#2388 #S1201 - Millers Guild, Seattle - 12/30/2013

Update: Owners announced the closure of Miller's Guild, due primarily to the COVID pandemic, in May 2021.

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Miller's Guild is about meat and wood and fire. The source of the fire -- and virtually all of the food, including vegetables -- is a 9-foot, wood-fire grill, which is the center of gravity of the place. And it can get hot:

It's so hot that those working it wear welder aprons (and gloves)—a lesson learned after realizing that cotton t-shirts heat up intensely. (In fact, the original idea of shirts with decals was ditched when the plastic started melting onto the cooks' bodies.) It's so hot that workers are limited to just two days per week on the hot side of the grill. It's so hot that chef Jason Wilson jokes that his biggest challenge is "stocking up on lotion and ChapStick." (Serious Eats)

The master of this fire is Jason Wilson, chef-owner of Seattle's highly regarded Crush. But while Crush serves delicate dishes in the homey rooms of an old bungalow, Miller's is virtually its atavistic opposite. The menus of both are driven by locally sources ingredients, but the focus of Miller's is a nose-to-tail butchery, including 75-day dry-aged beef, all prepared over the open flames. Both places also serve creative and very nice cocktails, and at Miller's the wood theme includes 13 casks of oak-barrel-aged cocktails over the bar. You won't go wrong with any of the choices here, although you should be prepared to pay upscale prices.

612 Stewart St, Seattle, WA 98101 - (206) 443-3363
Est. Dec 17, 2013 - Building constructed: 1926
Previous bars in this location: Red Fin
Web site: millersguild.com  - facebook
Articles ranked: seriouseats - olivalazer - seattlemet - seattlemag - seattleweekly - iheartfoodndrink - alittlebiteoflife - seattletimes - thestranger - komonews - eater - yelp - tripadvisor

#2266 #S1168 - The Old Sage, Seattle - 9/3/2013

Update: Old Sage closed June 17, 2016

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Oh man, do I love these guys' places. Old Sage is another restaurant/bar from my favorite Seattle chefs, Brian McCracken and Dana Tough (Tavern Law, Spur, Coterie). This place has an emphasis on smoked meats -- and a smokey vibe in general -- though the smokiness is more subtle than barbecue. And just as in their other places, they've delivered bartenders who craft excellent cocktails (here with a malty, smoky, scotch theme) and I love pretty much every item I order, even in a magician type way when the ingredients are not ones that would generally entice me. I started with the malted emmer, with a bit of local apples and mountain cheese, and it was delicious. Emmer! Emmer was delicious.

It was a little less surprising that they could also make Coho salmon, my second dish, so delicious. After getting a bit my tastes, bartender Miles added a pretty much perfect cocktail to top things off; the Expat was made with blended scotch, Carpano Antica, Campari, Averna and sassafras.

With the small plates and craft cocktails flowing, evenings at McCracken and Tough's places can quickly start to get a little pricey. But when I'm in the mood for a drink and fine meal there is simply no place in Seattle I like better.

1410 12th Ave Seattle, Washington 98122 - (206) 557-7430
Est. July 31, 2013 - Building constructed: 2007
Previous bars in this location: Local Vine
Web site: theoldsageseattle.com - facebook - blog
Ranked articles: seriouseats - seattletimes - thrillist - eater - seattlemet - seattlemag - eater - capitolhillseattle - thestranger - seattlemet - eater - yelp

#2127 #S1129 - Bar Cotto, Seattle - 4/9/2013

pork belly bruschetta, Bar Cotto, Seattle

For folks outside of Seattle and celebrity chefdom, Ethan Stowell is a celebrated local chef who has been establishing a mini empire of restaurants across Seattle (e.g. his Anchovies And Olives next door was picked by Bon Apetit as one top ten restaurants in America). So you can count on some interesting food when he opens up a salumeria and cocktail bar. And indeed I had a very nice Salame pizza and pork belly bruschetta, accompanied by a cocktail that I liked pretty much as much as any I've ever had. This was the Old Loathsome Bastard (oak cask aged Old Overholt and Averna, Strega, Pur Blood orange, and each bitters), which some might say seems almost named with me in mind.

