The Houston Blacklight

"A psychedelic bar in Portland recognized as one of the best new bars in the country but closed due to financial unsustainability." - Rebecca Roland

"Award-winning bar the Houston Blacklight closed on November 2 after a year and a half open. The closure was announced in an Instagram post which reads, “The truth is, we love the neighborhood, we love the bar, the team is incredible, but it has never been financially sustainable and we don’t have the resources to give it another go.” Owners and industry veterans Mariah and Thomas Pisha-Duffly will continue operating Hollywood neighborhood restaurant Gado Gado and Southeast Division’s Oma’s Hideaway." - Rebecca Roland

"The Houston Blacklight is a celebrated psychedelic bar in Portland, known for its creative cocktails like lime leaf margaritas and popping boba slushies. It also offers a menu of genre-bending mashups such as French onion ramen and mapo tofu fries. The bar is located in a zany space filled with bright upholstery and eclectic neon wallpaper, situated in the former Night Light Lounge space on Southeast Clinton. Despite its acclaim and awards, including the Eater Award for Best New Bar and being listed by Bon Appetit as one of the best new bars in the country, the bar is closing due to financial unsustainability." - Brenna Houck

"The Houston Blacklight and its psychedelic aesthetic have taken Portland by storm since opening in July 2023. Operated by industry veterans and partners in life, Mariah and Thomas Pisha-Duffly, the bar leans into the joie de vivre vibes with bright beaded curtains, colorful wallpaper, and pinball machines. For cocktails, beverage director Em Warden developed a creative menu featuring drinks like the Desperado, a rum Negroni, and the Twin Flame, a spicy margarita. Non-alcoholic options include a house horchata and a non-alcoholic spicy margarita. In keeping with the whimsical spirit of the bar, alcoholic slushies and jello shots are also available." - Rebecca Roland, Eater Staff

"After leaving Los Burros Supremos, the regional burrito shop he founded, Southern California-born chef Adán Fausto has revived his seafood pop-up as a summer residency at the Houston Blacklight. The psychedelic bar has incorporated aguas frescas-like cocktails, including serrano passion fruit margaritas and mangonada-inspired slushies, to pair with Fausto’s seafood dishes — think zingy albacore crudo tostadas to crisp shrimp and potato flautas. The fruits of Fausto’s time at a Mexico City tortilla factory are showcased in the satisfying chew of his handmade tortillas." - Eater Staff