I see that there is some dude complaining about UFC. Well, I stopped going to Marathon when they STOPPED having UFC. And I don't know what that guy is complaining about. They NEVER showed UFC EVERY saturday, there isn't a new pay per view every week! Oh no, you missed some meaningless mid-season college football game. I don't know if you know this, but Portland isn't really a college sports town. I personally don't give a crap about sports, but I'd come watch UFC if Marathon would start showing it. Instead I have to go to stupid Buffalo Wild Wings, which sucks.

Awesome atmosphere, great staff and excellent food and drinks.

Started going here after a WW mention in 2009. Pretty much as advertised: free popcorn , cheap beer, decent food for a reasonable price, decent service, always space at the bar to watch the big screen, and any tavern with a copper-topped bar is worth a look. I was looking for a place to come in for a few hours and watch some football, and this seemed to be the place.

Until management decided that they'd become a UFC bar and started showing fights at 7:00 PM on Saturdays on every single freekin' screen with the volume TURNED ALL THE WAY UP and to hell with anyone watching a football game. Thing is, there's no way to know this is going to happen (signs, staff info), so if you come in and settle down you're going to be in for a big surprise.

It's their bar and they can do what they want but unless you're a rabid UFC fan, you might want to go somewhere else for your college football.

I have been a big fan of this place after discovering it early last month. The drink specials are fantastic, but the service is horrendous. The last three times I have gone in for late breakfast/early lunch. On one occasion, I had to wait for a television commercial for the server to greet me. The second time I sat at the bar and waited about ten minutes for someone to help me. As I watched one of the bartenders take a few bites of her lunch (right in front of me), I figured she must have been on her break. Nope. She took a few bites, went and poured a beer for a gentleman on the other side of the bar, then fixed her hair, then proceeded to go back to eating her meal. Frustrated, I stood up to leave as she looked at me & smiled. Another bartender came up to ask if I had been served. I told her I hadn't & she then told me someone will be right with me. I got up and left 5 minutes later. My final complaint about the service occurred this morning during the USA World Cup match. I and a few friends arrived at 7:01am & grabbed a table in back. Not once in the entire time our party was at the bar did a server greet us or even come near our section of the dining area. For two entire hours we nor anyone in our area received any water, drinks, food, etc. I do not entirely blame this particular server for the lack of courtesy - I mainly blame ownership for not scheduling additional staff. At one point in the first few minutes of the second half of the game (one hour into our visit), I went up to the bar to get some water. There were four bartenders and two servers for the front section. All the patrons had food and drinks.

Anyhoo, that is my rant. Great sports bar. Great drink specials. Terrible terrible service.

Met some of the most memorable people of all time in that bar. Gus and his family are the best!!!

A crazy crowd in habits this place, and people from all walks of life come to this watering hole. I've been kicked out a few time and they still let the Pan get his willy wet. Thank you Thon for the memories and the visions of myself in twenty years if I keep chugging.

This bar is awesome! the servers, bartenders and bouncers are all very nice and fun to talk to. also they have a fairly large greek influenced menu with decent prices. once in the "family" you'll find yourself wanting to come here everynight of the week.

The Marathon is a good ol' bar. Free popcorn, stiff drinks, lots of regulars, open all day, employees that seem like family of the owners, pool and pinball, tubes for sports. This place has everything you would expect from a classic bar.

Nothing trendy here, except the crowd on Friday and Saturday nights. (Why do they come to the Marathon?) Stick to the weekdays and this place is fantastic.

Food is as good as you could hope for at a bar. Hey, it's there when you need it the most. The gyros are actually pretty good.

The Marathon is not one of those bars that come and go. If it ever closes, it will be a tragedy and a true loss for barfly's in Portland.

Any place with Mack 'n Jacks is okay in my book. This is the kinda place where people go to get their daily FDA food, drink and smoke requirements. Crinkle Fries are kickass too. Burger looked good but I was there after the beef scare of early '08. I'd go again.

boring. too smokey. too small. pool players need to get a life. and yet i cant drag my guy friends away from this damn place.

the only pointer says is the pina coladas :)

I can't wait to get drunk at Marathon Taverna! I love getting drunk, I love partying, and I can't wait to do both with friends at Marathon. I also respect the locals and the neighbors. I am going to go and get trashed at my new neighborhood bar Marathon and get as loud and rowdy as I can whilst INDOORS. When I leave the bar at 2:30 AM and stumble into my apartment, I won't announce to the city how drunk I am or stoop to expressing emotions with "Wooo" over and over again. The parking lot behind Marathon, and for McDonald's, is like an echo chamber and even if you are not screaming, it's loud and everyone in the apartments surrounding that parking lot can hear everything you say (which some of you should be embarrassed by!), so try to have some respect. Let's get respectfully wasted here! THANKS!!!

Have been to Marathon a couple of times in the last month after about an 8 year absence... (and just like another poster, my old gfriend lived right behind marathon years ago and we enjoyed the idiot drunks every nite at 2:30!)...

