Rogue Ales Distillery & Public House

Mebuzzard

Colorado

2.85/5  rDev -30.3%
vibe: 2 | quality: 2.5 | service: 3 | selection: 3.5 | $$

Stop #2 on my tour of Portland. Coming from Deschutes, this is a drop off.

First thing you notice is the self promotion. There are bottles, boxes, shirts of Rogue all OVER the place here. It's an eye sore; doesn't help the scenery. Combine that with the bright pink, Pepto Voodoo Doughnut bottles all around and the eyes start blurring before drinking any beer.
The bar portion is cramped and small, opening up to a larger section with the distilled spirits bar.

Beer menu is long, but nothing 'unique', and badly organized. Newcomers will find it confusing to read and know what's on tap. They do offer smaller menus at the tables, but "menu" is a stretch. It's a list; names of beers--no style, no abv, no nothing. Trashy.

The restaurant place looked better, but still confused. Even the restrooms (barley and hops) make you wonder what the hell they're doing.

I found myself ordering 4 samples and getting out of there asap. Too bad.

07-22-2012 22:17:31 | More by Mebuzzard

csiewert

Oregon

2.95/5  rDev -27.9%
vibe: 2 | quality: 3 | service: 2 | selection: 4 | food: 3.5 | $$

I've been there 3 times now on various occasion... Once on my own, once with a group and once with my wife. The first thing you notice when you come in is that the place is kind of confused and not updated at all. For instance, the bathrooms have no label on the door to tell you whether it's for women or men (except for 'barely' and 'hops', which makes no sense). So unless you are with someone who's been there before or happen to see someone come out of one, you would have no idea which one to use.

Also, the wait staff is very disorganized and slightly rude. My first time there, it took 11 minutes for us to even be acknowledged and then another 5 or so until we put in our drink order. Once the food and drink was delivered, we never saw our waiter again until it was time for the bill. The second time I came in I was by myself at the bar and they have a 'strict' no cellphone policy there apparently (which I didn't know). So after sending a few texts, the bartender chewed me out for using my phone. Couple minutes later, his buddy comes in and sits at the bar doing the same thing and not a word from the bartender the entire night. The third time I came in with my wife after a timbers game and sat at the bar. At one point the restaurant manager got a phone call from someone who had forgotten to close their tab and left their card there, asking if it would be ok to come in, pay and get it the next morning. Following the phone call the manager said audibly to one of the bartenders "some asshole walked out on his tab and wants to pay it tomorrow"... Poor you, someone actually cared enough to make sure that you're getting paid, have a little respect.

Other than that, the beer selection is pretty good... You can get every rogue beer under the sun and they also have a few guest taps... and the food is pretty above average, so if you can look past all of that, go for it.

04-07-2013 23:05:56 | More by csiewert

soupermirl

Mississippi

4.43/5  rDev +8.3%
vibe: 5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4 | food: 4.5 | $$

Fantastic place. Great staff. Awesome Beer. I was already a big fan of Rogue, but after visiting Flanders Pub (Rogue Distillery & Public House) I enjoy it much more. There is something to be said in visiting a place and then being welcomed in a place. Flanders Pub welcomed me and my wife with free samples of their beer. Portland has a gem with this place. If you are in the area and you don't visit Rogue you are losing out. We even attend the Fred Eckhardt chesse and beer tasting and were very pleased with the event. Love Rogue.

08-27-2012 14:21:10 | More by soupermirl

KDawg

Illinois

3.8/5  rDev -7.1%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 3.5 | $$

This was pretty packed on a saturday night. Granted, that's to be expected in the pearl district, but it was definitely a busy night.

The quality is what one would expect. It's all of the Rogue brews that can be had currently. Which in some way is my disappointment as there is nothing that I can get here that I can't get back home. I was kinda hoping for at least some stuff that is brewed just for the public houses.

I did think the service was really good. The server for my friend and I had to run a bunch of stations as someone called out that night. Though there would be a slight delay, he was trying his hardest at every minute to keep up with everything.

It's in the pearl district, so it's an easy return for me in the future. The ease of going here certainly helps, that and me generally liking rogue brews as well.

07-10-2012 16:48:19 | More by KDawg

Rifugium

Pennsylvania

3.7/5  rDev -9.5%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4 | service: 3 | selection: 4 | food: 4 | $$

Busy place, kind of hipster / casual dining atmosphere. It was mid-day but still quite busy when we visited. There's a surprisingly small bar--seats maybe 10 people--but there's also a large "community table" bar-adjacent, and plenty of tables to accommodate a large crowd. The bar was full when we got there, but the rest of the room had several vacancies, so we sat at the end of the community table. And waited. And waited. *tap tap tap* And waited. And flagged. And waited. I was about to walk up to the bar to get an order in, but fortunately for us, a couple bar spots did open, and after that, the service was not too bad. Very good beer selection, consisting of mostly Rogue products, including an Issaquah and some Buckman Village choices (both subsidiaries of Rogue), and I believe I remember seeing Guinness and Lindemanns on tap too. Food was decent, though maybe a bit overpriced for the portion that was given. Other than that, prices were reasonable. Bottled beer is available for take-out in large amounts.

