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Quarters for the Seoul at Dark Room
Suzi Pratt

The 17 Best Bars in Seattle

Classic dives, legendary cocktail joints, and more

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Quarters for the Seoul at Dark Room
| Suzi Pratt

What’s the “best” bar, anyway? It’s not a competition! This is is a list of the quintessential Seattle bars, a set of places that if you drank at them would give you a sense of the city’s culture and history. (Just don’t try to go to all of them in one day.) These are diners that double as dives, craft cocktail bars that are equal parts sophisticated and welcoming, music industry hangout spots, and just plain ole bars.

Know of a spot that should be on our radar? Send us a tip by emailing [email protected]. As usual, this list is not ranked; it’s organized geographically. (Looking for breweries? Go here.)

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Eater maps are curated by editors and aim to reflect a diversity of neighborhoods, cuisines, and prices. Learn more about our editorial process. If you buy something or book a reservation from an Eater link, Vox Media may earn a commission. See our ethics policy.

The Ballard Smoke Shop

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Recently yoinked back from the cliffs of extinction by Sunset Tavern owner Max Genereaux, the Smoke Shop is a precious diner/dive combo that really exemplifies the grotty blue-collar spirit of Old Seattle. Genereaux gave the dining room a fresh paint job, some new booths and pinball machines, and a menu update — including a Juicy Lucy! — but the ‘30s-era bar has pretty much stayed its crusty old self. (The giant king crab is still on the wall, mercifully.) The late-night menu runs until midnight on weeknights and 1 a.m. on weekends, and they’ve got Evan on well. 

Hattie's Hat Restaurant

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Hattie’s is like your cozy but stylish vintage sweater that somehow goes with everything. You can sidle up to the gorgeous mahogany bar and sip Bill Murray cocktails with a date you wanna impress or grab one of the wooden antique booths on the restaurant side and have a casual diner meal with your friends. It’s open for breakfast at 9 a.m. on weekends, so you can nurse a hangover here just as easily as you acquired it. And the crowd spans generations, like all the best bars’ crowds do.

Thunderbird Tavern

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Y’all know about the Thunderbird? Oh, you do? Well, we know a little bit about you then. Not to generalize, but mmmmmost of the people who hang out at the T-Bird were at least initially drawn there by the strip club next door. (That’s thanks to Washington State’s ban on alcohol sales in strip clubs, soon to be gone!) Nah, we’re just teasing you. At least as many folks show up there for the Secret Sausage hot dog menu — we like the eponymous hot link with their signature cream cheese and Firlander hot sauce, as well as the meatless chipotle sausage. Still others are there for the friendly crowd of sports-watchers, the killer garden space out back, or just to say hello to Hatchet Face the tabby cat. But yeah, if you stop by before the law’s repealed… you’re definitely gonna meet some people who just popped over from the strip club to get loaded. Not that that’s bad. Look, we live in a society.

The exterior of the Thunderbird Tavern
The Thunderbird.
Harry Cheadle

Stampede Cocktail Club

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Stampede makes some of the most inventive drinks in the city, and the bar excels equally at no-alcohol options as it does cocktails. The approach is as playful as it is crafty: tiki-adjacent with a wide palette. Colorful lanterns give the bar area a deep glow, while cool neon in the adjoining room give vaporwave and Patrick Nagel vibes. It’s like a party at an edgy art gallery only the guests will actually talk to you. 

A group of people sit around a table in a bar, bathed in red lights. Stampede Cocktail Club

Dark Room

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When Dark Room opened in early 2023, it was an instant classic. Co-owner Matthew Gomez brings restless creativity to a drink menu that includes a damn-near encyclopedic range of ingredients. There’s interesting booze like Kümmel, Nixta, and Cloosterbitter; not-booze like Yakult and moringa; even kimchi brine and carrot. And every drink is a banger — Gomez is an absolute virtuoso, and he never misses a note. As if that wasn’t enough, ace chef and co-owner Amy Beaumier is in the kitchen slinging top-notch Korean-inflected snacks til 10 p.m., and the atmosphere is as lively as it is moody and dimly lit. 