The space is narrow and the bar is small, but it's a nicely dark at the bar, and if not entirely unfussy, it's about as homey as one could expect an Ethan Stowell salumeria to be.

1546 15th Ave Seattle, Washington 98122 - (206) 838-8081                  
Est. Feb 15, 2013 - Building constructed: 2008
Previous bars in this location: None
Web site: ethanstowellrestaurants.com - facebook
Reviews: seattlemag - capitolhillseattle - thrillist - thestranger - yelp

#1812 #S1034 - Hunger, Seattle (Fremont) - 6/12/2012

Update: Hunger closed April 12, 2014

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The very fine stop for cocktails and Mediterranean and Spanish tapas has moved a few blocks south into the old Dad Watson's space. Spirits include a house-made, spicy, red absinthe.  Try the Velvet Bullfighter.


3601 Fremont Avenue North Seattle, WA 98103 - (206) 402-4854
Est. May 2012 (current location); July 2010 original location - Closed April 14, 2014; Building constructed: 1996
Previous bars in this location: Dad Watson's
Site: hungerseattle.com - facebook
Reviews: seattletimes - bulldogsandbrownsugar - thestranger - thestranger - yelp

#1639 #S969 - Taste, Seattle - 12/7/2011

I'd had lunch here at this cafe under the Seattle Art Museum a few times before, and upon finally recollecting that it has a bar, I was thinking of it as just another bar to knock off on my Seattle list. Instead I had one of my favorite dining and drinking experiences of the year.

This was in large measure because we pulled up to the bar to the capable hands of Duncan Chase.  I somehow lost my notes and I'm writing several weeks after, so I do not recollect everything we tried.  But I do clearly remember much enjoying Duncan's Manhattan with fig infused Maker's Mark, another cocktail or two, and perhaps the most tender and tasty white fish (ling cod?) dish I think I have ever had.

I am not a fan of the bright and cold decor -- a fine bar should be dark and woody.  But the sheer deliciousness of the food and drinks, along an enjoyable chat with Duncan, will definitely have me coming back. 


1300 1st Ave, Seattle, WA 98101 - (206) 903-5291
Est. 2007 - Building constructed: year
tastesam.com - facebook - blog - seattleweekly - seattletimes - seattledining - seattletimes - seattlepi - thestranger - seattlepi - gayot - yelp

#1578 #S938 - Crush, Seattle - 10/12/2011

Update: Crush closed Aug 28, 2015

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The Crush restaurant winds around the old rooms of a century-old Tudor, and serves very fine food from owner and award-winning chef Jason Wilson.  The prices are a bit upscale as well, but Crush now has a Happy Hour menu with small bites for $4 to $12, and for a romantic occasion it is hard to beat.  In addition to the extensive wine list, Crush has some different and enjoyable cocktails, and a seat at the small bar will afford you a good view of the food alternatives and their delicate preparations.

2319 East Madison Street, Seattle, WA 98112-5416 - (206) 302-787
Est. Feb. 22, 2005 - Closed Aug 28, 2015 - Building constructed: 1903
chefjasonwilson.com - seattledining - seattletimes - seattle weekly (slides) - seattle weekly - komonews - meatyair - thestranger - gayot - yelp

#1551 #S918 - Coterie, Seattle -9/14/2011

Update: On the evening of Sep 29, 2013, Coterie closed as a public bar and was used only for special events for a few years until Cursed Oak opened in its space in November 2016

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There was not a lot of tension over whether I'd like to food or cocktails in this new restaurant in the old location of Restaurant Zoe.  It's another place by Brian McCracken and Dana Tough, after Spur and Tavern Law, my favorite stop for cocktails or fine food in Seattle.  The emphasis is on the bar in those other two, but it's a smaller part of this one.  We had some tasty cod fritters and mac & cheese to go with a Seelback, a sazerac, and a third drink of no name with aquavit and celery bitters (the third came as a challenge to bartender Jerry to make a nice drink with an aquavit base).

