Down by the river...

Enter the North Bank and you’ll instantly know why you’ve come: every table has a Willamette River view, indoors or out. The 1979 building has the retro-cool feel of a lounge-y steakhouse with warm woods and booths tiered and tucked at all angles to capture the views. But surprises await! North Bank’s Kapu Hut is a tiki bar with a Brobdingnagian drink menu featuring Lilliputian cocktails.
 
On a winter day, cozy up by the Kapu Hut’s fire with a flight of wee rum cocktails or perch by a window with a hot toddy, counting yourself lucky to be indoors as you watch the drizzle on the river. The patio is the place to be come summertime, watching the slow drift of the river, the inner tubers, and passersby on the bike path – and if you’re lucky, you may catch a glimpse of the resident otters.
 
The menu at North Bank includes classics like burgers and salads, but be sure to check out the chef’s specialties: the fish is always deliciously prepared in creative ways – one day you may find an Asian-inspired salmon, another highlights ahi grilled to perfection with a bright mango pico de gallo.
 
Winter or summer, the sunsets are always gorgeous, the food is delicious, cocktails flow and the good times are endless!

The North Bank Pub dates only to the late 1970s, but its location has links all the way back to Eugene's earliest days. The pub stands along a lazy stretch of the Willamette River where in the 1850s, a ferry crossing was established by Eugene's founder, Eugene Skinner. Skinner's land claim on the opposite side of the Willamette evolved into Downtown Eugene. By the 1880s, Skinner's Ferry had given way to the more permanent Ferry Street Bridge, which today crosses the river at virtually the same location. 

From the late 1800s through the mid 1900s, the land now occupied by the pub and its neighbors, was used almost exclusively for agricultural purposes — a leading hop farm, cattle grazing, and vegetable cultivation. That's not to say developers didn't have an eye on the riverside land. In 1901, devoted angler and former Eugene mayor, J. H. McClung, platted the area as the Linton subdivision, but development came slow and sporadically. Early on, the Eugene Country Club was created on the back portion of McClung's subdivision, but many of the water's edge lots remained agricultural for decades to come.

In 1979, The North Bank Pub became one of the first buildings constructed along this stretch of the Willamette. John Costello opened the restaurant in April of that year with riverside dining and live jazz by Eugene legend Emitt Williams and others. After a successful 21-year run, Costello handed over the torch to McMenamins, who reopened the North Bank on May 10, 2000.