Acme is a kick-ass bar with kick-ass staff. The blonde woman bartender is hot and cool as shit. The drinks are strong and not expensive, and the food is good. Not a lot of attitude, just a good place to hang out.

This place kicks ass now that is changing over. Kick ass menu, better service and cool people.

I heard that The Acme was just bought by a couple of portland punk icons. Is this True? If so it could be a step in the right direction!

Rex

Do they or don't they cuz I can't access their website the last 2 days. I really hate this bar but a friends band is supposed to be playing there so I am checking...Hmmm maybe I can weasel out of this show :)

Some tips I learned from making ACME a better drinking establishment next time around:

- Next time, ask for vodka in my greyhound - Don't order the quesada - Accept the idea that picking up your food, cafeteria style, as opposed to having it delivered to you is a hip concept. Said concepts make you fit in. Fitting in with this crowd = super important. - Skip ACME entirely and go to any number of places in the area with better service (B Side), food that has taste (Slowbar) and drinks with liquor in them (MFP).

ps – (to be fair they had a nice patio)

This former sports bar has nicely turned into quite the interesting little ditty.Wood walls,cozy booths,and a good pour.Props to Mel (the manager)for really pushin to get this place up and hoppin.DJ Thumper puts it down on his 80's sets on friday nights and the new configuration of the inside is tight,complete w/ dancefloor and minimalistic lighting.The tent out back is interesting,but completely serves it's purpose for live music.Only bad in my book is the no smoking innside,but hey what the hell,sometimes you gotta take the good and the bad.Overall Dope spot.

Who the fugg wants to stand in a tent for live music? did anyone at Acme notice it's cold as siberia?

I've been to Acme quite a few times as it's part of my local circuit of bars, and I have to wonder where all this "only DJ's" BS is coming from. WW obviously wanted people to think this, but there's alot to be said for actually ASKING the people WHO WORK THERE what the deal is. Apparently, all the patio space is being created for bigger live shows, while the interior is being set up ease of DJ use (I asked the bar manager).

The bartenders have an amazing memory for faces, the food is solid (best goddamn fries in the gaddamn city), and the shows range from rock to puppet shows to queer variety shows to bicycle rodeos to DJ dance-a-thons to...well, it varies like crazy.

Good: The food is tasty and economical! Slaw and pork sandwich was off the chain. The decor and interior in general is super chill. Bad: No more live music. Need I say more? Obviously paying a DJ $8 an hour is much easier than dealing bookers, bands and the like. Ugh!

ahh the place sold out...not much live music anymore..just DJ's..used to be a good place for Pdx bands...oh well

Apparently they lock the front doors at some point in the evening. Two instances that I have heard of in the past couple weeks, once when I went last night, and another time when my housemate went a week prior, where after coming in the front door, we tried to leave through the front door, but it was dead bolted. We asked at the coat check how we were supposed to get out, they said out the back. After wading through people to get to the back patio and then upon trying to find the entrance on the back patio, we had no idea where the exit was, no signs or anything. We eventually asked someone to let us out. This all seems counter-intuitive to me. To lock the front door, and to make it really hard for people to leave as well as enter. When we left there was a guy looking to get in, and the lady who let us out was 'polite' enough to tell him the entrance was around back. Other than being locked in, I really enjoyed the recently renovated Acme. Great space, well mainted level of volume on the music, decent drinks, and nice booths to sit and chat.

went to Acme for the first time since they opened for the Oddball party because my brother was one of the DJs. the BTs were nice enuff and the food was actually pretty decent. i was told by a friend at the party that goes more often that some of the staff can be pricks though (and normally he refuses to go there)

i enjoyed my weeknight rendevous at acme. the drinks were tasty and the staff EXTREMELY attentive. the bartender even gave my cohort an upgrade on her wine, just because. pretty patio, pretty (AND clean) bathrooms, pretty friggin awesome.

i went there tonight for the first time in a few months.. the place has cleaned up well and has such a rad patio.. the drinks are good, the beer prices are awesome but wow..i think someone needs to give the people workin some xanex.. they are so grumpy and curt for no reason. the crappy attitude they have will kill there business. i will never go back.