A cocktail served in a Spam container
Quarters for the Seoul at Dark Room
Suzi Pratt

Streamline Tavern

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Owned by former Seattle Post-Intelligencer (RIP) columnist Mike Lewis, the Streamline is an untouchable Old Seattle institution known as a haunt for journos — and don’t let anyone tell you the old Streamline is a single drop better than the new one. Yes, the original spot was a few blocks away, on the same block as Ozzie’s, but all of the crust and dust followed it like a neighborhood cat when it moved in 2015. The current Streamline has the same drunks, the same enormous oval-shaped bar and green pleather stools, the same pinball machines and pool tables — they even brought the toilets over. Drinks are still cheap as hell, and the food’s still pretty good. Plus that cool-ass red-and-black checkerboard floor will delight even the Oldest Seattle curmudgeon. It’s like if there were a dive bar at the bottom of Alice’s rabbit hole.

Cyclops

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Since 1990, this historic grunge bar/cafe has been luring customers in with its wise, winking neon eye gazing out upon First Avenue. Half diner and half dive, Cyclops is where the industry folks and old-guard Sub Poppers would hang out after shows at the nearby Croc or practice at Black Dog Forge around the corner — and where some still do. The food’s solid, the Rainier’s cold, the lamps are lava, the paintings are velvet, the dress code is hoodies and flannels. Get the crispy polenta fries.

Rob Roy

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Can a bar be sophisticated and cozy at the same time? James Beard nominee Rob Roy achieves that rare equilibrium with artfully placed gentle lighting, elegant yet comfortable leather stools (with, let’s celebrate this, back support!) a den-like sofa area, and an ace lineup of impeccably composed drinks. A venerable figure in the rise of Seattle’s craft cocktail community, it’s been open since 2009 and hasn’t stagnated one bit. The special move here is porting contemporary techniques and ingredients into classic cocktails: Sherry and a river stone tincture give their martini alluring minerality, while pandan and aged rum fat-washed with coffee-infused butter boost the Jungle Bird right into the stratosphere. There’s also an equally great selection of signature newer-school drinks, and an intriguing menu of no-alcohol cocktails. 

Roquette

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Zig Zag Cafe alum Erik Hakkinen opened Roquette in 2019, but it feels like it’s been here forever. The striking Marseille-blue storefront sets the classique tone, while tastefully plush seating, just-right lighting, and a prominent mural of a tropical vista establishes the interior atmosphere. The impeccably crafted cocktails often incorporate ingredients like Amontillado or Armagnac, and the affable bartenders are apt to eavesdrop and then pour you a sample of something you’ve expressed curiosity about. Just like the caviar-and-Bugles appetizer it offers on the snack menu, Roquette is fancy and approachable at the same time.

Zig Zag Cafe

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You can’t know Seattle’s craft cocktail scene without knowing the Zig Zag. Famous for bartender Murray Stenson’s tenure, during which he reintroduced the world to the Last Word cocktail, it remains a top-notch bar even though Stenson moved on long since before his death in 2023. Cocktails are detailed and composed, the staff is warmly hospitable, and the atmosphere combines moodily lit coziness with buzzy destination elegance.

IL Bistro

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When people hear legendary Seattle bartender Murray Stenson’s name, they usually associate him with Zig Zag Cafe. That is the bar where he became famous in the craft cocktail renaissance of the early aughts. However, Il Bistro was his longtime proving ground in the ‘90s. It’s where he found his stride — and it’s a historic Seattle place for plenty of reasons beyond that one. Il Bistro is a cocktail bar from a James Bond movie that has been open since 1975. There’s nothing more essentially Seattle than skittering down the cobblestones of Post Alley and ducking into this red-lit respite from a rainy Seattle night. There’s a whole libretto of craft cocktails and mocktails well complemented by a side of arancini, and the scotch collection is unmatched in town. Plus, it’s so unexpectedly sexy down there.

