Scandals

Dependable gay bar. Great for mingling and being around other gay people. Not full of women. Nice terrace. Calm. While other places cater to bachelorette parties, this place has stayed gay. Keep up the good work

I always kick off my night here—it’s the perfect spot for a first drink (or two) before hitting the other bars. Drag Race nights are definitely their busiest, and hands down, they’ve got the best patio of any gay bar in downtown. During Pride, they take it up a notch by shutting down the entire street in front of Scandals, turning it into a full-on DJ set, which is pretty awesome. The bartenders are cool, the drinks are solid (though I’m still salty about them ditching the Rogue ginger beer), and the vibe is unbeatable—especially in the summer when you can just hang out on the patio.

I usually really enjoy going to scandals! But Friday night, the bartender had a rude attitude from the start when we first ordered drinks. Then, less than an hour later (I was sober) I fell coming in the door and broke my ankle. One of the staff members was very kind and offered ice and helped me off the floor into a chair. The same bartender from before, however, came over and told us we needed to leave. I could not walk and was waiting to be picked up and driven to the ER. He acted like I was a nuisance, when we were just sitting at a table waiting for my ride. I hope he gets some much needed training on how to treat people, because it was really disheartening.

All bars in por6land.are for.basic pitches big this one takes the feeble amount of day old cake. The Mexican food was good

Don't think my friend knew the significance of this place when he took me here. 😅 But all we were looking for were a couple more drinks, and this place didn't disappoint. Quick with the drinks, and we escaped without any bruises or scratches!

Very strict on the door entry , actual ID required. I explained People from uk do not carry their passports on a night out . No other bars in the area are as strict

What is going on here ? Crack-head just out the door screening and blocking us from getting in… Then a full of bad attitude bartender not accepting our IDs to purchase anything (I am 44, look 44, and my ID clearly show my date of birth despite the fact we are from Canada). The place is empty, sad, vibeless, and with this kind of service, will stay this way forever. Avoid at all cost.

Rose Festival Parade Update: So the Grand Floral Parade route was changed away from Stark St., making Scandals more accessible but less of a spot to view the parade from. It still had a nice parade day crowd and some real Sailor men in crisp whites were there. I posted new pics, especially of sailors. ### Landmark Portland Gay bar, now often visited by straight hipsters -:( who I guess don't like their own bars, or wanna be cool with the gay vibe. Wide selection of flavored liquors and Red Bull for the children, many micros on tap. A great sidewalk seating area to watch the World and the bois in it go by. No food to speak of. Great place. ♡◇♡◇♡◇♡◇♡◇♡◇♡◇♡◇♡◇♡◇♡ WARM WEATHER SIDEWALK UPDATES Now that the warm weather is returning, here are some vintage pictures of the bois and their daddies, thronging the sidewalk tables in the cafe seating in front of Scandals lounge and restaurant, on Harvey Milk Boulevard in downtown Portland. A premier see-and-be-seen location for all the bois, all the daddies and all the mens. Be here, bois, Daddy's, men's, queens and in-betweens as well. Bring your cocktails, bring your tails and bring your cocks as well, to the sidewalk at Scandals where you too can flaunt what you got. Here are pictures from 2016 of those that did, those who were looking, and those who got.

Very vibrant spot to stop in for a delightful drink with excellent service! A very happy, positive bartender crafted & served our group some delectable, adult beverages! There were original, art pieces displayed on the wall for purchase from local artists! No review on food as we did not order any.

Went for the first time during pride weekend had an amazing time. Everyone was so welcoming and so supportive and I appreciate everything service was fast. I didn't eat food, but it was great thank you so much.

Such a fun place with great people!! Sabina made some amazing drinks!! And Riley was so fun (and a great photographer!!! ) definitely recommend.

Great longstanding gay bar in PDX! Good cocktails and nice open space. Great patio for great weather for people watching. A Portland classic!

The bartenders were a ton of fun. This is a nice gay bad that has very chill vibes. Would definitely come here just to relax with a drink and friends. The food was limited but still tasty.

I had to much energy as a Black woman. My good friend was enjoying his night at Scandals and invited me to come. I walked in with a short dance move to cheer my best friend up...And the bartender embarrassed me in front of paying/drunk customers. I came with energy, with the intent of purchasing drinks at the bar, and cheering my friend up. When I got there the they/male bartender (with a blonde touff/section of hair) declined serving me alcoholic beverages. Because he felt I was intoxicated. I was not at the "pull" level of intoxication. But when I started to inquire about the $400+ paintings, they were the tentative salesman and were going to accept my money. I felt discriminated against because I am a Black woman and know he felt I was "Too Much" or "Being Too Black" when I walked in. I allowed his comments/"call out" to slide in the moment, to prevent further contraction, but will spread the word on this treatment to all my friends and those who live in the neighborhood (like me) of Scandals. Because at this point you're being selective. And why would I allow another Black Queen to feel embarrassed in a city where we are the 3%!? My money and feelings matter, thanks for reading.

