Update: Looking for a place in Portland to watch a Soccer match? Visit our new site: Portland Soccer Bars
The Timbers 2008 season will, eventually, come to an end. How will you obtain your off season footy fix? Fittingly, the days will become short and gray and wet . . . just like in England. Every year it becomes a bit easier to catch English, and world, soccer. You need high speed internet and/or expensive cable packages though. Sometimes you want a raucous crowd and strong coffee or a breakfast pint with your Tyne-Wear Derby. If you can’t manage that at home, try these places:
Costello’s Travel Caffe (2222 NE Broadway) – I have yet to visit this place, but I know they showed matches during the last World Cup, and they talk up international soccer on their about page.
Horse Brass Pub (4534 SE Belmont) – Smokey, greasy, and a really crappy, albeit large, TV. But for atmosphere, this is the best place to catch a match Saturday or Sunday morning. They don’t show every match, however, and the coffee sucks. Luckily you can get a breakfast pint. (EPL matches start this weekend, but the Horse Brass hasn’t updated the soccer schedule yet – as of 8/12/08. My guess is they’ll show whatever is broadcast on Fox Soccer Channel.)
Kells Irish Pub (112 SW 2nd) – They used to just open early on weekends for particularly big matches, but last year they started serving a full breakfast menu and opening every (I think) weekend morning for English (and Scottish sometimes too) soccer. Very accommodating to special requests, which is sometimes necessary for those of us who are not Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, or Man U fan. They have all the cable bells and whistles, so if the match is broadcast, or rebroadcast, they can probably show it. Check here for broadcast updates.
Marathon Taverna (1735 W Burnside) – Opens 7am every day. Full bar and a full, greasy, food menu. Cavernous place with TVs hanging from the walls and ceilings throughout. And they, like Kells, seem to have all the channels.
Any one out there have other suggestions?
How about places to catch Spanish, Italian, German, Dutch, or French soccer?
The renovated Bullpen (AKA The Cheerful Bullpen) will have 17 flat screens and promises to be a soccer-friendly venue that may open for morning matches. MLS nighttime matches have been enjoyed at the Triple Nickel for some time. And during the World Cup, Piazza Italia, the Rose and Thistle, the Moon and Sixpence, and a bakery in inner SE, the RedWing, were all good venues.
I don’t much enjoy visiting Kell’s or the Thirsty Lion, but they were reliable outlets too for those, and a lot of folks who are only casual footy fans tend to gravitate toward them.
Also, somebody opened a place on NW 21st that’s supposed to be footy-friendly: North 45. I havent heard a report.
RE Other Leagues: As long as a venue has the triple-threat of cable/dish-based soccer channels — Fox Soccer Channel, GOL TV, and Setanta — you can catch 2 levels of English football, some Italian, Spanish, French, German, Mexican, Argentine, Dutch, Scottish or Irish soccer (not to mention the other sports shown on Setanta). Watching *live* can be a problem because of the 8-9 hour time differences between here and Europe. But there has never been more variety of football on the old-skool tubes.
Timberbickle – Thanks for the tips. I watched the Euro Final at North 45; not a bad place. Belgiany. Not sure if they’ll be opening early for EPL though.
I’m not fond of the Thirsty Lion either, but Kells, in the morning, is pleasant enough. And they show everything and actually update their schedule regularly. It’s also been pleasant to watch them expand their weekend morning hours and menu, in response to customer soccer demand.
I’ll also keep an eye on the post-Kathy Bullpen . . . I’ll update this post as I get more suggestions. Thanks!
Wookie has set up a West Ham viewing at a pub on SE Hawthorne, the Tanker. (http://www.tankerpdx.com/). I believe this is the old Space Room that’s been refurbished, so I’m not sure what to expect, but I’ll be happy to report my findings. I’m not a fan of the Parched Kitty at all, but Kell’s is good enough and I’d be at the new BullPen all the time if they became a footy home. Oh, and Arthur at the Horse Brass is worth the early morning wakeup to watch footy.
Tanker is on 49th and Hawthorne, north side, just up the block from Bar of the Gods… and owned by the same peeps.
Triple Nickel was also very accommodating for the Euro matches this summer. They have a number of nice large TVs, good selection of taps and strong cheap drinks. They don’t open until 11am though, nor do they (at the moment) have FSC. I think they have GolTV.
Horse Brass is great for the nicotine-stained atmosphere, the great piles of food and the always charming Arthur (is it weird that I kind of miss when he was the only one there to wait tables? He’d come out just before halftime, and if you ordered anything other than “English” or “American” he’d start huffing and puffing and flicking his cigarette ashes in your face).
Marathon is owned by genuine footy fans and will usually show the morning games on the big ass screen in the front room; and there’s one TV that is always on Setanta (over by the kitchen so you can be startled every time that cook with the chessboard tattooed face comes out). They serve cheap breakfasts, but their water tastes like toxic diarrhea so I just stick to coffee and stuff that comes out of bottles.