A photo shoots into a bar through an archway, where the bar wraps around and red and orange lights shine down. Meg van Huygen

Polar Bar

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Built in 1914 to host a social club for Arctic explorers, the Arctic Club Hotel is a Beaux-Arts masterwork and an architectural fave of locals and travelers alike — thanks in no small part to the iconic terracotta walruses on the facade. To boot, inside the expansive lobby is the snazzy blue-lit Polar Bar, definitely one of Seattle’s most beautiful bars. Longtime bartender Mike has got all the dad jokes and specializes in the Smoke & Mirrors — basically a barbecued Old Fashioned, made using the nifty little cocktail smoker and a bell jar. A lovely way to have some birthday drinks, kick off a sexy date, or just celebrate a personal victory.

A smoke-filled bell jar.
The Smoke & Mirrors cocktail
Meg Van Huyen

With one of the most extensive rum libraries on the West Coast, Rumba is an unskippable stop on the Capitol Hill bar trail. It’s basically a rum museum, with a collection comprising more than 700 different kinds of rum from around the world — a bar straight out of Hemingway’s daydreams. The menu of Caribbean-spiced tacos and sliders accompany an elaborate spread of punches, swizzles, daiquiris, and Tiki classics. If that’s not enough for you, there’s another bar within the bar. Duck through the side hatch into Inside Passage to hide out in an under-the-sea secret lounge with a giant octopus chandelier and even more elaborate drinks.

A shaken daiquiri sits on a bar top, with a container of limes behind it and a dried orange floating in it. Meg van Huygen

Fort St. George

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It really doesn’t get more Seattle than the Fort. In the upstairs level of a ‘90s office building in the Chinatown–International District, Fort St. George specializes in yoshoku cuisine — American diner dishes with Japanese stylings. The sports bar is best known for its take on spaghetti bolognese drizzled with garlic mayo, although the versions with tarako (cod roe), kimchi, and enoki mushrooms are equally comforting. The half-dozen dorias, described as “a Japanese-style risotto/casserole,” and curry bowls are solid bets that come in fun options like shrimp and baby scallop or Japanese hamburger. Baseball on TV, Japanese beers on tap, and a postcard view of Hing Hay Park complete the C-ID arc. 

A plate of garlic mayo spaghetti sits on a table. Meg van Huygen

The Doctor's Office

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One of the finest craft cocktail bars in Seattle, the Doctor’s Office is often noted for its selection of rare and expensive high-end spirits and its reservations-suggested energy, but it’s every bit as welcoming and fun as it is lavish. (And for the record, drink prices here are right in line with other craft cocktail spots in town.) You’ll be greeted with a gratis pour of bubbly and a warmed hand towel to settle in. Check out that kooky-cool red polka dot bathroom. Order a Spanish coffee and you might get treated to a cheekily over-the-top send-up of flair bartending. But the real draw remains the exquisitely balanced cocktails. Like thousand thread-count sheets, there are no gaps in the weave of these drinks.

The term world-famous gets thrown around a lot, but Canon has appeared on best bars in the world lists, and not near the bottom. Boasting a 181-page list of spirits that includes decades-old vintage bottlings, the place is a veritable Smithsonian of booze, and the drinks are often as attention-grabbing as they are creative. A luxe food menu includes bites like Taylor Shellfish oysters and salmon tartare, as well as larger portions like lamb chops and steak.

