Get FREE email communications from Fodor's Travel, covering must-see travel destinations, expert trip planning advice, and travel inspiration to fuel your passion.
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.
This is an elegant place for dinner and dancing, with a polished, 2,000-square-foot dance floor. Salsa and swing events often include lessons in the cover charge. There's swing dancing on Tuesday and Wednesday, a bachata social on Thursday, and salsa on Monday and Saturday.
The Cuff Complex is one of the city's oldest LGTBQ+ clubs and also one of the biggest, with four bars, a patio, billiards, darts, and a loud, crowded dance floor tucked away downstairs. It fashions itself as a manly leather bar but attracts all shapes, sizes, and styles.
This queer-centric nightclub combines modern fixtures and industrial design in one of SLU's older, pre-Amazon buildings. It has three dance floors, so while the emphasis is on electronic music, most nights you have multiple DJs to choose from. There are also theatrical performances and drag shows that draw fun-loving crowds.
The Pony identifies itself as "a very queer bar"—and you pick up on that from the vintage nude photos decorating the walls. Other suitable adjectives are "dive" and "alternative." With the limited space—there's a small dance floor and a year-round patio (heated in when it needs to be)—things can get crowded quickly.
This multilevel, multiroom club plays hip-hop, reggae, disco, and Top 40. It gets packed on weekends—arrive early to avoid lines or to snag a table for some late-night snacks. This is the most appealing and interesting of the Pioneer Square megaclubs—in terms of decor, anyway.
Big, young, fun, and modern, it can sometimes feel like you need to be beautiful to get in here, just based on the crowds packing the bar, dance floor, and patio. From the service to the security, everything is super friendly and professional, leaving the crowd to relax and keep the party going. Great DJs fill the dance floor, and partiers can take breaks at the firepits in front.
