The High Water Mark

Great food, great drinks, and excellent atmosphere! Had the pleasure of attending an event called Paint Fight PDX over the weekend and fell in love with the aesthetic and immaculate vibes of the High Water Mark! Really enjoyed the German chocolate shots and smash burgers! I also can't stop thinking about their fries :)

Easily my favorite bar in Portland. Food is unreasonably good and reasonably priced! Drinks are good as well, and there are lots of good shows and events. It does take time to get food when they're busy, and sometimes mistakes are made, but I've been here enough times that I know they're doing their best. Don't believe the one star reviews from people that only visited once.

SUPER cool bar that was VERY friendly. Great VEGAN food options!! Tasty food, perfect music, fun and chill atmosphere. Just might be my new favorite bar in Portland. So many “edgy” bars can have attitudes and terrible music. This place is SO chill and friendly and music that makes you want to stay longer. Extra points for the super nice bartender. I wish I got his name…

I went for the Shady Pines Radio open mic, and stayed until the end. Great folk, Cool vibe, Excellent food(most loaded sliders I've ever had), and nice patrons!

I had a fantastic time here. The guy behind the bar was super cool and the atmosphere was immaculate. The band started playing right as I was heading our but the sound was perfect. I wish I could have stayed for longer. Next time I am in the area I will drop by for a drink!

I can't remember the last time I lived somewhere that had a decent neighborhood bar, let alone one as amazing as this one. Good prices, great food, chill staff and customers, and really huge outdoor area. Oh, and there's always something amusing on the TV. Plus it's punk af I haven't been to a show here yet, but they have a lot of them

The food was amazing and reasonably priced, especially considering the amount of fries you get with a burger. The place can be loud, depending on the time of day you go and who's in there. The service was amazing and the food rivaled other vegan burger restaurants!

Id give it 5 stars but sadly they haven't gotten new bar merch in awhile. Ya the trucker hat i bought drunk last weekend is okay for now, but id truly prefer I dunno? Coozies, a crop top, a zip up hoodie, I mean the options are endless. We've asked kindly for awhile with no prevail, maybe if the owner sees this Google review he'll kindly consider cool merch that ive been waiting on for 2 yrs. I'll gladly update this post once I get my dream merch. Maybe in the meantime I can just show up in other bar merch when im a patron here. Oh and btw dont sit on the smoked meats here the food is FIRE. (Here is a pic of my best friend and husband practicing for the arm wrestling they have here sometimes)

I went here for a late night food run with a friend and it was pretty nice! I noticed many reviews commenting on the service here and while I agree it wasn't the best, I didn't have any bad feelings. Sure the bartender wasn't the nicest, but they weren't awful either (granted all I did was order food and sit down--I didn't order any drinks). The food though was pretty good! If you order banh mi, it's definitely not authentic at all but rather just the concept of banh mi haha. But! I really liked how they had vegan/vegetarian options for them. I also got fries along with my banh mi and the portion was huge. I ended up eating it for dinner the next day. Overall, the place is a nice lounge to check out at night. It's pretty dimly lit and chill inside with good food for drinking.

Great service and great late night food options! Very gothy and dark. Good space , but no pool tables, darts or jukebox.

As someone that spent many years in the service industry in Portland I feel very sorry for the folks that work here. Every single employee is overtly unhappy here. Talk about being a cliche of what non-Portlanders think of vegan hipsters - they've reached that goal perfectly. And the straighter/whiter/older/less female you are, the more angry they are. I respect the notion that if a customer is rude to you then you as an employee you should be able to be rude back to them, but when an employee is that hateful unnecessarily to everyone there, you can't help but feel bad for them... Vegan food was decent, would eat here again when I'm in the mood to be treated like sh-t...

Don't Go Here. You won't like it. This is the type of place you find people who you won't like..... like Myself. Probably best to stick with Applebees or Olive Garden. You'd be much happier at 1 of those shites. Only someone from Portland would enjoy the high water miz-ark! And we all know ain't no one in Portland from Portland anymore! So beat it.

