World Cup 2014: Early Boots (updated)

Balls and Brews for Breakfast: The World Cup 2014 in Portland

Intro | World Cup Scouting Report | Bars and Cafes to Watch Matches

Portland Soccer Stats | World Cup Crossword

21st Avenue World Cup Beer Garden

625 NW 21st Ave., 202-744-1496, facebook.com/worldcupbeergarden. 8:30 am-9 pm daily.

Go for: Breakfast sandwiches with beer and bros.

When it opened in 2011, the renovated Timbers stadium caused a sea change on once-grizzled Northwest 21st Avenue (see "The Douchification of Northwest 21st Avenue," WW, April 11, 2012). Mostly, the drunk-dense strip just off Burnside Street has become a place for bros and the ladybros who love them. But now, all that soccer-centric drinking culture actually seems kinda cool, thanks to this pop-up beer garden in the former Gypsy bar parking lot. Every World Cup game will be screened live, with replays and highlights airing at night. Stop by early to get a Sriracha Mix-a-Lot or Yolko Ono from the Fried Egg I'm in Love cart and a cup of joe from Sterling. Later, look for fish and chips from Bus Stop Cafe (in an actual bus) and local beer. There's free Wi-Fi all day, which means you could pretty much make this your office for two weeks.

4-4-2 Soccer Bar

1739 SE Hawthorne Blvd., 238-3693, 442soccerbar.com. Open for early games.

Go for: Bosnia and Herzegovina, little sausages, European lagers.

You want the Bosnian soccer experience? You come here and order a big plate of cevapi with a Karlovacko beer imported from Croatia. (Warning: This beer is expensive and not delicious after its ocean journey—so also consider the Nice Lady pale ale, brewed for the bar by Lompoc.) The staff at this bar, which shows pretty much every soccer match of some import, are Bosnian and Croatian, and their moods vary depending on the quality of play on display. This being the World Cup, they're likely to be in good spirits.

Bazi Bierbrasserie

1522 SE 32nd Ave., 234-8888, bazipdx.com. Open early for must-watch games, otherwise at 3 pm.

Go for: Belgian beer, Belgian frites, Belgian soccer.

For a well-curated selection of top-notch games, head to Bazi. The bar's soccer-loving management held a meeting to determine which games to show. Bazi is an official American Outlaws supporter bar, so they'll show the U.S. team's group along with Belgium, Brazil and England. Belgophiles know Bazi, though it's slightly hidden off Hawthorne Boulevard, as Portland's foremost bastion of Trappist ales, stoemp and frites. But you'll also find a few Northwest IPAs on tap, not to mention beer cocktails and genever cocktails with "sexy cubes," as well as a very pleasant chutney burger with bacon, peanut butter and onion marmalade.

118 NE 28th Ave., 235-2794, beulahlandpdx.com. Open at 9 am daily.

Go for: England games and English muffins.

This beloved old-school Swiss Army knife of a coffee shop/bar/living room/indie jukebox will show every World Cup game on two screens. A longtime outpost for Anglophiles and Timbers fans, the Northeast 28th Avenue mainstay fills its entire southside room with chairs at game time, pulling down a massive HD projection screen. God forbid you should have to use the restroom at such times. And if you avail yourself of those $2 cans of Old German or the stiff well pours, you probably will.

The Bitter End

1981 W Burnside St., 432-8326, bitterendpdx.com. Open for early games.

Go for: Oysters and IPAs.

The reopened Bitter End is a pleasant theme-park version of a Portland soccer pub: The softwood bar's underside is wrapped in corrugated aluminum, the walls are tiled with fake woodpiles and flat-screen TVs, and the space between the restrooms contains a faux wall of player lockers. Meanwhile, more than 20 beer taps crowd the space behind the bar, with an extremely strong preference for IPAs, lagers and Pilsners. Owner Dwayne Beliakoff has also initiated a raw-oyster bar and fancy hamburgers on puffy buns. Breakfast will be served.

Blitz Ladd

2239 SE 11th Ave., 236-3592, blitzladd.com. Open for early games.

Go for: Mimosas; the many televisions; Honduras games with their fans, who've adopted the place.

Football (the American version) fans know Blitz as a great place to get a drink at 10 am. If you try that during the World Cup, you'll be an hour late. The bar will be showing every game, offering food and drink specials and serving breakfast with $2 mimosas. The Pearl District location will also be open for every game.

