Pips & Bounce, Portland

Even in Portland, we saw a San Diego based brewery,

which was Modern Times. But this post is not about them, it's about Bert's choice of venue for entertainment...

This happened to be Pips & Bounce, a ping pong and beer paradise that is housed in the historic Grand Central Building in the LoMo (lower Morisson) District.  SoCal transplant Modern Times is just down in the street (in a historic art deco building) as well as local Cascade Brewery.  There are so many breweries in Portland; even more so that during our last visit. The beer seen had certainly exploded not just in Portland but also in San Diego.

He was really excited about this place.


Decor is retro'ish/rec room/80's/pop culture filled.



Buying a game gives you 30 minutes plus a free beer if you pay for another set, which is what we did. There are a dozen ping pong tables. One side has the bar as well. The guys working here were really cool too.


The nachos weren't that great but you're not here for the food right. The dip was just sour cream which was too thick and the salsa tasted bottled (but menu listed is as "housemade", which I doubt it was).  I forget which two beers Bert had but I helped him along with those, ha ha. I don't remember what they exactly were but they were not those gross hoppy ones.

Cool posters! Especially Samantha Baker and her dream guy, Jake Ryan from the John Hughes classic, "Sixteen Candles". Trivia  - the birthday cake was fake. It was cardboard!

We had a lot of fun at this spot. Bert really enjoyed himself along with TC. I did surprisingly okay playing ping pong. Not "Balls of Fury" great but good enough to get a decent rally with Bert and also TC (we took turns).  It wasn't crowded during our visit, but got more so by the time we left. Lots of families were there.

Check out the owners (brothers!) on video here
Articles:
Pips & Bounce, Portland's new ping pong bar is open for business" Oregon Live, Nov. 2014
Where the ping-pong scene never sleeps" NY Times, June 30, 2017

Pips & Bounce
833 SE Belmont St.
Portland, OR 97214
(503) 928-4664

www.pipsandbounce.com + reviews from that place + trip advisor

There was another stop in North Portland I  wanted us to check out involving a giant roadside attraction...