Seattle "must visit"?

[Happyhour24x7]

Heading to Seattle for a long weekend friday, looking for advice on can't miss bars and restaurants in the downtown area. Any help?

[DBM]

For bourbon and/or cocktails Zig Zag, Liberty Bar and Bitterroot would be my short list. Canon is awesome if you have a fat wallet. Zig Zag is downtown, Liberty and Canon are on Capitol Hill and Bitterroot is in Ballard.

For food, I would say RN74, Canlis, Campagne and Mistral. Be prepared to spend a lot.

[ChainWhip]

FX McRory's has some good bottles for not that much $$

Canon is my "go to" spot when I have an expense account in tow

Restaurant wise, I'd recommend any of Ethan Stowell's restaurants - I've enjoyed them immensely. There's also Corson Building if you want the Seattle "local sustainable slow food" experience and I'd throw up a shout out for Book Bindery & Madison Park Conservatory.

Harvest Vine used to be one of the best Tapas places around but I'd recommend Olivar instead.

If you like pork, Lecosho is a great spot - it's close to ZigZag so that's a good combo.

Edited December 11, 2013 by ChainWhip

[SmoothAmbler]

Canon.

Needle and Thread (Speakeasy) is above Tavern Law. It's very, very cool.

Zig Zag.

[Kpiz]

I second what was said in the prior posts, and add List (great food happy hour) and Bathtub Gin & Co (speakeasy themed cocktail spot). They're both in Belltown but an easy walk from downtown. I don't know if the cocktails at Bathtub Gin are as good as the other spots mentioned, but it is tucked away down an alley and the unusual space inside creates a really cool speakeasy vibe that I haven't found in bars of this variety.

[WhiskyRI]

All good spots mentioned - I personally like Zig Zag because it is essentially under Pikes Place market - which makes it the perfect spot for a little afternoon refresher while doing touristy things. Have fun - great town.

[Happyhour24x7]

Thanks guys, you're awesome. Looking forward to this trip even more now.

[doubleblank]

I was recently at Zig Zag and they have a number of various aged Willetts selected by west coast retailers to try. But hard to find!

[humchan2k]

Nothing can beat the drinks made by "Murr the Blur" Murray Stenson....unfortunately he's not at either Canon or Zig Zag anymore. He's now over at Il Bistro, but I believe on Sundays and Mondays only. If you are downtown and want to have the best cocktail you can have, look up Il Bistro and see if you can sit with Murray for even 20 minutes. Murray is the guy who made the Zig Zag famous, and he's been voted Best Bartender In America. Hell, the guy was in Playboy, he's so Americana at this point. He makes his own pimento dram, his own falernum and all other types of bar essentials. His homemade orgeat is absurd too.

If you want whiskey, it's either Liberty in Cap Hill (ask for Andrew, say you're SB.com, he'll hook you up....he gave me a free pour of the ORVW decanter SW 23 once, in fact) or Canon. If you ask for the Captain's List of bourbon at Canon, be prepared to be shocked, impressed....and broke. A 2oz pour of some of his finer things will be $300+.....but hey, where else will you get it, right?

Have fun. Seattle will always be where I consider "home" to be, even though I'm not there anymore.

[ChainWhip]

PSA on that Liberty ORVW23 decanter: what gets poured out may not be ORVW23...

Liberty is a GREAT spot though and is highly recommended - they have a good selection of Japanese malts

[humchan2k]

PSA on that Liberty ORVW23 decanter: what gets poured out may not be ORVW23...

Liberty is a GREAT spot though and is highly recommended - they have a good selection of Japanese malts

Chainwhip, I definitely get your point, but I was there when Andew opened it for the first time. It was like within 1 month of it coming on the market, so he got it at retail....even tho retail was absurdly expensive. It was the real deal.....I also had a glass of '68 SW Old Fitz from the "Venice" bottle at Liberty a long, long time ago....for $12. Amazing.

[ChainWhip]

Oh I'm not saying what you had wasn't since I didn't know when you were there - I'd say at this point in time, it's caveat emptor with respect to that decanter.

That's not the first time I've heard about that bottle of old Fitz @ Liberty - Andrew must keep that sucker in the back

[Happyhour24x7]

Just wants to follow up and say thanks again, guys. The trip was great. We ate at one of Ethan Stowells restaurants as recommended, nd it was great. Canon was impressive, also visited Tavern Law, but the speakeasy was closed for a private event. Had a drink mixed by Murray Stenson at Il Bistro. Had some great drinks at Bathtub Gin. The winner of the trip was Zig Zag Cafe though- absolutely loved that place; finished every night with a stop there before heading back to hotel. And I never would have found it without the recommendation. Overall, a great weekend with much good food and drink.

[Tony]

This is a fine thread.

I stopped at Cannon and had a great cocktail and a Four Roses export for Japan only. Then today was at Bathtub Gin, that was a little tough to find. May try ZigZag tomorrow.

Best regards, Tony

[ChainWhip]

This is a fine thread.

I stopped at Cannon and had a great cocktail and a Four Roses export for Japan only. Then today was at Bathtub Gin, that was a little tough to find. May try ZigZag tomorrow.

Best regards, Tony

Welcome to Seattle Tony.

[Kpiz]

This is a fine thread.

I stopped at Cannon and had a great cocktail and a Four Roses export for Japan only. Then today was at Bathtub Gin, that was a little tough to find. May try ZigZag tomorrow.

Best regards, Tony

I think being hard to find is my favorite part about Bathtub Gin. Lends it some immediate credibility as a speakeasy themed bar.

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