A black teapot steams. Next to it is an ornately designed teacup with liquid in it. Canon

Wedgwood Broiler

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It’s true what they say: One man’s fine-dining destination is another man’s dive. The Wedgwood Broiler is from another time, when you had a hidden bar in the back of your swanky steakhouse, so folks of all ages and lifestyles could dine comfortably without a view of the winos. (Today, they just plunk the bar right in the middle of the dining room without shame.) This frozen-in-amber neighborhood jewel opened in the mid-1960s when the Camelot thing was chic — there used to be a full, real suit of armor standing next to the entrance — and you can still spot little medieval touches in the doors and the furniture. The retired set still hangs out in the restaurant half of the building, where dinner service is always chockablock, but the move is to get your prime rib and Caesar salad with Cheez-Its on it in the shitass lounge, at one of their big circular booths that it’s really hard to climb in and out of. It’s cool, though; after a couple of their stiff pours, you’re gonna be here all night anyway. 

The Ballard Smoke Shop

Recently yoinked back from the cliffs of extinction by Sunset Tavern owner Max Genereaux, the Smoke Shop is a precious diner/dive combo that really exemplifies the grotty blue-collar spirit of Old Seattle. Genereaux gave the dining room a fresh paint job, some new booths and pinball machines, and a menu update — including a Juicy Lucy! — but the ‘30s-era bar has pretty much stayed its crusty old self. (The giant king crab is still on the wall, mercifully.) The late-night menu runs until midnight on weeknights and 1 a.m. on weekends, and they’ve got Evan on well. 

Hattie's Hat Restaurant

Hattie’s is like your cozy but stylish vintage sweater that somehow goes with everything. You can sidle up to the gorgeous mahogany bar and sip Bill Murray cocktails with a date you wanna impress or grab one of the wooden antique booths on the restaurant side and have a casual diner meal with your friends. It’s open for breakfast at 9 a.m. on weekends, so you can nurse a hangover here just as easily as you acquired it. And the crowd spans generations, like all the best bars’ crowds do.

Thunderbird Tavern

Y’all know about the Thunderbird? Oh, you do? Well, we know a little bit about you then. Not to generalize, but mmmmmost of the people who hang out at the T-Bird were at least initially drawn there by the strip club next door. (That’s thanks to Washington State’s ban on alcohol sales in strip clubs, soon to be gone!) Nah, we’re just teasing you. At least as many folks show up there for the Secret Sausage hot dog menu — we like the eponymous hot link with their signature cream cheese and Firlander hot sauce, as well as the meatless chipotle sausage. Still others are there for the friendly crowd of sports-watchers, the killer garden space out back, or just to say hello to Hatchet Face the tabby cat. But yeah, if you stop by before the law’s repealed… you’re definitely gonna meet some people who just popped over from the strip club to get loaded. Not that that’s bad. Look, we live in a society.

The exterior of the Thunderbird Tavern
The Thunderbird.
Harry Cheadle

Stampede Cocktail Club

Stampede makes some of the most inventive drinks in the city, and the bar excels equally at no-alcohol options as it does cocktails. The approach is as playful as it is crafty: tiki-adjacent with a wide palette. Colorful lanterns give the bar area a deep glow, while cool neon in the adjoining room give vaporwave and Patrick Nagel vibes. It’s like a party at an edgy art gallery only the guests will actually talk to you. 

A group of people sit around a table in a bar, bathed in red lights. Stampede Cocktail Club

Dark Room

When Dark Room opened in early 2023, it was an instant classic. Co-owner Matthew Gomez brings restless creativity to a drink menu that includes a damn-near encyclopedic range of ingredients. There’s interesting booze like Kümmel, Nixta, and Cloosterbitter; not-booze like Yakult and moringa; even kimchi brine and carrot. And every drink is a banger — Gomez is an absolute virtuoso, and he never misses a note. As if that wasn’t enough, ace chef and co-owner Amy Beaumier is in the kitchen slinging top-notch Korean-inflected snacks til 10 p.m., and the atmosphere is as lively as it is moody and dimly lit. 

