Billy Rays Dive

I kind of wish we had stayed for another drink. We were both enjoying this bar, talking to the regs. But as we were on a mission to squeeze in as much as (super)humanly possible we only had one. I don't even remember what I drank, yellow beer? She enjoyed her Shirley temple with half a jar worth of cherries. Something about hearing someone's near death experience over drinks just hits different. The copper/brass bar is a super nice touch. This looked and felt old school Portland. We should've came After the PICA, I needed all kinds of beer then.

A nice easy going place to relax, drink, and watch a cool horror movie 🎬 🧟‍♀️ Thank you!

When did check out the old one of the oldest dive bars in Portland the bartender didn't really want to seem to wait on us we had questions as of is there a food menu here they don't have food then a dart board they said no they only have pool table and bloody Mary mix they didn't have

Iconic Pdx neighborhood dive bar. Pinball, Pool, huge Patio, Video Crack. This is another one of those taste of old Portland, the way it once was places. I think there’s a pizza cart outside now too. Cheers!

Awesome longtime standing neighborhood watering hole. I love and appreciate the attitude. Go there as much as possible to play pinball with friends when I get back into Portland. Great prices, great selection and great patio.

Premises reeked of urine. Bartender was nice though.

Weird vibes inside 😕 it’s a cash only bar and me and my friends were approached unpleasantly multiple times by people outside and on the walk to and from for cash citing that we were going to a cash only bar. The bar patrons were only male and it just felt weird and off idk. Also it has the same sign as the Vern but the Vern is a way better place.

Best dive in Portland! Cheep strong drinks $3.50 wells. Patio, pool, good music.

Classic dive bar. Pool table upstairs and a covered patio/deck out back. There aren't a whole lot of similar options close to the stadium/convention center, and that place stands out.

Great ambiance, and cool spot. Unfortunately the bartender has some pretentiousness who tends to treat people poorly for absolutely no reason. It is a cool bar in a rougher part of town, and it has it's selection of drunk regulars who cut in line and give unsolicited advice. If the bartender wasn't such a dick, I think I'd come back, but unfortunately there are a lot of other bars with better service so I won't be returning nor recommending this place to others.

Solid dive bar! Great outside patio, friendly bartenders and delicious cheap drinks!! I'm visiting from California and it reminds me of my dive bar back at home.

I will definitely be coming back to Billy Ray's. I live in the neighborhood so that helps, but Billy Ray's is everything you want in a dive bar. It's affordable and has a lot of character. The back patio area is awesome and would be a great place to catch some games. Most of it is covered as well. Of note, IT'S CASH ONLY!

Classic dive bar. Amazing bartenders/service. Great patio. What else does one need? Oh yeah, best Thai food cart in town, right next door. Love!

Are you looking for a real dive? Well look no further than Billy Ray's. The price for a pint of a micro brew here is almost half of what it is elsewhere in this city. For a long while the only food option was a Hungry Man frozen dinner. Once I was actually hungry enough for a Hungry Man. When I went to order, they told me they had just run out. That was odd considering I had never ever seen anyone order one. It does look like they serve pizza now. The bar actually has a really nice back patio too. It works well in the winter too because it has a covered section with heaters. The bar is also cash only so that may be keeping the hoards at bay. There is additional space upstairs with some more games like Buck Hunter. The upstairs is usually pretty quiet and chill, but the lighting is a little harsh.

Walked in to three men at the bar being loud as all hell, they were the only three in the bar. It also had a weird smell going on in it. Ordered a drink and the soda I got was flat. There was sticky stuff on the bar top, fruit was laying out on the counter cut up and not covered. 100% dive bar. Was kinda cool they have old games upstairs and pool tables.

One of my favorite go-to's for good people, music, and food. Love escaping to Billy Ray's. Any day of the week.

My friends and I went here after the Trailblazers game last night - bartender was friendly, good and cheap drinks with a nice heated outdoor patio. Will be back and recommend!