Anyway the place sure hasn't changed much... I even recognize many of the grizzled old drunks there... pretty strong drinks, but frankly in my mind a little expensive for a freaking dive bar...

The btenders and servers are cool and nice though (we always have one complete fuck up in our crowd that is worthy of being thrown out), and have a lot of patience to put up with some of the morons that drift through here...

The food? anything that I have had besides the gyros is average at best... the gyros I would rate a "B"

I've never been kicked out of the Marathon. Does this make me special, perhaps. In the billions of times I've been here for games, pub crawls, third dates, pregames, post-rehab, Friday lunch beer/grub, etc. I've seen only one human being thrown out. This really is the go to bar for solid food (Gyro is tastey), fun-loving servers, CHEAP drinks, semi-attractive chicks (just being honest) and normally a younger crowd. A human being goes to the Marathon because it's a central location and you are guaranteed to have a GREAT time. Oh here is another idea, tip the door man. By the way, does anyone else miss Gator?

Sidenote: I personally think the reason blogs, reviews, etc. were created was so people can bitch and whine about their poor customer service. If you read all the other reviews, you will find the majority L-O-V-E the Marathon as much as I do.

Would all of you dumb asses who go to the Marathon and park on Couch street please shut the fuck up at 2 a.m. when you leave the bar?

I know Mark well. I also know that he is a friggin AWESOME door guy. He just doesn't put up with bullshit from people who do not know their limit and will not kindly move out of the way after he asks nicely for you to be AWARE that it's a bar and the waitstaff need to get THROUGH large crouds of drinking/drunk self involved oblivious TOOLS in order to do their jobs and deliver their drinks. Yes, they appreciate your being a customer because you in essence by buying drinks there pay their minimum wages. BUT being in public at a relatively busy bar you as a customer should RESPECT that people need to get by and DO their jobs so YOU and others who are NOT standing and blocking the bar can get their drinks in a decent orderly amount of time. So maybe you were BEING a dumb bitch. Maybe that just means after millions of drunk and oblivous people someone cracked at your lack of respect and care and told you in so many rude words (as apparently YOU were being rude) that you were being dumb and blazay! I used to work there days, and working in this industry is hard. Dealing with drunk people who don't give a sh*t can really get to you. Don't take it so friggin personally. He was doing his job and maybe not kissing your ass, but you apparently didn't listen and were in a sense- being a dumb bitch!

I have met some of my fave people/mistakes at the Thon. When every other place was dead on Christmas day - the Thon rocked it - complete with a steady stream of James Brown from the juke for all those in mourning. Free popcorn - good service - tasty eats - a great fall back bar when every place else sucks!

Thon is like my home. I go there to hang out with some friends, or just relax on my own with a pint after a long day at work. I love every person that works at Marathon, including of course Gus, Marta and Anastis! I hope I didnt spell the name Anastis wrong, I hope not, cuz techinically, my name is the same thing, Anastasia lol. funny. Anyway, I always feel comfortable and safe there. MARK! I love you, you are the best bouncer in the world. hey and if I get too carried away would you please tell me to watch my juice. I have been a good girl tho. at least I hope I was =) I think if I m ever kicked out of Marathon I'd become severly depressed, cuz I m addicted to that place. Peace.

So..Marathon is truly one of the cooler bars. I go there often w/a large group people and it's pretty chill. I think I was there that night that this "dumb bitch thing" happened. Didn't this "emily" tell "Mark" that she and her friends had been asked to leave "a number of times" because they were to intoxicicated? Marathon is one of the bars where actually u can get away w/quit a bit but I guess just don't be a "dumb bitch"

Mark you are being a dumb bitch

I have been to the "Thon" once and it really is nothing special. Not bad not great just average, good prices for downtown. If the door guy is the one I think he is, he is really not very socially adapted. But a door person calling someone a dumb bitch is just really unprofessional and I think if I were the owner reading this I would think twice about having him run the door. Causing unnecessary conflict with intoxicated people is just asking for problems.

mark, i did door in boston for a few years (central square). asking someone if they are a dumb bitch is a little out of line IMO.

in regards to the bar, the staff is generally okay the few occasions i go there to play pool (even the guy i *think* is mark) but it's nothing special (at least to me).

Apparently you dont spend much time in the Thon. If you did that would make you one of the "homeless puking and sleeping" in there. I told you not to be a "dumb bitch"! Apparently you were drunker than you thought, huh? If I truely thought you were a dumb bitch, I would have said "Hey dumb bitch"! I call 'em like I see 'em! Everyone there gets treated with respect until they disrespect anyone working there or the bar itself. I have been to most bars in PDX and you wont find any place like the Thon. Good Luck Sweety!

This bar WAS one of my favorites until last weekend when one of the bouncers called me a "dumb b!tch" after requesting (or demanding) I move myself away from the bar because there was no room for the waiters to get through. He then proceeded to call me an "Ugly b!tch." Funny I hear that from an overweight, weekend working, bald headed bouncer...my friends and I made up about 15 of the 85 "guests" at the bar; they lost the business of paying customers (let's face it--the majority of the "regulars" at this place are tired bums looking for a warm place to sleep or puke) for more than that weekend. Mark Lee is a fat loser!

