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Some places are like people. Some shine and some don’t. There’s nothing dull about Old Town’s Stephen King karaoke bar.
Hallway PDX pedals on nearly three years after its spring 2023 opening as the newest take on the space last known as Rebel Rebel, Black Book and Maxwell. With unbridled enthusiasm for The Shining—blood red lighting with memorabilia and stills plastered across an 11-by-87-foot box-slash-runway—Hallway PDX is basically how the Overlook Hotel’s ghosts would get down in Old Town. Sure, ghosts from the 1920s wouldn’t have heard of karaoke as we know it, but they’ve had some time to catch up.
The Shining references don’t stop at the décor. The drinks menu’s regular and rotating seasonal cocktails and shots are almost all named for film references. Redrum ($13) is an obvious staple with RedRum, lemon juice and lavender-infused syrup, topped off with an Amaretto float. Then there’s Room 237 ($14). Made with Reyka vodka, raspberry and orange liqueur flavor from Chambord and Gran Gala, simple syrup, and lime and cranberry juices, it’s a caretaker’s reward in a cup. Seasonal shots include the White Gummy Bear ($8), a combo of raspberry vodka, peach schnapps and Sprite. Since Hallway PDX has a one-drink minimum to access the karaoke list, the shots menu meets that requirement fast, and there are also such affordable classics as a Red Headed Slut ($9) and old faithful Jell-O shots ($3).
The Grady Girls ($13) is named in honor of the story’s murdered twins, who are projected on a wall across from the restrooms, which play the movie’s audio all night long (they really love The Shining around here). Frostier than the icicles on Jack’s face in a hedge maze, this tropical martini is a “dreamy” key lime concoction reminiscent of a creamsicle, with Pinnacle whipped cream vodka, white crème de cacao liqueur, pineapple and lime juices, and a whipped cream topping. This delightfully tart treat is served in a martini glass with an adorable skull-topped toothpick skewering two blood-red cherries. The flavors blend seamlessly beneath the layer of whipped cream to create a smooth and frothy dairy-based drink.
The karaoke scene at Hallway is its own vibe entirely. With a wait that can stretch as long as two hours on a busy Saturday night, your best bet to get on the mic is to arrive before 11 pm, or go on a slower weeknight during off-peak clubbing hours. The karaoke screens line up on walls directly across from booths that fill fast, but can hold small and large groups looking to test their talents any night of the week. With no room for a stage, the microphone is portable.
“The way it’s shaped makes it easy to meet people,” says Alada Porter, a patron who visits the corridor-shaped club every weekend. Dressed in an adorable pink pleather conductor’s hat with pastel flares to match, Ladle sang several vocally challenging classics ranging from Mariah Carey’s “Always Be My Baby” to SWV’s “Weak.” And she wasn’t the only one clearing ambitious goals.
Much like other karaoke joints in town, the people on the mic take their vocal talents very seriously (all work and no play, some might say). Everyone who sang during my visits seemed like experienced performers. There were very missed lyrics, sure, but if the right song came on, singers of all identities filled Hallway’s hallway to shake it up. A group of girls really got things going with their rendition of TLC’s “No Scrubs,” which every girl in the Portland vicinity seemed to sing with their entire chest. Hallway PDX’s coziness might not be for the claustrophobic, but it definitely is for the adventurous to come and play forever.
DRINK: Hallway PDX, 20 NW 3rd Ave., 612-220-6076, hallwaypdx.com. 9 pm–2:30 am Sunday–Tuesday, 6 pm–2:30 am Wednesday, 8 pm–2:30 am Thursday–Saturday.
