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Port Richey's Porthole Pub a notch above the average dive bar

 
The Porthole Pub in New Port Richey is a good watering hole with a friendly vibe.
The Porthole Pub in New Port Richey is a good watering hole with a friendly vibe.
Published June 23, 2014

Port Richey again? I'll admit, I cheated for this one. I visited Gill Dawg for an article a couple of months ago and ended up spotting a little pub across the street just as I was about to head home.

The exterior was about as plain as you could imagine — unpretentious would be an optimistic descriptor — save for a few of the porthole windows referenced in the pub's name. I didn't expect much, and I didn't get much in return, but the Porthole Pub did surprise me in a few ways that I ultimately decided were worth writing about.

The Porthole Pub is a fairly typical locals' joint. You know the place: dark, low ceilings, promotional beer swag covering every surface of the interior. The kind of place where they chill beer mugs even though they really shouldn't, but that's the way the regulars like it.

To say that these places are a dime a dozen would be highballing. But where Porthole Pub diverges from its nondescript, dive bar brethren is in a few of the finer points, and some of the bigger ones, too.

For example, the average neighborhood dive is — I'm guessing — not incredibly lucrative. It's common to see ownership changes and the identity confusion that comes with them.

But this place has been family-owned and operated since 1998, and the original owners are still active in the day-to-day business. That's not unprecedented, but it implies a level of engagement that is rare in this kind of no-nonsense place. I may be projecting, but I really do feel that it's a reason that the Porthole feels different from the average dive.

On the surface, the Porthole looks like, well, every other bar like it; but if you look closely, you'll find it's really clean and well-maintained. Everything works, the bathrooms aren't terrifying, smoking is allowed but it's breezy inside and doesn't reek of nearly three decades of stale smoke. It's lived in, but in a way that makes it feel warm, rather than crusty.

The Porthole also has a few cool amenities. In addition to the standard Megatouch console and jukebox, there are some of those old-school video slot machines that you can't win money on, but that people play anyway. A game room in the back has an Animal House claw game, darts, pool (free with a beverage purchase!), and, most importantly, air hockey.

There's also a large patio out back, where you can enjoy some just-off-the-main-stretch Port Richey laid-backness, as well as an area for playing horseshoes. It's nothing like the sprawling entertainment complex and mega-bar across the street, but if you're in the mood for something low-key, this is it.

Of course, it's a bar and there are drinks. Not many of them, but the selection is manageable. Most of the people here will shoot for a cold mug of Budweiser or Yuengling ($1.50 during happy hour), but you'll find options like Goose Island's 312 Urban Wheat, Shock Top, Angry Orchard cider, Bacardi Silver Sangria or — a guilty pleasure, if I believed in such a thing — Twisted Tea. Nobody will judge you.

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The Porthole also serves food until midnight, and there's live music on Sundays. The drink selection isn't very hip, but the price is right, and besides, this isn't a hip bar. What it is: a good, honest watering hole with a friendly vibe that will be appreciated by locals and visitors alike. It's an old-school Florida dive done just like it should be, which, to me, is just fine.