In short, the bartender was rude and the drink selection was lackluster at best. The bar was relatively slow when we went in, but the bartender treated me like a total idiot when I ordered a mixed drink. Rather than just saying that they don't offer any mixed drinks, he rolled his eyes and said "this is a dive bar". His reaction seemed over-the-top to me. I wasn't trying to be difficult, I was just confused. I am a big dive bar fan and this was the first time I'd ever experienced a total lack of mixed drinks. Beyond the offputting response to my original request, paying $17 for three shots of well liquor felt distinctly un-divey... The patio is really cool, but it's also full of cigarette butts and smoke, so you're limited to the tiny indoor space if you're sensitive to smoke. I didn't have high expectations when I went in, but somehow I still was disappointed by this expensive dive.

Bartender--female with shag haircut--very condescending and won't answer questions or respectfully help. Ignored us and poured weak drinks when she finally recognized we were there. Ope.

Billy Ray's is a dive bar, and I would give it 4 sparkling stars if only for the fact that it lives so darn close to me that I can walk there (how convenient is that?!), but...It's a dive bar and I have to save 4+ stars for the finer places otherwise I'll be doling out excessive stars left and right and will have no place up to go from there. The goods on Billy's: it's very cool for the total locals "you belong here" vibe, the super nice peeps who work there, and the great patio out back (Woo Hoo, drunken ping pong! uh. sorry I knocked the ball all the way out to MLK!), and of course the pinball machines n' what not.... And, they do have cheap beers, but one night as my hubby and I strolled home from said bar, following one of the cheap beers, my hubby suddenly felt quite ill and had to go hurl up his fresh beer (he had no choice but to make a mad dash to the neighbor's bushes...sorry neighbor!). So, it IS a great neighborhood bar and all that, and I most certainly will be back, but it IS still a dive bar (--and please keep the taps clean.)

This is a dive bar with a group of regulars. It is cash only. It has a nice neon sign. They sell Hungry Man dinners. I suppose if I lived nearby I would go here, but since I don't going in one time was enough for me. Patio was nice. Prices are cheap.

game room, pinball fun cheap toddies, same six people such sweet smoky bliss

Chris the bartender has serious anger issues. Same one mentioned in other reviews. He should NOT work with the general public. He clearly has a tendency to overreact to the smallest of things. After being screamed at for sitting on the pool table to take a photo (yes it was wrong and we should not have done that). But in our defense it is promoted as a DIVE bar and not some championship pool hall with a new table that is calibrated within a millimeter. It is an old table upstairs and the three of us were the ONLY ones in the room at the time. We got in our car to leave, still in shock from being berated, and we found the other reviews about him feeling somewhat better. I didn't even finish my PBR.

Stiff drinks. Cheap. Nothing better. Juke box is primarily classic punk music. Pinball and other entertainment.

The divest dive bar that ever could be. From the gnarly-ass bathrooms to the food menu unapologetically and entirely consisting of frozen dinners, this place is all about one thing: Where can you find a super-cheap drink and a dark corner in which to drink it? OK, it may also be about one other thing: pinball. The upstairs game room is actually pretty legit. 4 pinball machines, and dang good ones at that. There's a pool table, a Ms Pac-Man and one of those animal-murder simulators (i kid, i kid. I love Big Buck Hunter.) There's a big screen TV, so I was able to keep tabs on the World Series while playing my bar games with relative ease.

This is kind of like a secret spot. It's a tiny little hole in the wall but it's got an amazing patio and great service. I wish I could take this bar everywhere! Drinks aren't expensive, cash only bar, but totally worth it. Would definitely recommend this place.

Good little dive. Pretty sure the hornitos was just hornitos bottles filled with well tequila, but you know, dive bars!

