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Categories: Lounges, Restaurants [Edit]
Neighborhoods: St. Johns, North Portland
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The BF and I hit this place up a coulpe of weeks ago and it was a great night! Love the grilled sammys and had about a million cosmos after so my memory of the evening ends there! But I will be back!
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I'm a steady regular and have been enjoying the quaint patio all summer! The jukebox is packed with sweet tunes and the recently started serving liquor ... how can you go wrong?! Also, the adopted "bar kitty" is a great addition! Meow!
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11/02/2007
By far my favorite place to have a glass of wine in St. John's. Recommend the turkey sandwich and… Read more »
Love my bar.
This is a pleasant neighborhood bar, fairly new, and run by a couple with often minimal staffing. I feel like the negative reviewers just don't get it, and being that I stick up for what I love, will explain. Maybe some of the food is a better deal than others, but it is over all comparable to, or better than other places in price, and much better in quality. It's a nice BAR. It's not where you go to be fawned over or or eat a fancy meal. It's a place to hang out and mingle with the locals, without the usual St Johns dive bar element. And yes, there is a cat , which is a lovely thing at a neighborhood bar, and who is normally confined to the patio and never anywhere near the kitchen. Self serve water isn't a rarity in Portland bars. Methinks, to the negative reviewers, perhaps Leisure just wasn't what you were looking for. For me...it's perfect.
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I definitely enjoyed my time at Leisure =) The service was very friendly and laid back. (They even offered water, so whomever complained before, you'll be glad to know they read Yelp it seems ;)). The atmosphere was a bit sparse, but that also meant everyone had plenty of space between them. Smoking was allowed out on the patio so it was good to have some distance available.
I was a bit shocked. Folks said it had a good wine selection and I 'only' found 8 though it ran the gambit. The hummus was nice and spicy, but the vegetables it was served with gained some extra points... they seemed to be bought from the local farmer's market they were so fresh.
I wonder if the planters on the patio are replaced with burning pits in the winter. If not, might be a great idea =)
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I like Leisure Pub whenever I go to St. Johns. I don't make special trips to go here but my friend who lives in St. Johns takes us to Leisure almost every time we're up there.
It's a good place. Good selection of beer and wine. Decent prices.
Food is pretty good, a selection of paninis, salads and soup.
I normally am not a huge panini fan but I do like their Caprese sandwich, with pesto dressing. Yum!
Also, you can order $2.50 bruschetta, choose a topping. It's a small but good quick appetizer.
The bartender is always a little spacey (loses a star, she asked my fiance for his ID after he had two beers....huh?) and you have to order at the bar. I think they should probably start having a waiter to serve the table area because sometimes it takes a while to get your order in.
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"I am quite at my leisure." -- Mr. Bennet, Pride & Prejudice
I was too. And I am quite sure there is no better way to spend a lazy Sunday afternoon than sipping a bourbon ginger, playing bocce til sunset, and closing the night down with a movie played on the back wall, all in good company.
I may have to spend all my Sundays this way.
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Super fun trivia nights on Tuesdays starting at 7:30PM with a wide variety of topics (my favorite is Seinfield).
The place is comfortable and the patio is great on sunny/warm days. Lots of places to sit and it feels like you're in a friends back yard.
Great bar to hang out in!
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This place is not your typical St. John's bar and that is a good thing! The bartender/owner is always friendly and quite helpful. The outdoor patio is amazing as well as the well stocked jukebox full of songs that I love. The last time I was there they were only serving beer and wine, which could be a downfall for some people. They also keep a bunch of boardgames around for when you are feeling up to a game of Scrabble with your drunken friends.
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I love Leisure. Laid back environment...great jukebox selections too.
Good service and even the patrons are friendly; I usually end up chatting with someone almost everytime we go.
The paninis aren't too filling and are quite tasty.
A perfect place to come spend a sunny afternoon with friends!
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I went back to Leisure about a month ago and it was busy and there was only one person waiting/bar tending and the service was great! Not sure why the waitress on the first night I was there was totally lacking, since it was not busy at all. I will go back to enjoy their patio area and order a drink/beer. Hopefully they will continue to grow and become a great N. Portland hang out.
