District

Last night we found ourselves alone in District among chandeliers, velvet, and a birdcage. (Sounds like the start of either a great evening, or a painful joke...right?)

After checking out the website, I had high hopes -- not for a glittery swankerific sex inducing lust den, but for a tasty late night happy hour. It is a well known fact that the science of my romance revolves around my stomach.

Unfortunately, all that glitters is not gold and apparently you can no longer believe everything you read on those series of tubes we call the internets. Long story short, no more late night happy hour on Tuesdays.

Although all signs pointed to simply ordering a cocktail and calling it a night, I bit on two of the $8 plates, and for $16 I received 3 shrimp and 3 asparagus stalks on a spread of luke warm mashed potatoes, and two potato pancakes that we labeled gnocchi. Granted, the word "gnocco" means "lump," and this would loosely fit into that description, but when it was served I thought the kitchen had accidently served me the crab cakes.

Go for the alluring ambiance -- avoid the appetizers.

My sister, who works in the Pearl, brought me to this place because she said it was a clean, classy place that was never too crowded. Apparently, every time something opens in this space it only lasts for a season or two. Next door, at the Vault martini place, the people are toppling one over each other. District remains uncluttered with bodies, yet that doens't mean it's a dud. You can safely bring a big group of people here from the office and get seating and prompt service.

They serve nice glasses of wine and aren't stingy on pours of bourbon and the like.

The little snack menu is delicious. Get the meatballs, cheese plate, and Cuban sandwich. It might be a little pricey, but I didn't notice because each time I went someone else was paying!

The waitstaff is efficient and stunning! I hope the place doesn't close too quick.

District: when you are along for the ride, it is a fine neighborhood to pass some time in.....

At first glance this place is the essence of sexy, chic and cool. The decor is classy with ornate finishes, and the space is dark and intimate. It seems like District should be part of the "in" crowd for hot spots to hit, but after one evening I am not inspired to go back.

They have a $6 menu featuring the same kind of food you get at every other bar in Portland: crab cakes, caesar salad, cheese plate, blah, blah, blah..nothing unique.

The music was more club than lounge and was way too loud for our group to carry on a conversation. It's not like we're blue-hairs in walkers, but this place definitely targeted a younger crowd. We were expecting classy and instead we got Frat Daddy!

Eh. If you are in the Pearl and Paragon is too crowded go to Brazen Bean in the NW. If Brazen Bean is too crowded and you are in dire need of a martini try your luck at District. Albeit the sheik interior and welcoming lighting seem nice at first the lack of selection and irritating crowd will most likely get to you before your drink does. The martini selection is tired and typical while their scotch selection is, well, not a selection at all (I'm sorry but Dewar's should not be listed under the heading "fine single malts").

If you find yourself here at any point in your night look around and try and realize why you never go here in the first place. Especially since the trendy, lackluster, over-hyped Vault is next door and as much as I dislike admitting this, it's better than District. What's Positive: The atmosphere, happy hour and wine selection. What's Negative: Liquor selection and the aspiring pseudo metro scene that have adopted District as their home.

2 for the environment.

In a nutshell: EUROTRASH BAR!!!

I purposely avoid this place but ended up here on a Saturday night with friends needing to meet up with another friend. My friends were in from SF so I couldn't put up my normal grunts, but I did forewarn them that this was a Eurotrash bar.

We get there and it's super crowded and the House music was reverberating off of the small bar's walls to the point that I felt like I was having major heart palpitations.
They have tacky bird cages which have candles in them? If I recall correctly? And cheesy lighting fixtures along both sides with red light bulbs. Lots of velvet and lots of interesting people. If you're looking for an interesting place to people watch, and can stand the music, then maybe this is your place. There was this one girl, ONE girl, who was dancing and was obviously on something, but very entertaining to watch. Part of the crowd was VERY pretentious, part so-called normal and parts were flat out disgusting.
Finally my out of town friends couldn't stand it anymore and we bolted. Thank goodness...

Fantastic! We wondered in here last Sat. night after a show b/c the Vault (our original plan) was way too crowded (and one of my friends thought the music sounded boring and was turned off by the fact people seemed to be eating dinner...we were looking for drinks;)).

Where to start...the place looks great, just the right size and it of course gets pretty packed at times. We were fortunate though to snag two tables right away and the waitress was there immediately. I thought she was great but she did goof on a couple drinks - not mine luckily! ;)

The music was just about the best I've heard in Portland of late - if you're looking for a great place for drinks before going out, this is the perfect place to get yourself in the mood for dancing. Crowd was very hip and beautiful but not pretentious - they were all having fun:)

Drink-wise, I stuck with only two b/c I was driving. The Tokyo 820 (or was it 820 Tokyo?) was YUM. I also had a sip of the House Martini (too vodka-y for me but if you like that, go for it!) and the Lover's Kiss - too spicy with the jalapenos. Again though, if that's your game, go for it - I'm sure you will not be disappointed.

Overall, this place was fantastic, so happy to have stumbled upon it and would love to go back. Now go drink!

Small menu withou much of a crowd ... just a few people and some scenesters ...
Overcooked scallops but decent wine and nice bartenders ...
Next to Vault which I prefer but not a bad place to meet up and grab a drink and some food.

Maybe it deserves more stars, the date I had there wasnt the best ... will stop by again sometime and perhaps re-evaluate ... just seems like it is sort of dead most nights.

Very decent late night menu that is half-price during 'happy hour'. We got linguini with clams and a braised scallop dish - two main courses - for $4 each. Crazy! And they were good, too. Not amazing, but good - and for a midnight dinner...that cheap...heck, that's great! Took off one star because their music sucked - techno from 8 years ago. Why not play something better and make it more lounge-like?

The bartender was cool.

I have to disclose that I work in the Pearl, so when all the douchebags cluster at one bar, my judgment can be harsh. The place is beautiful; lots of velvet and mirrors and chandeliers, not to mention an empty birdcage in the middle of everything. Too bad there's always a girl with a fake tan and a fake rack rubbing up against it. Or her boyfriend is rubbing up against her....or some form of the aforementioned.

I do love to see Russell, who is one of the hotter bartenders in town, but that's because I know him and he's just so pretty to look at.

The best time to go (unless you love a packed house, see and be seen, weird LA vibe) is Sundays. It's empty, there's happy hour all day, and I must say, the food is fabulous. Try the scallops or the burger.

After the Vault, this place seemed like a ten.

No one in the place when we walked in. Kind of caned "world" trance music. Nice drinks and bartender was very cool. It was a tuesday night and we were on our way to see Bucky at PCS. Great show and we returned to find a few more folks milling around the place. Bartender greeted us w/ enthusiasm and was very attentive.

We ate a couple of things from the menu. The Ahi was a little on the bland side. The chicken noodle dish was excellent. Nice job of mint & spice. Good portion.

Lots of mint based drinks on the menu. I tried one and went straight to bourbon. They tasted fine... little weak but fine.

Overall, this place had a nice feel and was better than the Vault next store. That just seemed a little too prom-ish for us.