Canlis Lounge
A cocktail bar may be measured by the quality of its drinks and service, and by a third less-easy-to-pinpoint criterion loosely defined as ambience. Did we expect less, of the Canlis lounge, than to excel in all three areas? Drinks are designed for lingering—sit with your old fashioned for an hour and the ice will have scarcely begun to slip into a liquid state. A fleet of servers flits about unobtrusively, replenishing water glasses and replacing crumpled napkins, and the overall sense of throwback class is reinforced by the jaunty jazz soundtrack emanating from pianist Walt Wagner’s gleaming Steinway. Extra points go to the family Canlis for selecting James MacWilliams, a barman known as much for esoteric experimentation as he is for attention to detail, to oversee it all. Canlis, 2576 Aurora Ave N, Queen Anne, 206-283-3313; canlis.com
MistralKitchen
It takes a confident bar to feature the 4d6 on its cocktail list. The invention of MistralKitchen booze manager Andrew Bohrer, the 4d6 requires a roll of the dice—four six-sided dice, in fact, carved from wood and each bearing words representing one of the four components of a cocktail (spirit, wine, liqueur, and bitters). So your 4d6 may be a combination of whiskey, acidic wine, cordial, and fruit bitters, or a mixture of mezcal, dry sherry, a syrup, and the house bitters. And while that may sound like a gamble (“no mulligan,” cautions Bohrer), the bar at this steely-accented haute eatery is so intently focused on core ingredients and proper technique, you’re all but guaranteed a great drink every time. MistralKitchen, 2020 Westlake Ave, South Lake Union, 206-623-1922; mistral-kitchen.com
Moshi Moshi Sushi
Okay, yes: Moshi Moshi is a sushi restaurant—a sushi restaurant with some of the best cocktails in town. Bartender Erik Carlson slides from one side of the bar to the other with the graceful low-center-of-gravity gait of a boxer, delivering liver-hued slices of tuna sashimi, topping off chardonnays, and stirring up drinks in between. Carlson says he loves experimenting with Sauternes, a French dessert wine he mixes with gin, dry vermouth, hibiscus, and grapefruit bitters to create an elegantly balanced concoction called the Fluted Barrel. Moshi Moshi Sushi, 5324 Ballard Ave NW, Ballard, 206-971-7424; moremoshi.com
Naga Cocktail Bar
In the chromey lounge in the back of Chantanee Thai Restaurant in Bellevue, Naga manager Evan Martin and staff are quietly kicking some serious cocktail butt. Naga may not get a lot of shine in the local press, but decidedly spectacular drinks like the Brazilian grog, a punch made with aged cachaca from locally based Novo Fogo, speak for themselves. Naga Cocktail Bar at Chantanee Thai Restaurant, 601 108th Ave NE, Ste 100A, Bellevue, 425-455-3226; chantanee.com
Sambar
Bartender Jay Kuehner is all about imbibable improvisations, on-the-spot cocktails anchored by smoky mezcals and herbaceous amari, tequila drinks with a sandy, desert-evoking finish, and effervescents blended with exotic eaux-de-vie. These subtly complex concoctions he makes at Sambar, a sliver of an east Ballard bar chock-full of lovely things—rosy blossoms bursting forth from a wall painting, twinkly tabletop votives that flicker across the faces of fellow drinkers, and herb-flecked potages brought in from sister restaurant Le Gourmand. Sambar, 425 NW Market St, Ballard, 206-781-4883; sambarseattle.com
Sun Liquor
Tiki, you think, perusing the fruity menu at Summit Ave’s Sun Liquor, where bamboo-stick lettering spells out “bar” on the door and monkeys scurry about in a wall mural. But Sun Liquor is also a top Seattle spot for old-timey gin drinks—its owner and manager are so obsessed with that spirit, in fact, they’re distilling their own at a second location a few blocks south. Sun Liquor, 607 Summit Ave E, Capitol Hill, 206-860-1130; sunliquor.com
Tavern Law
Tavern Law attracts a comely crowd that sips expertly wrought flips, slings, sours, and punches while snacking on small plates (foie gras, fried oysters) rich enough to hold up against those potent pre-Prohibition potables. But the real magic is upstairs at Needle and Thread, the bar’s second-level spirits sanctuary. Lined with artisan bottles and sepia-toned nudie photos, this 30-seat “speakeasy” benefits from the undivided attention of one silk-vested, mustachioed barman who crafts each drink to order. (There’s no menu, so prepare for a conversation). Tavern Law, 1406 12th Ave, Capitol Hill, 206-322-9734; tavernlaw.com
Published: March 2011
Great list, Jess. There are some I haven’t been to (Sun Liquor) simply because I wasn’t sure whether they were worth it. I’ll definitely check them all out soon, even the ones I’ve been to before.
