Cheerful Bullpen

The Cheerful Bullpen ended up being my last resort a few times, and for a while I never gave it a higher status than that. But the more time I spent there, the more the place grew on me.
Admittedly, I was a little apprehensive about this place because at first glance, it feels a bit run down. But despite the crooked pool table, the frayed booth seats, and often lame (and sometimes downright creepy) crowd that normally hangs out there, this place is cool. The burgers are great, and they’ve got a really good selection of beers at a solid price point. There are a ton of TVs, and they always have a really good mix of different sporting events going on at any given time.
The servers have always been really nice, even when I’ve stumbled in as a not-​so-​low-​maintenance customer. They all seem like they legitimately enjoy what they do, and it makes for a fun atmosphere that feels more personal and homey than trendy or dingy.
My advice for this place is to give it a few chances and get to know it a little if you aren’t impressed within the first 10 minutes you walk in. I’ll definitely continue to hang out here.

If you are craving some WNY camaraderie or soccer hooligans this is the place to be. Service is pretty slow on Sunday mornings but what can you expect when it’s filled to the brim with raving Bills fans. Some of the better wings I’ve hand in town. Also have some pretty great nachos, tacos and some decent hearty breakfast options.

Been here many times. Sarah does a great job bartending. Keeps a clean bar and gives solid service. Late night happy hour food is a good bet too.

One bartender and NO servers on a Friday night at 6:30??? WTF??? Do I really need to say more? Service here is slow. Especially when the ONE bartender is talking to her drunk friend that wouldn’t stop talking. Do not come here for good service. Oh… And get better hamburger buns or don’t leave them out to dry.

We were here on Saturday and honestly had such a great time! Customers and the bartenders were so friendly. We were looking for a chill fun place to hangout tonight and immediately thought of Cheerful Bullpen. Heather Jo is such a great bartender. So much fun and a great personality. She remembered us from the weekend and we will be coming back because of her. Thanks, Heather Jo!

Go here on a Tuesday night! Their «tightwad Tuesdays» are the best! You can get a basket of chicken wings for only $ 2 and $ 1 beers! You can’t beat that deal. The wings are surprisingly delicious. They taste 100x better than other wing places (like Buffalo Wild Wings) and you can actually afford enough to get full.

Great place to watch the Bills. Great atmosphere, 12+ local beers on tap, Labatt Blue in the can, real wings and every TV shows the Bills. Lived all over the country and outside of NYC, this has been the best Bills Backer Bar experience.

If you have any other options of other bars to spend your evening at, do not go to Cheerful Bullpen. Unfortunately I may end up back here at some point because it is the only Buffalo Bills bar in all of Portland and as a dedicated fan with many friends who are Bills fans, it may be unavoidable. With the easy access to Providence Park, others may also come here out of convenience for Timbers and Thorns games.
I could go on and on about the horrible service matters that happened during just one Thursday night football game, both how I was treated and how I saw other patrons being treated. Yes they were busy and understaffed, but that is no excuse for the downright awful, rude treatment of patrons. I’ll leave out all the horrible details because all that really matters is this — Do not come here looking for good service, good food or prices, or an overall good experience other than being able to watch your favorite sports teams with friends. End of story.

The manager is a piece of work. Not too pleasant and more concerned about enforcing rules than customer service.
Hopefully she will chill.
Wings are great. Beer is cold. The rest of the staff is friendly and accommodating.

Nice goes a long ways even when the service is awful. It’s pretty sad when your server walks up and can’t even say hello. As someone who works in this profession I find it so annoying to be unfriendly and to give terrible service.
The food is just ok. The only reason we come at all is to watch the Bills play on Sunday.
Be nice! It’s really not that hard!

I give this bar 3 stars mostly because of today’s service. When we walked in the first initial server was enthusiastic and caring (even called us by name). Then it seems that servers shift ended so she left us in the care of Sierra.
Well, we noticed Sierra was not as attentive and caring. She messed up prices of other people’s orders and even claimed there was no happy hour on weekends (the menu clearly states happy hour all day on weekends except for event hours at providence park)… Well I get my check and she clearly marked my drink at full price instead of happy hour price. We bring it up to Sierra and she basically has a fit. She throws menus around and huffs and puffs, walks over to the register, and eventually walks back with the extra $ 1.50 I had been charged. No sorry, no I’m not sure how to do this but I’ll fix it, nothing to show she cares about us as customers.
We will come back because of previous experiences, but we’ll make sure Sierra is not in charge of our tab.

Don’t «order» water and watch an entire game on just water and then complain about the service. The couple next to me was complaining about the prices, come on!!! A red bull and 2 beers for a game that lasted 3 hrs!!! Really!!! Stay home!!!
I went there for the USA vs Mexico game. I had ordered wings and a few drinks. Food was great, but service… the 1^st bartender was a bitch! We were asking if she could change the channel because the game was about to start, she looked at us and said «is not like I’m sitting doing anything». Luckly for me, her shift was over and then Sierra, was behind the bar. She was amazing, attentive and friendly.
This place is AMAZING!!! soccer bar right next to the s soccer stadium in Portland, you can’t go wrong! great Happy hour, great wiiiings (I love wings) and great ambiance over all. The best soccer bar in Portland, (better than 4−4−2 I’d say)
I’ll be back to for the great service of Sierra and the wings and the soccer!!! They should call this place paradise island!