Right now those are my three favorite spots to catch soccer in town, with honorable mention to the Timbers Army’s favorite pre-game spot The Bitter End Pub, which has FSC and is very willing to show soccer on their shiny new flat-screens.
I’ve always had a soft spot for The Bullpen Tavern, even with the shitty little TVs, surly hobos and that weird funk you get on your clothes after hanging out there. They got FSC on their cable package just to accommodate the Timbers Army, so I go in there anyway from time to time to catch an MLS game (in addition to being there on Timbers gamedays, natch). With the Cheerful Empire moving in, making the changes Bickle enumerated above, it could vault to my #1 preferred venue to watch soccer. I’m going to miss the fry-o-lator, though…
Zack’s Shack hot dog place on Hawthorne has GolTV and cheap PBR tallboys. The food is overpriced.
Kell’s sucks. Thirsty Lion sucks worse. But I have watched matches at both places, and will again in a pinch (TL always has a daily $3 pint, and Kell’s has…a big bar? Honestly I dislike both places very much). I’ve only been to Costello’s once but it doesn’t seem at all like a place I would frequent for football viewing. I seem to remember the City Sports Bar bleating something about wanting to attract soccer fans; and the TA has used the place at least once as a venue to *listen* to a Timbers away match on the internet. But almost every time I’m in there I leave with a bad taste in my mouth: shitty downtown service. McFadden’s also shows soccer (watched a USL final there once, and a few world cup matches), but is also a shithole to be avoided a la The City, Thirsty Lion etc.
It would be great if there were an inner eastside beer bar that showed soccer, like Green Dragon or Lucky Lab (both pubs are adorned with Timbers Army scarves and seem like the kinds of places I could foresee showing soccer, if only for the Euro-hipness-cred it would garner; and the Lucky Lab does wheel out the big-screen for Tour de France every year). Roots brewpub has a Trinidad & Tobago soccer scarf hanging over their lone (very nice) flatscreen TV, but I’m not sure if they show soccer or not.
And Dave, if you are a Sunderland fan as the badge seems to suggest, I could use some support on Saturday – going to Horse Brass for the game (9:30am) and so far it looks like I’ll be surrounded my Liverpool fan friends (who are all great guys in all other respects).
Kip, gastronaut, Lucas – I will up be updating either this post, or putting together a new one with your suggestions (properly credited of course!) – thanks!
calimero jackacid on talk timbers is saying HorseBrass might not be doing BPL mornings anymore. any truth to this?
gastronaut – I saw that too . . . I guess we’ll see this weekend. The website still says they “will start showing games again next season” but they haven’t updated the soccer page in a long time . . .
Dave…your commenters are going to put your out of business!
Strong work Dave, and all of you for commenting. This is a great directory. I’d like to add Por Que No on Mississippi to the list. It’s a great place to watch soccer on their little TV and get authentic mexican food (the best in town since the unfortunate demise of Taqueria Nueve). Cozy up with a Tecate and you’re good to go!
Found another place . . . this one for Serie A, Italian Soccer:
Caffe Umbria‘s event page says they show Seria A soccer ever Saturday morning at 1130am and Sunday at 7 and 11:30am.
I’ve worked with the folks at CBP to open early on some Sunday mornings for big matches, and it’s turned out rather well. The Hammers – Sunderland match a few weeks ago, we had over 25 folks there. Next match there would be Chelsea – Hammers this Sunday at 8 AM.
-K
Piazza Italia shows Seria A matches, though they don’t open until noon. It’s in the Pearl on NW Johnson between 11th and 12th: http://www.piazzaportland.com/
Cha Cha Cha in the pearl has Fox Soccer Espanol on pretty much all the time
I’ve watched a lot of games at the Thirsty Lion… it’s always a little bit of a downer, but if you get the barkeep on your side you’ll have a good enough time. Just be sure there isn’t a michigan college american football game on… in that case you’re screwed. To their credit: breakfast is pretty damn good here.
For all those important Everton matches I end up calling the thirsty lion, confirming that they’ll record it and show it at 11am when they open…. So, I’ve got to be grateful for that, too.
Beulaland? yes. right? They have some soccer stuff on their homepage events list: http://beulahlandpdx.com/
Anyone up for going to the Marathon bar for the Manchester United Newcastle Match Monday 16th of August its a 8PM kick off I think thats 12 noon here in Portland. I’m a mag so if you want to come and take the urine then feel free…
Try the 442 on Hawthorne (11am-11pm) for a real soccer bar and food from Bosnia/med! Daily soccer sked on the wall! And beers!
Blitz Ladd on SE 11th ave has all soccer games on 30 tvs and 3 projectors!!!