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Muddy Rudder Public House
Rating Details »
Categories: American (New), Arts & Entertainment, Pubs [Edit]
Neighborhoods: Southwest Portland, Sellwood8195 SE 7th Ave
Portland, OR 97202
(503) 233-4410
- Hours:
Mon-Wed. 12:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.
Thu-Fri. 12:00 p.m. - 11:00 p.m.
Sat. 11:00 a.m. - 11:00 p.m.
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Attire:
- Casual
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- No
- Delivery:
- No
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- No
- Outdoor Seating:
- Yes
- Good for:
- Dinner
- Music:
- Live
- Best Nights:
- Fri, Sat
- Happy Hour:
- Yes
- Alcohol:
- Beer & Wine Only
- Smoking:
- No
- Coat Check:
- No
20 reviews for Muddy Rudder Public House
As if I need help: my current favorite iphone app helps me get booze in the shortest time possible. most yeeps prolly already know this one, but for the rest of you, it's another reason to come over to the iphone darkside.
Cocktail Compass locates the nearest happy hour to your current location, along with progressively distant happy hours and their respective hauls. This. is. the coolest thing ever. If you're willing to commit, it's like booze roulette.
Driving over the Sellwood bridge last Sunday, CC pinged the Muddy Rudder, a place I've driven by hundreds of times and likely would have never thought to stumble into. And that would have been too bad. $3 pints before 6pm, of some of the coldest beer in Portland... (not always the best thing, but when it's 95 degrees it's awfully nice.)
Good tap selection, and the pizzas coming out of the kitchen looked really nice (also happy hour prices before 6.) Pretty chill local feel, lots of places to sit, and live music. Reminds me of a couple of places I've been to in Boston.
Good Cocktail Compass, good.
I am not feeling particularly inspired which may say something about this place....
Decent Beer
Decent Salads and Apps
Okay Pizza
Nice Outdoor seating
Uhhhhhh
Nothing else.
Thank you.
You know, I like to root for the underdog. And I really was rooting for Muddy Rudder. It always looked chill, and in a sweet old house, right near the river.
I imagined booths and cheap food and kickass burgers. I imagined a place close to home that I'd be okay hanging out at.
Unfortunately, though, this place did not live up to my meager expectations. I found the seating odd and kind of distracting...they used old and wobbly round tables and mismatched chairs (which, granted, lend their own charm), instead of booths, which I thought would be far more appropriate. It was almost completely empty when I was there, and we were scolded for trying to order at the bar, but the service was slow as molasses.
And since I'm not much of a beer drinker, I opted for one of the ciders (it was between regular apple and a cranberry, and I decided to be adventurous at the server's recommendation and went with the latter). The price was STEEP. We're talking...$7 or $8. And get this, my CIDER came in a WINE GLASS. Yup. For $8, I get 6 oz of cider. Not even a goddamned pint. What gives?!
Also, the menu struck me as pretty strange for a neighborhood pub. Mostly incredibly overpriced hummus or cheese platters. The only thing that looked remotely good was a pizza, and neither of us were too crazy about the options. So we did a make-your-own, and in addition to an uncomfortably crisp and dry crust, my meats were also burnt. Yikes. And overpriced. Did I mention that?
So, unfortunately, and I hate to say this, I think this place is really pretentious, and I really don't see myself going back. Until they realize WHERE THEY ARE, adjust their menu and pricing, I ain't living in the uneven chairs, even if the house is actually pretty nifty.
Muddy Rudder has a remarkable level of charm and ambiance for a pub that's only been open roughly 2 years. With distinctly olde world nautical themed decor, aged looking wood floors, mismatched tables and wobbly chairs, it's easy to imagine the Muddy Rudder has been here, near the banks of the Willamette at Oaks Bottom for a century, but it's all just clever design and attention to detail.
Too bad the menu isn't as impressive. Strangely I'd be happier of they would have stuck with with the throwback theme in the kitchen, rather than serving over priced, under sized sandwiches, salads, and snacks. They do have pizzas and strombolis, which I'd guess is the way to go if you have any type of appetite. They must not own a fryer, which is a shame because the ubiquitous "fish 'n chips", seemingly available in every pub in town, would actually fit right in here.
We ordered the antipasto plate which came with a couple dollops of houmous, about a half-dozen olives, and some nice roasted veggies (4-5 cloves of garlic, about a tablespoon of red bell peppers, and a couple slices each of eggplant and zucchini). A decent appetizer for one, nowhere near enough for three, but at about $9 it seemed a rather poor value. At least they use organic, sustainable, or local items when available.