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07/08/2008
I went to leisure with high expectations and I am sorely disappointed. I read all the great reviews… Read more »
Finally got around to checking this place out. It is a cool space. Plenty of beer. We had sake...although was not the best choice.
The pressed sandwiches are really great. I had the prosciutto and the Apple Bacon. Both served with chips. Was really great.
Update on 6/12: Have been back multiple times and I still love it. Bocci ball in the back..ping pong. Try the cheese plate and a beer....its great. Especially as the weather gets better.
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I LOVE Leisure Public House. They have a nice beer & wine selection and the best panini sandwiches. The atmosphere is very warm and inviting.
This is my favorite place to take friends that are visiting from other parts of Portland.
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nothing to compare Leisure to in NoPo - it's awesome. Travis and Nicole have brought a fun, smoke-free, laid-back place to St John's, and it's the only bar up here i go to.
happy there is a full bar now, but even before, the beer and wine selections have been good - even when the IPA isn't your favorite :). small but tasty menu especially the "build your own" bruschetta.
waiting for better weather to sit out back, play ping pong, and introduce more friends to it. and hang out with the back porch bar cat, Masha.
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Really really great addition to St Johns. We were desperately lacking another non-smoking local place to go besides McMens.
owners are super friendly
great outdoor patio
enjoy the paninis
good wine
beautiful bar
My fave part, which I just noticed the last time I was there, they installed bike racks outside. Thanks so much!
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I liked the ambiance of the patio. The appetizer was REALLY skimpy. The sandwiches were good but not amazing for the price. The food menu in general is very minimal and lacking variety.
The service was spacey and we were told to order at the bar, then waited on, then told towards the end of our meal to get our own water. All of this would be pretty normal (for Portland) though it was a Saturday night and the place was dead so it didn't seem like water was too much to ask.
I will try it again but I will NOT go hungry and might even eat elsewhere and come here for a beer on the patio.
Is the cat running through the restaurant a health code violation?
7/15/08- So I returned to Leisure and the menu was still limited but the service this time was great. We didn't bother with the appetizer this time. I'm adding a star for our polite male server on Sunday night. that being said if i return and the female server we had the first time is working, I may keep going down the road.
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Good wine, good panini, nice people. I will definitely go back here. Fun place to hang out, and the cat is pretty cute, too.
Looking forward to spending summer afternoons on that cool patio. That is, if summer ever gets here....
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A very nice, welcoming place to hang out. In fact, this is pretty much the only place you can go in St. Johns to get a drink without getting oggled at by the citizens who refer to themselves as "locals" or "old timers". Note that this comment is coming from someone who has lived in St. Johns for two years now.
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Awesome new place in St. Johns--love the back patio area, complete with bocce ball court! Plan to go here a ton in the summers.
Highly recommended and a gem in St. Johns. Go here!
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Food: decent (small-ish paninis with potato chips, but ingredients are local and organic, etc.);
beer & wine selections: decent;
patio: nice (lovely plant beds, corrugated steel, etc.);
indoor seating: nice (cool cedar bar!);
juke: meh;
but they not only have pingpong, but an excellent gravel bocce court!!!
Cute local hubby-and-wife run the thing too.
If I could change one thing, I would have them turn off the TV playing sports above the bar. I know this is St. Johns, but really?
Edited 3/14/08: Ok, this has become one of my favorite bars ever. The owners are AWESOME, the jukebox has pretty much become my favorite jukebox in town (next to Crow Bar), and Trivia is fun, even if we don't always agree with the Trivia Master's answers ;) Plus...they keep the sound on the TV off when it's busy...so I can live with it. :)
Coming soon: FULL BAR!!!!!
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Simplicity does wonders to a locals hangout and Leisure Public House has done a fantastic job.
Not trying to be something it's not, but does a wonderful job of doing what it does! Beers, Wine and Panini's.
We have been here a few times and it's never overly crowded and service at the bar is prompt and courteous.
The custom concrete/wood bar adds a piece of unique interior design and the mixed arrangements of church pews and your mom's old dinning room tables makes a honest and warm place to hang out.
No smoking and the jukebox has just enough of everything to satisfy your musical whims!
Tuesday night from 7.30pm-9pm is trivia night, so bring your team to steal the win (Go Team New in Town!)
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