Cheap bear. Good venue. Decent food. The venue is separate from the venue. So you can always go and sit at the bar

Great place for easy drinks and live music. Toured up from LA and got to experience some cool things at this bar. Friendly staff and in the perfect location. Wrestle with Jimmy

On my way home from work I smelled the delicious aroma of smoked meats. I circled back and ordered $60 worth of food. I had a drink while I waited, struck up a conversation with some locals. when I got home they had forgotten to include a significant portion of my food. So I ate the food and called them to let them know. I went all the way back to grab my missing items. While I waited the bartender said would you like a drink and I said yes, whiskey. I thought she was making it good because they forgot my food and inconvenienced me. Well I was surprised with my food, she asked me if I wanted to settle up. I was surprised that my drink was not comped because of their fuck up. She insisted. Apparently they do not want my business. The food was pretty good, the company at the bar was pretty good, what the high water Mark does for the local hard-core scene is awesome. But they do not take care of their customers when they make a mistake. I might be back to see my favorite hard-core bands, but I will not be returning for any other reason.

Predacious environment, surrounded by condescending assholes who preaches about accepting people but are a bunch of bullies. doormen likes to play victim when they were clearly the ones abusing their dictatorship. Was there to see a band I really like just to be blocked off when my friend and I went outside. Their reasoning being, "you're stumbling" when my friend was wearing 6 inch platforms. I was fine and coherent and we kept asking them why and they kept giving us no answer. I also find it funny that they wanted to make sure we get off the premise and assumed that we were so "intoxicated" then put that upon us to leave/drive off the premise because they could lose their job and get in big trouble. A night of what I thought of enjoying music turned into unnecessary drama that didn't need to be there in the first place!

The vegan burger was so so but the vegan Philly cheesesteak was the best I've ever had. Spicy-ish, creamy sauce, excellent "meat." Scrumptious! Liked the hipster dive bar vibe, too.

Rudest bartender I have ever encountered! I try to give the benefit of the doubt but they were nice to all my friends and then really rude to me which I kinda thought was unfair...also they didn't ID check my friends and let them buy drinks despite ID checking me. I wouldn't have mentioned this if the person was nice to me but they weren't so I am going to narc.

I came here very excited to meet up with friends and experience live music for the first time since covid. Everyone in there hardly had a pulse and appeared as if they had a lobotomy. Bar staff hardly acknowledged our existence and all staff was rude. Patrons very rude for the most part and more cutting in line and disrespect than I have ever seen. My friend and I were having a great time supporting the music and were the most lively people in the whole establishment. I walked outside to meet up with a friend and immediately was told I couldn't come back in in a very rude condescending manner. The door man claimed it was because I was stumbling but I definitely wasn't, I mean I was wearing huge platform boots. Other door dude said "yeah she's 86'ed" super rudely and they were trying to intimidate me and it was without a doubt a control freak move and I could tell they really liked feeling that sense of power over me. I only had one drink at the establishment and was not even drunk to where I should be kicked out like that. I have never been kicked out of a bar and I honest to god wasn't stumbling I was totally fine! It was really sick of them honestly. After arguing with them standing up for myself that I didn't deserve to be kicked out they tried to claim I assaulted them. I'm a 5'4 woman and didn't touch them. Do better. I saw Google reviews saying that the door man with the large septum raped people in the bathroom- two separate reviews. This is the same dude who treated me with a gross power trip and had yucky vibes so I find this disturbing. If you are a fun person that has a pulse be careful you might get kicked out for having fun and having a smile.

I've been going here for years and have had no complaints. Tonight I witnessed some repeatedly aggressive behavior by staff towards customers of color and will not be going back. That was the last straw. Over the months, I thought it was just the bartenders being discretionary, but now it seems like it's a little too comfortable for them to bully the underdogs. This makes me think it's an upper management issue. Those of you who know me, know I wouldn't say this lightly. I wish you the best, HWM and your sister, the Tonic Lounge. Yes. I'll give you a review too, darlin! :)

The HWM is my favorite local bar/restaurant/venue! The staff is fun, friendly, and welcoming, and the food is AMAZING! I mean, maybe not James Beard good, but really excellent for a local bar. The pork belly banh mi is AMAZING, as is the burger (veggie or meat) and the tacos. Highly recommended! The decor and music tends to skew towards metal, and has a nice, dark, gritty vibe. I've seen some really excellent live shows there (and even had the privilege of performing there once). During pandemic times, they've had really good precautions that have been consistent with public health best practices and state & federal guidelines, and I've felt very comfortable eating in their heated outdoor patio. Keep up the good work, HWM!