THE BITTER END

The Blue Room at Cartlandia

8145 SE 82nd Ave., 358-7873, cartlandia.com. Open for early games.

Go for: Food-cart fare, a framed Pelé autograph.

The bar at this 82nd Avenue food-cart pod will show every World Cup game on five TVs ranging up to 70 inches. It will serve biscuits and gravy and breakfast burritos in the early hours when carts aren't open, and offer $4 craft-beer specials. The bar also has something of a sports shrine, including a framed autographed by Pelé and a picture signed by every member of the original 1975 Portland Timbers.

Caffe Umbria

303 NW 12th Ave., 241-5300, caffeumbria.com. Open at 7 am daily.

Go for: Forza Italia and dark roast coffee.

Seattle-transplant coffee roaster Caffe Umbria's Pearl District cafe has been somewhere between genteel and sterile through most of its existence, a composition in taupe. But on weekends, it's home to avid calcio fans who'd rather amp up on coffee than beer while watching Italian league games, with a screen framed into a brick wall like a fireplace into a hearth. As in previous years, it should be a hotbed for Italy games.

The Cheerful Bullpen

1730 SW Taylor St., 222-3063, cheerfulbullpen.com. Open at 8 am for early games.

Go for: America, y'all.

Sister to Portland State hangout the Cheerful Tortoise, this sports bar's cozy couch nook has become a kind of Goose Hollow rec room for football fans. If you favor the other sport by that name, however, now is the time to colonize and consume various food and drink specials, including all-you-can-eat penne pasta on Saturdays and $5 bloody marys on Sundays. While all World Cup matches will be aired at the Cheerful Bullpen, this venue will especially heat up during official watch parties for the U.S. organized by American Outlaws Portland.

THE BLUE ROOM AT CARTLANDIA

The Cheerful Tortoise

1939 SW 6th Ave., 224-3377, cheerfultortoise.com. Open at 7 am weekdays, 9 am weekends.

Go for: College kids celebrating their first drunken World Cup.

This low-rent PSU watering hole boasts 41 TVs by our count. Karaoke-singing students and keno-obsessed construction workers bump elbows over giant chili dogs and pitchers of Bud. The stalwart sports bar will open before the games begin, show everything, and offer food and drink specials.

Costello's Travel Caffe

2222 NE Broadway, 287-0270, costellostravelcaffe.com. Open for breakfast at 7 am, staying open late for games.

Go for: A worldly crowd favoring Brazil, Spain and Argentina.

Costello's is a favorite of the expat community, and has been busy during the last two World Cups. Look for a European breakfast platter.

Horse Brass

4534 SE Belmont St., 232-2202, horsebrass.com. Open for early games.

Go for: Bangers, Brits, beer.

The beer-centric British pub will serve a full English breakfast to kick off early game days. All games will be shown live, and take note: There are more draft taps at Horse Brass than there are teams in the World Cup. You could down one for each and still have more drinking to do.

The Fields

1139 NW 11th Ave., 841-6601, thefieldspdx.com. Open at 9 am daily.

Go for: Soccer brunch.

This spanking-new, swanky sports bar bar in the old Metrovino space is taking soccer brunch extremely seriously, opening at 9 am and showing every World Cup game served up with Belgian waffles, salmon eggs benedict, Jack Daniels soaked Kalua pig wrapped up in pancakes and eggy poutine, all at pretty reasonable prices. Hoo!

COSTELLO’S TRAVEL CAFE

Kells

112 SW 2nd Ave., 227-4057, kellsirishportland.com. Open for early games.

Go for: Orange-clad Dutch fans, themed food, victory cigars.

Ireland isn't in the field this time, which makes this bar neutral turf. Though a packed house is pretty much guaranteed for any game, it'll be especially lively when the Dutch Society paints the place orange for the Netherlands' games, and a travel agent will bring in a huge crowd for Ghana vs. Germany on June 21. Kells does traditional European breakfast—now's the time to develop a taste for rashers, grilled soda bread and roasted tomatoes—but they'll have special food items for every country's games and will auction off each team's jersey. Plus, you can smoke a victory cigar downstairs. The brewpub on Northwest 21st Avenue will also be open early every day.

