Hash S.
Yelp
After years of visiting my Oregon family from Boston, I moved out here this month and immediately joined the Hollywood Theatre. One of the ancillary benefits is its proximity to one of my personal favorites: Moon & Sixpence.
Boston is awash in Irish pubs, and the long-term game plan is to eventually retire to Western Ireland. For all of its bountiful dive bar, refurbished dive bar and brewpub offerings, however, Portland is sorely lacking in the pub department. The Kells is basically Irish pub cosplay for Beaverton bros who like to yell at screens. Paddy's does its best, but half-vacant downtown office buildings aren't doing it any favors. The Leaky Roof is used more as a dinner spot than a true pub--which it is.
That leaves the Rose and Thistle and the Moon & Six within a few blocks of each other. That's just fine by me.
I knew the Moon & Sixpence and I were going to get along the moment I walked it. The dark-wood, well-polished pub furniture, the cozy, almost living-room decor, the nitro and cask taps, the darts in back and the smokers' patio in the wayback all hit the right notes. So do the upside-down ready-pour whiskey bottles, the attentive-yet-discerning staff and the welcome lack of televisions.
I ordered a plate of curry and chips and, for the first time in my Portland experience, I didn't have to explain what that was and didn't receive some odd pairing of fries and a spice ramekin in return. The offerings are kind of all over the place--Welsh rarebit, a surprisingly broad selection of Belgian beers, an equally astonishing vegan selection--but the weekend session music in the corner and the conversation-driven main room are all the things a pub should be.
My only complaint is that this place makes it incredibly difficult to expand my horizons. I genuinely love Chin's, Duhkubee (in the Bulgogi space), Wedgehead, and Sam's, but I think it's been a full year since I've bypassed the pub for any of them. I love the new Pono brewpub, but admit I visited it through gritted teeth, not knowing if it would be worth bypassing Moon & Sixpence (it was). When you get comfortable and you know your pints of Guinness and Old Speckled Hen are waiting for you--without the forced smiles and stilted attempts at conversation that seem to accompany every other Northwest interaction--it's hard to justify the extra steps to anywhere else. Aside from the theater and Little Axe, there are few other places in Hollywood I'd rather be.