Should have been more clear that Happy Hour (the menu I pointed to when we ordered) basically doesn’t count the entire day of a sporting event… we went in the afternoon (3pm) and the server took our order from the Happy Hour menu and didn’t say a word that it didn’t apply even though the game isn’t played until 7. Very dissapointed and will not be back.

Was very happy to catch the USA v Peru match today at this gem of a spot.
The drinks were great and so was the service.
Unfortunately, however, I’m not sure my stomach agreed with the food. Upon checking into my hotel I’ve since come down with food poisoning. And, considering I’ve had nothing else to eat today, I’m willing to bet this is the reason why I’m ill (chicken egg rolls)
Please tell me I’m wrong. I want to think this is all just in my head because I like this place but I feel like I just have to let you know.
Sorry.

What happened?!
Suddenly, the wing-​sauces are watered down (Hawaii 50 was severely diluted), taste less delicious, they’re out of jello shots, the beers aren’t as cold, and instead of taking your order to put in at 7:45 to get wings at 8, you now give your order at 8 and get them around 8:15 — 8:30.
:(

Wow things have changed here!!! Price of bottle beers went up and are warm… can’t even get a tall boy any longer and they stopped serving breakfast weekdays… Doesn’t have the same feel inside either Bills and GA dawgs are less seen.

Great dive bar. We stopped by before the Timbers game and it was still divey. Cheap drinks and great service. Even though we were there before the game, it wasn’t crazy crowded. There were a lot of people, but it still had a chill, local vibe. Even though it got busy, we still received great service.

It is so close to where i live that i often find myself here without having made a conscience decision to frequent!
The beers are nice and cold with changing daily specials. The wait staff are fantastic and friendly. The food is better at lunch time verses dinner time for sandwiches, but for wings anytime is the right time! These are my favorite wings; crunchy regardless if you order one of the many ootions of dry rub or marinate sauce with carrots and dipping sauce. This is my heaven.
And pay attention if you are sitting in a booth, there are often drink specials acting as your tablecloth.

This review is mainly for the weekly Tuesday night wing deal. Over the last year I have been to literally dozens of wings nights at this place and have been procrastinating a review.
The only reason I knock a star off of this rating is because of the inconsistency in the quality of wings and service. Sometimes the wings are great: big, juicy, hot, with lots of sauce. Other times they are small, cold and lack sauciness. I give the benefit of the doubt as every place has their off nights and I’ve been so many times.
The service knows what wing night is all about and are usually very prepared for the high volume. I’ve learned there are strategic table locations that will gain you better service on these nights, which I’ll keep to myself ;-) In general, the service is relatively great for a full bar during a special night, especially if there’s a Blazers/​Timbers game.
I keep coming back because you simply can’t beat 6 wings for $ 2 and $ 1 beers anywhere else in Portland (and if you can, please let me know!)

Ive only been here for wing nights and ive always had a good time. Who can say no to cheap wings and $ 1 micros. This place gets packed by 8 so if you have a large group try to convince a few to get there early and grab some tables.
They used to have a $ 3 cover at the door after 8, so id usually come around 7:30 and have a beer while i waited. But the last time i went we noted there was no bouncer at all. To our surprise when we got our checks there was an automatic $ 3 cover on there for anyone that had wings.
BOO.
That put a sour taste in my mouth, and yea its only $ 3 dollars but there wasnt any sign or note on the menu that told me i would be charged that fee.
Alas, the wings are still dirt cheap, and the beer as well. But i recommend that they start notifying people about the charge somehow, seems like it could be something people start to really dislike about the place.

Stop number two of the annual Portland Pigs Rugby Club pub crawl took us to The Cheerful Bullpen and they (both the customers and the staff) weren’t quite prepared for close to 70 people showing up all at once.
A Buffalo Bills bar… who’d have thunk? My brother can’t seem to find a NY Giants bar, and I have a Philadelphia Eagles bar in Tigard, but a Bills bar in Portland… very odd.
Anyways, the beer was cheap (specials every day of the week) and the staff was great. The Blond server with the tattoo sleeve was cool. The rest of the customers were a bit taken back by us… you can feed the rugby players, we don’t bite… much.
It was cool to take over a place like that and we had a good time while we were there.
Enjoy.

I attended a UYE bar crawl a couple years ago & Cheerful Bullpen was our last stop of the night/​morning. I remembered the drinks were stiff but if I had eaten that night I would’ve made sure not to return for the food.
CB is a dive bar that serves below average food that should only be eaten when one is drunk or hungover. I was sober so trying to enjoy an $ 8.79 reuben was unfortunate. The reuben wasn’t piled high with corn beef like the menu claimed. It was stacked two high. I could barely taste the meat & what I could taste, it was underwhelming to say the least. It was more a sauerkraut sandwich with 1000 island dressing than a reuben. My salad doesn’t deserve to be described because I would never get around to saying anything nice about it.
My hungover friends loved their breakfast at lunch. I actually wished at the time that I was hungover so my food could taste as good as they described theirs to be.
Our server was not in the mood for customers. She was probably hungover, too.
Cheerful Bullpen was not the most cheerful experience this time around but I’m sure if you put a few stiff drinks in me it’ll suddenly become the best dive bar in PDX. Stick with the drinks & stay away from the food… until later.