I'm glad to have this in my neighborhood. 5 stars for being exactly what it is supposed to be - a dive bar. Really good food for every dietary need, cheap beer. No craft cocktails, but they have booze.

The hubby and I went to go check this place out the other night and we both agree we would like to make a return visit. This place reminds me a lot of the Alleyway which makes sense as this place was created by the same people. This is not a bad thing, there is always a need for more unpretentious neighborhood bars that cater to vegetarians. There is a huge room that seems to serve many purposes. There is a pool table, pinball, Buck Hunter, and even a ping pong table. On some nights they move some of the games out of the way to make room for live bands to play. When I peeked in there was a large projector screen showing one of the NHL playoff games. They have a fairly large back patio with long picnic tables. They seem to be dog and smoker friendly. We only had a couple of cheap drinks while we were there, but would love to try the food next time we stop by. Aother selling point for this place is it is close to several other bars on NE Dekum St... bar crawl anybody??

We don't drink so we opt for ordering out - every sammie we have ordered has been delicious and thank goodness not greasy like some bar foods - we've had the bahn mi, the cheesesteak, the impossible burger, the tofu bombs - and enjoyed them all! Would highly recommend, especially since they are open late - a unicorn in Portland vegan food.

Terrible experience; some People are good there others aren't. I was always taught that the customer comes first. Here I didnt feel that way. 9/5 is when I came in and it took to long to get what I came for, I get it, life happens but when you give me attitude then you just don't care.

This is a true dive bar. They played great music the entire time we were there. The bartender was friendly and very helpful. The drinks were decently priced and even better during happy hour as expected. I had the Clux pale ale. It was a little on the hoppie side but very tasty. The wife had the IPA which was actually less hoppie than mine. I noticed that they have Rainier on tap for $2, learning to appreciate that like finding PBR on tap in Vegas. For happy hour there's $1 off like most of their appetizers too. The nachos were amazing especially for such a dive bar and the serving size was quite generous for $6. I'd definitely try some of the other eats they offer. There's a pool table, 3 pinball machines (one was out of service) & a Buck Hunter shooting arcade game. There was a sign that said the pool table is free. not sure if that's all the time but would be cool if it were. There's a tv at the bar with dish or direct or maybe Comcast. There's even a stage in the back game room where live music performs. Would love to catch a show here. There's a little bit of parking around so it's not too bad.

I have been here a few times and really liked it. Then I went to a show there last night..... The bartenders were rude af. After having a couple drinks I went to order food. The bartender said they were not serving food that night!! No food!?!? I'm pretty sure that's not legal in Oregon. I ended up forgetting my card there over night, called at 1pm today. A woman answered the phone, I said I left my card there last night told her my name and the bank and asked if it was there. She said "Probably"!!! I asked if she could check for me. She said "No, we open at 4, you can come check then. I'm too busy and I'm not a bartender"!!! Why did you even answer the phone then!!!?! What a great way to talk to a customer. Dicks

Went here for a show amd was a big fan of their beer selection, food and pricing. All very affordable and delicous. The reason they only got three stars is that the show started 2 hours late and then took an hour intermission in between sets. The intermission was supposed to only be 15 minutes. It was very frustrating and not how I planned on spending my evening.

Foods great and such awesome space! Service is terrible. Worse bartenders I ever encountered. Very rude. Really need to work on their work ethic. If you don't want to work there move on. I tried the place a few times and everyone of them are terrible and awful. Never again will I return. And neither will my friends. Too bad I had to give 1 star. Deserves negative for the employees. Hire new staff! Clean house or shut down. It's a bullshit environment.

Great vegan tacos!! Fun place to see music. Only taking stars for the overkill security. There's a hallway between the music venue and the bar. Got my ID checked coming in the door by the bouncer, at the bar by the bar tender, and in the little hallway before going in the music venue space. They give you a stamp when you get your ID checked going into the venue.. but then don't treat that stamp as valid in the rest of the place. Each time I went back to the bar to order food or drinks they checked it again, BOTH at the bar and going back into the venue. It wasn't too busy, and I had a stamp.. but still got my ID checked over 10 times in a 2 hour window. Felt like TSA

Love this dive bar! I don't typically come to this area of town but I should more often. The bar is pretty cool and the food is excellent-- both of which are pretty inexpensive! I ordered a pork belly rice bowl for $6 and it was VERY tasty! My friend got the banh mi sandwich and really liked it as well. I didn't try it but it looked good They have a covered patio, additional benches out front, pretty decent sized area in the bar, and an additional room with a pool table. Definitely a place worth checking out!

