The Independent Sports Bar & Grill

Came in to town for work and was referred by the hotel since it was near by! The accommodated me by playing the Astros game while all the other tv’s were playing the Eurocup. Great atmosphere and plenty of tv’s. Food was good. We tried the wings, nachos, patty melt, and quesadillas. We got there early but it did get packed to where there were people standing. Would go again if I come into town again.

Great food, friendly staff! Very clean and roomy environment. Music was definitely a little loud and abnoxious for a sunday evening. Walked in here a little after a Thorns match to see a television Portland Timbers match. Signs at the door say they always got the Timbers game on (they didn’t). Not a huge deal, got the bartender to get a tv near on near our table. So other than the loud music, was a cool spot! Wouldn’t mind the music on friday/saturday, that’s why I have a 4

The place is decent enough. The prices definitely don't need to be that high with the quality of food they serve.

A good sports bar to go to when in the downtown Portland area. They have plenty of TV playing sports. We came to watch a game and had some happy hour. The service is pretty good for being how busy they were. The happy hour food is decent. I did enjoy their smash burger and fries.

I stopped in looking for food about 9 pm. At 9 pm they stop cooking a full menu which is perfectly acceptable. But they only have a couple things they cook. So I went with the chicken tenders. I got 3 small over cooked and about 20 over cooked fries. It was horrible!! The service was just as bad It took 45 minutes to get my food and when I asked about it I got a smart ass remark with no apology when she finally brought it out. I paid 16$ for trash food and tipped 4$ for trash service It’s a beautiful bar and needs good service, food and people that will bring people in, not push them away. I won’t be returning

Pleasantly surprised at excellent service and excellent experience in hanging out for a Sunday morning of NFL games. The staff are very happy to help you to be directly in front of the game that you want to see. We would happily return to hangout at a great spot. Cheers to the ISB team! Great beer selection too.

Love their atmosphere. Servers and bartenders are great! Lots of space for larger parties and tons of TVs - they even have a private space for events. Espresso martini is so yummy. 30+ taps and video lottery! Love this place

The food was disappointing. Took a long while to get it, and a large portion of boneless wings is not worth the buck. Fries were cold. But to be honest, I am not sure if it was because of the service. Our group was ignored a couple of times. They had lots of sports, though, and a large selection of beer. But that's it.

Not particularly inviting atmosphere. Felt a little understaffed. But the two people working, were making the best of it. Food was surprisingly good.

Wasn't much excitement or energy going on at Friday happy hour. I just purchased a oatmeal stout, which was $8 and not discounted. Most of staff seemed out of shape is only take away.

Atmosphere: Lot of TV's which I like and they have the sports packages, but I felt like the atmosphere just kind of lacked character Food: Haven't eaten here Price: Expensive for what it is. I never end up ordering food cause it just doesn't seem worth it Service: Poor service IMO. They are not very attentive when you need something and don't go out of their way to make you feel welcome or invite conversation Parking: Street parking

A good sports bar to go to when in the downtown Portland area. They have plenty of TV playing sports. We came to watch a game and had some happy hour. The service is pretty good for being how busy they were. The happy hour food is decent. I did enjoy their smash burger and fries.

Visiting Portland from OKC. Server was very helpful in finding a Thunder game on one of their TVs. Was expecting your basic bar food and was very surprised to have some great food. Lots of local beers and tons of TVs! Nice place!

I don't like writing poor reviews, but I hate being sick more. On Tuesday my friends and I visited this establishment. I noticed our bartender was visibly ill (red stuffy nose, sniffles, congested voice, the works). She was not wearing a mask and worse, she came to work. Unsurprisingly, the next day I woke up with a sore throat and sniffles and I believe I got it from here. As someone who works in the restaurant industry I understand the pressure not to call out even when you're sick, and I'm not sure how management runs things here, but as a sick individual it's your duty to remain home and protect others. To add insult to injury, the soap dispenser in men's restroom was out of service with the bartender saying 'they ordered the wrong batteries' offering me hand sanitizer 'as the best she can do right now'. Management, how hard is it to run to the store and buy a few soap bottles to put in there until your soap dispenser is functional? SMH!

