Post #595793 by drawitbetter on Fri, Jul 1, 2011 1:21 PM

There are no Tiki Hangouts worth mentioning (at least not that I have found living here over the past year) but there are a good number of GREAT craft cocktail bars. Many focus on traditional and pre-prohibition recipes so a tiki aficionado should feel right at home. At all of the places mentioned below, simply mention the type of drink you like, and leave it in the bartender's capable hands. Here's my list:

Rob Roy
If Frank Sinatra had a basement, it would be the Rob Roy. Having drinks here was the final straw in deciding to move to Seattle. Great, cool atmosphere with a padded leather bar, black velvet paintings and a reel to reel deck. A unique and great feature at the RR is their ice. Their clear and perfect cubes are cut with a band saw from a single 300 pound block. And if you order something like an Old Fashioned (or better yet, a RUM Old Fashioned) they hack a 5" x 4" cube into an octagon that all but fills the glass creating a chilled layer of booze around the perimeter that will not get watered down if you left it there for a week.

Tavern Law
A prohibition styled bar with amazing drinks and excellent smaller bites. The bartenders will make you anything you ask for as long as it does not have Vodka as the base spirit. They feel it doesn't bring anything to the drink and refuse to use it. Use the phone on the wall to see if there is a spot upstairs at Needle and Thread a secret speakeasy. Pass through a vault door and head up a narrow staircase to a tiny but well appointed room with another small bar. It is virtually impossible to get into Needle and Thread on the weekends, but if you are there on Tuesday head up to see Mike McSorley, arguably the best bartender in the city.

Tini Biggs
The bar is nothing to write home about and is joined to the city's only "Tiki" bar Hula Hula. Hula Hula does have some tiki decor, but DO NOT get a drink there, unless you really like Malibu and Bacardi. As for Tini Biggs, this is Mike McSorley's main joint. If he knows you are into cocktails he will give you a little run down on the history of the drink he made you and the recipe itself. He is the man. If you meet him tell him Tony says "Hi".

Bathtub Gin Company
This is a speakeasy style joint and looks the part with bare brick walls and an entrance off an alley. I recommend sitting at the bar where the atmosphere is way better than the rest of the place and you can watch the excellent bartender work.

Other than that, grab a sandwich at Paseo (the Ballard location usually has less of a line). Or if you are feeling really ambitious get something at Salumi. This is a deli with homemade meats run by chef Mario Batalli's father. The line will be no less than and hour but it is pretty incredible.

Finally, when you are in Pike's Market, grab bite a at Michou. The sandwiches are fantastic, cheap and there is rarely a line. The first time I ate one, I went right back in and purchased another.

Check out any of these places on yelp for hours, locations etc.
Have an awesome time in the Emerald City!