Need a break from the yuppie pieces of s**t invading this town? This is our Alamo. Cheap, cash only, only frozen food available, (there is a pizza food truck outside) big patio and chill regulars

I love the bar- the cheap strong drinks, back patio, pool table upstairs, etc. It's a solid dive. But my poor rating is based solely on how aggressively the bartender handled a small situation involving a friend and I last Friday. Yes, we had been drinking and yes, we both went into the bathroom to gossip after he said it was single use (no one in line). He slammed on the door and screamed at us, "what the f*** did I just say". We left the bathroom immediately and went up to the bar to apologize and say that we were leaving. He interrupts and proceeded to get in my face and scream that he wasn't serving us anymore... with dramatic hand gestures and all. Now, It's a loud bar, but he was loud enough that everyone at the bar was looking his way. Yes, we were tipsy and stupidly broke a rule, but as a bartender and probably the only sober person in the place, isn't it your responsibility to keep a level head and deal with situation like an adult? I saw a similarly aggressive review about him earlier. Because of this man (the tall/thin/with big curly brown hair) I will no longer spend my money here.

Sometimes, I really miss being a smoker. Yeah, black lungs, poison, blah blah. I don't care! Dive bars such as Billy Ray's don't beg that much of you, the beleaguered drinker. They ask you to be comfortable, be merry (or withdrawn and silent or boisterous and snarky), and be cool with carcinogens. And you know what? Only the most strict anti-smoking zealots would have a hard time at Billy Ray's. The place is roomy enough, complete with a decent-sized second floor, so smokers and non-smokers can throw back cheap well drinks harmoniously. But if you happen to be of the smoking persuasion, you can smoke and shoot pool. Or smoke while hunched over a pinball machine. Or smoke and chill at the bar in front of the whiteboard menu that advertises all the best Banquet TV dinners that little money can buy. Smoke smoke smoke. Puff puff puff. Ahhhhh . . . Damn those twelve-step people, but they're right! You never stop being addicted, in some form or another. Luckily, I gave up smoking and not dives. Baby steps towards wellness.

Let me just say that I am a fan of this place. Andrew C. and I stumbled upon this hole in the wall while cruising around after a show at the Wonder Ballroom. We were heading back to his house and all of a sudden I saw Billy Ray's out the corner of my eye, much like a mirage when you've been traveling for 5 days on the backs of Camels through the Sahara. I knew right away that this place was either going to kick some serious ass or be the worst bar in portland, although I was totally favoring it being amazing. And what would ya know...Low and behold, this place is now one of my favorite bars in Portland. The decor inside is simple and great. It reminds of me of the Phone Booth in San Francisco or even (R.I.P.) Scolari's Office in SD. Both of these bars have given me many a good times, and thus why I relate them to Billy Ray's. Although the name doesn't really suit this place too well, it still is a vote winning place in my opinion. The beer selection is simple and I love that. I mean while it's sometimes nice to have a wide selection of beers, most of the time I'm ordering a PBR, Olympia or Hamms, so really I can't complain when the beer selection is nice and straight-forward. This bar also has a sweet game room as well as one of the most laid back patios that I've experienced in a while. Of the couple times I've been here we've ended up on the back patio hanging out enjoying the weather, beer, and company. All the staff and even the patrons were very friendly...If I lived in Portland this place could very well be my Cheers. Definitely recommend this place...it's good times all around.

Everything you could want from your local dive. Great atmosphere and an eclectic mix of patrons. No nonsense, no bull, just cheap drinks, pinball, pool and life size jenga.

This place is right around the corner from my BFs house so this is where we drank in the NY. My head hurts, I don't know what band that was and I think I kissed an old man. HAPPY 2009!