Have often had such experiences at Acme. I guess the pervading theme among the bartenders seems to be--"people are going to come here regardless of the service, so why bother being remotely personable." I've heard the waitstaff is better though. Such treatment fine by me--just as long as bartender in question has no expectation of a tip. However, doubt that's the case..

I understand having a bad day and reacting to it by being a dick. However, there is one bartender at Acme that is notorious for his foul mood and sour behaviour, to the point of throwing the check and change at a costumer and then furiously smashing a glass behind the bar. No matter how busy or slow the night is, no matter if you are nice or not to him, if you tip him well or not at all, he will react the same way: like a total ass! So, there is no excuse for his moodiness and asperity. The rest of the crew are very nice and attentive, but this chubbster with his insipid demeanor and swaggering conduct make ordering drinks a dreaded task. My advice to this wanker is a radical career change and the relaxation and dilation of the anus.

I don't know what they've done with the place, but it works. Acme used feel empty no matter how packed the place was, but in the last few months the place has gotten awesome. I love the bar for leanin' that seems to be at just the right height. A little more lighting might be good, but really the folks at acme are doing a bangup job. Also, some of the nicest, most hilarious service I've ever had.

I went unknowingly, on a night they call IT Night, which is actually local sketch comedy troupes and short film makers show their stuff. A group called Homeless Corner gave out these ziplock baggies with candy bars that looked like poop celebrating "national poop day" was bizarre. then they showed their sketch. HILARIOUS! If you brave the ACME's service on the last tuesday of the month, catch their sketch. Hopefully what i saw that night is an indicator of their talent. Will come back!

Fairly clean air, good internet connections..

Drinks are pretty expensive as 1 house well and a martini netted $11.50. Pretty expensive for a joint on the east side.

Love their wine selection. Have always gone with the intention of trying their food, but everytime it smells like vomit in there. I don't know if they use a dirty mop, if the wood on their bar is rotting or if people just vomit there on a regular basis but it is not appetizing to say the least.

Played a show at Acme, worked well with a minimalist aproach. I would love to take part in a brainstorm to use lighting to generate ambiance and showcase the bar and stage a bit more. Hope to play there again

The drinks were good the place is hip...BUt the service is crap! I was treated rudely and ignored. Get some new help and I will be a money spending fool for Acme.

This was the first place my friends took me to when I got out to Portland to visit for the first time. I'm a dive bar kind of chick as it is... but this place made me feel right at home. It was a very NY feel but with a bizarre mix of friendliness and great chili. Thumbs up to Acme! V

The Visual Revolution Art Collective had one helluva show at Acme. Giant video screen with strange clips hung behind a guy switching off from guitar to drums with a beat machine the whole time. Crazy stuff. Painting, music, more music I will be back here, especially when those guys are having a show.

I like this place. It is kind of dark, but comfortable and cozy. The drinks are good, the food is great. I saw a few musical/artistic acts here. Nothing jaw-dropping, but nothing bad. There was some innovative stuff - Bjork-like poetic crooning over a simple synth bass. An art group is having a fundraiser here on Nov 3rd with some music and performance art. Acme is definitely worth checking out.

I've been to this bar more than a few times, and I think it's really comfortable. All the staff I've encountered have been helpful, friendly and down-to-earth. Some of their specialty drinks are deadly strong and affordable. I'm talking about the James Joyce, which is some kind of pink, lime-y Jameson concoction. All the food I've had - which has all been veggie - has been exceptional & a little inventive for a bar, which Acme is. I especially love those smoked tomatoes. Acme could use some more rock shows, but on the whole it is an easy place to put a few away.

Well, the place isn't that bad... but its not that good.

It has bands and art festivals. And well, that's pretty cool. It has some lovely salads, and a nice presentation of the menu on old time life books anyone in their 30's remembers. The fries are too good. If your concerned about your blood chemistry, or the bulge that seems to be growing from the $1 pint specials, I'd stay away from the fries. Really. The wait staff varies from attentive to bashful. The drinks are almost universally week. The beer selection is week, but what they have to offer is good. Spacious patio = adjacent parking lot with benches.