I’d be tempted to call the new Hideaway Tavern Bend’s best-kept secret, except for all the press and notice it’s been getting lately! It just opened up within the past several months by John Nolan, owner of the Victorian Café (which I am on record as calling the best breakfast in Bend), in what was formerly Grover’s Pub & Pizza on Cleveland Avenue behind Chan’s (just off of south Third Street). And I’ve been hearing some good things, but I have say it’s the first time in recent memory that I can remember John Anderson giving it an “A” in every category in the Bulletin!

My wife and I had lunch there yesterday, and both really liked it. Technically I had brunch, as the weekend menu includes breakfast items, and I got the wild steelhead hash which was great. My wife got the burger, and declared it “amazing” (no small feat!). All of the food looked great on the menu—though it’s important to note that the website menus don’t look completely up to date with the current, printed ones.

They have a great draft beer list as well: 16 taps dominated by local selections, including (most impressively!) Boneyard Beer’s monstrous Suge Knite Imperial Stout, the 14% alcohol rarity that I frankly wouldn’t expect to find on tap anywhere except the specialty beer pubs, or Boneyard itself. Other beer selections are equally good, and yes there’s even the requisite Pabst Blue Ribbon.

The Hideaway itself is styled very much in the “man cave” vibe that Nolan was going for: the living room to the Victorian’s kitchen. It’s kind of a cross between sports bar (with no less than 8 flat screen TVs on the wall) with old-school tavern (all dark wood, concrete floor, curtains over the windows), with one corner devoted to couches instead of tables, a (free) pool table, and the “game room” in the back behind the walls where you would normally expect to find the video poker machines (and smoked-stained gamblers) housing a dart board and foosball table. It’s a cool ambiance without being skeezy—low-key upscale retro hipster bar, without the hipsters.

The service was great, all of the waitresses were attentive and helpful and friendly, and they even handled the sudden unexpected appearance of a big group (a dozen or more) of people without any problems.

The Hideaway is definitely a cool place and I wish it were more convenient to my house! But I’ll definitely be back, it’s too good not to be.