Central

I was prepared to hate this place. First, it's owned by the people who own Perreira Creperie, where I once waited 45 minutes - for a sidewalk crepe - before finally asking for my money back. Second, the design is eye-rollingly trendy, with a mounted deer head, old windmill ceiling fan and laboratory stools. And finally, I thought the whole speakeasy thing was really pretentious. But someone told me they had good drinks so I checked it out.

And, they do have really good drinks, and good service, and those are pretty much the only two things I care about when I go out for cocktails. The bartender, Lydia, is fresh off a stint at PDT in NYC, and not only that but she's actually really nice and hospitable. There is a creative and well-executed cocktail list, respectable back bar, and of course crepes. It can be a cocktail geek bar if you want it to be, or it can be just somewhere you go for a drink with your friend or after work. And best of all, when I was there, there were no annoying people getting in the way of me enjoying my drink (a delicious flip with cognac, Benedictine, absinthe, orange bitters and nutmeg). All in all it's a great, laid-back but good-drink-producing place and I'm planning to go back. Exposed filament lightbulbs be damned.

220 SW Ankeny, Portland