgers...you know the deal. I haven't eaten anything beyond fries and tots here, but they were huge and satisfying for not a lot of dough.
I would definitely recommend the A&L for large groups, parties, and the like. It's pretty wide open, with plenty of seating and it circles round to another big room in the back. If you and a dozen or so of your nearest and dearest want to descend on a local watering hole for cheap beer and booze, with snacks, in a comfortable environment where you won't be all crowded up in other peoples' bidness, check out the A&LListed in: NE Portland
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Review from Mike S.
Portland, OR
2/8/2009
No doubt a Dart Bar.
I think there are 20 boards. This is a tournament bar, lots of matches and playoffs are held here. Now that it's smoke free, in the dart cave (no windows just lanes) you can breathe and throw darts at the same time! The board quality is generally sub-par because they are played so hard and frequently. The food is REAL cheap, and is total pub grub. A good selection of beers are available.
The downside is that this is also home to a coven of Pittsburgh Steeler fans, who are even more insufferable as of late. The poker tournaments get a little too raucous for civilized discourse to occur simultaneously. And in general this is a dungeon of a bar.
The upside is that the staff couldn't be sweeter. They'll take good care of you if you take good care of them (or at least be polite). They are pros!
I wouldn't go here to play with friends because the number of boards is a bit overwhelming, but it's a cool place to go to tournaments. Besides, dart people are a weird sub-culture of really down to earth, yet rough on the edges (like they might stab you with a dart if you piss them off) type of people -- it's worth the price of admission.Listed in: Best Dart Bars in Portland
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Review from Courtney D.
Portland, OR
2/2/2007
Want to play some foosball?
My friends and I, at the least the few who actually love football like I do, are always on the lookout for a good sports pub. Nothing flashy, just good TV's where you can see the game wherever you sit and of course, cute boys around to watch it with us. I wish that I would have known about A & L Sports Pub during the football season.
This place has 14 screens, including two big ones, so it's hard to find a bad seat. If you're a beer lover, you'll like that they have 35 on tap and cheap too.
But what made this place stand out to me, though, was the foosball table. I hadn't seen or played on one in years, and it was a fun way to break up the length of the game. They also have pinball and pool tables.
I didn't find anything special about the food, but it was great spot to watch a game.
Tip: You can call ahead and reserve a big screen for your group. -
Review from Heidi O.
Portland, OR
12/29/2009
Pros: This place is within crawling distance of my house, decent bloodies, good bar food and always a place to sit. Oh and SPORTS SPORTS SPORTS! Even though I'm not a fan, I do enjoy watching fans go nuts.
Cons: You'd think the beer and booze would be cheaper, but the prices are reasonable.
I would say if you want to rock a real dive with minimal hipsters and a bunch of space, this is a good spot. -
Review from Ari D.
Portland, OR
2/10/2010
What can I say? I grew up in Kansas and I have soft spot for men in sleeveless shirts. If you are a man and you love your shirts sleeveless, A & L is your place.
It's trashy and I like it.
Really. I do.
It is what it is. It has big TVs, pool tables, fried food and booze. I've never seen it crowded and the staff is always friendly.
It's gigantic too. If you're looking for a place to hold your sleeveless wedding reception, you've found it. -
Review from Michael G.
Portland, OR
5/8/2011
Great beer selection and although it was busy, the service was great. Many tv's made it easy to watch the game. Also, a very diverse crowd was great to see. However, the food was bland and seemed straight out of Ricky's cookbook from Trailer Park Boys.
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Review from LYNSEY L.
Portland, OR
10/2/2010
Love this bar - come here on any Monday night and you will make a new football friend. Come here a second time and be repared to see many of the same faces - its definitely a place with regulars, which I love. Its cheap and the bathrooms are clean, the staff is friendly and so are the patrons. Not to mention they have 35 + beers on tap AND when I asked the bar tender to make a brandy old fashioned sweet (because I'm from Wisconsin and old fashioned are a thing there, but I had yet to find anyone that can make them in bridgetown) - he whipped one up that was so delicious I nearly shed a single tear. Nearly...but its a sports bar so I wanted to remain as macho as I possibly could.
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Review from Paul W.
Portland, OR
12/7/2009
I'm a Duck. My friends are Beavers. I have a very hard time finding a sports bar that: a) isn't filled with douchebags, b) isn't filled with Beavers, c) is cheap and not out of the way. A&L is in my neighborhood, has a pretty decent beer selection (PBR to Ninkasi), and has Duck games on the big screen.
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Review from Jacob H.
Phoenix, AZ
1/23/2007
The A & L is your typical neighborhood bar, with its pool tables, arcade games, and, of course, sad-looking old people. The bar is pitch black at noon, and in no way is that depressing. The best part: its food selection, which contains every heart-clogging American classic at about $6 each. God bless you, A & L.
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Review from Lisa E.
Portland, OR
2/1/2010
It's a cool sport bar. There's a few pool tables (one was broken though) and tons of dart boards. FYI, you have to bring your own darts--which is kinda lame. So we missed out on playing darts. :( The menu is pretty big for being a bar, and the food was tasty. Very, very greasy and fattening bar food, but what do you expect? I'd go back for drinks and to watch a game on one of their many TVs!
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Review from P O.
Portland, OR
2/7/2010
Give the A&L a chance and it will grow on you. This is a place that really cares about its regulars, has great staff, much better than average bar food, a good beer selection, a pool table, and shows just about every sports game that's on. There are certainly things it doesn't do perfectly, but that doesn't take away from just great of a neighborhood sports bar it is.
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Review from Zo E.
Portland, OR
4/27/2009
We went here last night to watch the Blazers game and I agree with the other reviewers - this place is huge! Definitely great for groups. Many TVs, so you have a good view no matter where you sit. Prices are reasonable ($3.75 for a micro pint, $9 for domestic pitchers) and service was fast & attentive. They also have pinball, video games, and video lottery. I can see how it might get rowdy during a darts or poker tournament but the mood was pretty jovial when we were there, even though the Blazers lost.