Table service is a little spotty; they don't come back to check on you nearly frequently enough. But since you'll probably have to stroll up to the bar to read whats on tap anyway (scrawled in chicken scratch on a little chalkboard beside the bar), you may want to try ordering there or at least make yourself visible to the bartender so he'll hopefully remember you.
They have a small but well thought out selection of draft beers - most tending towards the hoppy side, which is A-OK by me. For those of you who have not yet acquired the taste for hoppy beers, they had Harp Lager and Boddington's Pub Ale (I believe both are always in the rotation), as well as a fair selection of wines by the glass and a cider or two.
Similar to a recent review I wrote for a different "Muddy" establishment (http://www.yelp.com/bi...), the live acoustic music really sets the Muddy Rudder ahead of many similar locales. Last night we enjoyed a nice, rootsy, Irish-tinged instrumental set. They often have live music, mostly of the Americana, bluegrass variety - and they've never charged a cover to my knowledge.
Muddy Rudder is a great place for good beer and interesting live music in a quaint, rustic environment, though I'd probably skip the food.
Cute, comfy place with a very local vibe. The bartender (although totally slammed while we were there) was friendly and helpful, and the stromboli and antipasto platter were both great. The outdoor seating was a huge bonus on a very warm (for Portland) evening.
Stumbled upon this place after a great day of geocaching. Came when they were playing live music. Great relaxed atmosphere and ample seating. Plus decent beers on tap. Definitely will be back.
Muddy Rudder is at a great location to meet coworkers after work. It's fabulous for beer and the space feels very inviting to me after a long day (or week) of fluorescents, whiteboards and minors. Somehow it makes me feel like I'm in a small mountain town, especially with the fireplace going. The ambiance makes the beer taste amazing!
At first, the food was an issue for us, because there were hardly any snacks or what we would consider pub food. We could get a whole sandwich, salad or a pricey cheese platter. There were no chips or fries or tater tots. There was a fabulous eggplant sandwich. Now they have thin crust, individual pizzas, which is much more conducive to sharing, grubbing, and being casual. In the warmer weather, there is nice outdoor seating. Last time I was in, happy hour was a good deal. I've found service to be a little slow, but friendly.
Dislike turned to like, like turned to love, now love has turned into infatuation. I can still recall the words seductively verbalized to the Tall Leggy Blonde and I on a warm Saturday afternoon..."I have three beers you guys must try, you look like your IPA fans."
Ah, amore!
The first ever sampling of an IRA (a Red IPA) was tremendous and the burgers we ordered to go along were outstanding. This is now on the top of my list of favorite places for beer...
2 Previous Reviews: Show all »
-
7/30/2008
I never make mistakes...once I thought I did, but I was wrong.
Well, if my first impression of the… Read more »
About 7 miles into my 30 mile bike ride last weekend, Our 4 person bike-gang voted to stop for "provisions." (Let's just say that two of us were more bike-faring folks, and two of us...well, weren't.)
Enter Muddy Rudder and their fantastic bike rack.
Rocking clips and spandex, I voted to sit outside in the sunshine and was pleasantly surprised by the lovely back-yard-turned-picnic area where we were not only able to be served, but also watch the chefs flip burgers on an old-school charcoal grill.
The limited menu provided 100% organic options, and mostly consisted of sandwiches, salads, and light finger snacks. The Marseille sandwich (salami, fresh mozzarella & sliced tomato on a baguette), and the Eugene (avocado, sprouts, cucumber, tomato, baby greens and black olive hummus) were both hits at our table.
The 100% organic flare included the exclusion of soda of any kind and the only kind of juices or iced tea they offer come in plastic bottles. So unless you are a beer or wine drinker, you're drinking water.
*cough, or unless you have a 23 mile bike ride ahead of you...*
Muddy Rudder screams neighborhood summer BBQ, and sneaking a peek of a Scrabble box next to the fireplace, I can only imagine the late night shenanigans that must go down. In fact, two of our 4 person bike-gang ended up staying put!
can't blame 'em.
It was a late afternoon on a weekday when we visited this nice little neighborhood pub. It was not busy, the waiter was very friendly and attentive.
I liked it but was not super impressed. I love the building. The beer/wine selection was good, the food was nothing to write home about. We were told that they were changing the menu in a couple weeks.
We decided we would definitely go back. I would like to check out the live music sometime.
Great for riding your bike and grabbing a couple beers.
I have only been here once but I had a great time. We had a stromboli the size of my arm! It was quite tasty as was the pizza we also ordered. They have some decent beers here as well.
Atmosphere was fine and the service was good.. The seating was a little weird - sat at a large table almost right in front of the stairs. Guess they were making room for a band?
Man, what happened.. ?
I used to sing this places praises. But the last few times have really left much wanting.
