Panther Club feels like somebody dropped a faded 1970s Vegas steakhouse into inner Southeast Portland, roughed it up around the edges a little, turned the music up, and decided everyone should just relax and have another martini. Taking over the old Trifecta space in Buckman, the bar leans fully into retro late-night excess without feeling try-hard about it. Red lighting, disco ball glow, strong drinks, pool table energy, and a crowd that seems equally split between neighborhood regulars, service industry lifers, and people accidentally staying out far later than intended.
The food menu plays straight into the old-school lounge vibe: shrimp cocktail, scallops casino, burgers, and their heavily advertised “Last $20 Steak in the West” — a deliberately unpretentious steak-and-potatoes situation that somehow makes perfect sense with a freezing cold martini in hand. The cocktail program comes from Nate “Theo” Theobald (Palomar, Sandy Hut), and it shows. The drinks manage to walk that line between high-quality and completely unfussy, which matches the atmosphere perfectly. Nothing about Panther Club feels overly polished, and that’s a large part of the appeal.
It’s the sort of place Portland does well when it stops overthinking itself: a little grimy, a little glamorous, funny without being ironic, and built for long nights that slowly drift from dinner into “one more drink” territory. The photobooth, pool table, dim corners, and late-night soundtrack all add to the feeling that you’re hanging out in a bar that’s been there forever, even though it’s still relatively new.
