Wayfinder Has Podnah’s Meat, Chuckanut Beer and a Big Ol’ Patio

Get the nachos.

(Emily Joan Greene)

304 SE 2nd Ave., 503-718-2337, wayfinder.beer. 11 am-10 pm Sunday-Wednesday, 11 am-midnight Thursday-Saturday.

Established: Oct. 1, 2016 (at 11 am)

This shiny new Produce Row brewpub with an expansive front deck comes from a team that includes Charlie Devereux, formerly of Double Mountain, plus Rodney Muirhead, whose Podnah's Pit rose from a humble cart to become our Restaurant of the Year back in 2011. Wayfinder has some very good food, great cocktails and very good collaboration beers. It does not yet have its own beer—brewmaster Kevin Davey has been collaborating all over town while waiting for his own system to be installed. We still haven't had a purebred Pilsner from Davey, whose impressive résumé includes a stop at Chuckanut, the standout lagerhaus in Bellingham, Wash. But the collabs he's done so far are impressive—especially a cloudy Bernie Bro IPA made with Zoiglhaus and a hoppy Pils made with Gigantic, plus a lemony, juicy IPL brewed at Fat Head's that amounts to a rounder, chewier IPA.

(Emily Joan Greene)

Though the beers have been brewed all over the city, few have been duds. And working the big, woody bar you'll find local institution Jacob Grier, who literally wrote the book on beer cocktails, something almost no other brewery has explored with such success—his Trigger Warning ($11), which combines cloudy IPA with lime, cilantro-habanero syrup and barrel-aged cachaça, is terrific. Combine that with some of the city's best nachos (see sidebar, right) and a killer sausage platter ($17), and things are looking good. 

Bar story: In April 2016, The Portland Mercury reported Wayfinder was "a few weeks from opening." In April 2017, Wayfinder had yet to brew a beer on its own system. Managing owner Charlie Devereaux remains very affable about this.

Drank: Bar Guide 2017

Welcome to Bar Guide 2017 | Where To Find a Copy of Bar Guide 2017

The 100 Best Bars in Portland | How We Selected Them

Bar of the Year 2017: Bar Casa Vale

2. Century | 3. The Know | 4. Lombard House | 5. The Old Portland

Portland's Party Patios, Porches and Rooftops | Scumbag Breakfasts, Ranked

$6-and-Under Happy Hour Burgers | Portland's Finest Restaurant Bars | Late-Night Happy Hours | $1 Oyster Happy Hour Deals | Best Bar Pizzas | Dope Discount Nachos | Fancy Jell-O Shots | Tapas

Where to Play Shuffleboard | Pinball | Pool Halls

Willamette Week’s reporting has concrete impacts that change laws, force action from civic leaders, and drive compromised politicians from public office. Support WW's journalism today.