This place used to be beautiful. The original owner took so much pride in it. The downturn in stark street and the owners death years ago has turned it into just another dive bar. It used to be the premier cocktail lounge for the gay community. Now it has exposed subfloor painted gray where ruby red carpets used to be.

My favorite bar in Portland. Great happy hour drinks. Great atmosphere. Fun and friendly staff. It's my cheers.

The food is decent the drinks are inexpensive but the bartender I don't know his name kicked me out for no reason and when I asked he said it was because of my language. However it's quite funny when you go to gay bar and think everyone's going to talk very vanilla. I would give the rating a zero but it's not able to do that.

My previous review was removed because it was too personal. I'll be more bland. The bar tenders here are consistently rude to patrons in a variety of ways, i was no exception. Read the other negative reviews about scandals and they all say the same thing. Also, do you notice the owner never responds to any negative comments? He's a terrible owner with terrible employees. I encourage you to go to any gay bar than this one. Badlands, stag, Silverado and Cc slaughters are way better and much friendlier atmosphere. Drinks are not poured well here, are overpriced, and very rude bouncer and bar tenders.

Terrell found my entire purse and brought it right to me as i was looking for it! His professionalism and mannerism was the ultimate surprise and ease for my missing purse! Thank youuuu soooo muchhhhh!!

This is a GAY MAN'S bar. Not a queer bar. If you're a lesbian or a woman, you can expect these lovely additions to your experience You can be glared at by the worlds rudest bartenders. You can watch the bartender pick everyone BUT you to serve, regardless of how long you've been in front. You can wait at the door to be carded, only to be yelled at by the bartender to go back and wait by the door again for ~him~ to check your cards because he feels like it. Discrimination at a gay bar? Screw you guys.

Really enjoyed this bar. The food was very hole-in-the-wall, but so so good when you have a good buzz lol. There's some slot machines, pinball, etc. upstairs. The strip show downstairs was entertaining as hell tho, and the real reason anyone comes. Where else can you see a dude dance around in naked to 90's music, and then knock the tip jar off the table with his thingy. So good lol. Then there are private dances behind a curtain if you like any of the dancers enough. Why should straight men get that experience exclusively at strip clubs? Just great all around.

I'm a middled aged (maintained) gay man, not high maintenance and have been patronizing Scandals since they're original location across the street. Additionally I spend considerable time in Lauderdale, Nola, New York & Palm Springs. I KNOW gay bars... I have no issues with the cleanliness, functionality or beverage quality. However based on the last few visits, that's where anything positive ends. It's just not fun or welcoming? The staff are not friendly/engaging. Many look sad and some with bad attitudes. A dated and empty/boring space with no identity. Nothing to look at inside and no playable music. Seating/tables outside are just okay but not comfortable and can be dicey due to the local street people.

I have to start off by saying parking is a b*tch to find! Otherwise a nice watering hole. Bartender seemed a bit dazed and not friendly. Drinks are a bargain for happy hour (3.00 well). Limited food menu as well.

Use to stop by here all the time until that bartender that is older with the brown beard and rugged handsome looks but really whiney voice asked us to go somewhere else cuz we started dancing?! There was like no one in there. This club has no dance floor and is just for shallow gay men looking for men. Go to C C Slaughters. They have everything quiet lounge and a dancefloor room.

Despite the negative comments, the bartenders were super nice and the drinks were super affordable and strong (as they are always at gay/queer bars.) if you feelin' thirsty around the area stop by and get you one or three!

