When I first patronized this establishment a few years back, it was more the latter than the former. But the years seem to have improved the attitude of those that flock to this "So dark I can't see my own fucking feet" hideaway.

Booths on either side are nice and roomy and make for quite excellent people watching. And now you won't get any ice pick stares back if you're caught!

Of course, the attitude of the bar staff was never a problem. They've always been cool to all comers (I think it's cause they want your money) and they come up with some pretty outstanding drink specials. There's usually at least one thing on the board that gives you pause before you go back to your typical libation of choice.

But the real star of this show is the back patio. It's open, comfortable and makes you feel just a little bit like you've got your own drunk Shangri-la in the midst of the hubbub of Barmuda. That and you can smoke out there....ya know....if that's your thing. Better in the summer, but still fun in the winter if you aren't a pansy. (And they have heat lamps, so you shouldn't freeze to death.)

I'm more a dive bar kinda guy you might say. So I guess I gravitate a bit more towards Sewickly or Space Room. But that's not to say BOG isn't a great place in it's own right.

There's also pinball and a meh pool table, but no one there seems to care about all that. It's more about the drinkin' and chattin'. It's not about the "scene" like it used to be. And BOG is all the better for it.

4 pinball s patio good place before the show or after. 4 HOUR HAPPY HOUR!!!! 4 till 8.

Great staff, wish the back patio was still open-air but the place is still one of the three joints nearby you got to blow money at. I've met nice people there.

Let's face it.. alcohol and nicotine go together like peanut butter and jelly so i'm lovin the heated smoking patio.. the veggie sandwiches are super yummy too.

I like the BOG, great booths to relax with friends, pretty good crowd. Whatever you do, don't ask for a Red Bull, my friends and I had been wine tasting all day and needed a "pick me up" and when we asked the bartender, he was almost offended and suggest we go across the street to the Space Room....We spent a lot of money here this particular evening and I think his attitude was uncalled for. Other then that, fun place!

BOG looks intriguing from the outside, all black with a very Greecian entryway with the subtle "BOG" in Greek letters. The staff was awesome, drinks were great and crowding was minimal on a Saturday night..it was a very fun bar. Could use a couple more pool tables, though.

I keed, i keed. I truly love dig this place. It's still too smoky, and the 20-something, self-absorbed hipsters can be either a laugh a minute or reason to shake your head in dismay. But the drinky-poos are strong, the staff is stellar (Kip, Cal and Jordan in particular....perhaps the "gods" in bar of the gods?) It's a nice, eclectic crowd, in a modern dive atmosphere. The more nerdy folks or those over 30 are more friendly....the kidlets can go to hell as far i'm concerned.

I don't live in Portland anymore, but when i visit, the bog is my home away from home. It's dark and loud like a strip club, without all those annoying breasts and vaginas.

Hey gang - after various stints around town, i'm super stoked to be workin at the bog - the place is a totally pro operation with a rad staff and a crowd that isn't young and stupid - the management refuses to sell the coors light or red bull drinks that joeys from vancouver might want which helps keep the weekend douche tsunami downtown where it belongs - i'm glad to be back in the triangle - stalk me!

www.myspace.com/barofthegods

I've been pretty regular at this place for years. The current bartenders are really good and super friendly. I don't get the hipster bar references.. nobody at the bog seems to think they are too cool for school. As a girl this is one of the few places i can go by myself and not be hassled by a string of creepy drunks hitting on me. Usually i just smoke like a fiend and space out on the cool movies they show.

Sorry you lost your favorite bartender bogfly - try to get over it. The place is still cool and laid back... even with all the so called "Sickly's" gang members who happen to find there way to the BOG - even in the dark. Grow up Bogdog err.. Bogfly.

I've always loved the BOG, but ever since Justin left to go to Genie's, the service has been slipping. Justin set a high mark- one of the best bartenders around- and BOG has a few good ones (go Kip!), but it's become a bit of a crap shoot. Plus, seems like more and more people who have gotten disgusted with Sickly's are wandering down here. Poison in the well.

