#2501 - Bar Code, Bellevue, WA - 4/11/2014

Bar Code, Bellevue, WA

Bar Code closed in early 2016

For an area dense with young, white collar workers during the day, it's a little surprising that there are not more choices in downtown Bellevue for a quality cocktail after work. Yes, in the evenings, as Tan Vinh has noted, Bellevue is "still a Cosmo-and-candy-cocktail kind of town and "still the only city I’ve been to where folks still order Long Island Iced Tea and Harvey Wallbangers in abundance." (seattletimes)  But it still seems surprising to me that there are really only two serious cocktail bars in the area, and still no pseudo, instant dive bar -- even if the available spaces are almost completely soul-less.

Perhaps it was with this in mind that Evan Martin decided to help open the craft cocktail stop at "Bar Code," at the foot of the TEN20 condo building. Martin worked with Andrew Bohrer and at Needle and Thred and went on to become bar manager at Chantanee, Chino's, and Ba Bar. He won the cocktail contest at the 2010 Tales of the Cocktail with his "Death in South Pacific," and was named one of the top 100 bartenders in the world by Grand Marnier. The location, previously Grand Cru Wine Bar, is off the beaten track of the downtown area, and alas, by the time I caught up to it in this blog, Bar Code was no more.

Bar Code, Bellevue, WA

But for the record, the drinks were lovely, of course, and the food was more interesting and tasty than average, with Tandoori chicken skewers in mango curry and a bacon-wrapped meatloaf sandwich. I won't miss it much now that I no longer work in Bellevue, but despite its failure, the area still deserves a few more good bars.

1020 108th Ave NE, Ste 100, Bellevue, WA 98004 - (425) 455-4278
Est. Oct 10, 2013 - Building constructed: 2007
Previous bars in this location: Grand Cru
Reviews: patch - seattletimes - seattlemag - bellevuedowntown - yelp - tripadvisor