34 Best Nightlife in Seattle, Washington

In an area full of bars with themes, styles, and hooks, La Dive stand outs as simply an excellent and fun bar for absorbing the neighborhood vibes. A long, L-shaped bar opens the room for conversation, while the booths allow for small gatherings. The sidewalk tables in front are prime people-watching spots and give the feel of a popular Parisian bistro. The drinks menu focuses on natural wine, with a few classic cocktails, plus their signature alcoholic slushies. As the evening goes on, more customers turn to the Cham-bong to slurp their sparkling wine. Thankfully, a strong food menu, with late-night options, keeps things from getting too wild. Look for upscale bar snacks with a slight Eastern European tinge, as in the dumplings section.

A mixed crowd of mostly locals hunts out this unique spot at Pike Place Market's Street Hill Climb (walk past the Gum Wall to find a nearly hidden stairwell leading down to the piers). In addition to pouring a perfect martini, Zig Zag features a revolving cast of memorable cocktails and a Mediterranean-inspired food menu with plenty of tasty bites. A small patio is the place to be on a summery happy-hour evening. Zig Zag is friendly—retro without being obnoxiously ironic—and very Seattle, with the occasional live music show to boot.

On the quiet side of the hill, this cute European-style café-bar feels like it's been around forever despite opening in 2022. The craft cocktails feel like classics but include a number of creative originals, and the menu offers plenty of low- and no-alcohol options. The terrific food menu reads like a high-end restaurant menu, but the upscale, gastropub-style snacks come out bistro casual.

Part of the Sea Creatures mini-empire led by chef Renee Erickson, Barnacle is a narrow bar adjacent to the popular restaurant The Walrus and the Carpenter. It invariably collects people waiting for tables, but with a beautiful copper-topped bar, tiled walls, and plates of oysters, cured meats, and fish to go with the aperitivos, it’s a great place to drink and snack even if you aren’t planning to dine next door.

The speakeasy trend has produced some lovely, intimate bars, including this one, which is reached via a wooden door in an alley next to the Humphrey Apartments (it's actually in the basement of the building). The tiny, shabby-chic bar is a laid-back spot to settle into a couch for a few drinks. Note that despite being a pain in the neck to find, the bar still attracts the hard-partying Belltown crowd on weekends, so go midweek for maximum serenity.

Were it not for the awning, picnic tables, and rotating food trucks routinely parked outside, this place might look like just another corner convenience store—which it used to be before owner Chuck transformed it into one of North Seattle’s favorite spots for sampling craft beer. With 50 taps, Chuck’s features an especially good selection of IPAs and ciders on draft, many of local origin. Families love this extremely kid-friendly spot—there’s an ice-cream counter, ample seating inside and out, and stacks of board games. Chuck’s also offers a huge selection of bottled beers from all over the world, including gluten- and alcohol-free options.

The best beer bar in Pioneer Square features 22 rotating taps of Northwest (including Boundary Bay, Chuckanut, and Anacortes) and California beers and a long list of bottles from the region. Its upscale pub menu features local and seasonal ingredients.

This bright, high-ceilinged space in a historic building in Pioneer Square still features the safe doors of the former Japanese Commercial Bank that once occupied the building. Post-work crowds and pre-game sports fans mix at the U-shape marble bar and a few small tables during a daily 4–7 pm happy hour. There’s a rotating list of classic cocktails, newly developed libations featuring house-made infusions, and a beer and wine list. Small plates like pork terrine, wings, and sardines come out of an open kitchen.

From the owner of Linda's Tavern in Capitol Hill, King's Hardware has the same ironic rustic decor, great patio space, and cachet with hipsters. It also has great burgers. It gets packed on weekends—if you want the same scene with fewer crowds, go two doors down to Hattie's Hat, which was the reigning spot until King's showed up.

This small, sweet bar gives grandpa's basement vibes, if grandpa came from Eastern Europe and alternated his glass of house-infused vodka with the occasional craft cocktail. A few booths surround the live-edge, U-shaped bar, and floral wallpaper completes the feel. The small food menu features Slavic classics, including a variety of dumplings, pickles, and borscht.

Calm, classic, and inviting, this bar is like if one of the city's top radio personalities invited you into his living room to browse his record collection. Opened by KEXP Morning Show host John Richards, the bar sits in a room with walls covered in shelves of vinyl. The bar has cushy blue seats, while the rest of the room opens to big soft booths and a couch-seating area. The drinks include both alcoholic and non, each labeled with the ABV, and all of the food (typical bar apps, burgers, and sandwiches) is vegan. They serve brunch on weekends, and late-night tacos on Fridays and Saturdays.

Welcome to one of the Hill's iconic dives—and not just because it was allegedly the last place Kurt Cobain was seen alive. The interior has a vaguely Western theme, but the patrons are pure Capitol Hill indie-rockers and hipsters. The bartenders are friendly, the burgers are good (brunch is even better), and the always-packed patio is one of the liveliest places to grab a happy-hour drink.

One of Seattle's few rooftop bars, the colorful, partially covered patio overlooks the entire South Lake Union neighborhood. Guests gaze at the Space Needle as they sip glasses of Prosecco or look out at the lake over pink-hued cocktails while swinging in the hanging chairs. In winter, the 14th-floor spot stays open with blankets and the fire pits roaring as guests dig into the Middle Eastern–influenced small plates.

