I have nothing to say other than it's worth a visit. Historically awesome and the architecture is stunning.
Sophia H.
Super disappointing experience here despite loving all the other McMenamins we've been to. Bar staff was rude and dismissive, they seemed annoyed when we asked for a menu after sitting down at a spot they cleared for us but didn't wipe down. After ordering food it didn't come for 30 minutes so we asked if they'd mind getting us a to-go box since we had tickets to a show close by. 10 minutes later we told them we may need to leave and she finally walked back to the kitchen to check on it. Brought back food that had clearly been ready for some time, a warm limp side salad because it had been under the warmer and hard burger buns. Bummer experience, felt like they got their tip by closing us out early and could care less after. Maybe the shows are what drives the business so they don't care. I don't recommend this spot, we won't be back.
Shaun M.
I think we've all been to a McMenamins at this point, so I'll try not to be too repetitive. Ringlers in particular I enjoy because they host Trivia on Monday nights (Bridgetown Trivia), and it's very spacious. Parking can be a bit of a headache because of the location, but I've consistently been able to park in the same area without a headache. The staff seems to change in and out, but has always been friendly. I do enjoy that they carry RC Rootbeer, which is pretty underrated, and there is usually an eclectic group of people patronizing this spot. On certain nights when there is a concert, you also get to people watch! I can't give it a 5th star because the food is always solid but never great, the prices are on the higher side and nothing about it stands out as great.
Payten A.
Extremely rude service!! Came after a concert and the Event Staff woman/ manager was on a power trip and extremely rude to customers. She made my friend with anxiety cry and when I talked to her about her behavior afterward, she said she did not feel the need to apologize for it. Made our whole experience terrible. We will not be returning and I suggest going to any other Mcmenamins location.
Angelos H.
Chill spot, cue sticks were decent for the pool table, staff was nice, I'd definitely go again.
Kaylor H.
got a hair tie in my salad and thought it was an onion. so I bit into someone's used hair tie. from the kitchen. great experience.
Jason V.
Regardless of your opinion of the McMenamins food, beverages, service, hospitality, or even the entire enterprising empire (and seemingly every Portlander has one they'd *love* to share with you), few can argue that, from a music and entertainment standpoint, they're an uncontested net positive, bringing in artists from all over the world and providing fantastic venues within which we all collectively grow a little richer in spirit. The musical map of Multnomah County (and beyond) would be a dulcet desert, or at the very least more Spartan, without their numerous venues (indoor and out) providing year round live lyrics and limitless libations. Ringlers Pub is uniquely situated directly under what is arguably Portland's most well-known and regarded entertainment destination, the Crystal Ballroom. On its own, it's a fairly standard watering hole, serving decent food and drinks at acceptable prices. Service is good. Location, apart from its proximity to the aforementioned venue is, like all places downtown, a bit of a chore to get to, on occasion...but it does have other perks. Namely, an exhaustive selection of whiskey from around the world, which never fails to make me happy. Yet one little advertised feature shines (secretly) above them all: preferred entry to any concert or event happening above. For a modest price ($15 per person) for each ticketholder, easily spent on a couple shots of high-quality scotch (which elevates any event, IMHO), security will make their rounds ~30 minutes before doors open, check your tickets and receipt, give you a wrist stamp and direct you to a separate queue full of sauced-up spectators that are allowed entry into the ballroom before the general public. Savvy folks, such as myself and my wife, leverage this (only slightly unfair) advantage to cut straight to the front row of any performance and secure the best seats (metaphorically, since you'll be standing) in the house - a perk WELL WORTH paying a premium on top of the price of admission. Portlanders are particularly picky about their preferred pubs and grub, but even the prickliest patron cannot possibly protest the privilege of premature passage for the price of a pint (14 point alliteration combo)! And blissfully, the food and drinks hold up their end of the bargain, and the pub is open late enough (on weekends to accommodate those post-performance hunger pangs. In short: get there early; order the Hammerhead BBQ Chicken pizza; play some pool, pinball or shuffleboard; knock back a few whiskies; see a show; and for Bob's sake, enjoy yourselves!
Lisa L.
We stopped in for a bite and ended up trying the hard cider flight which was really great! The cranberry cider was amazing! We ordered some fries which were pretty good (nothing to write home about but... they were fries) will definitely be back to try a full meal!
Gaelle F.
The food and drinks are nice. If you are going for a concert in the crystal ballroom, the pub offers preferred early entry earlier than the normal venue if you spend more than 15 dollars with them. Just know that they will randomly select who goes in the venue first out of the people in the pub so there is now way to be certain you will be the first in. If someone says they will help you don't trust it. They will tell you they are making you a favor with this early entry scheme. But let's be honest, It is not, it is a marketing strategy to get more pub consumption. If you are aware of that the rest is fine!
Phuong T.