This sports bar was right next door to our hotel and closet walking distance so needless to say we were there about everyday Overall great place, mostly drand did have some fun just average bar food Bartenders are just outstanding very customer focus and on there game Unfortunately last night there had really bad meal but hey that happens busy Monday night football

Visiting Portland- stumbled upon this sports var to watch the Barca and Valencia game- ordered their hous burger "smashburger" it was pretty juicy and tasty- they have a good selection of beers. I got the total Rekolsh. Good beer.

A great sports bar centrally located in Downtown Portland -- we stopped by on a whim on NFL Sunday since they were close to our hotel, and are so glad that we did. The place was packed to the brim and they had TVs playing every single game -- the atmosphere was a ton of fun, and there were lots of fans for every team. I was a fan of their beer menu, which highlighted some local breweries on tap. While they initially said standing room only, we were able to find a seat at the bar later on. The servers are really attentive and kind -- they made a point to ask us which game we wanted and even switched on the 9ers game at a TV that was more convenient for me to watch! If you're in the area or visiting, definitely the place to be for sports watch parties!

The good it is it's conveniently located with a full bar with a huge variety of beer. Too bad I'm not a beer drinker. The bad is they are under staffed and they don't bring in the to talent. Food needs to expand beyond the brother and chicken sandwich. Location they could do so much better with the benson next door. With the hotel restaurant being closed Tuesday and Wednesday this place could be packed. The benson (hotel) refers patrons there for a bite to eat if you want something quick. They need to expand the menu or get a food truck to do so. Drinks are good and they know how to make them

Feels like a great late night spot to get sloppy while watching the game. We walked into this place in the middle of the day to catch some baseball, and the police felt like it was still hung over from the night before. We ended up getting some food and some beer to just sit and relax after a long day of walking on our vacation to Portland. This isn't a lively during the day place that I would frequent. I think it could benefit from some open windows and some outdoors. But if I was hanging out with my adult friends watching the game and trying to drink, this seems like it could be a fun late night place. We got some chicken tenders and they were fried to a crisp and pretty dry. Again, more of a place for fun drinking and less for gourmet food.

We came here specifically to watch the NBA Finals, and even though Miami lost, our food and beverages were on point! Get The Blazer Margarita! It's that spicy Margarita from scratch. The Wedge Salad! (Must add the grilled Chicken) The Olympian (minus the bun GF style) add extra Arugula and add tomato Happy Hour Turkey Club and naked Chicken wings with Ranch! If you love ranch, you'll appreciate the ranch here. It tastes homemade. Our Bartenders were great and on top of everything. The hostess was hella cool too! Do not sleep on this spot!

If you are not a white, cis, het man or in a group with that majority, you will be discriminated against. There was not a single black person there, which should've tipped me off. And there weren't any groups of non-cis men. My friends and I sat down & were immediately ignored by the bartender. After 15min, we didn't even get the waters we asked for. They were busy, so we shrugged it off. I asked a server to change one of the 3 TVs near us playing the same game. The manager came over with a remote, so I asked curiously if it was possible bc I was eager to watch my Alma mater play. He proceeded to condescend to me (explaining how TVs work) and as he walked away put up his hands in front of me and said, "Just let me do my job." Our group (of 6 women) was quiet and at no point was rude, demanding nor outwardly upset - though we should've been. This was 20min after we sat down and the bartender finally came over to get our orders. I calmly mentioned that the manager was quite rude. The bartender said, "Well you're welcome to tell him that bc I'm not going to." Then, unprompted, he said," If you don't like it you can leave." So we did. Don't comment unless you have something constructive or kind to add. Curious to see if management responds considerately to this post.

Such a great find. Visiting from CA, L. A & stumbled on this cool spot to watch Sunday night football. The food here is soo good! Perfect spot for our last night in Oregon. I absolutely loved & recommend the Whiskey blue burger! It's the perfect everything, soo good! You know it's good when you don't reach to add anything to the food. Great time here, staff is great! Oregon is awesome!

Great place. Good food. Relaxed. Will return. Great beer selection. No rush. Spaced out. (Came here pre concert at the Roseland Theater.)

