Seattle's Greatest Dive Bar?

[sinceredawg]

Zoo Tavern in Eastlake.

At one time, the zoo was owned and operated by 5 hippies - I used to know their names. There was the grizzly chick who was there most of the time. The quiet dude in the sailor's cap. The tall handsome hippy guy. Two others.... Loved that place. There was some regular with a limp named Zody who was quite good but occasionally still cheated at pool. What's become of it?

 

[Pitchfork51]

Not enough diversity and inclusion in dive bars. I refuse to participate

 

[Southerndawg]

Shout out to the original Swannies, where the old school beisbol dudes did their post-game drinking, Kingdome version.

Edit: 2 other also-rans...the Roanoke down the end of 10th, and the Korthaus in Phinney Ridge (RIP)...

Should have had the Roanoke on here. $1 taco night was an old Yella staple.

That was an oversight. Murphy's before it became a fern bar would have been a good fit as well.

 

[YellowSnow]

As a a q

Zoo Tavern in Eastlake.

Fuck this shit pole. The Zoo was a great spot. I loved their little schooner glasses.

I stayed in Eastlake last Dec for a few night. Depressing place during the Vid.

 

[Southerndawg]

As a a q

Zoo Tavern in Eastlake.

Fuck this shit pole. The Zoo was a great spot. I loved their little schooner glasses.

I stayed in Eastlake last Dec for a few night. Depressing place during the Vid.

Schooner glasses and burgers flipped on a griddle so greasy it would make Beth's Cafe blush should be dive bar qualifiers.

 

[Laocoön]

The Frontier Room on 1st Ave! Nina, the very intimidating bartender, mixed up some of the stiffest drinks that I can remember. Good tims!!

 

[RoadDawg55]

The Rose Temple. My good buddy owns it. It really is a good bar, not even being biased.

 

[TurdBomber]

Fuck this poll for not mentioning Lenny's in Wallingford/Tangletown. Sturdy Hells Angels type woman bartender in black motorcycle or concert T-shirts who went by "Rocky." Only a Class A dive could do that.

 

[DerekJohnson]

I would vote Blue Moon because it had that vintage dive bar customer service whereby the bartender would treat students like complete garbage.

One time right after I graduated I walked in and was so fucked up I just said "give me whatever your favorite beer is" and the old salty dude just rolled his eyes and shoved a bottle of Sierra Nevada at me. I respect that kind of "I hope this kid is driving so he can just roll right off of the the I-5 overpass" vibe.

College Inn wasn't a dive bar, it was like what you'd get if you've ever been to Estonia or some other pissed off Eastern European country, but it was my favorite and had a shit ton of pool tables too.

I never felt comfortable at the College Inn

 

[huskyhooligan]

Solid list from Thrillist.
https://www.thrillist.com/drink/seattle/best-dive-bars-in-seattle

Some very north end options on the list. Lenny's funny enough is or was owned by a retired history / gym teacher at Roosevelt. He and the old basketball / track coach used to be there and ogle the younger women. Can't blame them. Fizzy Izzy was fucking delicious. Some of the best tots I've ever had.

I feel like Linda's is a place where people who want to be edgy but aren't actually edgy go to drink. Edgy try hards.

Vote is for Blue Moon though. No place has the mix of shitty bands, mostly homeless clients, and underage drinkers a true dive bar should have.

Seattle is generally blessed by a good bar scene, with lots of options for all types.

 

[spuden]

Earl’s full stop…or at least it was in the late 90s

 

[YellowSnow]

Solid list from Thrillist.
https://www.thrillist.com/drink/seattle/best-dive-bars-in-seattle

Some very north end options on the list. Lenny's funny enough is or was owned by a retired history / gym teacher at Roosevelt. He and the old basketball / track coach used to be there and ogle the younger women. Can't blame them. Fizzy Izzy was fucking delicious. Some of the best tots I've ever had.

I feel like Linda's is a place where people who want to be edgy but aren't actually edgy go to drink. Edgy try hards.

Vote is for Blue Moon though. No place has the mix of shitty bands, mostly homeless clients, and underage drinkers a true dive bar should have.

Seattle is generally blessed by a good bar scene, with lots of options for all types.

I like to rep the north of the ship canal.

 

[TurdBomber]

No love for the Alki Tavern or the Moon Temple Cocktail Lounge.

Bunch of North End Provincials on these boreds. Not even the Buckaroo.

What's wrong with you people?

