#1402 #S856 - Tommy Gun, Seattle - 3/28/2011

Update: Tommy Gun closed Jan 17, 2015

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A darkly wooded bar that is envisioned as the go-to neighbor bar for the Capitol Hill Light Rail Station. The decor and drinks have very slight nods to the prohibition and gangster eras.  The servers are nice and willing to experiment with your drinks, but despite the themes, the bar seems rather unremarkable -- like a Linda Derschang bar without the budget to fill it full of animal heads and vintage signs.  It will be interesting to see how much it thrives in a neighborhood with so many other choices.

1703 E Olive Way, Seattle, WA - (206) 323-4866
Est. March 24th, 2011 - Closed Jan 17, 2015 - Building constructed: 1993
tommygunseattle.com - facebook - capitolhillseattle - seattleweekly - yelp

#1401 #S855 - Poquitos, Seattle - 3/28/2011

A large, ornate Mexican restaurant and bar from the owners of Bastille and along the lines of Pesos.  It has better than average food, decent drinks, and is usually full.

1000 East Pike St, Seattle, WA 98122 - (206) 453-4216
Est. March 2011 - Building constructed: 1912
vivapoquitos.com - facebook - seattlemag - seattleweekly - thestranger

#1400 #S854 - Blackboard Bistro, Seattle - 3/22/2011

Update: Blackboard Bistro closed Aug 19, 2017

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The bar is really an afterthought here -- the place is really about the food, a revolving set of quite good menu items on the various blackboards.

3247 California Ave SW, Seattle, WA 98116 - (206) 257-4832                 
Est. Aug 2010 - Closed Aug 19, 2017 - Building constructed 1910
Other bars in this location:  Les Tamales, Ovio Bistro, Beato, Eness
blackboardbistroseattle.com - seattletimes - westseattleblog

#1399 #S853 - The Cask, Seattle - 3/22/2011

The Cask closed in October 2014.

2350 California Ave SW, Seattle, WA 98116 - (206) 938-2275                   
Est. July 8, 2010
thecaskseattle.com - seattlepi - westseattleblog

#1398 #S852 - The Bridge, Seattle - 3/22/2011

The Bridge is a comfortable and sometimes incongruous neighborhood joint, with motorcycles and blue collar vehicles parked out front, but inside a menu of sashimi ahi, crab dip, and chicken caprese sliders.  (It also has a tasty burnt creme with fresh berries soaked in Jack Daniels.)  They occasionally have live music and even had one of the local high school drum teams in.

The decor is fairly standard but the owners have worked a number of interesting places, so it will be interesting to see if it grows a bit more pronounced personality.  But it seems like a step up from the Redline, which itself was a step up from Legends.

4439 35th Ave SW, Seattle, WA 98126 - (206) 402-4606
Est. Feb. 24, 2011 - Closed Dec 2, 2013 - Building constructed 1926
Previous bars at this location:  Redline Music and Sports, Legends Sports Bar
thebridgeseattle.com - facebook - westseattleblog - westseattleherald

#1397 - Daman's Bar and Grill , Redmond, WA - 3/18/2011

14810 NE 24TH St, Redmond, WA 98052 - (425) 881-8801
damansbarandgrill.com - yelp
Est. 1982

#1396 #S851 - Saigon Nice, Seattle - 3/16/2011

Update: Saigon Nice closed (2013?)


My brief stop in at Saigon Nice, which opened in the former location of the Tan Tuu Quan restaurant, was a curious one.  I was the only one in the rather large place, and from their fairly limited liquor stock I decided that I better go with my "safe" drink when I don't trust the skills of the bartender, a simple gin and tonic.  But this turned out to be not simple enough.  The elderly Vietnamese lady behind the bar just pointed at the bottles there and asked, "Which one, you see?"

I didn't see, so I went with a bottle of beer.  And for the entire time drinking it, the woman sat right across the bar from me, watching me.  She didn't seem suspicious or like she hoped I would get out so she could close -- it seemed like she just had nothing else to do.  But it appears that there is no lack of action later in evenings, including multiple stabbings.

4864 Beacon Ave S, Seattle, WA 98108 - (206) 723-6353
beaconhillblog - yelp
Est. 2008
Previous bars at this location:  Long time location of the Jolo Tavern (at least 60s through the 90s), Tan Tuu Quan restaurant

#1395 #S850 - St. Dames, Seattle - 3/16/2011

Good vegetarian food and cocktails in a surprising location from Amy Weems and Sarah Murphy.  I had the "New Zealand 75" (gin, kiwi syrup, champagne).


4525 Martin Luther King Jr Way, Seattle, WA 98108 - (206) 725-8879
facebook -  thestranger - seattle weekly
Est. Nov 2010

#1394 #S849 - Cafe Ibex, Seattle - 3/16/2011

3219 Martin L King Jr Way S #B, Seattle, WA 98144-6046 - (206) 721-7537
ibexseattle.tripod.com - thestranger - yelp

#1393 #S848 - Blue C Sushi downtown, Seattle - 3/12/2011

Update: This Blue C Sushi location closed Jan 6, 2019.


The 6th location from the local kaiten sushi chain.  The bars are certainly secondary here, and pleasant enough, but would not be your first choice if you weren't going for the food.