Lived-in booths and a welcoming atmosphere keep this place packed with everyone from couples on a first date to groups of old friends. As an anchor to the East Olive bar strip, it makes for excellent people-watching, either from the inside looking out or from the co-opted piece of sidewalk called a "parklet" that serves as the patio. The specialty is the cocktails on tap, particularly the Moscow Mule, owing in part to co-owner Rachel Marshall's other businesses, a ginger beer company. 

In the skeleton of a classic Chinese-American dive bar, chef Mark Fuller created his own spin on the genre. Under the low lights and a ceiling of red lanterns, bartenders serve pink guava palomas and passion fruit caipirinhas. There's Skee-ball, karaoke, and pinball, and a menu with twists on General Tso's chicken and honey pecan prawns.

Blink and you'll miss it, and that would be a shame, because this tiny corner spot crafts some of the finest cocktails in town. Dimly lit and loud, Ocho fills up fast with a mixed crowd that flocks here for the drinks and top-notch Spanish tapas. Come summer, the sidewalk patio is an ideal spot for soaking up the sun and people-watching.

Down the street from the Woodland Park Zoo, Oliver's Twist is a welcoming spot with cozy leather booths and tons of local art on the walls. Drinks are expertly poured with house-made shrubs and syrups, and the tapas menu includes tasty snacks (garlic truffle popcorn, grilled cheese and tomato soup). It makes for a fun evening slightly off the beaten path.

Capitol Hill's original gastropub has friendly bartenders, a large selection of beers on tap (with the West Coast and Belgium heavily represented), an extensive whiskey list, and a menu of rib-sticking food, which you can enjoy at the long bar or at a table on either of the two floors of the industrial-chic space. A pretzel and some French fries are good ways to start—then you can choose from beef tartare with pumpernickel crisps and perfect marrow bones with baguette and onion jam. Heartier mains, like the signature wild boar sloppy Joe, are available at dinnertime. A pared-down pub menu is also available from 4 pm to midnight or later. The folks here take their libations seriously, so chat up the bartenders about their favorites.

Revolver stands out from a row of bars on this crowded block of Capitol Hill with a vinyl-only music policy, classic cocktails, draft beer, and boozy snow cones. Laid-back and welcoming, this is as close to a neighborhood classic as a place with the occasional (analog) DJ on a bustling bar street can get (that's a good thing).

A short ride from the heart of Ballard's nightlife, Rupee offers an elegant, upscale experience. Inspired by the owners' travels in Sri Lanka and India, the drinks are spice heavy and employ tropical fruit without cloying sweetness. The food is also excellent. Rich colors and dark wood give the narrow space a transportive feel, but don't take too many people on the journey with you: there's no room for large groups, and waits can get long.

Whether you're a novice or expert, you'll appreciate the authentic offerings here. The shop and tasting bar is open from 2–8 pm, Tuesday through Saturday. Don't be shy—have a seat, try a few of the rotating samples, and ask a lot of questions. Sake can be served up in a variety of temperatures and styles.

It may be one of the diviest bars in Belltown, but Shorty's is a bright spot in a neighborhood where most bars serve $15 cocktails (and the bathrooms happen to be spotless). Along with a come-as-you-are atmosphere, the grown-up arcade features pinball machines and video games, cheap beer and gourmet hot dogs, and lots of no-frills fun.

Great for people-watching and very Capitol Hill, Smith is a large, dark space with portraits of ex-presidents and taxidermied birds all over the walls, plus a mixture of booth seating and large communal tables. A bit outside the Pike–Pine heart, and filled to brimming with tattooed hipsters on weekends, this is a super-friendly and inviting space with a solid food menu (including a top-notch burger and sweet-potato fries) and a full bar. Beer selection is small but good, and the cocktail list is decent.

This dimly lit pizza joint serves tasty frozen slushies and pizza with a few playful gourmet extras from the founder, a former fine-dining chef. With cocktails a step above dive bar levels, and a much cleaner setting than the classic college pub, this spot is a sort of ironic take on the classic New York pizza joint bar. The pizza and scallion garlic knots are very good and worth ordering, too.

Iconic and historic, Targy's Tavern hangs onto one of the last vestiges of true dive bar in central Seattle in a 1902 building originally designed as trolley worker housing. The U-shaped bar has been serving up strong drinks, cold pints, and pulltabs, with just a smattering of surliness, since 1937. Though it gets packed on weekends with a newer crowd, the real fun comes on slower nights when the regulars and bartenders get to chit-chatting.

One of the last of the classic Ballard dives still standing: it used to be that fishermen started drinking here before the day dawned, though now it's just as likely to be hipsters drinking cold cans of Rainier beer and asking for pull tabs. While one side has kept the same servers with studied nonchalance bringing the drinks, a snazzy arcade now fills the other room.

A rotating selection of great beer, cider, and wine and a truly varied crowd are just part of the appeal of this popular bar. The rustic-modern interior includes a library-like seating area stocked with large trail maps and hundreds of travel books. The Noble Fir serves a few simple snacks, like cheese, charcuterie, fish, and vegan and vegetarian options, in case you feel like settling in and planning your next big adventure.

Though it moved from a tiny hallway of a space to a sprawling building in 2021, this fun and funky bar keeps its small-fish spirit. Quirky art and nautically themed curiosities hang from the ceilings and wall, like a chandelier made from crab traps. House cocktails tend toward the basic side, but that keeps them affordable, and a seasonal slushie rounds out the options. The kitchen serves a selection of nice and creatively named sandwiches and hot dogs.