Portland has the best tiki bar in America

Portland’s tiki treasure, Hale Pele, is once again getting the national accolades it so deserves. And this time, it’s number one.

On Tuesday, Nightclub and Bar Media group named Hale Pele their 2019 Tiki Bar of the Year. Nightclub and Bar Media Group announced Tuesday.

Portlanders, however, have long known about the greatness that hides in a little strip of businesses on Northeast Broadway.

In 2014, The Oregonian/OregonLive named Hale Pale one of the 10 best cocktail bars in Portland and in October of 2018, The Oregonian/OregonLive named their non-alcoholic drinks the best in the city.

So what makes this tiny Portland tiki bar so great? It’s a totally transporting experience, a vacation off of the most normal or normal Portland streets. Inside, it’s darkly lit. Smoke from a “volcano” filters through the air and the occasional “rainstorm” completes the tropical mood.

Then, of course, you get a drink. “The masterly touch behind the bar ensures balanced, luscious sips,” Oregonian/OregonLive food critic Michael Russell wrote in 2014. “Doing tiki right is a difficult task. Hale Pele makes it look easy.”