My guy and I walked into scandals at about 1130 on Saturday night and the place had about 15 people in there (if that)... but we decided to give it a chance anyway. That was until the bald guy who checks IDs went off on me about looking at him "weird" (when I had not even spoken *a single word* to him, I recall only looking at his glowing watch with the pretty rainbow colors on while he was checking our IDS). I then explained that I was in a happy mood and meant no offense. He was unmoved by my words about the good mood I was in, he was like "whatever", and continued to assert that he was justified in his attitude towards me. Once past him, my guy and I talked and we decided that the vibe at Scandals was unfriendly (to say the least), and in continued avoidance of confrontation with the guy, we said nothing more to him and headed back towards the door to go elsewhere. The bald guy then *flipped us off* (wtf!?!?!) as we were leaving.... all of this with *zero* attitude from me/us, no negative words spoken to him *at any time*, and for no reason given other than my supposedly looking at him "weird". Prior to that moment, we had had a lovely evening celebrating my guy's birthday and job promotion (at El Gaucho... Which was excellent, btw:) and we were in as good a mood as one should be on such an occasion, and at the end of such a meal. While we didn't allow this jerk to ruin our evening, our experience with Scandals was definitely a negative one. As I was never anything but respectful to the guy, I can only assume that he *only* wanted gay men there, or that as we are a couple in our younger 50's maybe we were too *old*... Aside from those possible 2 "reasons", I can think of no other explanation for him to have been so rude. So much for inclusivity and diversity. With an angry guy like that checking IDS, it is obvious to me why they have so many negative reviews, and why there were only (maybe) 15 people there on a Saturday night.

I really wanted to like this place but the bartender was very sexist towards my group, told us to be quiet and stop being "shrill" then called us a group of straight girls coming into a queer space which was literally not true as the majority of the group is queer. From some of the other reviews I can tell this is a common theme. Unfortunately this place is not inclusive at all, I hope they can do better.

I've been coming to this bar for 20yrs. Today I received the worst service. I'm a regular around town and felt like an outsider. I'm a native Oregonian and spend a ton of time in bars and restaurants and have never felt like I didn't belong. If you're looking for a chill, fun, easygoing bar... this isn't the place.

I've been a regular at Scandals for a while and have always been treated well with good drinks and friendly staff. Still my favorite gay bar.

This isn't the original location as everything has been gentrified out. The atmosphere and friendliness of the original location (across the street) is gone. In it's place is a vapid, run of the mill bar with attitude.

We're new to the area and wanted to check out the queer crowd in Portland and decided to start with Scandals. We're very glad we did. The bartenders were great, the door folks were very nice and the cocktails were well made, delicious, and affordable. Having been to a number of big cities, I was actually pleasantly surprised how reasonable their prices were. Great bar and great people!

DO NOT HOST A GROUP THERE BECAUSE MEMBERS OF YOUR GROUP RISK BEING EXCLUDED. Having come here since 1998, it is sad that I must leave a one-star review. I will not return until the employment of Nick the bouncer has been terminated. My first visit to Scandals was in the late 1990s, when it was located where the Ace Hotel is now. Over the years I have been served by Chris B, Davey K, and many others. Love them all! At 5:30 PM on a Friday evening in May 2022, our running group was meeting there for a monthly happy hour. I unfortunately lost my wallet recently so I'm temporarily using my old expired driver's license. When I showed Nick the license, he curtly refused to let me in. Being stone cold sober, and in view of at least 30 people who knew me, there was nothing I could say or show that would persuade Nick to let go of his power trip and let me in. ORS 471.130(1) requires all licensees of the OLCC to ID any person about whom there is any reasonable doubt of the person having reached 21 years of age. "Reasonable doubt" exists if the person appears to be under the age of 26, as defined by Rule 845-006-0335(1)(a). At age 45 with gray in my hair, there is no way I could be mistaken for someone who appears to be 20 years younger. Perhaps they've been busted for serving alcohol to minors in the past and judging someone's age is subjective, so I'll give them the benefit of the doubt. Nonetheless, it does not justify the rude way in which Nick treated me. ORS 471.130(2) states that if a person does not have identification, the licensee shall require such person to make a written statement of age and furnished evidence of the person's true age and identity. The written statement of age shall be on a form furnished or approved by the commission. I went home, printed and filled out the commission's official form. I returned with the completed form, along with my old driver's license and passport, as required to be in full compliance. Nick said that I had been "86'd" and still refused to let me in. At this point, he was needlessly being mean-spirited so I had no choice but to give up and go elsewhere. After having forked over thousands of dollars to this establishment over the years, I am appalled that I would be treated this way. Until the Scandals bouncers are educated on Oregon Law, avoid going there. Instead of Scandals, go to CC Slaughters, Silverado, or Stag PDX. My rating, review and patronage are subject to change if I can be convinced that the owner David Fones has addressed the bedside manner and education of the bouncers.

Yeah, I can understand some of the previous comments. But as an out-of-town visitor, I might say that this is the most non-iffy location to go to a gay bar at when you're in Portland, so you can tell your friends back home that you went to a gay bar in Portland. Scandals is in a more crowded neighborhood so good and safe location. It was hot out, and I just wanted a cold one. I didn't need to socialize, I just wanted to relax with a beer. Spacious and well organized inside with high-tops at the window to look out at the outdoors crowd and the homeless people going by - the latter like a non-threatening odd tourist attraction. They have a great selection of draft beer, especially the local stuff, and when I was there Saturday afternoon, at $5 per pint, a great deal. And good service. The cool thing for me was that, watching a monitor with lottery info, I asked if they sold lottery tickets, and YES. So I didn't hafta go to some creepy mini-mart.

