First Look: Quality Athletics Opens in Pioneer Square
September 12, 2014
Josh Henderson's Quality Athletics, located in the new Stadium Place development, just north of CenturyLink field isn't a typical sports bar.
It's a 3,500 square-feet space at the corner of Occidental and King.
It's split between a 21-above only bar area...
And a more restaurant-ish space...
With tables, booths and artifical turf flooring,
There are massive flat screens all around—15, to be precise—but they’re recessed, with the volume turned low on nongame days.
Two massive patios flank the entrance.
Each has splenty of seating, a large flat screen and a (soon-to-come) fire pit.
The bar area fills up on game days, where there's plenty of beer, in pints, pitchers and, occasionally, 24-ounce monster cans.
A table tennis door with a bat as a handle.
By design, every seat has the view of at least one screen.
And the shelves are stacked with trophies, but Henderson says it's an ironic take on sports memorabilia.
A 24-ounce grilled tri-tip, with smoked eggplant puree and roasted mushrooms.
The Seattle Freeze, a rotating seasonal frozen cocktail—currently, that means a frozen bourbon peach Arnold Palmer—comes out of a slushy machine and doubles as a joke about Seattle's famous cold shoulder.
Bar Manager Josh Batway's list of cocktails are all thoughtfully named, like Title IX (with house-infused strawberry rhubarb vodka, Lillet Rosé, campari and lemon juice) which celebrates the ammendment that prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in
There's an entire wall of lockers...
Quality Athletics has it's own rooftop farm, five floors above, growing things like kale, chard, shiso, lots of herbs and root vegetables that show up in dishes and drinks downstairs, as well as beans, cucumbers and other produce that will pickle well.
A wall of photographs of all things sports, on the way to the restrooms.
Handwashing inspiration.
Take your burger and nacho cravings elsewhere. The menu here is all about "elevating sports bar food," says executive chef Seth Richardson. Translation: this grilled squid salad with pickled peppers, field peas, basil, thyme, bread crumbs and lemon.
Meaty items like this slow roasted duck with plums, almonds and orange maple glaze are also available as shareable platters.
Andouille sausage with Anson mills grits, stone ground mustard, and pickled vegetables.
Quinoa salad with confit leg of duck, fennel, feta, chermoula vinaigrette and sunny side duck egg.
Photography by Nidhi Chaudhry