My wife and I had dinner here Saturday (03/11/23) and the food and waitress were great! The hostess on the other hand...she wasn't so pleasant. Not sure if she was having a bad day or not, but she wasn't friendly and seemed irritated to seat us. Other than that, we enjoyed dining here and the drinks.
My great nephew was playing drums in a large band to a packed house upstairs in Crystal Ballroom. A dozen or so of assorted family had come to Portland to partake and as the matinee was wrapping up in the late afternoon I said to the drummers mom, who was kind of our ring-leader, I'd go downstairs and stake out a big table for all of us to eat. Shortly after sitting at the largest table in the farthest from the bar corner of the side room, the bartender came to tell me they weren't really staffed to be serving in that room. I told him I had maybe a dozen people coming down from upstairs and we'd be an easy, forgiving crowd. He looked dubious, and said he'd need to check with the manager. He was back quickly putting out menus and arranging chairs. Our final number was ten, and our only server was this same guy who was also one of maybe two bartenders for the whole place. As he took our orders he said it would likely take up to an hour for the kitchen to produce our food, because dozens of people from upstairs had come in as well. Our drinks came quickly, and the food arrived in much less time than he suggested. Every order was correct. To my knowledge everybody liked what they ordered and the prices seemed about right. He did not seem in the slightest rattled by adding our big group to his personal workload and came back a few times to see how were all doing and take additional orders for drinks. And the drummer and the rest of us we were out of there well in time for the evening show at 8:00. I don't know if this really is an excellent place, but it sure was for us.
Olympic F.
Watch out! The service and food was horrible. The 1st 1/2hr we were there we sat and waited for someone to get our drink order, of course by then we had decided what to eat. It took another 1/2hr before the food showed up and still no drink or silverware, so another 10 minutes we got drinks and a fork, then we had to ask for napkins too. Then on top of everything being cold, the burger was so pink, it was inedible. After all that, they take credit card for tab, 10-15 minutes later, they come and tell me they lost my credit card. Now I'm stuck in Portland with no credit card or money and still hadn't checked into my hotel. Go anywhere but here, any food truck would be better.
Laura W.
The bar manager Jessica took good care of us and made sure we had a great visit. We will definitely come back.
Juan Carvajal Brizuela
Terrible service! The hostess were very mean and rude. I never go e bad reviews unless you have terrible service. The only reason you got two stars was because the venue was fun and had games.
Tiff Freccero
Awesome Oktoberfest beer, on a nice rainy day. Love the kind staff! Patio is dog friendly too :)
I have nothing to say other than it's worth a visit. Historically awesome and the architecture is stunning.
Super disappointing experience here despite loving all the other McMenamins we've been to. Bar staff was rude and dismissive, they seemed annoyed when we asked for a menu after sitting down at a spot they cleared for us but didn't wipe down. After ordering food it didn't come for 30 minutes so we asked if they'd mind getting us a to-go box since we had tickets to a show close by. 10 minutes later we told them we may need to leave and she finally walked back to the kitchen to check on it. Brought back food that had clearly been ready for some time, a warm limp side salad because it had been under the warmer and hard burger buns. Bummer experience, felt like they got their tip by closing us out early and could care less after. Maybe the shows are what drives the business so they don't care. I don't recommend this spot, we won't be back.
I think we've all been to a McMenamins at this point, so I'll try not to be too repetitive. Ringlers in particular I enjoy because they host Trivia on Monday nights (Bridgetown Trivia), and it's very spacious. Parking can be a bit of a headache because of the location, but I've consistently been able to park in the same area without a headache. The staff seems to change in and out, but has always been friendly. I do enjoy that they carry RC Rootbeer, which is pretty underrated, and there is usually an eclectic group of people patronizing this spot. On certain nights when there is a concert, you also get to people watch! I can't give it a 5th star because the food is always solid but never great, the prices are on the higher side and nothing about it stands out as great.
Extremely rude service!! Came after a concert and the Event Staff woman/ manager was on a power trip and extremely rude to customers. She made my friend with anxiety cry and when I talked to her about her behavior afterward, she said she did not feel the need to apologize for it. Made our whole experience terrible. We will not be returning and I suggest going to any other Mcmenamins location.
Chill spot, cue sticks were decent for the pool table, staff was nice, I'd definitely go again.
got a hair tie in my salad and thought it was an onion. so I bit into someone's used hair tie. from the kitchen. great experience.