Dear Scandals, I hereby forgive you for your uncommonly bad behavior on NYE 01/01/2014. See, I am not one of those people that holds a grudge forever. I've been back several times since that unfortunate NYE visit and you treated me rather well. At least one of your bartenders treated me very well as we were neighbors and on friendly terms. I like the fact that you have an outside seating area with part of that area being dedicated to non-smokers. My drinks are always solid. People are friendly, so yeah, it's all good between us now. Air kiss kiss - Tamara 2017 - Review # 39

I'm extremely surprised how a couple bartenders can make up serious accusations to get you 86ed just based on there feelings or thoughts but absolutely no proof. It is scary. I'm offended how they have treated my friends. I know for a fact they are not the kind of people they are being betrayed as. I will longer patronize Scandals and I will express how I feel to everyone that is interested!

Twink with the frosted tips was being rude to customers. Told him to just be nice and he yelled, "you're cut off" and closed me out at $5 when I had spent more. Bartenders high fived . 8 of us left. Congrats, fragile bartender. This is why no one goes out here.

Hello my name is John. I have lived in Portland Oregon for over 35 years, have known Lyle for over 25 years.,, This is wat upsets me the most what I'm about say. To ight one of his bartenders pretty much accused me of being an alcoholic and reckless. Yes, granted I spend a lot of time there lately and spend hundreds of dollars a week there. He told me tonight that I spend too much time there, that I admitted that I left there blacked out, which is not true at all. I didn't appreciate what he was insinuating but left there upset and pissed considering that his comments were unwarranted and untrue. I don't know the bartenders name but he does kareoke while on duty. Never had a problem til tonight. Even tho I love Lyle, part owner of Scandals and like I said , known him for 25 years+ I'm about to take my business elsewhere.

This is probably the best gay bar in town. Its located downtown- their happy hour is also probably the best in town. $1.50 PBR from 4-8 Its my go-to after work on a Friday night or after a long day at the office. They host Karaoke on Tuesday night, which is always fun and there's always a good crowd. I would definitely recommend checking it out.

A Portland iconic gay bar. Started as Somebody's Place on SW Park (around the corner from the original Embers/Rafters) in the 70's. Always an awesome time.

In the past I've been a bit harsh on Scandals, but I have to admit that it serves an awfully important role for Portland's gay community. It's definitely a place where my friends and I often begin our nights, plus where we go for special occasions like Drag Race viewings and Oscars night. It's not my hands down favorite place in all of the city, but that doesn't mean I shouldn't give credit where it's due: Scandals is a community space that Portland desperately needs. Some highlights: - Friendly bar staff that are good at getting to know regulars. Very much a queer Cheers in that regard. - Again, they show a lot of programming here. Thursday nights for Drag Race are standing room only, and it's a great way for me to see a lot of people in the community that I otherwise don't regularly cross paths with. Plus, they show Untucked afterwards, which not all bars do. - Drinks are basic. Don't come here for a cocktail, but if you want an affordable beer or basic drink, they've got you covered. - I really dislike the patio out front, primarily because it's sooooooooooo smokey. I get why they allow people to smoke, but I wish that it wasn't populated by people that seemingly hang out and chain-smoke their entire night. It's thick enough that I don't like going out there. - They've got Buck Hunter! - Lots of programming here that I don't really participate in. Still it's well worth looking at their calendar to see if anything interests you. They do well at building a community space and for that should be commended.

Was visiting my straight friends who are originally from LA but escaped to have a family a little more affordably in the Portland area. They are amazing people but I needed to escape for a bit and decided to be amongst my own people at Scandals. Maybe it was the time of day I went but I was a little disappointed. It wasn't a very inviting for friendly atmosphere. I'm from Long Beach and travel to Palm Springs often and find it a lot easier to start up a conversation with a stranger in those gayborhoods vs here. Hell even WeHo seems to be more friendly. Drinks are cheap and strong but other than that, I don't really see any other redeeming qualities. Will probably pass returning during my next visit.