Cripes, what a dive. But you know, it's a dive with heart, and as at all times, I wanna know what sucka got heart! First, let us consider the real estate. I can only snort through my nose, oh so ungraciously, that in all my trips to Billy Ray's, I've only seen one black person there, once. Otherwise, it's effeminate white bread hipster boys (and a smattering of their respective women folk) who I'll bet $100 to all takers, by and large, are new to Portland within the past 5 and certainly the past 15 years. So much for authenticity. That said, their sound system was crankin' out the old school R & B, takin' NO prisoners-- Curtis Mayfield, Isaac Hayes, there were too many for me to enumerate. So they DO get points for the music! I had to laugh @ Andrew's comment about Billy Ray Cyrus...Yes it's true, there's no identifying mark outside the building, other than the neon "Tavern". You have to dig a little to learn it's called Billy Ray's (there's not even any menus.. see below as to why that might be). For old cooter natives like me, when you hear Billy Ray, of course you think Billy Ray Bates, the SENSATION for the trail blazers in the very early 80s, who fizzled due to drugs and alcohol, and whom I've heard is still playing in places like the Phillippines, where they'll still pay him well to play! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xeGS6C-H1M To give you an idea of how ghetto-fabulous this place is, they only accept cash! Tell me one other dive bar in town that won't accept plastic! Just One! I've heard that Helvetia out in Hillsboro also is cash only, but even for a guy like me that grew up in the too-low-for-Zee-ro No Po, wow! That is b-a-m-m-e-r! The upside is, they're "top shelf" drinks top out at around 5 bucks; but conversely, their only "grill" menu option is (wait for it!) TV dinners! This is probably pointed out in other Yelp reviews for this place, but I didn't see it mentioned, in skimming through the reviews. Yup, tv friggin' dinners! I asked if they were "Hungry Man," but had to take a pass, when asked if I wanted one.... Upstairs is the game room. Very trashy and sleazy, but daaaaaamn they have very low budget pool. foos ball, pin ball, and even table-top Ms. Pac-Man. A lot of these transplant young hipsters know a ghetto-fabulous good time when they see one, clearly....

"Where the eff are we?" I question. "We're on MLK." Smartly replies my buddy. "I know THAT, but... what IS this place? is this THE place?" "I have no idea. There's no sign." We both look up, scratch our heads at the nameless flashing TAVERN sign. Yes, it's a tavern. but which tavern? "Why don't they have a sign?" I ponder. My friend shrugs. "Maybe it's just THAT hipster." "Oh," I sigh, "Hipster... Yey..." Dulled sarcasm. "Hey, how many hipsters does it take to change a light bulb, Jodi?" "I've no idea. How many?" "It's a number you've never even heard of... Heh. Or the other answer I got was 'Dude, you don't know??' " All of this occurred during our dazed stand-about in front of Billy Rays Tavern. We were meeting friends for trivia night and had never been to this location before. I'd heard mixed reviews, as it is for everything. With hipster wariness weighing down on my shoulders, I cautiously walked into the tavern. A long thin strip of bar and mini booths awaited me, as well as five male specimens who all turned and stared as we walked in. Note to self: check for boogers when I go to the restroom. My friend ordered the standard $2 Hamms. Hamms is Hamms is Hamms, and $2 is just about average. Being a glutton, I partook in one of the 22 oz PBRs for $3. Not bad, though you get slightly more bang for your buck out of their $2 pints. Aside from the round booth near the restrooms, I felt the space was a bit tight for comfort. The bartender was nice for about a minute, then had an attitude for the rest of the evening. I try not to judge. I'm not exactly a ray of sunshine and I understand people have their bad days. But this is my first impression: she was a big meany head. Thankfully my quality time with her was at a minimum. When I wasn't refilling my ginormous PBR glass, I was enjoying the cool breeze and silly lights out on the spacious patio, accented with a ping pong table. Do you ever get the feeling someone's watching you while you're on the pot liberating all of that cheap beer you've foolishly gulped down at record rates? Well, if you venture into the women's room (this is not a ladies room. It's a bit too ratty for that), sit on the pot, then slowly turn around, you'll find yourself being watched. By yourself. For some reason, they thought it'd be clever to mount a large mirror on the wall behind the commode. Hey, whatever turns your page, brother... Oh, and brother, I hope you're not a shy urinater: the men's room door doesn't actually close... Have fun with that. Fortunately, I'd eaten before we came out for trivia, else I would've been in a pickle, as the tavern's food availability was limited to $3.50 Hungry Man frozen meals. Which you can get at the market for a buck. Being a pseudo environmentalist, I wasn't too thrilled when the establishment ran out of pint glasses at around 9pm and began handing out plastic disposable cups in their place. How does a bar run out of pint glasses? Beats me. I just wasn't too impressed with my experience. The bar's saving grace was the trivia, which was a blast, thanks to all of the goofy brainy players and the spastic "T.J." But I'll probably go back in the future, for more trivia, and to give the place a second chance. I heard something about a second floor, which I never had the chance to explore.

