Wednesday 24th of June 2009 11:35:58 AM

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This is all around a great pub and one of my favorites in the Portland area. The owner (Mick) is passionate about both whiskey and beer. He has the best collection of whiskey in the Northwest (over 200 bottles on shelf) and a great rotating tap list. He has 16 taps, about half of which rotate thru Northwest and California beers. The other taps are reserved for European beer (it is a Scottish pub after all). He also has three beer engines (even though only two have been in use recently). On a recent visit, he had Green Flash IPA, Hop Stoopid, and Leafer Madness on cask (for you hopheads). The owner is also a fan of unique beers, so there will frequently be an interesting bourban-aged stout or barleywine on tap. And if nothing is on tap that interests you, there's also a great selection of bottled beer. They also have special beer events there about once a month (although the owner does a horrible job of advertising them).

Atmosphere is great. The upstairs was formally a living quarters that has been opened up and turned into a bar. There's a couch and a couple tables with comfy chairs tucked away in corners. The downstairs is family friendly, although we don't find it nearly as cozy and the chairs are less comfortable. There's also a really nice deck, but smoking is allowed on the deck, so we rarely sit out there. -.25 from atmosphere for the smoking.

Some of the food is Scottish in origin; the rest is more typical pub food. The pasties are excellent! They hand pat their burgers and bread their fish for fish n' chips. The desserts (sticky toffee pudding and bread pudding) are also great. We have rarely been disappointed with the food. I would consider it to be one of the better pubs for food in the area.

Service is really the only area I knocked the place down. Not all of the servers are knowledgeable about beer. Even a couple servers that have been there for a while have yet to learn much, which just shows a lack of motivation in my mind. Especially when the owner and several servers are way into beer. If you go and James, Clay or the owner are around, they know their stuff. Nothing like walking into a place and almost immediately having a taste of a new IPA on tap in your hands without asking.