If I could give this bar negative reviews, I would. I think as a gay woman, you want to go to a bar that's accepting. As soon as I stepped into this establishment, I felt uncomfortable. The most uncomfortable feeling I could explain. My friend drank too much and we were at a table of 6. Instead of asking my friend to leave or offering her water. Or doing anything respectful. Instead, they decided to cut everyone off at the table and treat us with absolute disrespect. I will be honest, I will never step foot into this establishment again. For anyone looking for a gay bar- please do not go here. I can say nothing about my experience here. Go somewhere else. Maybe CC's. Anywhere. Also, when I called the manager- awful. Good luck being in business for long!

Tried to have a drink here. The little host was beyond rude. I believe they discriminated and were horrible because we were women. Save your money and go somewhere else.

chill location. Not as friendly. Maybe better next visit. Some don't like the truth, manager unfriendly and rude. Messaged me on Facebook then blocked me. Interesting and great to know. Other places you can go too if you want to have a drink and relax outside. Even with it being dead on a Sunday evening you would think they would be more professional. I mean for me going to offer support and get upset and block ya shows they can't handle Actual feedback.

Much more chill than the corporate gay bars down in the Pearl AND, you can order food at the Roxy next door and they will bring it over to you at the bar! Also, they have the only good thing to ever come out of TX (besides me)..., Shiner Bock beer! Yum and only $2 for tall girls ;)

Awful place and the workers are mean, ended taking my business else where. I've been to bars that were more welcoming.

LOVE their attentiveness during COVID. And you get a finger condom OR a sanitized pen if you don't want to touch the screen.

This was the first "gay" club I had visited when I was just beginning my life's redirection, that's been over 15 years ago, AND! This is my go-to place! I've been to the "other gay clubs", but the feel of the environment is inviting and no judgements or blackballing as is the case at the other clubs located in Old Town. The individuals behind the bar listen, pay attention and are knowledgeable about the drinks they serve. Prices are pretty reasonable also.

Very nice bar. It would do well straight or gay. I went there for the jazz the last Sunday of the month. The bass player is amazing. The beer is cold and everyone is very nice. Go there for the jazz for sure!

Nice cute gay bar in the city . My partner and I went late at night just to have a few beers we have a good time met a cool new friend . They played some good jams they had everything clean staff very friendly helpful fast service bathrooms nice and clean they had some cool games you could play definitely worth the stop.

Rude bartenders more concerned with behind the bar banter than kindness to out of town guests! We went in since we ubered already...but we should've skipped based of the emptiness and tired energy!

My friend and I came in for a nightcap and granted it was at 11:15 on a Tuesday. I called ahead to ask what time they close and they said 11:45 is last call. We get there and Neil carded us. Yes, We should be carded as anyone should be. Im 56 my friend is 60. I had my ID, my friend didn't. So he proceeds to tell us that he needs to leave and is not allowed on the premises. So we say ok and he leaves to get his ID but buys me a drink. I excuse myself to go to the bathroom, all the while there are CLEARLY underage girls there drinking (no older than 19 or 20). When we question him about it, he says, "they have their ID's". So finally, I get my drink and go outside (mind you my friend tips him $10 dollars on a $20 drink) My friend comes back and this bully of a bartender takes my drink away which I've had one sip of and says we're both 86'd. Seriously??!!! Never in my life have I experienced anything like his rudeness and anger. I guess it was my CA ID. By the way the owners should know there were PLENTY of underaged drinkers there. This guy has no business being a bartender anywhere.

Terrible service. Didn't let us take any pics inside . Even selfs the bar back came up to us to tell us we would get kicked out for taking pics!

How does this place remain in business? They go to lengths to make the drinks as weak as possible. The bartenders are standoffish to say the least. Sorry if I order a drink from the person behind the bar identifying themselves as a bartender. Sorry, but this place needs to go.

Extra star for the music and the ambiance. But that "margarita" was a lemonade. Shame, looked so promising from the outside.

I don't know why people come here. We were ignored by the bartender who was talking trash about people from WA. That was already a bad start. Then he took a while to ask us what we wanted. He served our drinks in paper cups when he served 98% of the rest of the people in glasses. Then he made a horrible tasting drink that wasn't even mixed. I had to mix it myself. Never have I have done that before in any bar. What a douche bag bartender. Would never go again. Don't come here.

Bar. Alcohol. Good venues for friends to catch up and wallpw about their boyfriend-boyfriend, girlfriend-girlfriend issues. Lol. All that aside. Its as clean as an iconic gay bar is. Easy to find, crazy portland parking, but defi otely a safe zone for you to be you and have uniterrupted conversation. Having that said, its not an overcrowded joint, but still pleasant. There is a pool table, one or two arcade, a group of slot machine that personally has put out. Stiff drinks, reasonable, friendly.... what else do you need?! Come in for a drink or two!