Skip to main contentTwo months ago, the sizeable space last home to Rock's on the corner of Northeast 20th Avenue and Alberta Street became The Hilt (1934 NE Alberta St., 971-255-1793). Unlike the previous tenant, the Hilt is not a sports bar; nor is it a pretentious hole-in-the-wall for creative types. It's not glamorous and certainly not quirky. You won't find 20 beers on tap or a single flat-screen TV playing college football overhead. Instead, you'll find an unadorned bar with a moderately priced Mediterranean menu (entrees top out at $9) and a respectable drink list served by an authentically good-natured staff. Happy hour is held every day (4 to 7 pm), when all well and tap drinks, as well as appetizers, are reduced by a buck. Now, a buck may not seem like much, but it adds up, dropping a pint of Rainier to $1.50 and a massive appetizer combo (tzatziki, kalamata olives, calamari, pita) to $6. Did I mention that everything is made in-house, from scratch? As inadvisable as it may be to open a new pub in a city already littered with them, the Hilt still manages to be worth your pennies (and to succeed without a hint of irony).
WWeek 2015