Dang y'all I keep coming back even though they have given me pulled pork when I ordered a vegan BBQ sandwich (I'm not vegan and it was busy so I just ate it even though it's not what I wanted) and constantly close their kitchen to have limited choices early (only fries if anything after 1:20 even if u had been waiting for over 10 min) and have a hella rude staff but ok we beefing now for real - a silverlake mom

Don't judge a bar by the outside. From the outside you cant tell how huge and clean this establishment is. This is a top notch local bar . The staff is super friendly and on point ( a Kelly requirement to become a regular ) . They have a small rotating draft list and decent bottle selection including ciders. The food menu is small (mostly sandwiches) but includes vegan options ! I had a lentil salad and got my boyfriend a Cajun chicken sandwich to go . We both enjoyed our food and plan on eating there In the future. They decor Is punk rock themed including a painting of Frankenstein's monster. There are pinball machines and ping pong table in the back room. The back room also has a decent size stage which is occupied with bands some nights and a comedy show once a month. If you live in the NE this should be one of your watering holes.

This place is exactly what I want, when I want....which is usually a quick drink and awesome food and a fair price. This is a quick service spot and no hand holding. You should be ready, clear, and prompt. Staff are prompt to address any issues and end any harassing behaviors. If metal/punk music is you're thing and a smoking area is your thing, they've got you covered. Literally, a cover over the back patio.

Rudest patrons/staff I've encountered at any Portland bar. Legit got attitude from the bartender every single time I tried to order a drink. Also they served their friends WAY after closing time, basically violating every known alcohol law. Not worth a second look at all.

Favorite neighborhood bar! Food is fantastic, bartenders and kitchen staff are personable and helpful. Grab a vegan Philly cheesesteak, a few beers and see a show. You won't be disappointed!

Great spot for shows. They have a large covered patio in the back, benches out front, and a ton of space inside the bar. Shows are usually in the room off to the left of the bar. The drinks are cheap, the staff is always friendly, and they have good vegan bar food.

Place is garbage. Girlfriend asked For a greyhound and it was pink lemonade mix with vodka. Asked for something else and the refused to exchange the drink or refund.

This place is great. Cheap beer, pinball, awesome patio and great music. The owner smokes his own meat for the sandwiches and the food is decently priced. I am happy to live next to a bar with an old school Portland vibe, at a time when everything I love about this city is quickly fading away.

I love this place! The prices are great and the bartenders are very nice. The vegan barbecue sandwich is delicious and always comes with shoe string fries or salad. There is a bit of a crust punk vibe. Menu options for every diet. Plus they have a queer dance party every last Saturday!

High Water Mark is pretty awesome, nice big spot, well stocked bar, and a menu that ranges from burgers to vegan. The space is two rooms, one with the bar and some tables, the other larger room has a stage and a pingpong table and pool table for when shows aren't going on. There a picnic tables out front for sitting outside, and a covered, heated patio out back for the smokers. There are a few pinball machines and games as well. This place is what Portland needs right now, not more of that Salt and Straw Little Big burger generic polished crap that is springing up everywhere. High Water Mark is a place where real people go to hang out and have a good time. Staff was friendly and on it. I so will be back here.

This is our go-to neighborhood bar. The food is great with plenty of vegan/veg options. Their pork belly banh mi is tops. The place is super relaxed and casual. The bartenders are... people who make your drinks. They don't fawn over you and ask all about your day, which is great to me. I don't want to have a long convo with a stranger. I want to chill out with a drink.

Great food, at least we loved the vegan cheese steak sandwich. Friendly staff, nice atmosphere, clean bathrooms, and great outdoor area with cover, and tables. Reasonable prices and welcoming. Will be back to try more of the menu and hear more live music.

I enjoy this place a lot. Good vibes, music, and the Banh Mi sandwiches they make here are in my top favorite. (I've tried banh mi sandwiches across the country) I highly recommend the Pork Belly Banh Mi. It's wayyy too good.

Really good food and fun crowd for karaoke. I have ate a lot of brisket and that was the best brisket sandwich I have had, not dried out and good flavor. I was hungry so I had the pork belly rice bowl and that was just as good. Then at 10, a cool crowd of people started showing up for karaoke.