I'm glad we had the chance to stop in Rogue, although if time is an issue, I'd recommend the nearby Deschutes brewpub to Rogue, as the atmosphere, service, and, well pretty much everything is better there. Except maybe the actually quantity of beer on tap (but not necessarily the quality).

01-09-2012 16:09:40 | More by Rifugium

GreenCard

Oregon

3.66/5  rDev -10.5%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4 | service: 3 | selection: 4 | $$

The layout of this place is a bit odd. It's kind of divided into three spaces: a dining area, a cramped bar, and a smaller back-bar area with a TV and really low cielings (I got the feeling that area could possibly be reserved for groups/meetings/etc.).

I didn't try the food. I was just there for a pint or two while I was killing some time downtown. People are ranting about the service here, but I guess I'm somewhat indifferent on that score based on my experience. I just walked up to the bar, ordered a beer, and sat down in the "smaller back-bar area". There only seemed to be three or four servers (one of them was the barteneder) and it was kind of busy, so it's not really surprising if the level of service suffers. Not that this is an excuse for being a shitty waiter/waitress. Just saying. All the same, I got my pint within the standard turnaround time at a bar, so whatever.

Bottom line: go here if you are a fan of Rogue Ales and you want access to a large cross-section of their beers. If you're just looking for a nice afternoon/evening at a good Portland brewpub, there are better places to go (like New Old Lompoc or Deschutes).

12-29-2011 16:20:24 | More by GreenCard

sespourteille

Maine

4.47/5  rDev +9.3%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 5 | food: 4.5 | $$

The only way to complete ones Rogue consumption experience is to take a trip to this place. Mesmerizing decorations ranging from vintage Rogue merchandise to a custom Rogue kayak, there is plenty to talk about and look at while you eat and enjoy one of the many beers on tap and in stock. With basically every type available, be prepared to know the brand better than you ever have before after your visit. Nice location, plenty of parking, good service with pleasant people and good prices, if your ever in the area try to make it in.

12-10-2011 01:42:55 | More by sespourteille

dtivp

West Virginia

3.88/5  rDev -5.1%
vibe: 3 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | $$

Stopped in after having dinner at a much nicer , probably should have went to Rogue first.
Atmosphere was a little industrial, slightly grungy, cases of beer stacked every where giving you a warehouse feeling. The lay out was different with two separate seating / dining areas. We sat in the smaller area closer to the bar. The bartender came to the table immediately after we sat down. She was very friendly, efficient and knew the Rogue beer menu well. The beer selection was a nice variety of Rogue Beer which is always good, no guest taps. Did not sample any of the food, however, there was a nice variety on the meu.
Overallwe had a good time and it is worth the stop if your in Portland.

10-19-2011 20:45:25 | More by dtivp

tjensen3618

California

3.14/5  rDev -23.2%
vibe: 3 | quality: 3 | service: 2.5 | selection: 4 | $$$

Went to this place right after Deschutes, it's just a block or 2 down the street.

It's kind of a weird layout, there's 2 dining rooms on either side of the bar, both of which were empty, and then there is the bar in the middle which had a decent amount of people inside drinking beer.

Sat down at our table, the place seemed a little grimey and dated, the decor definitely could use either a good scrubbing or a remodel.

The bartender came right over to our table, he was nice and seemed to know about the 30 or so beers they had on tap, all of which brewed by Rogue, they had no guest taps.

Had a few tasty beers and took a look at the merchandise before we left. The shirts and glasses were quite overpriced, I'm talking in the $25-$30 t-shirt range.

It was an ok experience and one that I would skip over next time im in Portland.

10-14-2011 18:16:48 | More by tjensen3618

cbarrett4

Oregon

2.4/5  rDev -41.3%
vibe: 3 | quality: 2 | service: 1 | selection: 4 | $$

I used to be a huge fan of Rogue ales before I moved to Portland (and started trying other stellar local brews). I tried this brewpub three times and I have to say that these are the worst and most hateful bartenders and servers I have ever encountered.

The first time I popped in I did wait for quite awhile (despite it not being terribly busy) and was eventually served. The beers were good, as I remembered, but the snooty bartender soured my taste buds.

Second time I came with a friend on a slow afternoon and were carded promptly. We looked over the beer list, prepared our order and tried to get up to the bar. We were passed over several times. We tried to get a seat at a bar table, but they were full. We asked the bar area server for an order which we would pay cash and were told we had to have a seat or order from the bar.

The final time I brought a friend who moved from Kansas who had loved their beers. We were carded within 2 minutes and as we tried to get an order out the server walked away. We waited at least 10 minutes, then went to the bar where several 'regulars' elbowed us out of the way and were served first.

Now you might say "hey, they were probably busy" but I have NEVER had bad service at Deschutes (the only comparable brewpub in the area), despite their bar area being at least twice as full as Rogue. I have waded up to the bar three deep at Deschutes and still received my beer in a timely fashion.

So I guess I am a little bit spoiled with the stellar service at Deschutes!

08-07-2011 23:16:17 | More by cbarrett4