It was all very tasty, as I expected.  However if you are looking primarily for a bar, this space is less intimate and darkly comfortable than Spur and Tavern Law, despite an intriguing wall of live ferns.  But it's great to have more options from these two guys.

2137 2nd Ave, Seattle, WA 98121 - (206) 956-8000
Est. Sep 13, 2011 - Building constructed: 1927
Other bars at this location: Restaurant Zoe
thecoterieroom.com - facebook - tossedsaladsandscrambledeggs - seattletimes - seattletimes - eater.com - thestranger - yelp

#1550 #S917 - Bar Del Corso, Seattle - 9/10/2011

I was sad to see the long-running Beacon Hill Pub close before I could ever make it (the owner moved to open Orcas Landing).  But holy smokes, Jerry Corso has turned this into one of the city's best neighborhood pizzerias and restaurants. We sat at the end of the bar and watched delicious looking dish after delicious looking dish coming out.  It's no secret either -- though it is a reasonably sized place, you can expect to have a fairly long wait any day of the week if you go anywhere close to the dinner hour.

But it's worth it.

I put BDC in my personal top 4 pizza stops in Seattle (along with downtown's Serious Pie, Wallingford's Delancey, and West Seattle's Phoenicia).  We had the Salame Piccante pizza (tomato, salame, mozzarella, roasted peppers and grana).  But the salads and appetizers are as good or better.  We enjoyed the Suppli al Telefono (Roman street food: fried risotto balls and mozzarella) and I had the best heirloom tomato / Caprese salad I've ever had in my life (heirloom tomatoes and burrata with extra virgin olive oil, balsamic must, basic and coarse see salt).

The bar is good as well.  I had an Old Perry Manhattan Redux (sweet vermouth, rye whiskey, Angostura bitters), but it is the food that will make you lust to return.



3057 Beacon Ave S, Seattle, WA 98144 - (206) 395-2069
Est. July 12, 2011 - Building constructed: 1926
Other bars at this location: There have been bars her since at least 1939,  and it was the Beacon Hill Pub from at least 1948 until 2010
bardelcorso.com - facebook - seattletimes - seattletimes - seattleweekly - thestranger - eater.com - yelp

#1506 #S901 - Ba Bar (Capitol Hill), Seattle - 7/7/2011

Ba Bar serves upscale Vietnamese street food and some very fine cocktails in the former space of Watertown Coffee across from Seattle University.  I had a fantastic pork belly, along with a Sazerac and then a Gilded Age (Domaine de Canton, Noilly Pratt Dry, Stone Pine liquer, Ricard, maple honey).  Ba Bar is from Eric Banh, the owner of Monsoon and Baguette Box, named for his Chinese father ("Ba" = father), and designed to reflect the spirit of a Vietnamese quan (cafe).

Despite some early drama with the folks manning the bar, he has created a very comfortable space to enjoy just a drink and snack or a nice dinner.  (The bar is now run by Even Martin, formerly of Chantanee.)  12th Avenue seems to be becoming something of a bourbon mecca -- Ba Bar stocks 175 types of bourbon alone and Jamie Boudreau's Canon which opened right down the street shortly after Ba Bar.

550 12th Ave, Seattle, WA 98122 - (206) 328-2030
Est. July 7, 2011 - Building constructed: 1920
Other bars at this location:  None known
babarseattle.com - facebook - seattleweekly - eater - seattletimes - seattlemet - seattlemag - yelp

#1374 #S832 - Golden Beetle, Seattle - 2/19/2011

Update: Maria Hines closed Golden Beetle in October of 2016 and replaced it with Young American Ale House.

