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Seattle's amazing musical legacy is well-known, but there's more to the arts and nightlife scenes than live music. In fact, these days, there are far more swanky bars and inventive pubs than music venues in the city.
To put it bluntly, Seattle's a dynamite place to drink. You can sip overly ambitious and ridiculously named specialty cocktails in trendy lounges, get a lesson from an enthusiastic sommelier in a wine bar or restaurant, or swill cheap beer on the patio of a dive bar. Though some places have very specific demographics, most Seattle bars are egalitarian, drawing loyal regulars of all ages.
The music scene is still kicking—there's something going on every night of the week in nearly every genre of music. The city's dynamic theater scene is a highly regarded proving ground for Broadway, and the Seattle International Film Festival draws the finest in world cinema. The ethereal Marion Oliver McCaw Hall is a first-class venue for opera and ballet, and Benaroya Hall, with its outstanding acoustics, is an elegant premier symphony hall. Families enjoy the Children's Theatre, the Northwest Puppet Center, and the many summertime folk art and music festivals.
In addition to its bars, Downtown and Belltown in particular have notable restaurants with separate bar areas. Most restaurants have impressive bar menus, and food is often served until 11 pm, midnight, or even 1 am in some spots.
Inspired by the concept of a London pub, co-founder Rodney Hines opened Métier with the idea of creating a community space for the Central District. The creative lineup of beers deviates from the standard hop-heavy menu at many of Seattle’s microbreweries. From the food sourced from That Brown Girl Cooks (a local catering company celebrating Black food traditions), to the art on the walls commissioned from local BIPOC artists, the brewery is true to its roots.
This interloper in the Seattle beer scene originally started two hours north, in Bellingham, but the quality IPAs allowed it to move to the big city. Another unique aspect to this taphouse: it's one of the few limited to adults, making it a nice reprieve from a busy day. Hungry drinkers can order from the menu of the seafood and sandwich specialist next door, Local Tide.
With its neat brick walls, polished wood floors, and vintage memorabilia, Big Time Brewery is one of the best places in the U-District for a quiet beer away from the frenetic college scene. Opened in 1988, it was one of the first local brewpubs of the craft beer movement. There are more than a dozen beers on tap, including cask ales; come here for that, not the mediocre pub grub.
A pint-size brewery a few blocks from Pike Place, Cloudburst gives you a taste of Seattle’s grungy microbrewery scene, in the best way possible. Housed in an old brick building with stickered walls, it offers an impressive selection of IPAs on tap, and a few other beers for those less hop-inclined. A Seattle staple, the brewery attracts beer and hops nerds alike to geek out over some seriously good ales. Cloudburst has a second and (slightly) bigger location in Ballard.
Seattle brims with breweries, but few are as welcoming a place to while away a few hours as this Fremont space. The wonderfully drinkable beers range from a rice lager to a porter, and the non-beer drinks cover an even wider swath, with sake, cider, a selection of teas, and kombuchas. A pair of ramen restaurants serve food from the back, near the back patio, and a bucket near the register has free toys for kids.
True to its location, you might find more tourists than locals at the Pike Brewing Company, though it is popular with the Downtown after-work crowd. The cavernous bar and restaurant, operated by the brewers of the Pike Place Pale Ale, also houses the Seattle Microbrewery Museum and an excellent shop with home-brewing supplies. Pints of beer are cold and satisfying—the pale ale and the Kilt Lifter Scottish ale have been local favorites for decades.
This neighborhood microbrewery specializes in a rotating selection of small-production, in-house beers, with a focus on IPAs, lagers, and stouts. If you work up an appetite, the kitchen specializes in Mexican fare: fish tacos, mushroom-stuffed quesadillas, shrimp ceviche, and chips and guac make a perfect pairing with one of Standard's pale ales.
Stoup is one of the stars of Seattle's craft-brewing scene, and its cavernous, 16,000-square-foot facility on Capitol Hill is Washington's largest tap room. Like many of the city's breweries, it acts as a multifunctional third place for locals: the space allows families and friends to hang out, groups to hold parties, and kids (and dogs) to play, all at the same time. The beer is delicious and varied—from German-style pilsner to Sir Dank a Lot IPA—and the atmosphere couldn't be more friendly.