That said, I was in the Blue Moon once with a hot lady friend who asked the bartender for a cleann ashtray, whereupon the gray haired dude grabbed the ashtray, dumped it on the floor, and tossed it back onto the table.

Now that's a fucking Dive for ya.

 

[YellowSnow]

No love for the Alki Tavern or the Moon Temple Cocktail Lounge.

Bunch of North End Provincials on these boreds. Not even the Buckaroo.

What's wrong with you people?

That said, I was in the Blue Moon once with a hot lady friend who asked the bartender for a cleann ashtray, whereupon the gray haired dude grabbed the ashtray, dumped it on the floor, and tossed it back onto the table.

Now that's a fucking Dive for ya.

The Buckaroo was north of the ship canal.

 

[TurdBomber]

No love for the Alki Tavern or the Moon Temple Cocktail Lounge.

Bunch of North End Provincials on these boreds.

What's wrong with you people? Not even the Buckaroo.[/b]

That said, I was in the Blue Moon once with a hot lady friend who asked the bartender for a cleann ashtray, whereupon the gray haired dude grabbed the ashtray, dumped it on the floor, and tossed it back onto the table.

Now that's a fucking Dive for ya.

The Buckaroo was north of the ship canal.

There. BTW, the old Buckaroo sign is in some bar in Georgetown, now. Saw it last weekend.

Also, how is the Duchess on this list? When I was in school, it was Greek as Fuck and clean as a whistle. Nothing but Cali College Sweatshirts and backwards "Cal" hats, to ensure I'd know the posers were from No Cal, as if I couldn't tell.

 

[YellowSnow]

No love for the Alki Tavern or the Moon Temple Cocktail Lounge.

Bunch of North End Provincials on these boreds.

What's wrong with you people? Not even the Buckaroo.[/b]

That said, I was in the Blue Moon once with a hot lady friend who asked the bartender for a cleann ashtray, whereupon the gray haired dude grabbed the ashtray, dumped it on the floor, and tossed it back onto the table.

Now that's a fucking Dive for ya.

The Buckaroo was north of the ship canal.

There. BTW, the old Buckaroo sign is in some bar in Georgetown, now. Saw it last weekend.

Also, how is the Duchess on this list? When I was in school, it was Greek as Fuck and clean as a whistle. Nothing but Cali College Sweatshirts and backwards "Cal" hats, to ensure I'd know the posers were from No Cal, as if I couldn't tell.

The Duchess checks all the boxes...

- OG Seattle Tavern which didn't serve spirits until well into the 2002's
- Shitty service from surely bartenders
- Narsty bathrooms - ever tried to take a dump at the Duchess?
- 80 year old furniture

That it's popular with college kids due to proximity doesn't make it a classy, non-divey type of establishment.

 

[DerekJohnson]

No love for the Alki Tavern or the Moon Temple Cocktail Lounge.

Bunch of North End Provincials on these boreds.

What's wrong with you people? Not even the Buckaroo.[/b]

That said, I was in the Blue Moon once with a hot lady friend who asked the bartender for a cleann ashtray, whereupon the gray haired dude grabbed the ashtray, dumped it on the floor, and tossed it back onto the table.

Now that's a fucking Dive for ya.

The Buckaroo was north of the ship canal.

There. BTW, the old Buckaroo sign is in some bar in Georgetown, now. Saw it last weekend.

Also, how is the Duchess on this list? When I was in school, it was Greek as Fuck and clean as a whistle. Nothing but Cali College Sweatshirts and backwards "Cal" hats, to ensure I'd know the posers were from No Cal, as if I couldn't tell.

The Duchess checks all the boxes...

- OG Seattle Tavern which didn't serve spirits until well into the 2002's
- Shitty service from surely bartenders
- Narsty bathrooms - ever tried to take a dump at the Duchess?
- 80 year old furniture

That it's popular with college kids due to proximity doesn't make it a classy, non-divey type of establishment.

When I've urinated at The Duchess I've wondered what kind of bacterial growth was affixing itself to the bottom of my shoes.

 

[YellowSnow]

No love for the Alki Tavern or the Moon Temple Cocktail Lounge.

Bunch of North End Provincials on these boreds.

What's wrong with you people? Not even the Buckaroo.[/b]

That said, I was in the Blue Moon once with a hot lady friend who asked the bartender for a cleann ashtray, whereupon the gray haired dude grabbed the ashtray, dumped it on the floor, and tossed it back onto the table.

