#1588 - Skyway Sports Bar, Seattle - 10/25/2011

This has recently changed it's name from "Best Damn Sports Bar." Since no aspect of the place provides any hint of how that could ever have been taken seriously, and for people like me who like these sorts of places, I'd suggest just going the straightforward route and naming it "Dive-iest Damn Dive Bar."

12833 Martin Luther King Jr, Skyway, WA 98178-3513 - (206) 432-9379
Est. ? - Building constructed: 1950
Other bars at this location: Town & Country Tavern, Grumpy's Too, Whitey's T&C Tavern, Willy's Too, Best Damn Sports Bar

#1587 #S947 - Amore Infused, Seattle - 10/23/2011

Update:  Amore Infused closed after a fire in January 2012.

Amore Infused is the new version of Sean Lanagan's Italian restaurant which once lived just around the block.  Lanagan's range of events, charitable work, and personality make you root for the place, and the food and drinks make that easier.  The new name seems to accent the bar a little more, and the interesting infused spirits such as ginger limoncello, vanilla whiskey and chai rum.

I had a Cucumber Mist (house cucumber vodka, lime, sweet and sour, mist of fresh black pepper) and then a Winter Sazerac (absinthe, bourbon, Grand Gala Orange Liqueur, blood orange juice, fresh black pepper, bitters).  The cocktails tend to be a tad on the sweet side for my tastes, but these two were really tasty, and Ernie the bartender makes it a pleasure to explore your personal tastes.

522 Wall St, Seattle, WA 98121 - 206.770.0606      
Est. Feb 11, 2011
tasteofamore.com - facebook - seattletimes  - seattletimes (Thanksgiving dinners)- yelp

#1586 #S946 - Local Vine (U Village), Seattle - 10/21/2011

Local Vine has a terrific array of choices (100 wines by the glass), a few interesting cocktails, and their goal is laudable -- "a place where you can hang out the way you would in a coffee shop while learning about or just enjoying wine." In addition, the servers are very nice. But this location is in the middle of the University Village shopping mall, which is about as far as humanly possible from the setting in which I would like to sit back and enjoy a glass of wine. It would be like going to the middle of GameWorks to do yoga.

So I would never make this my choice for a drink (beginning with the extensive hunt for a parking space) if I was not already in the shopping center. But it's a nice little stop if you have already had the misfortune of being there.


2620 NE University Village St, Seattle, WA 98105 - (206) 527-6222
Est. Oct. 13, 2011
thelocalvine.com - facebook - seattlemet - seattlemet - yelp

#1585 #S945 - Delancey, Seattle - 10/20/2011

As a bar Delancey is simply a friendly suburban neighborhood joint where you can get a good glass of wine.  So it doesn't get the a highest recommendation on this bar blog, and it's not recommended that you go (and probably wait) when you are simply seeking a bar.  Bur of course the main attraction of the place is the pizza, which has been praised by all kinds of local critics as well as the New York Times and other remote sources that know their pizza.

The accompaniments are also quite good -- I had a delicious Jersey salad, with a glass of PR Corsini Docetto blend, before the sausage pizza (tomato sauce, fresh and aged mozzarella, Grana, housemade sausage).  Delancey pizzas are thin crust and wood-fired, and I prefer them to the certified authentic Neapolitan style pizza of Via Tribulani or Tutta Bella, where the crust and pie tend to become goopy in the center.  Also, the ingredients on the Delancey pies seem a tad better to me (though I still give a slight edge to Serious Pie here).

You'll often have a wait but it's well worth it.

Historical notes:  While I've found no previous bars listed at the 1415 address, the "Pantry at Delancey," which is behind the pizzeria and hosts dinner parties and classes, is listed at 1417.  This leads me to believe that at least a portion, if not all, of the street-facing Delancey was the previous location of several bars listed under the 1417 address.  These include the "West Seventieth Street Tavern" from the 40s into the 60s, "Sam's Place Tavern" in the 70s, the "Guardsman Tavern" in the 90s, Don & Ila's by 1975 and Burt and Flo's Tavern by 1977.  The brick building of which Delancey is a part was constructed in 1926.


1415 Northwest 70th Street, Seattle, WA 98117-5340 - (206) 838-1960
Est. Aug 2009 - Building constructed: 1926
Previous bars at this location:  West Seventieth St. Tavern, Sam's Place Tavern, Guardsman Tavern, Don & Ila's Tavern
delanceyseattle.com - nytimes - gastronomyblog - seriouseats - seriouseats - seattlepi - yelp

#1584 #S944 - Cafe Campagne, Seattle - 10/19/2011

French bistro cuisine with a tiny bit of a bar.


1600 Post Alley, Seattle, WA 98101 - (206) 728-2233
Est. 1994
campagnerestaurant.com - facebook - foodpluswines - seattleweekly - seattleite - seattlemag - seattledining - gayot - zagat - yelp

#1583 #S943 - Marche, Seattle - 10/19/2011

Update: Marche closed Feb 28, 2014

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The long time Seattle institution Campagne has been remodeled into a somewhat more relaxed format under owner/chef Daisley Gordon. (Cafe Campagne remains downstairs.) The white table clothes and wall between restaurant and bar are gone, and the menu offers more diversions from the central French theme.  The bar offers some interesting cocktails and, of course, wines (with some more adventuresome by-the-glass offerings thanks to the preserving powers of their new Enomatic preserver.

86 Pine Street Seattle, WA 98101-1531 - (206) 728-2800
Est. Oct 7, 2011
marcheseattle.com - facebook - seattleweekly - yelp

#1582 #S942 - C.C.Attles, Seattle - 10/18/2011

People go to CC Attles for the people at CC Attles, not for the unique decor or a fine cocktail.  So there are a lot of people very happy to see the much liked bear bar back in action.  But for the sake of variety, it's sad to see someplace as different as Café Metropolitain replaced with a remodel as utterly boring as CC's.

Café Metropolitain was by no means a great bar.  But it took the space in one more of those boring condos-above / retail-below buildings steadily diminishing the character from our neighborhoods, and turned it into something unique and surprising. One walked under the condos and into a Disney-like slice of Paris streets at night, with a fountain, cobblestones, and string lights.

CC's pours dive bar style cocktails (poorly made, but cheap and strong), and tries to replace the patio of the old location with, essentially, a hallway at the side of the room. If you want to have a night out with burly, gay men, CC's still seems to be one of your better choices, and the owner promises "no attitude." I'm obviously not in their target demographic, and perhaps boring and plain decor (with the exception of a large, plaster, Tom of Finland style figure) is just the right complement for a neighborhood bear bar that resents attitude. But speaking strictly from the personal tastes of someone who rather "collects" bars and likes to feel a strong, unique character, no matter what kind of bar it is, a little more attitude might have gone a long way.

1701 E Olive Way Seattle, WA 98102 - (206) 726-0565
Est. June 11, 2011 (relocated from 1501 E Madison)  - Building constructed: 1993
Other bars at this location: Café Metropolitain  (Henry's Off Broadway in a previous building)
ccattles.net (NSFW) - facebook - thestranger -  yelp