Jay, I think you lost all credibility when you tried to claim Barrio is one of the 10 best bars in Seattle. It’s an OK bar, but it’s not anywhere near the caliber of the other bars on this list. Why not just add Jillians and TGI Fridays to your list as well?
We live right across the street from Canlis and the wonderful apartment community Domaine! We love to walk right over and grab one of thier amazing drinks! We could not live in a better place! Bravo Seattle Met on your pick!!!
This list is great! It includes the main staples (Zig Zag, Canlis, Sun Liquor) that still deserve recognition of being the best, since their quality & service don’t seem to ever dip. It also includes some other really important places too like Mistral & Moshi Moshi, which I’m sure we’ll be seeing some exciting things from in the future.
The supplemental list is a nice add too, since you really can’t pick just 10 places and not give an honorable nod to some other fantastic spots.
Thanks.
i think that your list of best bars must not really be a real list of the best bars. maybe a list of the favorite bars of the writer? when bars that are fine and good like vitos or walrus and carpenter are above bars like barrio and liberty or rob roy there must be someone who is putting way to much opinion over the reality of what is a great bar in seattle. maybe they dont understand what actually makes a great bar? barrio and liberty and rob roy are not as good as vitos or warlus and carpenter? how did they put this list together? vito’s is pretty cool, but one of the best bars in town? those other bars that i mentioned have national acclaim, but the two in the top ten list? pretty much this was a decision of someone that added their favorite bars not the best bars. credibility? lost.
A city blessed with so many cocktail heavyweights might require a top 50 list, or maybe even 100. The task to choose Seattle’s top 10 (+15 more) is a daunting one and I do not envy the Seattle Met team that set out to complete it. I know all these bars myself and I enjoyed the write-ups as accurate in their brevity. I agree that they are all deserving of praise, alongside many others who are also receiving accolades in other ways. I’d happily stand behind the team of bartenders representing these top 10 as they take on any other city in the world!
Hi Jay,
A list of my favorite bars WOULD be arbitrary, and based on memories and associations I have with those places. It would include the Irish bar, for instance, where I spent my first 2 homesick months in Seattle drinking overpriced Guinness and playing darts.
This cocktail bar list, however, was created over two years of research and reporting and a whole lot of hand-wringing.
The difference between a “top 10 bar right now” (note the “right now”) and the others is that the top 10 places are, I believe, firing on all cylinders…right now. Often, it came down to service. A bar with great drinks doesn’t necessarily always welcome all kinds of people with equal enthusiasm—that’s something we look for when sending our readers places.
And it’s not all about me. I regularly ask interns and colleagues to try these bars and report back on their experiences.
Is the list subjective? Of course it is. But it’s not a list of my favorite bars. That would just be embarrassing.
I saw that article; Rob Roy and Barrio are mentioned in the same company as the Hunt Club and The Saint. How does that add up? I’m genuinely curious.
Hi Elle,
Make sure to check out this accompanying article: http://www.seattlemet.com/eat-and-drink/articles/best-bars-2011-15-more-must-visit-bars-february-2011/, where both Rob Roy and Barrio are mentioned.
Lists are subjective by nature, that’s part of the fun. However, a list within an article that in addition to service and ambience, heavily emphasizes the importance of bartender knowledge, technique, ice, etc. cannot afford to give two spots to under-stocked restaurant bars, especially with bars like Rob Roy, Barrio, etc. in town.
I’ll add this to my list of top 10 Seattle journalism oversights.
I do have to say that West Seattle is still part of Seattle and they have some awesome bars! For instance, the rookie in town, The Bridge. Great food and awesome people, employees or guests. Then there’s the Feedback Lounge, which equally matches up to The Bridge! How about The Mission, or West 5, perhaps Shadowland or Corner Pocket, maybe Angelina’s or the other awesome rookie in town Locol. Then there’s a new Irish bar opening up, A Terrible Beauty. Can’t wait for that. West Seattle is awesome, but, so is the rest of Seattle. We just don’t want to be left out of great places to go. :) We still leave the bridge to frequent downtown, try coming over it to visit our great community. Cheers to everyone and great times!!