We enjoyed two hand-held with fries. Prepared well with generous serving size. During this quiet time of day, the bartender was also the server. She was nice. Sports bar with at least 12 TVs

The Independent is ok. I just expected it to be better based on the reviews. Background: I ate here on Thursday the 24th of February. I had just flown up to Portland to attend the Warriors/ Trailblazers game that night. Had just checked into my hotel and my friend and I headed over for lunch. We just wanted a good Sportsbar with decent food. Again, the Independent wasn't bad just not really good either. Arrival/Atmosphere:We arrived at around 12:15 for lunch. The first thing that popped into my mind/ surprised me was how few people were in here. There was maybe 3 other tables and us. The only staff they had in the front of the house was the bartender and a manager helping her out.I've never been to Portland before, but I just figured a Sportsbar downtown with decent reviews would be busier than this on a Thursday during prime lunch time. The atmosphere of the place was great with tons of tvs and sports memorabilia all over. They had a big screen displaying the beers available. What we ordered: Beer Wise we started with a pitcher of Hazy IPA. They had two available, and I don't remember which one we ordered. When our server brought us the beer it looked nothing like any hazy ipa I've ever seen. Hazy IPAs look very cloudy in appearance almost like a hefeweizen. The beer we got looked like a standard ipa. You can check the picture out. I'm not saying our server purposely brought us the wrong beer, but the beer she brought literally looked nothing like any other Hazy ipa I've ever had and I've had plenty. It didn't taste like a Hazy IPA either. Maybe they had the wrong keg hooked up. We just drank it. After the pitcher was gone I switched to a Hefeweizen. For food we just ordered a bunch of Appetizers. Wings: They were good. No complaints. Tacos with Chicken: Bad. Not good. Just didn't taste good. Nachos: Average. The menu said cheese sauce but these nachos had melted cheese. We added Avacado. Nothing special. Garlic Fries: Good. Hot and Crispy. Service: Our server was nice and friendly. She got our drinks and food to us promptly. She was the only one in the whole front of the house besides a manager helping her. Final Thoughts: Cool sports bar atmosphere with a decent amount of beers. Food is average. I probably wouldn't return here if I found myself back on Portland.

The restaurant opened early to accommodate the USC Alumni of Oregon to Game Watch. Several of our 21 member group had Bloody Mary's and Mimosas. Breakfast of Scramble, Burrito, French Toast. Some enjoyed Nachos as lunchtime hunger set in. Bravo to Alfie, our server. He was Amazing! We will be back next month for our Alumni Mixer. Fight On!

Great TV's and large Sports Bar area for viewing with helpful staff. Food comes out in a timely fashion. Independence burger is tasty but light on the meat and heavy on the lettuce. Fries were great but burger very average--they don't ask how you want it cooked--I insist on medium rare. The fish & chips looked good--smaller pieces for $5 more than the burger.

Great place to catch up with friends and the game! Friendly staff and nice assortment of beverage options plus food.

This place was an easy choice - half a block from my hotel, so I had to try it. Turns out it's not only convenient, but very good. Good enough that it's the only place I ate (and drank) during my three-day visit. Yeah - three nights in a row. Whatever food on their menu strikes your interest, order it. They'll do it well. (Note: the menu seems to change - there are pictures in the Yelp listing that are not on the current menu.) I had the Milwaukee Beer brat (day 1), the Alaskan Cod and Chips (day 2), and the Black Bean Burger (day 3). The fries are hot and crispy (an absolutely awesome combination with the cold, crunchy slaw that comes with the fish and chips). I ordered onion rings with the burger, and they did not disappoint!! They appear to be house made (not frozen) and have a fantastic onion flavor. No ketchup required!! The brat, the fish, and the black bean burger were all just fantastic. I am certain anything on the menu will be done well. I ate (and drank) at the bar and the service was fantastic!! This is worth going out of your way for (and certainly worth walking half-a-block form a hotel)

We came in on our first night in Portland, I got the Mangonada. It was good. I wish it had more chamoy. I also ordered the Mac and Cheese and it was yummy. If I'm honest, as my personal preference I had to add a small amount of salt. Service was excellent. It wasn't super busy, but the server was super attentive.

