Horse Brass Pub

The Vibe

The Horse Brass Pub has anchored the corner of Belmont Street in Southeast Portland since 1976, making it one of the oldest and most storied pubs in the Pacific Northwest. The legend of its founding is pure Portland: owner Don Younger reportedly acquired the bar after a long night of drinking, waking up the next morning to find the bill of sale scrawled on a cocktail napkin in his shirt pocket. Under Younger's stewardship until his death in 2011, the Horse Brass became the spiritual home of Portland's craft beer revolution and a gathering place for football fans, dart throwers, and Anglophiles alike.

The Setup

Walking in feels like stepping into a genuine English pub. Dark wood, exposed beams, a giant Union Jack on the wall, and dense British signage cover every surface. A 1980 Willamette Week description captured it perfectly: "From the giant Union Jack on the wall to the poster of Lord Kitchener beckoning to the youth of Britain, this place seems English to the core." Screens show Premier League matches on weekends, and dartboards line the back wall -- the pub has fielded dart teams since its earliest days.

Match Day Experience

Horse Brass does not try to compete with Portland's dedicated soccer bars on volume of matches shown. What it offers instead is an authentically British context for watching football. Premier League weekends draw English expats and longtime regulars who have been watching matches here for decades. The atmosphere is more pub than sports bar -- conversation flows, pints are savored, and the football is part of the fabric rather than the sole focus. A soccer team called the Original Horse Brass Range was established here as early as 1977.

Food and Drink

The beer program is legendary. Younger was the first Portland publican to champion craft beer in the early 1980s, offering tap handles to pioneering breweries like Widmer, BridgePort, Deschutes, and Rogue before anyone else would. Today, approximately 50 beers rotate on tap. The menu features authentic British fare: steak and ale pie, Scotch eggs, fish and chips, bangers and mash, chicken pot pie, and shepherd's pie. The pub also stocks 25 to 30 varieties of English candy bars, a quirky touch that has endured for decades.

Who Goes There

The Horse Brass draws a fiercely loyal crowd. English expats who have been coming for 20-plus years, craft beer devotees who know the pub's role in Portland brewing history, dart league regulars, and soccer fans who prefer watching football in a real pub rather than a sports bar. Julia Silverman of Portland Monthly called it "perhaps the most authentic of Portland's British pubs" -- a title the regulars take seriously.

Insider Tips

The pub can get crowded during big Premier League matches, so arrive early for a table with a good screen view. The steak and ale pie is the menu standout. If you are a craft beer enthusiast, ask the bartenders about the pub's history -- many of them know the Don Younger stories firsthand. Street parking on Belmont is metered but generally manageable outside of weekend evenings.