A cocktail served in a Spam container
Quarters for the Seoul at Dark Room
Suzi Pratt

Streamline Tavern

Owned by former Seattle Post-Intelligencer (RIP) columnist Mike Lewis, the Streamline is an untouchable Old Seattle institution known as a haunt for journos — and don’t let anyone tell you the old Streamline is a single drop better than the new one. Yes, the original spot was a few blocks away, on the same block as Ozzie’s, but all of the crust and dust followed it like a neighborhood cat when it moved in 2015. The current Streamline has the same drunks, the same enormous oval-shaped bar and green pleather stools, the same pinball machines and pool tables — they even brought the toilets over. Drinks are still cheap as hell, and the food’s still pretty good. Plus that cool-ass red-and-black checkerboard floor will delight even the Oldest Seattle curmudgeon. It’s like if there were a dive bar at the bottom of Alice’s rabbit hole.

Cyclops

Since 1990, this historic grunge bar/cafe has been luring customers in with its wise, winking neon eye gazing out upon First Avenue. Half diner and half dive, Cyclops is where the industry folks and old-guard Sub Poppers would hang out after shows at the nearby Croc or practice at Black Dog Forge around the corner — and where some still do. The food’s solid, the Rainier’s cold, the lamps are lava, the paintings are velvet, the dress code is hoodies and flannels. Get the crispy polenta fries.

Rob Roy

Can a bar be sophisticated and cozy at the same time? James Beard nominee Rob Roy achieves that rare equilibrium with artfully placed gentle lighting, elegant yet comfortable leather stools (with, let’s celebrate this, back support!) a den-like sofa area, and an ace lineup of impeccably composed drinks. A venerable figure in the rise of Seattle’s craft cocktail community, it’s been open since 2009 and hasn’t stagnated one bit. The special move here is porting contemporary techniques and ingredients into classic cocktails: Sherry and a river stone tincture give their martini alluring minerality, while pandan and aged rum fat-washed with coffee-infused butter boost the Jungle Bird right into the stratosphere. There’s also an equally great selection of signature newer-school drinks, and an intriguing menu of no-alcohol cocktails. 

Roquette

Zig Zag Cafe alum Erik Hakkinen opened Roquette in 2019, but it feels like it’s been here forever. The striking Marseille-blue storefront sets the classique tone, while tastefully plush seating, just-right lighting, and a prominent mural of a tropical vista establishes the interior atmosphere. The impeccably crafted cocktails often incorporate ingredients like Amontillado or Armagnac, and the affable bartenders are apt to eavesdrop and then pour you a sample of something you’ve expressed curiosity about. Just like the caviar-and-Bugles appetizer it offers on the snack menu, Roquette is fancy and approachable at the same time.

Zig Zag Cafe

You can’t know Seattle’s craft cocktail scene without knowing the Zig Zag. Famous for bartender Murray Stenson’s tenure, during which he reintroduced the world to the Last Word cocktail, it remains a top-notch bar even though Stenson moved on long since before his death in 2023. Cocktails are detailed and composed, the staff is warmly hospitable, and the atmosphere combines moodily lit coziness with buzzy destination elegance.

IL Bistro

When people hear legendary Seattle bartender Murray Stenson’s name, they usually associate him with Zig Zag Cafe. That is the bar where he became famous in the craft cocktail renaissance of the early aughts. However, Il Bistro was his longtime proving ground in the ‘90s. It’s where he found his stride — and it’s a historic Seattle place for plenty of reasons beyond that one. Il Bistro is a cocktail bar from a James Bond movie that has been open since 1975. There’s nothing more essentially Seattle than skittering down the cobblestones of Post Alley and ducking into this red-lit respite from a rainy Seattle night. There’s a whole libretto of craft cocktails and mocktails well complemented by a side of arancini, and the scotch collection is unmatched in town. Plus, it’s so unexpectedly sexy down there.

A photo shoots into a bar through an archway, where the bar wraps around and red and orange lights shine down. Meg van Huygen

Polar Bar

Built in 1914 to host a social club for Arctic explorers, the Arctic Club Hotel is a Beaux-Arts masterwork and an architectural fave of locals and travelers alike — thanks in no small part to the iconic terracotta walruses on the facade. To boot, inside the expansive lobby is the snazzy blue-lit Polar Bar, definitely one of Seattle’s most beautiful bars. Longtime bartender Mike has got all the dad jokes and specializes in the Smoke & Mirrors — basically a barbecued Old Fashioned, made using the nifty little cocktail smoker and a bell jar. A lovely way to have some birthday drinks, kick off a sexy date, or just celebrate a personal victory.

