The Best Rooftop Patios in Portland for Sunny Dining and Imbibing
Open early and late with a view of Alberta Street, Radio Room’s patio is a perfect summertime hang.
Despite our dreary, rainy months that can stretch interminably, Portland has no shortage of places to drink and eat alfresco, with bar patios and restaurant plazas around every corner of the city. But what’s better than sipping a daiquiri or putting away a plate of tacos on a sun-soaked patio? Doing so on a sun-soaked patio three stories up. Compared to its many ground-level patios, the city is limited in its rooftop seating areas, which makes the ones we have even more desirable (and crowded) destinations, at least for those not suffering from vertigo. From Departure’s twin balconies to the seasonal patio at Rev Hall, here are our favorite places to dine and imbibe with a view.
Departure offers some of the best views in town.
Departure
downtown
From its perch atop the historic Meier & Frank building (now home to the Nines Hotel), Departure has long reigned as king of the downtown rooftop patios. The modernist, pan-Asian restaurant and cocktail bar’s sleek, spaceship-meets-bohemian aesthetic sets it apart from Portland’s more commonplace DIY, midcentury, industrial vibes. Head up the Nines elevator to the top floor and find two options: To the west, a darkened hallway with blue lights opens onto a sun-drenched balcony overlooking Pioneer Courthouse Square. With a walk-up bar and open seating, it’s an ideal locale for a duck fat–washed bourbon old-fashioned or lychee-vodka French 75, preferably at sunset. The eastern patio is accessible through the restaurant—you may need a reservation, especially on nice days. Along with full table service and a dinner menu of Wagyu ishiyaki and cured seafood, you get a view of the Willamette River, Mt. Tabor, and the Cascades beyond.
All summer long, Jackie’s rooftop is transformed into a Love Island watch party.
Jackie’s
Buckman
A relatively new addition to Portland’s elevated imbibing scene (get it?), Jackie’s calls itself a “bar with sports,” as opposed to a sports bar. Inside is all sleek hardwood and modernist lamps—not a neon beer logo or sports paraphernalia in sight—while the faux foliage–lined outdoor patios give the sprawling bar a kind of Real World: Treehouse aesthetic. But as it does regularly screen sports, high-def flat screens hang in every room, plus the two patios, one on the ground floor and one on the second. It’s not all ball games, either: This summer, Jackie’s rooftop patio is reserved for watch parties of reality dating show Love Island, packing the house daily as fans cheer and jeer as contestants shack up.
Metropolitan Tavern is a pregame, pre-concert hot spot.
Metropolitan Tavern
lloyd
With its ample seating and proximity to the Moda and convention centers, plus its position atop the Hotel Eastlund, Metropolitan Tavern regularly brings in the pregame and pre-show crowds who filter in for an eclectic menu of crowd-pleasing tavern hits (think pizza, pork tacos, Wagyu burgers, poke). The window-lined dining room offers a nice view of the surrounding neighborhood, but head out to the enclosed and partially covered rooftop patio to catch a glimpse of the sun setting over the West Hills. At night, the towers of the Oregon Convention Center glow, and the lights of downtown shimmer across the surface of the Willamette River.
Wine and dine at Noble Rot’s fourth-floor patio.
Noble Rot
kerns
The elegant, wine-focused restaurant Noble Rot may not have the largest patio in town, but its cozy seated balcony peers out over the bustling streets below, the Willamette and downtown on the horizon. The intimate balcony setting makes it a stellar choice for date nights, as couples sip wine flights and nibble on roasted nuts, cheese plates, and salads made from produce sourced from the rooftop garden just a floor above. Wine lovers can find a treasure trove of options at Noble Rot, and everyone else should be covered by the restaurant’s menu of beer, cocktails, and nonalcoholic options like St. Agrestis’s Phony Negronis.
Brunch, happy hour, dinner, late night: Radio Room does it all.
Radio Room
king
In its nearly 20 years of service, Radio Room has established itself as Alberta Arts’ consummate neighborhood hang. Each morning, brunch crowds squeeze into the bar’s red leather booths to polish off mimosas by the bottle over eggs Benedict and croque madames. By happy hour, the two-story patio fills with diners lounging around firepits or basking in the shade of umbrellas while nursing margaritas with chicken wings and tacos. Dinner service comes with a sunset, but you won’t need to leave the rooftop until well after midnight—Radio Room opens early and closes late just about every day of the year.
It’s only open a few months of the year, so head over to Roof Deck when the weather permits.
Roof Deck Bar at Revolution Hall
buckman
Over the last decade or so, Revolution Hall has quietly usurped the status of “coolest midsize concert venue” from places like the Roseland and Crystal Ballroom, with everyone from Sleater-Kinney to Modest Mouse popping by for shows. Year-round, the adjacent Show Bar acts as the venue’s watering hole, but the arrival of blue skies heralds the opening of the smartly named Roof Deck Bar. You don’t need a concert ticket to take the elevator to this top-floor bar, which offers an unmitigated panorama of downtown, the east side, and the Cascade Range. It’s all first-come, first-served, and preshow hours can get mighty crowded, leading to long waits for the elevator. Time things right when a show starts and you can snag a table for yourself and enjoy some highballs and a burger.
Xport Bar & Lounge
Downtown
A bar and nightclub for the Hilton’s downtown Porter Hotel, Xport is clearly vying for some of Departure’s share of that sweet summertime post-work revelry. It must have succeeded in siphoning some of that: Head in around 5pm on a sunny weekday and try to count all the Patagonia vests over J.Crew dress shirts. Inside, the dining room/dance hall flashes with dozens of rainbow-colored lights, and at night things start to get a bit clubby as patrons spill out onto the two patios, each with plush seats and firepits. With a mostly unobscured view of the river, some serviceable (albeit pricey) bar snacks, and approachable drinks, you could find worse ways to kill an evening—though with espresso martinis and spicy margaritas clocking in at $20 a piece, you might just kill your wallet in the process.
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