Was there this last weekend in town for the Marathon. Great place to watch a football game , my server was Christine very attentive beer selection was good wih a few more options for food

Great sports bar! We went to watch the Dodgers/Yankees game when the NBA finals were also on. We asked for sound for the Dodgers game. They couldn't do that because sound was on for the NBA game. Instead, they put us in a separate area with sofas and leather chairs that were way more comfortable! Now that's service!

Excellent viewing experience on NFL Sundays. Wide tap list and can/bottle selection. Food sorta pricey, but the braised beef was delicious in both their nachos and in a quesadilla. Knowledge staff. Look forward to continuing going to The Independent and supporting the rise of Downtown

My husband and I are chicken wings connoisseurs we love to find new places to eat wings . This place KILLS IT!!!! Favorite place so far ! We love watching football and this is your place . I'm sad I didn't discover it sooner . Service was amazing and want to give a warm shout out to Brian very attentive and humble . The ambiance is viciously in to football so what out ! We will be coming to this place again and will be recommending this place

Can't say enough good things about my experiences in this Bar last weekend! I was visiting Portland, and staying next door at The Benson. We were so thankful to have the Independent to walk over to! So chill, great staff and yummy food!! Dakota & Brian are a fantastic team. So welcoming and helpful! Dakota served us flights of beer and had us laughing all night. We enjoyed our time here so much we came back a second night! GET THE NACHOS! YUM! Also, on our second visit we met Tuesday! It was her first day and she was doing great! Thanks for the memories! Cheers!

We had a large group mixer here on a Friday night. The service was excellent - thank you Alfie! I found the Peachy Keen drink you recommended to be quite peachy. The place is spacious, with lots of TVs. The ambiance is casual and cozy though the space is big. Food was good, had the Mac n cheese. It's white cheddar, well done, not heavy. Will definitely be back, especially for future group events!

Great sports bar. Lot of TVs and the vibe was right. Would have been a 5 star but the wings I got was salty. I got the chef selection in which I was told it was lemon pepper but more like lemon salt lol. Still great place though and I'll definitely be back soon.

Was in town for work. Independent was a great place to go check out games that are on and have a good beer and food

Honestly I'm getting tired of any Portland "taproom" tap list, just an assortment of why Portland/oregon beer is without a doubt the most overrated beer scene in the US. While I'm on the topic, other than Great Notion, pdxs beer scene is basically pointless calories. Ok, so next we have one of the worst $18 burgers I've ever had. It would be solid at $10, including the haphazardly piled small amount of fries. I'm tempted to go 1 star here but again, being positive, even though the burger took forever the servers are working hard and the giants game is on. Two stars is magnanimous.

Great service and the food was excellent. My server was very nice and even the manager came by a few times to check on me too. Tons of TV's is all directions. Really enjoyed this place and will be back!

Great food and great service. Was looking for a place to watch the Blazers game and found this place and was pretty pleased. Got their Cactus League cocktail to start and it was great, fantastic balance of tangy and sweet. Then I had the Milwaukee Brat sandwich with onion rings and loved them both. Their onion rings fall apart a little bit, but they tasted great anyway. The brat was good, loaded up with cheese and sauerkraut, but was a little overcooked. A fun place to hang out and watch a game with friendly staff, good food, and good drinks.

The Independent has a large variety of beer on tap. The bartender was very helpful in recommending one that I would like. It was excellent. I ordered the pulled pork sliders. They were very tasty, but just had a little too much sauce.

The Happy Hour Nachos are the best. This place is great for sporting events. They have TVs all over the place. They also have open seating. Street parking can usually be found and public parking is decent. They have a rotation of 21 beers on tap and they are great.

On the better side of Burnside... decent food, stiff drinks, good service... and walking distance from UO Portland.

The service was horrible... waiting for a server when they are less then busy is ridiculous... they had several people who were "hanging" out as they went behind the bar and walked around but the servers seemed more interested in them then the actual business at the bar. I shouldn't have to flag you down when there's hardly a customer base in the building... your business could get better with the right people behind the bar

My husband and I stopped in here as we were needed a bite to eat ASAP to soak up a few drinks that we had earlier throughout the day. It was not by choice but we needed food. HANGRY! We ordered steak bites to share minus the cheese for a starter. The steak bites were quite tasty and my husband and both enjoyed them. We both ordered the independence burger for our main meals. It didn't wow us but it did the job in killing our hunger.