Now that's a fucking Dive for ya.

The Buckaroo was north of the ship canal.

There. BTW, the old Buckaroo sign is in some bar in Georgetown, now. Saw it last weekend.

Also, how is the Duchess on this list? When I was in school, it was Greek as Fuck and clean as a whistle. Nothing but Cali College Sweatshirts and backwards "Cal" hats, to ensure I'd know the posers were from No Cal, as if I couldn't tell.

The Duchess checks all the boxes...

- OG Seattle Tavern which didn't serve spirits until well into the 2002's
- Shitty service from surely bartenders
- Narsty bathrooms - ever tried to take a dump at the Duchess?
- 80 year old furniture

That it's popular with college kids due to proximity doesn't make it a classy, non-divey type of establishment.

When I've urinated at The Duchess I've wondered what kind of bacterial growth was affixing itself to the bottom of my shoes.

I was there in the late 90s with a teammate. The dude had to pinch a loaf real bad and proceeds to the stall which at the Duchess is basically zero privacy. Some drunken frat guy walks and in and say "bro - worst place ever to take a shit!".

So my fren got stage fright and went outside somewhere to take a crap in the bushes.

 

[DerekJohnson]

No love for the Alki Tavern or the Moon Temple Cocktail Lounge.

Bunch of North End Provincials on these boreds.

What's wrong with you people? Not even the Buckaroo.[/b]

That said, I was in the Blue Moon once with a hot lady friend who asked the bartender for a cleann ashtray, whereupon the gray haired dude grabbed the ashtray, dumped it on the floor, and tossed it back onto the table.

Now that's a fucking Dive for ya.

The Buckaroo was north of the ship canal.

There. BTW, the old Buckaroo sign is in some bar in Georgetown, now. Saw it last weekend.

Also, how is the Duchess on this list? When I was in school, it was Greek as Fuck and clean as a whistle. Nothing but Cali College Sweatshirts and backwards "Cal" hats, to ensure I'd know the posers were from No Cal, as if I couldn't tell.

The Duchess checks all the boxes...

- OG Seattle Tavern which didn't serve spirits until well into the 2002's
- Shitty service from surely bartenders
- Narsty bathrooms - ever tried to take a dump at the Duchess?
- 80 year old furniture

That it's popular with college kids due to proximity doesn't make it a classy, non-divey type of establishment.

When I've urinated at The Duchess I've wondered what kind of bacterial growth was affixing itself to the bottom of my shoes.

I was there in the late 90s with a teammate. The dude had to pinch a loaf real bad and proceeds to the stall which at the Duchess is basically zero privacy. Some drunken frat guy walks and in and say "bro - worst place ever to take a shit!".

So my fren got stage fright and went outside somewhere to take a crap in the bushes.

Stage Fright in the bathroom stall. Yikes

 

[YellowSnow]

No love for the Alki Tavern or the Moon Temple Cocktail Lounge.

Bunch of North End Provincials on these boreds.

What's wrong with you people? Not even the Buckaroo.[/b]

That said, I was in the Blue Moon once with a hot lady friend who asked the bartender for a cleann ashtray, whereupon the gray haired dude grabbed the ashtray, dumped it on the floor, and tossed it back onto the table.

Now that's a fucking Dive for ya.

The Buckaroo was north of the ship canal.

There. BTW, the old Buckaroo sign is in some bar in Georgetown, now. Saw it last weekend.

Also, how is the Duchess on this list? When I was in school, it was Greek as Fuck and clean as a whistle. Nothing but Cali College Sweatshirts and backwards "Cal" hats, to ensure I'd know the posers were from No Cal, as if I couldn't tell.

The Duchess checks all the boxes...

- OG Seattle Tavern which didn't serve spirits until well into the 2002's
- Shitty service from surely bartenders
- Narsty bathrooms - ever tried to take a dump at the Duchess?
- 80 year old furniture

That it's popular with college kids due to proximity doesn't make it a classy, non-divey type of establishment.

When I've urinated at The Duchess I've wondered what kind of bacterial growth was affixing itself to the bottom of my shoes.

I was there in the late 90s with a teammate. The dude had to pinch a loaf real bad and proceeds to the stall which at the Duchess is basically zero privacy. Some drunken frat guy walks and in and say "bro - worst place ever to take a shit!".

So my fren got stage fright and went outside somewhere to take a crap in the bushes.

Stage Fright in the bathroom stall. Yikes