Why did I come here, according to the world? Because my friends were meeting up here before going to see "Evil Dead: The Musical" (precisely as awesome as it sounds). Why did I come here in reality? Because a colleague of mine who works in Manhattan subscribes to a "Dive Bar t-shirt of the month" club. I know, I didn't know that was a thing, either. But it exists, and what t-shirt do you suppose he received? That's right, Billy Ray's. Naturally, I felt like I needed to represent Portland and inspect its finer qualities. It certainly lived up to its dive bar status, although it's more Portland-divey than actual-divey (don't pretend like you don't know what I mean). The worst thing about it is they have basically no food - I think they have some microwave pizzas or something, but the bartender warned me against those and told me it would be OK for us to order sandwiches and bring them in to eat there. Other than that, 'twas a perfectly pleasant, if small and unmarked, experience. The drinks were affordable and stiff enough to do the trick, and there was a patio. Yay patios! The decor was cheesey-divey and I made sure to take a picture of myself inside to show my incredulous New Yorker pal.

Big time dive. With some character. Not bad. Plenty for the PBR crowd. They also serve adult beer. Their hot dogs at so nasty they could've been pulled out of a dogs ass. I have honestly never eaten such a greasy piece of shit before.

Overheard conversation between patron and bartender: Patron: will the heavy metal music be over soon? it's making me anxious. Bartender: I don't know, it's a jukebox, it's not up to me. Patron: well I hope it's over soon. Bartender: (shrugs) Bartender then looks at me, I look at him, he takes out the magic wand and puts up 12 credits on the jukebox and tells me to have fun. We did. 12 songs of anxiety inducing heavy metal. Sorry lady, but that's just the way it is. Ahh, Billy Ray's, how I love thee.

Dive bar, but a nice person's dive bar. Pinball machines (6!) and pool table upstairs are surprisingly well maintained. Mostly younger crowd upstairs. It seems a little out of the way but parking is no problem and you are going home with money in your wallet.

A dive bar is a dime a dozen. A good dive bar is a diamond in the rough. Billy Ray's is always a party, even if you're the only one there. Whenever I'm there, I feel like I just arrived right as the rager ended. But that's how I like my partys. I'm not big into crowds. The music here is awesome, there's pinball, and a huge back area. The drinks here are cheap, and they only take cash. Yes, I do recall the bar having a distinct smell, but it's a dive on MLK- not exactly the must happening blvd. in town- so I would expect no less. There bartenders here are pretty "hands-off" so this is a great place to come with your big group of friends, and just feel free to talk loudly about inappropriate things and maybe even get borderline rowdy. I can't recall if they serve any food here, but I wouldn't even bother with that at this bar. Maybe they sold a few bags of chips. I definitely look forward to coming here throughout the summer and enjoying their big backyard area. Cheap beers, sun, and your inappropriate friends- that sounds like a party to me.

Great dive bar, drinks were cheap and the place is cleaner than dive bars usually are. Don't let the exterior fool you, it's a perfect little bar. The back deck is ridiculously nice for such a bar. The furniture is stable and none broken, the decking is stable with no gravel or broken concrete. No hassles and most people are friendly to strangers. We stayed just up the street and made it the last stop most every night. Just know it's cash only.

This place is cool. I came here a few years ago with an ex-roommate who had moved to this part of town. She just referred to it as "bar". My friend and I needed a cheap place for cocktails before the show at Wonder Ballroom. Under wonder charged $5 and we had over an hour to kill. So we found this place. Cocktails - a tall for $3.75. The only food - and I kinda remembered this - is tv dinners. Yup, frozen tv dinners. I asked when the last time he sold one was, he informed us that this would be his first. He tells us that they are the $1.00 frozen dinners that they sell for $5. My friend got a slice next door instead. They have a real big and nice smoking patio out back. I think it's bigger than the bat itself. Most of the patrons (and the bartender) were nice, I found a guy from Boston! Actually Somerville, even stranger! So basically, I dig this place.

