McMenamins Kennedy School Theater

5736 NE 33rd Ave, Portland, OR 97211, USA

Address:	5736 NE 33rd Ave, Portland, OR 97211, USA
Phone:	+1 503-249-3983
Site:	mcmenamins.com
Rating:	4.3

Location

Photos 100

Reviews 16

A Private User

If you pop on in to the Boiler Room on any given Friday or Saturday night be sure to bring a patio lounger! I swear to God and all creation, McMenamins must mean "neat places with horrible staffing and boring food" in the Irish dictionary. This place is not only under-staffed, but the help they do have seems more interested in their second-hand-store fashion than getting things out quickly with a smile. And for the record, the french fries at ANY McMenanmins are the most horrible tasting potato products you will ever put in your mouth. The fascinating thing is that theyve always been that way. Always. And the rest of the food is so sub-par as to be considered filler. Surely a public taste-test would reveal what everyone already knows: that no one goes to McMenamins for the food. People go to McMenamins because they either want to show an out-of-towner "how cool" it is, or because their establishments are usually crowed and so want to feel their group is part of something bigger going on. Come for the beer and decor, but do not expect more.

Lyle Harris

My wife and I stopped by for lunch 9/23/2016 and both ordered the halibut which both were delivered to us cold. Cant say much more than that.. except that when we initially sat down we specifically asked for water with no ice.. (it was 55 outside) and got two big glasses of ice with water.. All-in-all.. a cold experience.. ;-) The building is nice, dress warm, cold draft where we were. BTW, they did bring us some replacement halibut which was warm when we started eating (can they not learn to heat the plates before putting food on them?) but tasted like.. wait for it.. eating warm halibut.. Guess I shouldnt complain although Ive had better halibut at the little sampling kiosk in Trader Joes. Best to stick with the $12 burgers if you go there IMHO.

Mary Alice Richert

While the school is irresistibly charming, the food is just as bad as any you have had anywhere. What should be cold is warm and what should be hot is barely warm....if you get them on a good day. Rumor has it, that there are only 2 burners in the kitchen. That being said, friends visit who have stayed at many places, good and bad, all over the world and they always want to stay at Kennedys. Rumor has it that there are only 2 burners in the kitchen. The staff is unfailingly charming but they really arent interested in serving the meals, and who can blame them? My visitors may have a small breakfast there. They certainly go to the darling bars, but a meal? Never.

Shirell B.

This place is the right combination of creepy-cool. From the paintings on the walls, to the stories of the school being haunted, this is an interesting place to visit. This former school has been transformed into a social space that has multiple bars that serve great drinks, and provide an atmosphere that makes you wonder if you are in a scene from Twin Peaks. I also liked the idea that many of the artist slept in the school for several days , and painted images based on what inspired them at the school. If you need a little bit of "weird" in your life, its a nice place to visit.

Brandon Morelli

Lured in by the charm of an old converted school, our trip from beginning to end was disappointment after disappointment. 1) The wait for a table was quoted at 10-15 minutes. Ended up taking 30. 2) While waiting for a table we stood at the empty bar for 15 minutes before being served a beer 3) Service once seated was exceptionally slow 4) The food was just....food. Our $13 burgers had no flavor and were luke warm. We wont be coming back.

Kalyn Fey

the ambiance was pretty cool and with the little nook and cranny bars it could be neat.. but not for the younger crowd at all. way to expensive for what you get. And amyone under 21 has to be escorted in the movie theatre.. even for matinee of movies. really? 18 year olds have to be escorted? if I had known if have to chaperone my my elder children who have already moved out of the house I wouldnt have stayed here.

Kyle Kemenyes

There isnt any bad I could say about the Kennedy school. Do you want to see a movie? You can do that here. Do you wanna stay the night? You can do that here. Do you wanna play pool or shuffleboard? You can do that here. Do you wanna see a band? You can do that here. Do you wanna have higher end drinks or smoke cigars? You can do that here. Oh, and they also have a fantastic menu and wonderful microbrews

Damon Tighe

I love this place. Its the cornerstone of the neighborhood. I use to grade papers here over a pint when I taught high school in the area. Whenever I come back to Portland I always try to get a night here for dinner, drinks and a movie. You can rent rooms, there is a hot tub, usually live music a few times a week and discounted movies. One of McMenamins flagship locations by far.

Jacob Coartney

A great little theater located inside of the Kennedy School Hotel. Prices are affordable and the seating arrangement is geared toward a more intimate setting. Best of all, the attached kitchen offers food and drinks to take into the theater. The only thing to note is that it is an old gymnasium which causes some unwanted noise to amplify while enjoying the film.

K H

This is such a unique place that its really worth a visit just to see it. We stopped by both of the bars for beers and eventually I had the steak salad. The beer selection is better than average and the steak salad was prepared really well. Granted, the service here was slow and the crowds were out en force on the Friday night I visited.

Cassandra Jones

Been here SO many times. I work close so it is the perfect location for after work drinks or before work brunch. They have any bar you are looking for: outside seating, family style, funky shiek, cozy small, cigar, movie theater, soaking pool. If you go, visit the bowler room bar! It is the best. Very cool atmosphere.

Paul Dixon

Standard Mcmenamins food and beer (which personally I like) but served up in an old rambling school. The toilets took me back to my youth (Im old) and I love the rambling nature of the place, with bars tucked away. Cool patio out back, and you can even sit out front. I think they even show movies somewhere....!!!?!

Sammy Lockwood

McMenamins Kennedy School is one of our favorite Portland digs, and we make a point of dropping by on almost every Portland visit. Get the wine and ale flights for a true start. There are multiple restaurants, a cigar bar, gift shop, theater, pool and a hotel. Simply an incredible (but hard to find) place!

Tanner Marshall

One of my favorite spots in all of PDX! Theres tons of stuff to do here including having dinner, drinking beer, lounging in the soaking pool, seeing a movie, walking around and enjoying the creepy artwork, playing billiards in the Boiler Room...the list goes on. Truly a wonderful place.

Marie T Fisher

One of my favorite McMenamins locations. This one is located in an old school that closed decades ago. It still looks like a school, with yearbooks and ephemera, and the original rooms that have been turned into bars and pubs. Theres a public swimming pool, gym, and hotel onsite.

cyrixmh

Fun theater! I wish they had better movies showing, although, I do understand that a lot of family groups with kids come here. If you come early, you can get a seat with a table which makes snacking easy. Great food and drink selection for a theater. Great prices too.