Let me begin by saying we visited Ocean Shores this past weekend and went back to Porthole Pub  to eat dinner and party afterwards 2 nights in a row... this place ROCKS.  The food... holy cow... we were blown away by the quality and remarkable pricing of the menu offers.  My best friend is a seasoned chef and he was duly impressed with every single dish that arrived at our table of 4 on both nights.
The service was wonderful, our server Rene, Â was warm friendly. Â The crowd at the bar was lively and friendly... Â just a fantastic place to spend a very enjoyable evening if you're staying in Ocean Shores. Â We whole heartedly recommend it.
I am shocked that this place has such a low rating. Â We had an awesome time here.
1. Â I'm pretty sure this is the only bar in town open past 10PM on a Wednesday (!!!). Â Food served until 1AM.
2. Â Staff and locals alike were friendly. Â Service was excellent. Â Drinks were consistently strong.
3. Â AMAZING bacon-wrapped scallops. Â Made fresh to order so it took ~20 mins for our food to come, but this wasn't a problem due to aforementioned item #2.
4. Â Cool 80-90s karaoke with a KJ who wasn't annoying or pushy at all.
5. Â Pool table & other bar-type activities.
Would this place be my first choice for lunch? Â Probably not, unless I was up for some day-drinking.
Is it a good bar with good bar food? Â Absolutely!
Had to give it a star because zero stars was unavailable.  We ordered  a hamburger and fries and a grilled cheese and fries, waited over 20 minutes.  One of us had to go outside because three bites of the burger made him want to hurl.  Food sucked, when home and threw up.  Don"t eat the pink stuff in the squirt bottle, it's toxic. Also, we had to go to bar to get our bill,  waitress totally ignored us, and did not once come to refill drinks
Review Source:Yep, I am a fan of the Porthole Pub, Ocean Shores, WA!
It is a local watering hole, that gets packed with tourists in the Summer, yet the vibe is copacetic year round! I haven't eaten at the pub, yet I heard their Brunch is one of the best on the beach. I will have to actually wake up on-time to sample the fare. I could order food for take out, so I will consider that as an option in the future.
What I do know and enjoy about this establishment is that the drinks are reasonable and consistent in strength. There is a new Karaoke DJ who is very personable and down-to-earth. Â 'Dave' the manager and bartender who I see slang booze on Friday and Saturday nights, will make you feel like you are in 'Cheers'. Also, look out for the young octogenarian dancin' and flirtin' with the best of us: Â his name is Ian and he owns the pub! Â The crowd is typically 21 - 40 and up; quite chatty and energetic; and very down-to-earth! There are extremely talented and entertaining karaoke singers here, and the audience is kind and supportive. No snobs here. You'll find them at the Irish Pub across the street if that's your thing.
Now, this is my local watering hole, so I gave it an extra star because the Porthole is kind to the community. Â However I had to downgrade it one star for a couple of reasons: Â The layout and seating is a little uncomfortable; the website can use a makeover; and it would be awesome if the pub sponsored live local music (an open mic once a month).
If you are visiting Ocean Shores or just moved here, the Porthole Pub is your bar. It's faithful, consistent and always fun!
See ya there!
<a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2Fportholeoceanshores.com%2Findex.html&s=bebdde4ecde63bc79c76599a2375ba570cafeda855954d9be02ab6165658c46e" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://portholeoceanshor…</a>
UPDATE SEPTEMBER 2012:
I finally ate at the Porthole Pub. I was not impressed by their fare. It is good pub grub if you have annihilated your tastebuds with hard liquor and cigarettes. If you want to take you family to a diner, there's Shilo Inn, Galway Pub, and a few other restaurants you might enjoy.
Don't get me wrong: Â Porthole does not equal food. Porthole = Party!
To start the bartender was a total asshole! He was rude, short with me and trying to hit on me all at the same time. Yuck. The drinks were average priced, decently strong. The food was a very basic & bland. The menu with nothing special kinda spendy. Really horrible non stop karaoke. Would be not so bad if they would of taken a break and played other music. I do have to say a plus is the locals were nice and laid back.
Review Source:I stopped by for dinner upon arriving at Ocean Shores. Â The food was good, and the waitress was friendly. It was around 5PM, and there were some locals playing billiards and having beers, and they all seemed friendly to me (and most of them had cleared out within an hour).
The place is your standard, low key bar and grill. I don't get why some of the reviews are so negative, but I had a good enough experience at this place.
I'm not sure that I would give this place ANY stars!
A couple of us stopped in Sunday for lunch thinking that it would be as good a place as any....better than the place we had been to the previous evening or so we though.
THIS PLACE WAS HORRIBLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
When we walked in there were two couples at tables and a couple of locals at the counter.
We had to wait for menus, drinks, our order to be taken, and then our food. Forget about refills...geesh!
She freaked out when a large group of bikers came in for drinks....I mean she was a bit stressed when the part of 4 I was part of came in....really can you not handle it?
Anyway she freaked out and then called someone else in. When he got there he helped everyone and even got us refills...he was a life saver...she needs to go..
did I mention that people left after not being served...other people left after getting their very unappetizing and yucky food.
Save yourself the trouble and don't go there.
Yuck. The food was disgusting, the service was even worse and the drinks were nothing to write home about. These people clearly are in business for the locals and don't like tourists. We were cut off after two drinks and told that there policy was a two drink maximum for their patrons.... all while some local guy was passed out in the front patio area after obviously being over-served. We actually own a vacation home in Ocean Shores and come down quite often, however we will not be back to the porthole. After our utterly disappointing experience in this dive, we decided to give the casino a shot. Drinks were better, service was better, all in all, a much better choice for a night out in Ocean Shores!!
Review Source:Feel like getting raped by 300lb Karaoke DJ? Â Want to get an STD by simple breathing? Â If so then the Porthole is the place for you. Â I went in once with two friends when the following happend. Â Had people trying to sell me jell-o shots like it was Cabo. Â Got approached by two awful women for my friends and I to have an "awesome orgy". Â Then watched my female friend fight off the Karaoke DJ. Â DON'T GO
Review Source:My friend had been here years before and said they had a lot of choices for burgers. So, we stopped. Much to his disappointment there wasn't a huge selection of burgers. The place is very dark - yes I understand it's a bar - however you shouldn't feel like you need a flash light. I felt the burgers were overpriced, the fries very greasy and the total bill was sticker shock. I treated my friend. He had a burger and fries and I had a burger and fries. I had a pop, he had a beer and $29. later we walked out. Really seriously is it me or is that just a little bit over the top for a mediocre burger? I was given the bill and then had to struggle to get someones attention so I could pay the bill. She was apparently more interested in talking to locals then to pay attention to other customers. Ugh - don't stop keep going - I think there must be better places to find a burger than here.
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