5 Places I’ll Drink With My Dog in Portland

As a studio dwelling dog lady with a boyfriend in Boston, it's crucial for me to get out of the house a few times a week.

I wanna hang with other humans, eat some grub, drink some booze, but I also want to have my dog at my side. She's better at breaking the ice with strangers, after all. I'd never have the guts to go to a bar alone alone.

So I set on a quest: Where in Portland can I bring my furbeast where I won't get asked to leave? So far, I've found two I love and three I want to try.

1) Lone Pine Brewery

Tucked off the hill on the East End of Portland sits a colorful peach and teal building that looks at first glance like a warehouse trying on her mom's eyeshadow from the '70s. Climb up the stairs and walk inside, and you're met with the smallest brewery I've ever seen; 6 or 8 tables and a few couches comprise an impressively intimate space abutted by the brewery itself. Behind the bar, huge basins of beer-brewing magic take up the remainder of the warehouse. There's something charming about the juxtaposition; you feel like you're friends of family of the Lone Pine crew. What's more is they have games, a projector, and dogs dogs dogs! Ilya was met with more pets and 'awww's than she could handle, and I made friends with everyone within leash range in no time.

2) The Snug

Given that we nicknamed Ilya "Snugs" the first week we brought her home, this always-friendly dog bar was a no-brainer to try out first thing upon moving to Portland. It has all the familiarity of your hometown Irish pub, with old-feeling wooden booths for intimate drunkenness, or a communal stool/bench/table front room to chat with strangers or, if you're me, sit with your dog until someone comes over to say hi. The snug offers no food of its own, hence its friendlier-than-usual dog policy, but it doesn't need to! Hop next door to grab some Otto pizza, and you're all set.

3) Sebago Brewing Company

With a happy hour and a late night happy hour, a delicious-looking menu and a patio to boot, Sebago brewpub in Portland is definitely making it into my top five "let's go" destinations.

4) The Porthole

This place gets amazing reviews on tripadvisor and bringfido for its great breakfast, lobster roll, and its stellar location down by the docks. You can really get the Portland feel there, and I gotta mix that in with my downtown go-tos. Porthole, number 4 on my dog-friendly list.

5) El Rayo

What would a restaurant list be without a mexican place? El Rayo makes my list for its fun ambiance, food truck vibe, and obvi the pet-friendly patio. Plus $5 margs every first friday of the month? Count me and Ilya in.