Regardless of your opinion of the McMenamins food, beverages, service, hospitality, or even the entire enterprising empire (and seemingly every Portlander has one they'd *love* to share with you), few can argue that, from a music and entertainment standpoint, they're an uncontested net positive, bringing in artists from all over the world and providing fantastic venues within which we all collectively grow a little richer in spirit. The musical map of Multnomah County (and beyond) would be a dulcet desert, or at the very least more Spartan, without their numerous venues (indoor and out) providing year round live lyrics and limitless libations. Ringlers Pub is uniquely situated directly under what is arguably Portland's most well-known and regarded entertainment destination, the Crystal Ballroom. On its own, it's a fairly standard watering hole, serving decent food and drinks at acceptable prices. Service is good. Location, apart from its proximity to the aforementioned venue is, like all places downtown, a bit of a chore to get to, on occasion...but it does have other perks. Namely, an exhaustive selection of whiskey from around the world, which never fails to make me happy. Yet one little advertised feature shines (secretly) above them all: preferred entry to any concert or event happening above. For a modest price ($15 per person) for each ticketholder, easily spent on a couple shots of high-quality scotch (which elevates any event, IMHO), security will make their rounds ~30 minutes before doors open, check your tickets and receipt, give you a wrist stamp and direct you to a separate queue full of sauced-up spectators that are allowed entry into the ballroom before the general public. Savvy folks, such as myself and my wife, leverage this (only slightly unfair) advantage to cut straight to the front row of any performance and secure the best seats (metaphorically, since you'll be standing) in the house - a perk WELL WORTH paying a premium on top of the price of admission. Portlanders are particularly picky about their preferred pubs and grub, but even the prickliest patron cannot possibly protest the privilege of premature passage for the price of a pint (14 point alliteration combo)! And blissfully, the food and drinks hold up their end of the bargain, and the pub is open late enough (on weekends to accommodate those post-performance hunger pangs. In short: get there early; order the Hammerhead BBQ Chicken pizza; play some pool, pinball or shuffleboard; knock back a few whiskies; see a show; and for Bob's sake, enjoy yourselves!
We stopped in for a bite and ended up trying the hard cider flight which was really great! The cranberry cider was amazing! We ordered some fries which were pretty good (nothing to write home about but... they were fries) will definitely be back to try a full meal!
The food and drinks are nice. If you are going for a concert in the crystal ballroom, the pub offers preferred early entry earlier than the normal venue if you spend more than 15 dollars with them. Just know that they will randomly select who goes in the venue first out of the people in the pub so there is now way to be certain you will be the first in. If someone says they will help you don't trust it. They will tell you they are making you a favor with this early entry scheme. But let's be honest, It is not, it is a marketing strategy to get more pub consumption. If you are aware of that the rest is fine!
My wife and I had dinner here Saturday (03/11/23) and the food and waitress were great! The hostess on the other hand...she wasn't so pleasant. Not sure if she was having a bad day or not, but she wasn't friendly and seemed irritated to seat us. Other than that, we enjoyed dining here and the drinks.
Restaurantji Recommends
My great nephew was playing drums in a large band to a packed house upstairs in Crystal Ballroom. A dozen or so of assorted family had come to Portland to partake and as the matinee was wrapping up in the late afternoon I said to the drummers mom, who was kind of our ring-leader, I'd go downstairs and stake out a big table for all of us to eat. Shortly after sitting at the largest table in the farthest from the bar corner of the side room, the bartender came to tell me they weren't really staffed to be serving in that room. I told him I had maybe a dozen people coming down from upstairs and we'd be an easy, forgiving crowd. He looked dubious, and said he'd need to check with the manager. He was back quickly putting out menus and arranging chairs. Our final number was ten, and our only server was this same guy who was also one of maybe two bartenders for the whole place. As he took our orders he said it would likely take up to an hour for the kitchen to produce our food, because dozens of people from upstairs had come in as well. Our drinks came quickly, and the food arrived in much less time than he suggested. Every order was correct. To my knowledge everybody liked what they ordered and the prices seemed about right. He did not seem in the slightest rattled by adding our big group to his personal workload and came back a few times to see how were all doing and take additional orders for drinks. And the drummer and the rest of us we were out of there well in time for the evening show at 8:00. I don't know if this really is an excellent place, but it sure was for us.
Watch out! The service and food was horrible. The 1st 1/2hr we were there we sat and waited for someone to get our drink order, of course by then we had decided what to eat. It took another 1/2hr before the food showed up and still no drink or silverware, so another 10 minutes we got drinks and a fork, then we had to ask for napkins too. Then on top of everything being cold, the burger was so pink, it was inedible. After all that, they take credit card for tab, 10-15 minutes later, they come and tell me they lost my credit card. Now I'm stuck in Portland with no credit card or money and still hadn't checked into my hotel. Go anywhere but here, any food truck would be better.
The bar manager Jessica took good care of us and made sure we had a great visit. We will definitely come back.
Terrible service! The hostess were very mean and rude. I never go e bad reviews unless you have terrible service. The only reason you got two stars was because the venue was fun and had games.
Awesome Oktoberfest beer, on a nice rainy day. Love the kind staff! Patio is dog friendly too :)