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An excellent new Eastern Mediterranean restaurant from Maria Hines, the chef/owner of Tilth with a fine bar featuring Andy McClellan from Lola and Marley Tomic-Beard from Spur.  From an enticing cocktail menu, I chose "One Good Conundrum" (Old Overholt rye, Cynar, house orange bitters, and Scrappy's celery bitters) and then got a little Turkish with a "Lion's Milk Swizzle" (Efe Raki, lemon, orange-flower honey, and orange flower water) -- both quite fine.  I will be coming back for the cocktails, food, and ambiance.

1744 NW Market St, Seattle, WA 98107 - (206) 706-2977
Est. Feb 2011
golden-beetle.com - thestranger - seattleweekly - myballard - yelp

#1245 #S752 - Hunger, Seattle - 9/17/2010

Update:  This location closed May 12, 2012, and Hunger moved to the former location of Dad Watson's in Fremont.

Wow, this was one of the best cocktail experiences I've ever had. I stumbled into this place as a little break from the crowd during the last night of the Buckaroo Tavern, and what a great surprise it was.  With it's cozy, almost hidden location and distinct lack of PR, I don't know when I would have otherwise found the place, but I'm delighted that I did.

The (Mediterranean) tapas are very good (I had the prawn bruschetta and the boar sliders) and the cocktails were pretty nigh perfect. My drinks were a Velvet Bullfighter (agave tequila, cucumber, raspberry honey) and a Bartoloni (green Chartreuse, habenero blended bitters), which were both excellent. But Bartender Cory also gave me a small sample of each of their other featured cocktails as he made them for other customers.  Like any really good bartender, Cory quickly got a read on my tastes (and based on them went so far as to serve me something other than what I ordered, to my considerable gratitude).  But the small samples throughout the night demonstrated that entire cocktail menu is very strong, and Hunger has immediately leaped into my top choices for a fine drink or two.

4256 Fremont Ave N, Seattle, WA 98103 - (206) 402-4854
hungerseattle.com - facebook - seattleweekly - seattle weekly - seattlemag.com - yelp

#1215 #S732 - Anchovies and Olives, Seattle - 9/1/2010

Update: Anchovies and Olives closed Dec 31, 2017.

Sharing dinner items with three friends provided a pretty good sampling of the food here, which generally lived up to expectations (or as close as reasonable, given outsized accolades such as being in Bon Appetit's best ten restaurants in America).  I didn't like it as much as I've enjoyed other Ethan Stowell places, but I'm not personally a fan of oysters or raw seafoods, so I am probably not one of the better judges of the menu.

The drinks -- some classics and some designed by bartender Kiara -- were better than average, but the bar section is a bit too appertaining and the ambiance of the entire place a bit too open and condo for me to consider it highly when one is looking strictly for a bar.

1550 15th Ave, Seattle, WA 98122 - (206) 838-8080
ethanstowellrestaurants.com - seattle weekly - seattle foodies - thestranger - yelp

#1156 - Lot No. 3, Bellevue - 6/25/2010

Update: The Heavy Restaurant Group announced the permanent closure of Lot #3 on August 27, 2020, due to ongoing challenge from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Update: Since I wrote the notes below on my first visit, I've taken a job in downtown Bellevue, and I've been to Lot #3 probably 60 or 70 times. This has not been merely a matter of convenience or a sort of least of evils. Bellevue is still Bellevue, its downtown still feels like one big mall, and if distance were no matter, no one who cares about a bar environment would choose to drink anywhere in Bellevue over the sort of environments one can find across Lake Washington in places like Bathtub Gin, The Hideout, Tavern Law, Knee High Stocking Co., Canon, etc. etc. etc.

That said, it's not Lot #3's fault that Bellevue is Bellevue, and while they missed various opportunities to carve out a warm, intimate space, you do have to hand it to a place that just keeps delivering excellent food and cocktails, from friendly people day after day. Some day someone is going to establish an intimate space somewhere in some Bellevue basement or old warehouse space, that truly does have a hidden, speakeasy sort of vibe, a character that doesn't look like it was designed by the people who market Louis Vuitton purses, and pulls in a crowd that is more interesting than a random slice of Microsofties. Until that day, one who finds oneself on the east side could do much, much worse than the consistently fine vittles and spirits at Lot #3.