Yes the Marathon is truly the best "dive bar" in Portland. Great rock on the juke box including hardcore metal and punk rock, friendly blue-hair resident alcoholics that set up shop when the place opens, free pool tables during the day, excellent draft beer selection with well maintainted kegs so you never get a flat warm beer, waitresses that understand what good service means (even in a dive-bar setting), you can order as much beer as you can chug before 2:30am, good prices, the occasional interesting culture clash between drunk yuppies and drunk white trash rocker dudes, high ceilings and decent ventilation so the smoke doesn't kill you, grubbin' bar food, casual atmosphere, and big bathrooms that never have a line. What more can you friggin' ask for???

I just moved back to the neighborhood and I am glad to be back within walking distance. This is the place for cheap food and drinks. Also great for sports and pool. Really there is not a bar in the area I would rather call home. Thanks Marathon! You Rock!

the marathon is one of my favorite places in the city to go. not only do you get your money's worth in the drink dept. - they're cheap and strong - but the atmosphere is casual, and i feel like i could bring any of my friends here. heck, i have! i don't know anyone who wouldn't like this place.

I love this bar! It's my home away from home... yeah I know that's sad, but you can't go wrong with this place. Gus, the owner, is awesome. All the employees are wonderful. I'm a regular and even when I wasn't they treated me very well. They have cheap pitchers and cheap well drinks. Pool is great and the music is almost always good. It's a fun bar to just go to and hang with friends and to meet new people!!! Like I said before, I love this bar!!

This is THAT place. You know, the place that is always there at midnight when every other bar sucks. The place that when you go to you never (or should never) drive home from. The place you go to get dirty and nearly black out on Bluey's (which are your typical Vodka Tonic, but they glow blue under all the black lights). The place that you end up every Friday night, even after specifically saying "I'm not going to the Thon tonight." The place that you have to act sober enough to get into, but once you are in, they don't give a fuck how wasted you get. The place that has the greatest collection of mullets on Burnside (the best of which is owned by the bouncer). I love the thon, and I want you to love it too. Go there, this weekend. You will smell like smoke, but you will feel like a million bucks (until the morning).

This is a typical dive bar. Even if you had the worst day of your life, you could still feel like a winner in this place by looking at some of the regulars in here. Besides them, the place is cool. Stiff drinks, cheap drinks and a descent weekened crowd makes for a good time.

free popcorn, fuck ya. awesome gyros, fuck ya. cheap drinks, fuck ya. pool, fuck ya. if you ask a bartender for pussy, she'll give you a whiskey and coke with grenadine and 2 cherries (a drunk roy), fuck ya. gus and all his employees are dominant, fuck ya.

this place is cool every time some out of towner comes in we all head to the marathon first. it's a place that makes you feel bad. if you drop popcorn yus out, if you appear drunk yus out. i've been kicked out of that place for all kinda reasons and still go back. every one go! TONIGHT

I love the marathon. It's a great place to prefunk a friday or saturday night before hitting up ringlers. Amy always makes a strong vodka tonic, and thursday nights after a baseball game are the best! I don't live in Portland, but the marathon makes me wish I did!

the marathon has taken care of all of my drinking and pool shooting needs for 2 yrs now. being new to portland it gave me a sense of home , being the bartenders are friendly and personal and very willing be cordial no matter what. i always have a great time there even if im just gettin a mid day cocktail or wildin out on a thurs or fri night. gus and k.t. rules. and amy is just as bubbly and great as anyone walkin thru the door. i cant wait to get back to pdx, and take a seat at home in the marathon.

This is my absolutly fav. bar downtown! They play the greatest selection of music, they have a great Juke box, and drinks are cheap and STRONG! Not to mention they are like a block from the max so it is easy to get there and home without having to drive..which you is very nice after a few drinks at this place! This is the place I go for special occasion since I live on the westside, but it is absolutly my fav place in Portland!! If you have never been make sure to go!

Gus the owner used to work the bar here, I watched him pepper-spray some wild drunk one time. Now his son works the bar, along with some hottie chicks. Gus knows how to pick hottie employees! This place used to be THE ultimate dive bar where the hardcore disability-check alcoholics would come home to after spending the whole day barhopping the "Holy Trinity" 2 blocks away (Bitter End, Matador, Tony's Tavern.) A remodel around 1998 turned the place around. Now the old hardore alcoholics tend to stay over on the left side drinking pitcher after pitcher of cheap beer while watching the big screen TV while a younger crowd parties on the right side with the jukebox, pinball machine and pool tables. Full bar, about a dozen beers, the COLDEST beer in Portland and probably the cheapest (the price of a 32 ounce pitcher normally is equal to what every other bar charges for a cheater 14-ounce pint), plus decent inexpensive food (gyros, burgers, steak, fish) and free popcorn. This is also one of the few places where you can walk in, sit at a table and have the waitress just bring you beers all night.