Kelly was the most amazing bar tender that I've met. She was patient, charming, and kind. I won't hesitate to return

Blonde bar tender was rude, and so annoyed that we came in to the empty bar (forcing her to do her job). Refused to serve us food when we tried to order at 1:20am. Cool neighborhood bar, but not worth the attitude.

I'm giving this place one star because of the insane amount of plastic garbage it generates. They only use plastic cups instead of glass which is unnecessary and wasteful and clogging up our oceans and landfills. Plastic doesn't go away people. It ends up in places like this. http://oceancrusaders.org/plastic-crusades/plastic-statistics/ Look, High Water Mark is a great venue, I just want the owners (and other bars in Portland) to take responsibility for their inordinate amount of plastic waste that they are generating. Please consider supporting places that use glass... those that don't, let them know that it's not ok. I hope the owners take this into consideration. Thanks!

Great place, AWESOME food but sadly...bitchy bartender. I get along with everybody and everyone describes me as positive and cheerful person, but she had such a negative attitude, I dumbed down my drink order so she wouldn't get more pissed off than she already seemed. If you hate your job so much, quite already! I LOVE the food and atmosphere here besides the bartender with the nose ring and the snotty attitude. She's literally the only reason this is not my regular place. I don't go here much because I feel like I have to walk on egg shells around this girl. I love it whenever she's not working. It can be the BEST place in town. We all have "off" days, but it was a chill Monday, good vibes happening, and she chose to have an awful attitude, AGAIN?! Get a fucking desk job!

I would usually give this place five stars but my past experience here was terrible. I ordered two vegan bbq sandwiches and the cook came back with two banh mis. I told them I ordered two vegan bbq sandwiches and they apologized and remade the order, no biggie. But then, they said I could have the two (vegan - i thought) banh mis anyway. Went home, bit into flesh. Not cool. So essentially I could have ended up buying and eating meat, even though I clearly and loudly said vegan. Like I said, I usually love them, but a mistake like that is not really acceptable, hopefully they can review their ordering/communicating/cooking process and make sure it doesn't happen again.

It was a great place went to the show the other night to watch bands but they had the music up so loud you can't hear what they were singing besides the salad and the drinks were good. My husband and me will go on night and see how it is with out ton of ppl

I love this place. Chill on the weeknights, buckhunter, pool & ping pong. Great date place. Awesome music venue on the weekends. Best dancing ever on the Judy on Duty queer nights. Hornitos, grapefruit & soda water in a tall glass!

Came here to see my husband's band play and had no expectations. I ordered the brisket sandwich and it was amazing! It was probably one of the best sandwiches I have ever had! The beef was deeply and richly smoked. As I'm not much of a French fry person, I opted for a side salad as my "go with." It was fantastic! It had slivers of apples, carrots, and tomatoes in a fresh and crispy spring mix of lettuces topped with a zesty and flavorful vinegarette. I found the servers and bar tenders very accommodating and friendly. It was a busy night but they all stayed pleasant and welcoming. I will definitely return to Highwater Mark! I'm dying to taste the pork belly now.

Get the pulled pork nachos or banh mi. My only complaint is that the patio can be a little smoky. Other than that this place rocks.

Lovely lounge and much needed addition to an otherwise pretty sparse neighborhood w/r/t bars. Lighting, tunes, and general atmosphere at 7pm on Friday night lends itself to a low key, mellow vibe. spacious with option of cozy, loungey seating or tables/chair seating. pricing is more than reasonable, ie. $2 olympia/pbr, $4 imports. there's a ping pong table, pool table, several pinball machines AND Big Buck Hunter! thrilled!

Low-key dark rocker-vibe bar. It's my local up here in the hinterlands, and I'm glad it's here. Good staff 6 or so drafts and same for bottles/cans Open late Side room for live music (gets crowded, I try to avoid it then) Surprisingly decent food- small menu that includes lots of vegan options. The vegan BBQ sandwich is great, as is the vegan philly cheesesteak (although vegan cheese still kinda freaks me out) And best of all... Killer covered and heater smokers' patio out back. And behind that is a fire pit! Nice little place.

Came here with some family last weekend. Enjoyed some delicious Rainier on tap. Played some Big Buck Hunter and sat in their back patio area. Prices for drinks is super cheap which I love. Will definitely come back.