1510 7th Ave, Seattle, WA 98101 - (206) 467-4022
Est. Oct. 13, 2009 - Closed Jan 6, 2019
bluecsushi.com - seattletimes - yelp

#1392 #S847 - Mondello, Seattle - 3/10/2011

Nice Sicilian joint in Magnolia with a small wine bar from the Palermo buddies who brought us  La Vita è Bella Café.


2435 33rd Ave W, Seattle, WA 98199 - (206) 352-8700
Est. July 2005
mondelloristorante.com - facebook - seattletimes - yelp

#1391 #S846 - Jager Bar, Szmania's, Seattle - 3/10/2011

Update: The owners of Szmania's sold it on April 1, 2014 and on April 1, 2015 the name was changed to Rogo's Restaurant and Bar


"Jager" is something that can have widely varying connotations in different contexts, but it was still a little surprising to me the neon "Jager Bar" sign over the quaint suburban wine bar in Chef Ludger and wife Julie's fine bistro.

It's a little charming for my taste in bars, but it's a very nice dinner option (I had the curry wurst and prawns saute) and I enjoyed the "Red Vyalin Manhattan" (Knob Creek bourbon, Vya sweet vermouth, Peychaud's bitters, hint of cherry juice, served up with a brandied cherry)

3321 West McGraw St, Seattle, WA 98199-3209 - (206) 284-7305
Est. 1990, lounge opened 1994
szmanias.com - seattletimes - yelp

#1390 #S845 - Daniels Broiler Leschi, Seattle - 3/9/2011

All three of the Daniels have nice settings, but this one is the best, nestled in Leschi where it feels like a small town.

200 Lake Washington Boulevard Seattle, WA 98122 - (206) 329-4191
schwartzbros.com - seattledining

#1389 - Bellevue Grille Lounge, Bellevue, WA - 3/8/2011

100 112th Avenue NE, Bellevue, WA 98004 - (425) 455-3330
starwoodhotels.com

#1388 - Three Lions Pub, Redmond, WA - 3/8/2011

8115 161st Ave NE, Redmond, WA 98052-3806 - (425) 284-3399
thethreelionspub.com - yelp

#1387 #S844 - Plum Vegan Bistro, Seattle - 3/7/2011

I'm not quite willing to give up the illicit pleasures of heated animal flesh, but places like this remove a lot of my excuses.  And with a number of tasty dinner options, they serve some pretty good cocktails as well.  I had some bruschetta with a glass of wine, and the Spicy Cajun Mac N Yease accompanied by a Blueberry Basic cocktail (Spiced Cinzano rum, sugar, blueberries, basil, lime, soda).

1429 12th Avenue Seattle, WA 98122-3905 - (206) 838-5333
Est. July 25, 2009
plumbistro.com - seattlemetro - seattletimes - thestranger - seattleweekly - yelp

#1386 - Daniel's Broiler, Bellevue - 3/7/2011

Good steakhouse with a nice view, and like a lot of upscale restaurants, they've been forced to up their cocktail game over the last couple years.

10500 Northeast 8th, 21st Floor, Bellevue, WA 98004 - (425) 462-4662
schwartzbros.com

#1385 #S843 - Horses Cut Shop, Seattle - 3/5/2011

Horses Cut Shop is only regularly open the first Sunday of the month, insofar as I can tell, but it is my favorite bar experience in Seattle. They have Sunday brunch, chicken shit bingo, and live music in a space they describe (accurately) as "part high octane bad idea, part Ameircana in all it's wooly glory."

Behind the bar was a sign reading "Horses Cut Shop has gone 185 Days Without Someone Throwing Up."  They ban civil war reenactments and Marshall Scott Warner.  In September they're driving 100 cases of Rainier in a 1974 Ford Camper Special to Austin, TX, where they will swap it for 100 cases of Lone Star and turn around and come back.

This is excellence.

4306 Fremont Avenue North
Est. 2010 - Closed 2012
Subsequently Underwood Stables, 2012-2014
Web site: horsescutshop.com
Articles: stackeddmagazine -  cozyland - flickr

#1384 #S842 - Empire Pub, Seattle - 3/5/2011

Update: The Empire Pub closed in either 2011 or 2012

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The Empire Tavern, named for its old location on Empire Way (before it was changed to Martin Luther King Jr. Way), is a classic neighborhood dive. It's been in the current location for about four years, but has a fine collection of old geezers. The walls are filled with Nascar paraphernalia and completed jigsaw puzzles featuring eagles, turkeys, Mt. Rushmore and Thomas Kincade-like cottages. It's a good place to wear your dirty baseball cap and have a beer and some microwave popcorn.

9501 Rainier Ave, Seattle, Washington 98118 - (206) 725-7714
Est. 1948 or earlier, at 5701 Empire Way (later Martin Luther King Jr Way), forced to move due to Sound Transit construction - Closed 2011 or 2012
Previous bars at this location: None known
Subsequent bars at this location: Souvanny's Restaurant and Lounge
yelp

#1383 #S841 - El Sombrero, Seattle - 3/5/2011

4868 Rainier Ave S, Seattle, WA 98118-1742 - (206) 725-1418
seattletimes -  thestranger - yelp