Mathew’s Pub

Portland, Maine

Field Note

Located along one of Portland, Maine’s, most trafficked corridors just a few blocks from the city’s historic Old Port, Mathew’s offers a test of dive bar faith thanks to its claim as oldest bar in the city. The phrase “Portland’s Oldest Pub” can be found attached to the space both within the bar and online, a symptom of the bar’s assertion that it first operated as a drinking establishment in 1872.

Complicating the matter is the fact that the 1872 opening date has not been substantiated elsewhere and in fact only exists thanks to the structure’s last tenant, a bar named “Pops,” so-named as an acronym for the phrase “Portland’s Oldest Pub.” Oldest dive bar in the city or not, Mathew’s qualifies as a city drinking institution to be sure, the bar’s signature blue awning a beacon within a dense part of Portland’s urban core.

The Portland dive bar’s brick facade is classic, of course, as is the faded green metal sign above one of the bar’s doors that reads “Portland’s Oldest Pub.” Today, the sign refers to Mathew’s claim of its 1872 opening date but the same sign hung over the door when its neon-punctuated “Portland’s Oldest Pub” lettering referred to the name of the bar itself. Though the row of businesses surrounding Mathew’s feels a bit narrow at first glance, Mathew’s itself is surprisingly large, the business distributed across multiple rooms.

Thanks to a handful of updated surfaces throughout the space, Mathew’s feels a bit more polished than a true dive. The decorations here are sparse by dive bar standards, much of the interior footprint given to a handful of Golden Tee-style games. That being said, the crowd here is definitely a dive bar-friendly set of locals no doubt filled with long-time Mathew’s patrons. The rectangular bar makes for a social atmosphere, as does the array of games throughout Mathew’s.

Most importantly, Mathew’s is topped with a rooftop bar that makes for a perfect downtown drinking atmosphere during Portland’s warmer months. The space, like the rest of Mathew’s, is quite large, enough room for a dense crowd with views of the busy, pedestrian-heavy neighborhood below. Inside, the bar’s front room is dominated by a long, rectangular bar counter dotted with stools. Large bar games can be found throughout the space, including cornhole boards used within the rooftop space above.

Perhaps the best non-rooftop view within Mathew’s can be found at the large table that sits just inside one of the bar’s large, exterior windows, offering a view of the busy street outside. A second room is filled with additional nooks & crannies, as well as a checkerboard space sometimes used as a dance floor amid weekend evening DJ sets.