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Doc Maynard's Public House
This atmospheric pub transports you back to the old days of pioneer Seattle. It's named after Doc Maynard, one of the city's founding fathers and quite a character. An Ohio native, Maynard was divorced when he arrived in the city and was out for a good time; he was vivacious and generous and he liked his liquor. The gorgeous carved bar here was shipped over from Chicago. Doc's is also the starting point of Bill Speidel's Underground Tour.
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El Chupacabra
The patio is where it's at for sipping margaritas at this kitschy neighborhood hangout. Be warned, service can be slow when the place is crowded.
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El Corazon
Formerly Graceland, El Corazon has lots of history echoing around its walls - and lots of sweaty, beer-drenched bodies bouncing off them. Save your clean shirt for another night, and don't expect perfect sound quality at every show. It's also one of the few bars that often has all-ages shows.
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Elliott Bay Brewery & Pub
Long and narrow, with a loft at the back of the room and a beer garden outdoors, this comfortable brewpub makes a nice retreat after a day at Alki Beach. Pub food emphasizes organic, locally sourced ingredients and includes monthly specials. There are always two cask-conditioned beers available.
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Elysian Brewing Co
Sort of a factory-outlet shop for microbrews, the Elysian should be cooler than it is. Its beers are pretty metal, with names like Loki Lager and Dragon's Tooth Stout, but the place itself leans more toward a soccer-mom-sportsbar vibe. Pros: it's large enough to accommodate big groups, it has giant windows that make for good people-watching and it serves a good veggie burger.
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Five Point Café
Not 'retro,' just old and endearingly grim, the Five Point Café in Tillicum Square has been around since 1929, and so have many of its patrons. Half diner, half bar and too worn-in to be mistaken for hip, it's where seasoned barflies and young punks go to get wasted, any time of day. Check out the men's bathroom - allegedly there's a periscope view of the Space Needle from the urinal.
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Frontier Room
Once an old-school holdover from Belltown's gritty whiskey-drinkin' days, the Frontier Room has recently been colonized by frat boys and partay-ers - sort of a microcosm of Belltown as a whole. It still looks cool in here, but enter at your own risk.
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Funhouse
A great punk venue near Seattle Center, the Funhouse is where you go to drink cheap beer, check out punk bands like the Trashies and maybe hook up with a Rat City Roller-Derby girl.
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Georgetown Liquor Company
This odd mishmash of a bar has an elegant industrial-chic design, a vegetarian menu and an astounding collection of retro video games. Plus, you know, beer and liquor.
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Hale's Brewery & Pub
Nestled between Fremont and Ballard, Hale's makes some fantastic beer, notably its ambrosial Cream Ale. But its flagship brewpub feels a bit like a corporate hotel lobby. It's worth a quick stop, though; ask the friendly staff about the personalized mugs hanging above the bar. There's a miniature self-guided tour in the entryway.
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Hilltop Ale House
Hilltop is a comfy neighborhood hang-out on Queen Anne Hill. It has a friendly vibe and a large selection of microbrews. There's a good range of dishes on offer; the Reuben sandwich takes a beating.
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Intiman Theater Company
Intiman Theater is Seattle's mainstay for classic dramas and heavy-hitting, serious theater (by Henrik Ibsen and Langston Hughes, for example), although artistic director Bartlett Sher, who joined Intiman in 2000, has amped up the edginess of the company's schedule to include striking new work.
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J&M Café
A lot of places claim to be the oldest bar in Seattle, but this is the most charming of the bunch. It's right in Pioneer Square but avoids the screeching party throngs that roam these streets on weekend evenings. Food is reasonably priced, and there's a patio out front that's great for people-watching.
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Jolly Roger Taproom
A secret treasure tucked away off busy Leary, the Jolly Roger Taproom is a tiny, pirate-themed bar with a nautical chart painted onto the floor. Though lately it's gone less scurvy-barnacle and more placid-yachtsman, the beer's still tops - and served in 20-oz pints. The food's not bad either; try a chef's special ( US$4 to US$8 ) or a mess of clams and mussels (around US$9 ). The strong winter ale, Jolly Roger, is highly recommended.
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Jules Maes Saloon
Built in the late 1800s, this traditional saloon now benefits from punk rock and tattoos, a regular schedule of live music, pinball and other vintage games to play, and no need to hide its booze from the authorities (the place operated as a speakeasy during Prohibition).
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Kells
Kells is part of a small regional chain of Irish pubs, but it feels completely authentic, with its old wood, nooks and crannies and rosy-cheeked crowd. The perfectly poured Imperial pints of Guinness are divine and there's live Irish (or Irish-inspired) music nightly (no cover charge).
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King's Hardware
Owned by Linda, of Linda's Tavern , King's Hardware has a hunting-lodge-meets-Old-West-gameroom feel. There's pinball and skeeball toward the back, big wooden booths, and taxidermied jackalopes propped between bottles of liquor behind the bar. The spacious hangout also has a good jukebox and, in case you're feeling shaggy, easy access to Rudy's Barbershop (it's attached).
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Lava Lounge
This tiki-themed dive has games of all kinds and over-the-top art on the walls (can't miss the Mt St Helens mural). High-backed booths encourage all-night lingering.
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Linda's
The back patio here is an excellent place to observe the nocturnal habits of Hipsterus Northwesticus . Linda's is also one of the few joints in town where you can recover from your hangover with an Emergen-C cocktail and a vegetarian brunch while taxidermied moose heads stare at you from the walls.
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Market Theater
The Market Theater hosts improvisational comedy, called Theater Sports, on Friday and Saturday night; call for the schedule.
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Mecca Café
The Mecca has been called - by folks who know - the best bar in Seattle. Half of the long, skinny room is a diner, but all the fun happens on the other side, where decades' worth of scribbles on beer mats line the walls, the jukebox still works the way a jukebox should, the bartenders know the songs on it better than you do and you can get waffles with your beer until or so.
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Monkey Pub
This U-District dive is one of the few places in town where you can slug pitchers of cheap beer, shoot pool and catch a live punk show on a weekend night without having to do any planning whatsoever. If the band sucks, it'll be over soon and did we mention the beer's cheap? Slices from the pizza shop next door are available, or you can pop over for videogames and feeding between sets.
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Moore Theater
Bands love playing this 1500-seat Belltown venue for its classy style and great acoustics. Attached to a stately old hotel, it exudes battered grace and sophistication whether the act is a singer-songwriter, a jazz phenomenon or a rock band.
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Murphy's Pub
This charming, many-windowed Irish pub could almost have been airlifted directly from Ireland to Wallingford. There's live Irish music on weekends; the rest of the time the place is filled with dart players and devotees of the perfect pint.
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Nectar
A small and comfortable rock venue in Fremont that has grown out of its humble beginnings to be a well-established, scenester-approved club, Nectar hosts everything from reggae and dub to funk to Americana as well as DJ nights.