The last time I was here, I was drinking my beer out on the patio and the bartender came storming outside and grabbed my beer from me and told me to leave. I was confused (as well were the other people on the patio who had just seen me sitting there calmly conversing with some other patrons). She said that my friend was was kicked out and so was I. No other explanation. She wouldn't look me in the eye and began furiously cleaning tables that were already clean. All she would say is "Somebody wants you somewhere but we don't want you here." So...I left. I found out later that it was because my friend was smoking an E-cigarette inside after she'd been asked not to. I do understand her kicking my friend out. But I don't understand the complete rudeness toward me. And frankly I'm pissed that she took my full beer away from me. I want my money back. Or at least the tip I gave her.

The bartender at this place was extremely unpleasant and rude from the beginning. Seemed like she didn't want to serve us at all. Not a welcoming environment, wouldn't recommend to anyone.

One star. Waitress was a complete wench. She cut me off after 2 drinks, but realistically I couldn't see well in the low-lit bar because of my degenerative eye disease. Unfriendly and patronizing.

I can't believe how many reviews this place has gotten! It's time to add my two cents. Bill Ray's Dive Bar is Awesome. ~How you like them apples~

Kick it & chill and enjoy the dive bars Portland is so good with that! diamonds in the city...

Let's see, pretty janky looking exterior: CHECK! Small long cramped bar area: CHECK! Cheap Drinks: CHECK! Cool Jukebox: CHECK! Dives, where you go to drink and feel good about yourself.

We have visited Billy Rays twice now and both times were great. We love the PBR on tap and the bartender with glasses and shorter curly hair is always so friendly!

Ohhhh a great dive bar! Bartenders are nice, GREAT outside area, and a fun upstairs with games! Only drawback is that it's cash only, but they have an ATM in house so no problem. There's even a pizza food cart right next door that offers deals for in-bar customers. They also have FREE pool on Sunday's and a lovely S.I.N. as well

Got to love Billy Ray's! Cheap drinks, Ms. Pacman, pinball! This is just an overall great dive bar. And it's just that, don't expect anything more. Just a relaxing place to grab a drink, chill with friends, and play some games.

The classiest of all Portland drinking establishments featuring the finest local seasonal ales. A sophisticated ambiance that is perfect for a first date.

This place was great! The staff was super friendly! Cheap beer during happy hour!

Rolled into this place after the beerfest at the convention center. It was DH, his buddy and myself. We went in and there was a counterful of women and then us. We have been trying to get our buddy out to find a GF and he just doesn't have the sauve. Anyways, this place was great, had an old time juke box and a great time was had by all. I would love to return, but like I said I always say this and end up never going back and forgetting about the place. The bartender was super sweet and cute too. Oops did I say that outloud? This is a cash only place, so make sure you have hit the ATM already. Didn't know that until we ordered and I said can I just give you my card and the guy said cash only. That wasn't too bad, but I like using my card over cash. Cash seems to go too quickly.

OH NO! they put up this kind of awful wall of art! And bright lights to go with it! look dudes, this is a dive bar and NOT the kind of place you want art gallery style lighting! Or a bunch of (sorry but) kind of bad art. Just leave it to the video slots and beer signs and don't try to make the place into something it isn't! The bright lights are so altering to the atmosphere that I honestly haven't wanted to go back since they made the change. Please take them down! I'm meeellltiiiiing!!!!!

We had a horrible experience with Chris the bartender. He YELLED at us for taking a picture by the pool table. Now granted, we probably shouldn't have sat on the table to take the picture but his reaction was completely over the top for the situation. Clearly he's an angry little man who needs to learn better people skills if he's going to be interacting with the general public. There are other dive bars in Portland - do yourself a favor and pass on this one. He's a ticking time-bomb.

We really loved this bar at first, we even bought tank tops...man do we wish we didn't!!!!! The bartender yelled at us for taking a selfie, what an asshole!!!! This guy obviously hasn't been layed in years! It's unfortunate that one bartender screwed up an evening for us!!!