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Wine, Beer, & Cocktails

The Fairmont Olympic’s Remodel Gives Downtown Seattle a New Cocktail Bar

Allecia Vermillion
Author: Allecia Vermillion
1 min.read

Jesse Cyr pours carefully crafted drinks in the Fairmont’s new bar. 

Never again will I snark about hyper-earnest barkeeps in button-up vests. Because after a year of fixing my own drinks, the nattily attired tender at the Fairmont Olympic’s new bar presides with the calm competence of a mescal-pouring Mary Poppins.

The historic hotel built this watering hole as part of a large-scale remodel. Glowing lights reflect infinitely off mirrored walls as you ascend the escalator from entrance to lobby. Here, the renovation inserted a bit of midcentury Manhattan swagger into the lobby’s preexisting aesthetic of lumber baron flex. It’s everything a good hotel bar should be—dark, curvy, adept with drinks. Beverage director Jesse Cyr oversees a menu of original concoctions that narrowly avoids being fussy, and an art installation moves slowly overhead, giving the impression that you’re drinking beneath the working innards of a pocket watch.

Another upside of hotel drinking: steak frites, oysters, and elegant snacks, served from late morning into the night. The bar’s only the first step in a remodel that includes the Georgian restaurant and another small bar, hidden around the corner. But already it’s given Seattle an all-too-rare destination for good drinks downtown. 

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A bar now rises from what was once an underused open space in the vast lobby.
A bar now rises from what was once an underused open space in the vast lobby.
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A bar now rises from what was once an underused open space in the vast lobby.
A bar now rises from what was once an underused open space in the vast lobby.
3
House cocktail creations channel Seattle themes.
House cocktail creations channel Seattle themes.
4
House cocktail creations channel Seattle themes.
House cocktail creations channel Seattle themes.
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The new bar mixes tall seating with loungier chairs.
The new bar mixes tall seating with loungier chairs.
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The new bar mixes tall seating with loungier chairs.
The new bar mixes tall seating with loungier chairs.

Published in the Escape to Wine Country issue of Seattle Met.




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Allecia Vermillion
Allecia Vermillion
Allecia Vermillion has spent a decade at Seattle Met, arriving as food and drink editor, and expanding her role over the years. She served as the magazine’s editor in chief until moving into a newly created executive editor role in 2021. She spearheads Seattle Met’s food and drink coverage and oversees home design content. Allecia’s writing has earned her multiple journalism awards and two James Beard Award nominations over the years. A native of Portland, Oregon, Allecia began her writing life as a newspaper reporter in the Chicago suburbs before making a grateful return to the Pacific Northwest. She has an English degree from Washington University (no, the one in St. Louis) and a masters in journalism from Northwestern University. She lives in Seattle with her husband and two children.