I love my fish and i love my painty paint . Some people just paint for there fish and place it behind there tank ! Ha i say no way get the paint the brush some paper coat you fish with my expert help and let the fish express them selves as only a fish can . I charge by the hour and also have a wide range of contacts in the fish painting market if you would ever consider sells the master pieces your fish can produce . All organic paints acid free paper and canvas. breathing eqipment supllied . Call poapy

bog is pretty rad, except for a couple bad-seed disgruntled bartenders and bouncers who can ruin a perfectly good drinky smoke-filled time. and don't count on getting the food you ordered, you've got a 50-50 chance if it's busy, although it'll probably still show up on your tab.

This is the best place to take your bosses wife.. hubba hubba... Pinball seems in top notch shape and the pool table is smooth. Pretty fun spot to trade in your old friends for new ones..

oh yeah food is good..

THis is my favorite bar in portland. It's perfect for people who like dives but not real dives. Go there, bring a friend, talk trash and live in portland pretentia. It's fantastic :)

Dark, nearly impossible to spot, reeks of cigs, full of drunks and miscreants, beer specials, and oh yes, an absolutely filthy bathroom. This is my kinda bar!!! You can sit down at the bar and get absolutely wrecked and no one seems to mind. If you're looking for a sterile, boring, whatever's cool that week playing on the juke, then avoid this place. If you want a bar the way a bar is supposed to be BOG is the spot. Catch me hanging out on the end of the bar slurping down beers and chain smoking.

Man if I could only be 22 with an untucked stripped western style used shirt and 70's sunglasses and drink PBR because it is hip and alternative to conform to what the other hip and alternative people drink... This place bites. Barkeeps pour a good beer, and a terrible mixed drink. Worst margarita in town. Crowd is so cheesy they can hardly stand themselves, and best part is no one is pretyt here and is stinks like smoke and BO. I do not like this place, but may be it is just me being a sensitive artist that no one understands...wait that's the jackasses that go to BOG!

Well, I've about summed it up already. The PBR is sooo cheap. Good selection of other beers. The food is really good. I had a great time watching the 2004 presidential debates here. The crowd was fun. The TVs are conveniently, but not intrusively, located.

to whom ever wrote the above reviews......um, you're fucking worthless dingy poets who should spare themselves from the rejection you might get later on down the road. The BOG is rad. Good BT's good pool, but bad bad poets. Go die already, and spare me the wait for the pool table.

once a week a few deep crated djs rock the b.o.g. with drinkin' tunes. cheap brew no cover, and eclectic records makes for good times to me. thurs. nites at the B.O.G. hosted by deejays atom13, seoul bro.#1 and homonym. check it out. bring your pinball skills, dominoes and dice not to mention your thirst, kip, justin and heidi will serve you!

i haven't been here for quite some time and decided to venture there for food last night. $2 red hooks everyday all day (although i hear it's like eating straight butter)and the food was so fuckin good. i was there in the earlier hrs. of the night and it wasn't as bad as i remember it...nothing exciting happened, but i will go again.

BOG is up for sale. Maybe it'll be renamed "PBR & Nihilism" by the new owners?

Bunch of ass clown cowboy wanna be's. Walk in and smell the arrogance. The combo plate is pretty good though.

i like the green felt of the pool table. the lonely eyes of the bartender. the dreamy gaze of the barback. i like the white hue of the cue ball lit by the 60 watt halogene. i play there wednesday nights. i'm snake and i have my own stick. come hither and challenge the slithah.

They serve drinks too dude. I like the darkness of it. It makes me feel like I'm guilty of night pleasures.

When was the last time Andy was here? They serve anything that your little heart desires plus a plethora of 2nd hand smoke. YUM!

I think so. But I like this place anyway... it is small dingy... a good place to take a date if you don't want your girlfriend to catch you.

-ald