Original review:

From the people behind Barrio(s) and Purple(s), Lot No. 3 has a menu which they describe as simple food and cocktails based on brown liquors.  The cocktail menu also emphasizes pre-prohibition-era drinks, which may be why multiple reviewers refer to it as having a "speakeasy vibe."  Bellevue reviewers also described the place as "intimate," which tells you little of the actual loud, modernist space, but a lot about Bellevue.

Of course the food is not simple, despite starting with a base of some familiar casual standard, and the place has nothing even approaching a "speakeasy vibe."  A speakeasy feel would require not only a bit more genuine intimacy, but at least a nod to some kind of hidden, secret location; Lot 3 has huge windows with the name in 5' high characters and Bellevue shoppers bustling past.  There's also the cold, modernist decor -- about the furthest thing one might imagine from a warm, 1930s, speakeasy vibe.  And finally, there's the irony of the word itself -- far from speaking easily, our party had to shout and shift chairs to hear each other speak from around a coffee table in the giant, metal alloy environs preferred by the Heavy Restaurant Group.

Nevertheless, there are the old cocktails, which are well-chosen and well-made.  I had a Corpse Reviver and the Boulevardier with rye, and very much enjoyed them.  If I could get them in a setting that actually had a speakeasy vibe, I might come back often.

460 106th Ave, Bellevue, WA 98004460 106th Ave NE, Bellevue WA - (425) 440-0025

Est. May 21, 2010 - Closed Aug 27, 2020 - Building constructed 2008
lotno3.com - press release - eatbellevue.com - downtownbellevue.com - seattle pi - seattle times - yelp

#1113 #S661 - Tilikum Place Cafe, Seattle - 5/18/2010

Tilikum Place Cafe, Seattle, WA

This is a quite nice, somewhat upscale, cafe just up the street from the (in no way upscale, but excellent) Five Point, on a historic corner in Seattle at the meeting of land claims by founders Arthur Denny, Carson Boren and William Bell (of the "Belltown" neighborhood). The menu comes from a chef, Ba Culbert, who previously worked at the Palace Kitchen and The Ruins, and seems to feature fine takes on European comfort food sorts of dishes.  In the evenings the bar is a  pleasant stop with better than average drinks. Best seats in the house are the left-most bar seats, where one can observe the small but finely-tuned kitchen churning out their great looking dishes.

Meals coming out of the kitchen as viewed from the bar

Fried Brussels Sprout Salad

Pan seared chicken with broccolini, mashed potatoes, sauce Normany

Wild boar meatballs

Savory tart

407 Cedar St, Seattle, WA 98121 - (206) 282-4830                    
Est. October 2008 - Building constructed 1927
Previous bars at this location: None know (printers shop before cafe)
Web site: tilikumplacecafe.com - facebook
Articles:  seattletimes - belltowninseattle - cornichon - the stranger - seattle weekly - yelp

#1079 #S636 - Canlis, Seattle - 4/21/2010

While recently reading my copy of Bourbon Dandy, I realized that, while I'd eaten there a few times over the years, this list still lacked an entry for the bar at Canlis, and I'd never sampled their new cocktail menu.  With the stalwart aid of a couple thirsty friends, this was rectified last night.

Frankly, I'd love Canlis regardless of the food and drinks, as long as it preserved that great Pacifica-style cantilevered structure, the fine stone and cedar decor, and the excellent view.  But of course Canlis joints are renowned for their fine (and fairly pricey) food, and if that were not good enough, they've recently decided to put a renewed focus on upgrading their cocktail menu, under James Mac Williams.  Even the ice has been thoroughly upgraded, filtered multiple times, frozen with a Cryovac process to minimize gases, thawed, and refrozen, and arriving in your Old Fashioned in a magnificent tiny ice berg lodged to the bottom of your chilled glass.  I myself had an Our lady of Thermidor (strawberry infused vodka en sous vide, bitter lemon elixer, Champagne & a dash of Campari) which was good, and the l'Abbatoir d'Amour, which was excellent.  My friends were just as much impressed with their Manhattan and Old Fashioned.

