Dirty Pretty
Bar · Buckman ·
Creative cocktails, unique bar snacks, and a patio
Creative cocktails, unique bar snacks, and a patio
"Taking over the space of the departed Dune Bar, Dirty Pretty serves a bold and creative cocktail menu highlighting ingredients like pink peppercorns, falernum, pho-wash, and white truffle within a space replete with ’70s earth tones. A small-but-original bar snack menu includes things like rabbit spring rolls and edamame bolstered with pork sausage. Sip inside the elegant bar space or outside on the kitschy astroturf-lined patio." - Brooke Jackson-Glidden
"I observed Portlanders flocking to buzzy spots like this one to try Munro’s Malpractice pop-up cocktails, which have featured daring ingredients such as feta cheese–infused sotol and a banana vinegar reduction." - Janey Wong
"Tucked behind this East Burnside cocktail bar, the patio at Dirty Pretty is a hidden gem just a few steps away from the ever-popular Rontoms. Its tiny wooden cabanas provide shade on sunny days, a cute spot for couples to cuddle up on date nights; on busy summer nights, the outdoor bar serves fun cocktails incorporating pho-washes and Japanese curry, as well as the summery Guava Wars with rum and passionfruit." - Nathan Williams
"For happy hour the girls and I usually went to Dirty Pretty." - Eater Staff
"Opening across the river on East Burnside, Dirty Pretty (638 E Burnside Street) aims for a 'whimsical but moody' middle ground between Nicholas's other bars, with wooden beaded curtains that evoke the 1970s, camel-colored banquettes, dark woods, and a custom patterned wallpaper by Lonesome Pictopia that up close resembles hands emerging from a pod. The cocktail menu—led by Ben Purvis and informed by Nicholas's culinary training—features inventive, pantry-driven drinks like a hyper-elevated screwdriver with kumquat, orange, saffron, and vanilla; a botanical gin and Cocchi Americano with a pho fat wash for silkier texture; and a mezcal margarita built on a falernum with star anise and clove, a basil-infused aperitif, and sweetness from kiwi shrub and pineapple. Chef Alex Wong's menu bridges Pink Rabbit's bar snacks and Fools and Horses' Hawaiian influences with items such as scallion pancakes stuffed with Shaoxing pork, fried saimin with fish cakes, jojos dressed with shoyu, furikake, and spicy mayo, and a rabbit confit spring roll called Love Story to a Pink Rabbit, all reflecting Nicholas's emphasis on a full sensory, unfussy, and fun guest experience." - Brooke Jackson-Glidden