A smoke-filled bell jar.
The Smoke & Mirrors cocktail
Meg Van Huyen

Rumba

With one of the most extensive rum libraries on the West Coast, Rumba is an unskippable stop on the Capitol Hill bar trail. It’s basically a rum museum, with a collection comprising more than 700 different kinds of rum from around the world — a bar straight out of Hemingway’s daydreams. The menu of Caribbean-spiced tacos and sliders accompany an elaborate spread of punches, swizzles, daiquiris, and Tiki classics. If that’s not enough for you, there’s another bar within the bar. Duck through the side hatch into Inside Passage to hide out in an under-the-sea secret lounge with a giant octopus chandelier and even more elaborate drinks.

A shaken daiquiri sits on a bar top, with a container of limes behind it and a dried orange floating in it. Meg van Huygen

Fort St. George

It really doesn’t get more Seattle than the Fort. In the upstairs level of a ‘90s office building in the Chinatown–International District, Fort St. George specializes in yoshoku cuisine — American diner dishes with Japanese stylings. The sports bar is best known for its take on spaghetti bolognese drizzled with garlic mayo, although the versions with tarako (cod roe), kimchi, and enoki mushrooms are equally comforting. The half-dozen dorias, described as “a Japanese-style risotto/casserole,” and curry bowls are solid bets that come in fun options like shrimp and baby scallop or Japanese hamburger. Baseball on TV, Japanese beers on tap, and a postcard view of Hing Hay Park complete the C-ID arc. 

A plate of garlic mayo spaghetti sits on a table. Meg van Huygen

The Doctor's Office

One of the finest craft cocktail bars in Seattle, the Doctor’s Office is often noted for its selection of rare and expensive high-end spirits and its reservations-suggested energy, but it’s every bit as welcoming and fun as it is lavish. (And for the record, drink prices here are right in line with other craft cocktail spots in town.) You’ll be greeted with a gratis pour of bubbly and a warmed hand towel to settle in. Check out that kooky-cool red polka dot bathroom. Order a Spanish coffee and you might get treated to a cheekily over-the-top send-up of flair bartending. But the real draw remains the exquisitely balanced cocktails. Like thousand thread-count sheets, there are no gaps in the weave of these drinks.

Related Maps

Canon

The term world-famous gets thrown around a lot, but Canon has appeared on best bars in the world lists, and not near the bottom. Boasting a 181-page list of spirits that includes decades-old vintage bottlings, the place is a veritable Smithsonian of booze, and the drinks are often as attention-grabbing as they are creative. A luxe food menu includes bites like Taylor Shellfish oysters and salmon tartare, as well as larger portions like lamb chops and steak.

A black teapot steams. Next to it is an ornately designed teacup with liquid in it. Canon

Wedgwood Broiler

It’s true what they say: One man’s fine-dining destination is another man’s dive. The Wedgwood Broiler is from another time, when you had a hidden bar in the back of your swanky steakhouse, so folks of all ages and lifestyles could dine comfortably without a view of the winos. (Today, they just plunk the bar right in the middle of the dining room without shame.) This frozen-in-amber neighborhood jewel opened in the mid-1960s when the Camelot thing was chic — there used to be a full, real suit of armor standing next to the entrance — and you can still spot little medieval touches in the doors and the furniture. The retired set still hangs out in the restaurant half of the building, where dinner service is always chockablock, but the move is to get your prime rib and Caesar salad with Cheez-Its on it in the shitass lounge, at one of their big circular booths that it’s really hard to climb in and out of. It’s cool, though; after a couple of their stiff pours, you’re gonna be here all night anyway. 

Related Maps