Lompoc 5th Quadrant

3901 N Williams Ave., 288-3996, lompocbrewing.com/fifth-quadrant. Open for early games.

Go for: Local beer and breakfast burritos.

This North Portland outpost of the Lompoc empire will be showing every game live, with breakfast burritos and bloody marys topping the menu for morning matches.

Mad Greek Deli

1740 E Burnside St., 232-0274, madgreekdeli.com. Open for early games.

Go for: Because you can't have too many gyros.

As an official Timbers pub, this Greek deli has built a sizable soccer following, and it's a good place to go if you're looking to follow the Hellenic team. Go for the messy, soak-through-the-paper gyro ($5.75).

BUS STOP CAFE AT WORLD CUP BEER GARDEN

Marathon Taverna

1735 W Burnside St., 224-1341, marathontaverna.com. Open at 7 am daily.

Go for: Cheap gyros and the Greek team's deliberately boring style of play.

Marathon will show every game. The dive bar's sprawling interior has a flat-screen TV within eyeshot of every seat, and a legion of waitresses keep the cheap food coming (infamous $4 gyros) and the booze flowing. Screaming is considered an acceptable form of communication.

The Moon and Sixpence

2014 NE 42nd Ave., 288-7802. Open for early games except June 14-15, 17 and 19.

Go for: An experience much like actual British people enjoy in their soccer pubs.

This dark and cozy pub will be wheeling out the projector for nearly every game. Cheer on the Brits with bangers and mash, and peruse the multipage beer menu.

OMSI

1945 SE Water Ave., 797-4000, omsi.edu. Open for early games. Free.

Go for: The four-story tall screen. Also, science!

OMSI will let you in free to watch every game, with science demonstrations at Theory eatery for some games, and a four-story-tall screen at the Empirical Theater for others. Note: 9 am games are all on the big screen. Woooo! Full schedule here.

Pacific Pie Co.

1668 NW 23rd Ave., 894-9482, pacificpie.com. Open early for Australia and U.S. games.

Go for: Australian meat pies and the total annihilation of Australia's team.

Sarah Curtis-Fawley and Aussie expat Chris Powell, who bake traditional pies ($6.50 each) fresh each morning, will show World Cup games every day at both Pacific Pie Co. locations. Die-hard U.S. and Aussie supporters should head to the Northwest 23rd Avenue location, which will open at 8 am for those squads' early games and to serve breakfast pies.

Piazza Italia

1129 NW Johnson St., 478-0619, piazzaportland.com. Open for early games.

Go for: The chance to learn Italian curse words.

Croissants and coffee will be served for all morning games. Stay all day—the restaurant is staying open—for a hearty Italian lunch and dinner.

River Pig Saloon

529 NW 13th Ave., 971-266-8897, riverpigsaloon.com. Open for early games.

Go for: Shit on a shingle, the chance to touch an elk for good luck.

This is the best spot in the Pearl District to watch the World Cup. The airy, hard-wooded museum of barroom slate, chainsaw and taxidermy will be showing all games on multiple TVs—including a massive flat-screen in the back—and will throw down breakfast sandwiches, eggs, bacon and pancakes for early matches.

Slim's

8635 N Lombard St., 286-3854, slimspdx.com. Open for early games.

Go for: Because you're in St. Johns and want to watch soccer without having to drive for 20 minutes.

Not only will Slim's show every game, but this St. Johns lounge will also offer special international beers paired with World Cup contenders.

St. Honoré

3333 SE Division St., 971-279-4433, sainthonorebakery.com. Open daily at 7 am.

Go for: France—until the bike race starts.

Francophiles descend on this bakery chain's three locations, which will serve buttery brioches during every game. The French squad's June 15 opener coincides with Sunday brunch and bottomless mimosas at the Division Street location. When the Tour de France begins July 5, St. Honoré will show cycling in the morning and soccer in the afternoon. 

Thirsty Lion

71 SW 2nd Ave., 222-2155, thirstylionpub.com. Open for early games.

Go for: Scotch eggs, Kung Pao chicken, panini, French dip sandwiches, burgers, fish tacos and IPA-battered fish and chips all under one roof.

Thirsty Lion Pub is part of a Western chain and one of the better places in Portland to drink a pint and watch a Black Shirts rugby match during afternoon happy hour. But it's also popular among Timbers fans, and come World Cup season, soccer fans of all stripes.

WWeek 2015