The Yukon Tavern, or «The Ol’ Yuke» as my girlfriend and I affectionately refer to it, exudes dive-ness as James Dean exudes cool — effortlessly and with just enough disheveled insouciance to draw you in and keep you there. The Yuke, in other words, is the perfect expression of a dive bar, which means it’s not trying to be a dive bar at all. Deliberateness — that age old enemy of authenticity — gets checked at the door right along with your ID, and from there on out you’re in for a 100% genuine good time. From the sociable barkeeps who know many of the patrons by name to the worn-yet-functional shuffleboard table to the amiable, sometimes scruffy and oftentimes inebriated clientele, this place has just about everything you could ask for from a local watering hole. On top of all that, you also get a great beer selection(10 – 15 drafts on tap of local/craft and/or inexpensive brews) and the piece de resistance — PUDDINGSHOTS! With the keen perception of heroine dealers, Yuke bartenders spot new customers who have not yet experienced this magic and then deliver pudding shots to them for free. FORFREE. and then you become addicted to delicious pudding shots and make them for your friends at thanksgiving and then you all end up going to the Ol’ Yuke on a nightly basis just to get your sweet, creamy fix. It helps that this place is walking distance to my apartment, but seriously, give this place a try. They even updated their menu recently with some non-fried options that go down easy with what’s on tap(the fried stuff is predictably good too, especially the tots). Whether you want to catch The Big Game or just need a place to blow off some steam with your friends, the Yukon Tavern will take care of you. All you have to do is show up.
Tim S.
Rating des Ortes: 4 Portland, OR
Okay, the place is fairly run down inside but I didn’t expect a lot from what I consider to be a dive bar. I usually don’t grade a place by the looks I graded by the food, the service and the price. In my opinion we struck gold with all three at this location. My wife and I have been there 3 times after buying a Groupon. Groupons are a great way to get somebody into your business by the way. Then it’s your job to keep them coming in. We have had nothing but good food good service and a smile on our face when we looked at the tab. Give it a try!
Caitlin W.
Rating des Ortes: 4 Portland, OR
Yukon is more for the locals than it is the tourists. Typical simple dive bar with lots of tables. It looks a little sketch from the outside but I promise once you go in its perfectly normal and well lit. Lotto machines, pool table, and some video games. This is the bar to go to if you want cheap drinks. Their happy hour is on point $ 3.75 for microbrew drafts and $ 3 for well drinks They have a shot of the day. Lots of cheap fried food to soak up all those beers. $ 2 tater tots and French fries. $ 4 Chicken tenders . They also have burgers and sandwiches for under 10 bucks.
Michael I.
Rating des Ortes: 4 Portland, OR
When all else fails there is always The Yukon. This is the very definition of a dive bar. It is dark, cozy and the staff is super nice. The Happy Hour menu is so ridiculously awesome that you can get a few beers and decent bar food for less then 10 bucks. Not to mention Free Bacon Monday. If you love Dive Bars, you will love The Yukon.
Jeff W.
Rating des Ortes: 4 Portland, OR
18 taps. Solid cheap bar menu. An older crowd mixes with younger locals at the bar while video poker makes noise off to the back. Late-night fried foods for a few dollars can be had to absorb the cheap drafts and whiskey shots that are plentiful at this neighborhood bar. It’s not flashy or big but the service is fast. Really more of a local haunt than a destination for drinking, but if you’re making a crawl around Sellwood it’s a good second or third spot if you start north(at, say, the Bear Paw) and head south. Just make sure you get your fill of cheap fryer grease and booze, it gets p[rogressively more expensive as you approach ‘downtown’ sellwood, lol…
Tom R.
Rating des Ortes: 1 Springfield, MA
Wow, bar with little potential. The bald bartender with the beard cut me and my friends off before any of us were drunk but didn’t extend the same rules to others who were traaaaashed! Do not go here of you want to drink and have a good time. Buzz kill for sure, I won’t be going there again!
Rambod B.
Rating des Ortes: 5 Portland, OR
Shoo, what’s there to say about this place that hasn’t already been said. This place is the king of dive bars. Cheap, strong drinks. The other night they had whiskey with PBR backs for $ 3. Then out of nowhere they came out with pudding shots for the entire bar. I’ll never go back to Jello shots after that. With dive bars there’s usually a trade off, either the service is terrible or the selection is mediocre or the venue itself is quite questionable. Yukon Tavern has none of these issues. They have several taps all featured on a new, fancy, easy to read digital monitor with more than enough information to help you make your decision. Our table was prontply cleared of empties on several occasions and the barback was even nice enough to grab us our next round so we didn’t have to get off our lazy asses. Great service, great attitude. I guess maybe the one downside is the food, but honestly even that wasn’t sooo bad. I’ve definitely had worse. Also on Monday’s they have free bacon! FREEBACON.
