Hale Pele, Portland, OR (bar)

Name:Hale Pele
Type:bar
Street:2733 NE Broadway St
City:Portland
State:OR
Zip:97232
country:USA
Phone:
Status:operational

Description:
Opened in 2012. Modern tiki bar, Long bar with ~15 stools, 8-10 tables, and a "Chieftan's Hut" that can be reserved for parties of up to 12. Large drink menu including classic tiki drinks and their own modern custom drinks. Small food menu. Music loop includes both exotica and traditional Hawai'ian music. Lighting color shifts and effects trigger every so often depending on drink orders.

I was shocked to see there was no thread here for the Hale Pele. We visited for our first (and likely only, sadly) time on Monday night. Got in just before 5 and the place was already pretty full (they open at 4). There was a table or two left and a few spots at the bar, all of which filled up right after we got there. And nobody was leaving quickly. We left a little after 6 and I'm not sure anyone had left before us. We really liked the music and the decor, it was a great mix of lighting, sound, effects, and style. We each ordered a drink. I got the Bokola, (Blackberry purée, fresh citrus, honey and secret spices perform a dark and mysterious dance on a stage of aged rums), their signature drink with their custom Munktiki mug to take home while my wife got the Le Lani Volcano (Guava puree, cream of coconut, rum, pineapple, and lime) mainly because the menu credits the creation to Disney's Polynesian Village in the 1970s. We also got an order of their Hawaiian Bread with guava jam and their Kalbi short ribs to split. All the food was tasty and not too expensive. If we had the opportunity we'd happily go again.

If I had one suggestion for them I'd suggest putting up some kind of dark curtain between the front door and the bar. The atmosphere was a little lost whenever somebody would walk in and bright sunlight would come through the door.

Hale Pele has been ranked on many "top 10" lists of tiki bars recently and we're not sure why. Not that there was anything wrong with it, but it wasn't that much better than Adrift in Denver (our local bar). That said, we're not heavy drinkers so it could very well be that their cocktail list and quality is what's pushing them to the top, something that would be lost on us. Again, no complaints, there just wasn't anything (other than the built in effects) we wouldn't have experienced elsewhere.

[ Edited by: jasonma 2019-09-25 11:22 ]

Had a few drinks last night. My second visit and Hale Pele still delivered on the high expectations set when I came for the first time last year. It’s dark, exotic, and snug inside, just the way I prefer a tiki bar to be. The drinks were great and the the menu selections, even likes. voluminous than I remembered. I wanted to hit Rum Club for a few drinks but had to pick one spot or another and Hale Pele’s Atmosphere and reliably awesome drinks won out :wink:

Jasper’s Jamaican

Corn and Oil

Rum Lord’s Grog - this is a “seasonal” (limited time) drink consisting of Jamaican pot still rum, citrus, pineapple, and passion fruit.

A few other snaps:

Current menu (except for the Seasonal drinks):

Cheers!
:drink:

Visited last week as part of my east coast tiki bar tour. Hale Pele was the best out of the bunch I visited (Pagan Idol, Forbidden Island, Zombie Village).

Sat at the bar, served by Paddy and enjoyed about 6 cocktails. Every cocktail was great.