If you're ready to drop some significant cash for dinner, you can count on Canlis to get it right, and you'll appreciate the famous extra touches -- the servers ironing the table cloths, the valets having your car waiting when you leave without ever taking your name or number, and the other small things that have made them the James Beard runner up for best service in the country a couple times. And I was pleased to see the Canlis family still not only operating, but taking a very active role -- a few questions to my server about some of the more tiki elements of the old days prompted a nice visit from Mark Canlis.

But even if you're on a tight budget you can still enjoy the decor -- you can do as we did this visit and just drop into the lounge for a couple cocktails.  They are a bit pricey ($12 to $18 for our choices), and you'll want to be a at least moderately dressy, even in the lounge.  But if you're in the mood for an upscale experience, Canlis delivers.

2576 Aurora Ave N., Seattle, WA 98109 - (206) 283-3313                 
canlis.com - tiki central - seattle times - seattle pi - yelp -
(Props to Russell at Bourbon Dandy, and Mimi and her extensive collection of tiki menus and history.  Second image is a scan from "Chub" at TikiCentral.com, from the 1966 publication "Great Restaurants of the United States and their Recipes.")

#889 - Spur Gastropub, Seattle (downtown) - 9/10/2009

Update: Spur closed on April 14, 2016

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Spur is a fairly average looking bar with no really outstanding physical personality. But what makes it one of my highest recommendations is that every frickin' cocktail and every damn food item I've ever tried there has been fantastic. It's neither super pricey nor cheap, but if you go at Happy Hour (5-7pm Sun-Thurs, 11pm-1:30am Mon-Sat) you can get a couple dishes of some of the better food you've ever had and two or three really interesting and tasty cocktails for around $40. You won't know how great a deal that is until you actually taste it.

113 Blanchard, Seattle, WA 98121 - (206) 728-6706
Est. 2008 - Closed April 14, 2016 - Building constructed 1927
spurseattle.com - blog - facebook
seattle times - seattle weekly - yelp - maureen clancy - starchefs - the stranger

#800 - Frank's Oyster House and Champagne Parlor, Seattle - 4/16/2009

The unremarkable entry to Frank's opens into a funky and very pleasing wood interior, and the experience only gets better with the cocktails. My drinking partner and I sampled a pretty fair share of the cocktail menu and there wasn't a bad one in the bunch. Every one was balanced with the multiple tastes left varied and not dominated by any one ingredient, and ably mixed this night by Trevor, who's work I enjoyed here even more than past run-ins with it at the Saint and Triple Door.

This is my favorite Seattle cocktail menu outside of Capitol Hill (where The Hideout, 22 Doors, Liberty, and perhaps the Grey Gallery may still enjoy a slight edge due to more fresh juices and a tad more experimentation). It's great to see a boom in fine cocktails around the city and it's excellent to have a place like Frank's in this neighborhood.

2616 NE 55th (north of U-Village) - map
franksoysterhouse.com - seattletimes - thestranger - culinaryfool flickr - urbanspoon - yelp

#797 - Chez Gaudy, Seattle (Capitol Hill) - 4/11/2009

A roomier but even more hidden version of Bleu Bistro. The food and cocktails are both very good and the decor is a romantic labyrinth. Walking around the barely identifiable exterior, down the alley, through the forlorn looking screen door, and through the winding interior rooms gave me the sense of being in the restaurant of a remote, Tuscan agriturismo. Their MySpace page has music by Dresden Dolls and Emilie Autumn, which are very good indicators of the vibe of the place.

1802 Bellevue Ave (at E Belmont Ave) (map)
Est. 2005 - Closed 2010
myspace - the stranger - yelp - citysearch