Gina D.
Rating des Ortes: 5 Lake Oswego, OR
Hub and I stopped in to have a cocktail(or 3) — great service, vibe and drinks made by our bartender Penny! We will be back– check it out!
Ann W.
Rating des Ortes: 4 Portland, OR
Love the improvements. No more red carpet no more duct tape. New chairs with new upholstery, new tables. I like it! New happy hr menu is good, still have the great chili dogs. And then there’s Penny… my favorite bartender!
A E.
Rating des Ortes: 4 Portland, OR
This is a great dive bar. The bartender, Michelle, is a sweetheart. The clientele is pretty chill. The jukebox rulz. I just wish the décor was a little more creative but that’s the only negative thing I can really say.
Crystal R.
Rating des Ortes: 3 Saint Louis, MO
Stopped in for a drink since this place sounded interesting and was in walking distance. Michelle was our bartender and she’s really funny and nice. We liked her right away. We are from South St. Louis and this is what MANY of the dive bars look like in the Midwest so we felt right at home. :) Michelle also made me a really good Rusty Nail. There was a guy there playing the guitar and singing named Steve. Others were playing pool and there is a shuffle board table and Ms. Pacman. :) We really liked the place.
Megan S.
Rating des Ortes: 2 Portland, OR
I think a «dive bar» should only have a rating of one star or two and this place gets a full TWO stars. The drinks are stiff and cheap. The tater tots are horrifyingly amazing and the bathroom has a dispenser for erotic items for only 50c. The atmosphere is completely —«I want to come here to make bad choices.» But, every time I’m here I meet people I want to be friends for life with. #truth
Mark B.
Rating des Ortes: 4 Portland, OR
Omg. Twilight Zone. Portland at its best
Tory J.
Rating des Ortes: 5 Portland, OR
Love this place! Michelle is the absolute best and love seeing her. Eric is also great and never get bad service. We are now regulars.
Eric R.
Rating des Ortes: 3 Ventura, CA
The Yukon is our«dive up the block» spot. We’ve only ever been for drinks, but they are served at dive prices, which is pretty nice. If they spent a few bucks to upgrade the place, which looks like it hasn’t been changed since the 70s, it could be a premium establishment in a great location. But there are holes in the carpets and such. I guess that comes with the dive bar territory.
Mike G.
Rating des Ortes: 1 Portland, OR
They need to get rid of the excessively obnoxious regulars that sit at the bar. Dont let them act like the own the joint because they order glasses of Pabst on special. Place could thrive in this location if the people inside where better.
Aaron H.
Rating des Ortes: 5 Portland, OR
This place is Awesome… on certain nights… preferably Karaōke night you can see some crazy stuff. I remember fondly one night seeing people out of their mind on something singing some great country songs, while a group of people stared at the video poker… only later to have someone destroy their hand by breaking a pint glass in it, some random woman try to pick up on some random dude singing a song, a guy spending all his cash on the poker moving to cash advances on credit, to someone destroying the bathroom somehow… I didn’t want to know how… all in one night while sitting on a stool watching it all unfold before my eyes while drinking a Little Sumpin Sumpin from Lagunitas and eating the nice roasted nuts from the jar, and oh don’t forget the tequila shot bought by the gambler above… bring on the Kenny Rogers when you need ‘em…You got to know when to hold ‘em, know when to fold ‘em, know when to walk away, know when to run… We all look forward to those special moments…
Anthony K.
Rating des Ortes: 2 Portland, OR
Dive bar… Great in a pinch but could use a little interior lovin.
Valerie W.
Rating des Ortes: 3 Seattle, WA
Dive bar? Oh heck yes. Good escape to find locals both young and old… mostly old. The drinks are strong and they have free pool! In times that I have been there the music is decent and the staff has always been friendly. The drinks are priced fair and relatively cheap! PROS: Cheap, strong drinks. CONS: Question the cleanliness of this place at times, but come on. It’s a Dive bar!
Nicole S.
Rating des Ortes: 3 Fairfield, CA
«Can I see your ID young lady?» Without doubt, although I frequent this place more than my own living room, I get ID’d. The bartender recognizes me but somehow me being under 65 requires my showing proof of age to drink my Little Sumpin’ IPA from Lagunitas. Did I mention I come here for the really great selection of beer for REALLY cheap? The bar food is great if you love grease flavored _insert anything here_. However, the bar food is cheap and keeps a belly full while drinking the cheapest(which ultimately means TOOMUCH) booze in the neighborhood. The TV’s rarely have good sports showing, rather some [was really good in the 90’s] movie playing on TNT. But that’s OK just play some pool, it’s a great place to practice because it’s only 50 cents/game and I always get better after tons of good IPA — or at least I think so? If you want a good cheap buzz and are not trying to impress a girl go here. Otherwise see ya down the street :)