1. Having to wave down a server for initial service.
2. Orders lost.
3. Orders incomplete or missing the vital ingredient.
4. Ridiculously overdone burgers.
5. Toooo long wait for a beer.
It's just sad.
1 Previous Review: Show all »
-
11/6/2007
Tucked into the corner of 7th and Tacoma is the refurbished house that is now the home of the Muddy… Read more »
You can catch some stellar live music here, often led by Lauren Sheehan and other American Folk/Roots Masters. (see photo and Web Site under her name)
Rumor has it that talented Pub-start-up whiz Jim Parker wants to have more fun than he can being in charge, so he plans to leave his own Brewery to pull beers for us at the Muddy Rudder! . Heck i like music alot, but I'll show up just for more of his silliness. (
The Green Dragon will get along fine w/o him, probably...since the staff knows what the heck they are doing. I look forward to seeing him visit as a Patron to spend more time and share juvenile jokes with the fellow swillers.
Kudos to you. Muddy Ruddites, for winning over one of the BEST of your competition. Co-Optation is a very good plan! (did u guys know I'm a political strategist, not just for clean energy - but also clean campaigns? Yep...)
I love this place! I have only been once. I went to check out the neighborhood as I am planning a move to Portland in the next couple months and it came highly reviewed on Yelp (thanks!). I walked in around noon on a Saturday and the place was totally empty save for the most awesome bartender ever (Renee), the owner (who completely remodeled the place, which used to be an old house, and added a false front, pretty incredible craftsmanship), and another employee.
I started off with some black bean chili (YUM!), and a nice red ale (can't remember the name, but it was delicious). The place started to fill up a bit and I made some friends (great folks). We ordered a cheese and meat platter which was also fantastic, especially the spicy mustard that they serve with it, WOW YUM! Overall, everything possible was house-made, fresh, and totally rocked my tummy (in a good way).
I'm pissed about the Muddy Rudder today.
I just moved into Sellwood and quite like the 'hood. I've been to the Rudder a few times, and here it is: THE CUSTOMER SERVICE SUCKS. They've got two young, arrogant girls at the bar who act lethargic and are rude to the customers because they are so used to being flirted with. Let me tell you something, girls: you're not hot, and your personalities suck.
When I asked about how to go about booking a gig (I am a musician), one of these girls actually THREW the proprietor's business card at me. When I thanked her (stupidly), she ignored me.
Some of you reading this might think I'm being picky. Let me ask you this: why the F am I paying to go into a place that acts like I bothered the staff? What kind of BS customer service is this?
Oh, and the food is ridiculously expensive. I paid $11 for a simple stromboli!!
Overrated, uncomfortable, rude. This place is for rich jerks who treat people like crap, and don't mind being treated the same way.
Nice, very neighborhood-y atmosphere. Quite obviously a locals place, in a good way. Decor was nice- roomy and pleasant. I could see grabbing a late lunch and getting some work done (wifi included). Food options weren't vast, but what there was was tasty. Good vegetarian options for sandwiches and salads.
And, best of all, our favorite tap beer from San Diego offered. Obviously, this won't be a selling point to everyone (except for folks who like good beer), but we were in heaven. 4 stars got pushed to 5 just for that..
I'm torn on this star-rating thing. To me, this place was a strong neutral. Not bad, not good. A solid two and a half stars.
Three of us went for Girls' Night --we have a rule about trying new places, and this one was new for all of us, even though we've all lived in Sellwood at various times and try to frequent the local businesses.
I got there first and staked out a table. Ten minutes later, no one had taken my order and dropped off menus, so I swiped one from the next table when it's inhabitents abandoned ship. When the girls got there, we decided we should just go order drinks at the bar before Happy Hour ended.
The menu was unimpressive. Well, to be fair, the stromboli sounded good, but the menu warned a 20-minute wait, and I'd already been there nearly 20 before the first elusive employee was spotted. In the end, we shared a pizza, which was quite good. And while I'm sure the "natural, local, organic" line on the menu appeals to some, it's just not what I'm looking for in a pub.
Once happy hour ended, service did seem to improve. And, near as we could tell, there was one person behind the bar and one waitress covering the rest of the restaurant -- no wonder the poor girl was slow to help us.
All in all, it was fine. I wouldn't recommend it to a friend, but I wouldn't gripe either if someone wanted to go there. There is one more little thing I use to judge an establishment: is the designated driver's coffee free? Nope.
Beautiful attention to detail by owner. Yummy food, warm comfortable atmosphere. Local neighborhood hangout.
Good vibe, just 'ok' food.
Decent food, and lots of live music. What more could you want from a neighborhood pub?