We stayed at friends' too late and the place we'd intended to go for dinner had closed by the time we left. Needing some later-night food, we walked by this place on the way to our hotel. It was open and it smelled good, so in we went. The staff was quick, polite and helpful, which was especially impressive given the proximity of closing time. The menu had a lot of good options, but it was also only 30 minutes to closing, so we wanted something that seemed easy to make and quick to eat. I was about to order a ate of nachos when we saw the "Manchos"--billed as a double serving of nachos--and had to do it. We weren't sure $27 was worth it for nachos, but when on vacation, right? Well, they arrived and are probably more like triple the regular order we saw at the table next to us. And they were incredibly good! We couldn't make it through the whole order, but we sure wished we could've! Loaded down with all kinds of goodness and conscientiously made with minimal "naked" chips under the first layer, these were easily the best bar nachos I've ever had. And at the end of the night, the price doesn't seem bad, considering it was a full and delicious dinner for two. Definitely somewhere we'll stop again if we need food late in downtown!

Great place to watch a game. Food is good, large selection of beers. Service is great! This is a sports bar, not a fine dine or lounge, so it can get loud but not to rowdy. They don't show UFC fights (idk boxing), but that isn't worth dropping down a star cause there are other places offering the fights. Peace!!

Great service. Had the hockey match on. Ordered the wings, which were very crispy and delicious. Also ordered the happy hour Mac N Cheese which was a larger than expected answer delicious.

I love the atmosphere and the bartender was above and beyond, her name is Tuesday and I am definitely coming back thanks to her. I thought the Mac & Cheese was amazing even if the guy next to me didn't like it, it was a great way to end my day.

Beer and service was good. Food was just average to me. Plenty of good seats with TVs.

Five stars to Brian for doing his absolute best running the bar and food orders with no help. My husband and I were in town and wanted to find a sports bar to watch the Warriors game. We saw this bar had TVs all over so we decided to check it out. Got a table towards the back next to a tv with the game, figured not many warriors fans would be around. We ordered some wings and fries. We had never had wings with hoisin sauce but they were pretty good! Because of the great service and food, we knew we would come back in a few days to watch the warriors take the raptors, and figured us being in Portland the bar would have a good atmosphere. We come back for this game and to our surprise the bar is FULL, but they were all there watching a college football game. It was loud! We proceeded to sit at the same table. Brian was at the bar again, this time with a little more help. For some reason, I was craving some Mac and cheese. Mistakes were made, the Mac and cheese was a miss. Don't recommend it. But we continued to watch the game. I'm guessing because of the big crowd, there was also a busy day at the bathroom. So busy one toilet got clogged, so using the bathroom was a bit annoying with just one stall available and a long line of women trying to use it at times. Eventually the football game ended, so they started showing the basketball game on most tvs although the raptor fans never showed up. A bit after 8:30, one of the bartenders went around telling everyone they were calling it a night at 9 due to some HVAC repairs happening. They stopped taking orders, but we stuck around until the game was over. Overall, good atmosphere.

Food was "meh". Service was "we did the best we could since the majority of employees and food options weren't able to get to the bar due to the unexpected snow and ice storm". Ambiance was great for a sports bar! Would definitely go back in good weather to watch a game and have a drink. Don't know if I'd venture forth and order from the food menu though.

5 star service! Fun vibe. Good beer selection (we are IPA people!) and wings and fries were delish! Recommend.

The staff was super nice. I had the Cedar salad and it was great. I took the bartender's IPA recommendation and got the magnanimous... honestly one of the best IPAs I've had. Vibes were also nice for a Wednesday night. Super clean and friendly place.

The female that works the bartending on Fridays, she was very disrespectful and rude. I barely walked in with my husband and our friends. She did not want to serve me nor ask if I wanted food. Only went to my friends and my husband. What kind of service is this? " Sorry, not sorry." She needs to be fired, or her manager needs to speak to her. I would never hire someone who acted like that. She deserves a zero star. Overall, I have been there before and was never treated like that.

By far the best Wedge salad I've ever had! You have to order it! Great atmosphere for watching March Madness