Dance clubs, live music, rooftop bars, speakeasies, LGBTQ+ venues, listening bars and late-night dives in Seattle.
Dance clubs, live music, rooftop bars, speakeasies, LGBTQ+ nightlife, listening bars and late-night dives across Seattle, with where to go and what is worth the late night.
Q Nightclub on Broadway is the 12,500 square foot Capitol Hill room designed by Bohlin Cywinski Jackson with a Funktion One rig, anchoring the city's house and techno bookings on weekends.
Tip: Open Wednesday through Saturday. Headline nights run 22:00 to 03:00 Friday and Saturday; weekday lounge programming closes by 02:00. Tickets via Tixr.
Trinity Nightclub on Occidental fills a Pioneer Square corner with three rooms, two dance floors and a 360 degree LED wall, the only 18 plus dance club running every weekend in the state.
Tip: Doors Friday at 22:00, Saturday at 22:00. 18 plus to enter, 21 plus to drink. Massive Fridays and Reload Saturdays anchor the calendar.
Monkey Loft is the SoDo warehouse dance bar inside a 1929 brick building, with an upstairs Deck patio over the skyline that becomes the after hours techno spot south of the stadium.
Tip: Programming clusters Friday and Saturday after 22:00, often through dawn. The Deck opens in warm months for outdoor sets.
Kremwerk on Minor Avenue is the underground queer club that pairs with Timbre Room and Cherry to run a three space complex of techno, house, drum and bass and drag near Capitol Hill.
Tip: Doors Friday and Saturday 18:00, programming through 02:00. Buy advance tickets via Dice; the complex sells out on big bookings.
Neumos on East Pike is the Capitol Hill room that pairs touring indie, hip hop and electronic bookings with sister venue Barboza in the basement and hosts Capitol Hill Block Party each summer.
Tip: Doors are typically 19:00 with show at 20:00. Many shows are all ages to enter, 21 plus to drink. Tickets via AXS.
The Cuff Complex on 13th Avenue is the four bar, 7,000 square foot gay leather and dance institution open since 1993, with a 500 capacity dance floor and a large outdoor deck.
Tip: Tuesday through Sunday from 18:00, closed Monday. 21 plus with ID. The deck opens in warm months; Pride Fest takes over in June.
The Crocodile on 1st and Wall opened April 1991 and launched Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden and Mudhoney. The 2021 rebuild added a 750 capacity showroom plus Hotel Crocodile upstairs.
Tip: Showroom typically opens 19:00 with show at 20:00. Use the Wall Street side entrance; tickets via Ticketweb.
The Showbox at the Market on 1st Avenue opened July 1939 and ran Duke Ellington, Muddy Waters and the grunge era's Soundgarden, Pearl Jam and Mudhoney; landmarked in 2019 at 1,150 capacity.
Tip: Tickets via AXS. Doors typically 19:00 with show at 20:00. The Art Deco ballroom keeps the original oak dance floor.
Showbox SoDo on 1st Avenue South is the 1,800 capacity sister room AEG opened mid 2007 in a converted Fenix warehouse, with exposed brick and heavy timber for larger touring acts.
Tip: Doors typically 19:00, show at 20:00. The 300 capacity SoDo Lounge opens for smaller bookings; tickets via AXS.
Tractor Tavern on Ballard Avenue is the Americana, country and indie folk room that runs touring singer songwriter bills out of a 250 capacity brick room in Old Ballard.
Tip: Doors 20:00, show varies by booking. Cash bar in front; the back showroom holds the stage. Buy tickets through the tractor calendar.
Nectar Lounge on N 36th has run as Seattle's largest indoor and outdoor music venue since 2004, with two floors, three bars and a covered patio in the heart of Fremont.
Tip: Doors Monday through Sunday from 20:00 to 02:00. Tickets via Showclix; the outdoor patio runs year round with heaters and cover.
The Sunset Tavern on Ballard Avenue runs live music seven nights a week in a vintage red room, with Betty's Room as the front bar and Flying Squirrel Pizza on the menu next door.
Tip: Most shows kick off at 21:00. Cash and card both work; the front bar stays open even when the back room is between sets.
The Triple Door on Union Street is the 250 seat dinner theater across from Benaroya Hall, with table service, an Asian small plates menu and bookings across jazz, soul, world and cabaret.
Tip: Reserve a table at booking; the Mainstage runs two sets nightly with seated dining. Musicquarium Lounge in the lobby is free.
The Nest at the Thompson Seattle hovers above Stewart Street with 360 degree views of Elliott Bay and the Olympics, a geodesic Rain Drop dome and seasonal couches around fireplaces.
Tip: 21 plus, cashless. Check in with the host downstairs at the hotel lobby for the elevator key. Happy hour 16:00 to 17:00 and 21:00 to 22:00 Sun to Thu.
Smith Tower Observatory Bar sits 35 floors above Pioneer Square inside the 1914 Smith Tower, with a speakeasy era cocktail program on the wraparound observation deck.
Tip: Admission ticket includes entry to the observation deck plus the bar. Reserve via the Smith Tower site; the deck is open 360 degrees in good weather.
Frolik on the 5th floor of the Motif Seattle is the largest year round rooftop in downtown, with a 4,000 square foot terrace, fire pit bars, ping pong and curling lanes in winter.
Tip: Igloos and curling open from November. Walk in friendly weekdays; reserve via OpenTable for weekend brunch and Thursday to Saturday evenings.
Goldfinch Tavern at the Four Seasons opens its terrace bar alongside the hotel's infinity pool, looking out over the Great Wheel and Puget Sound. Live jazz with Brian Nova Thursday through Saturday.
Tip: Reserve dinner via OpenTable; the bar runs the same hours and is the easier walk in. Sip Champagne after sunset from the pool side.
Canon on 12th Avenue is Jamie Boudreau's Capitol Hill cocktail room with the largest spirits library in the country at 4,000 plus labels and a strict four guest cap per party.
Tip: Open Wednesday through Sunday from 17:00 to 00:00. Walk in friendly, limited reservations; the bar caps parties at four to keep service tight.
Needle and Thread hides above Tavern Law on 12th Avenue. Pick up the vintage telephone in the back of the downstairs bar and the vault door buzzes you up to a 36 seat menu free cocktail room.
Tip: Reservation only via OpenTable, parties of one to six, up to six days ahead. The bartender builds drinks to your taste from scratch.
Bathtub Gin tucks into the alley off 2nd Avenue, inside the boiler room of the 1928 Humphrey Building. A multi level Belltown speakeasy with a real bathtub in the window seat.
Tip: Open nightly 17:00 to 02:00. Look for the unmarked alley door off 2nd Avenue between Bell and Blanchard; no reservations, walk in.
The Doctor's Office on East Olive Way is the intimate global spirits tasting room where Matt Powell built personalized cocktails to order, ranked in the World's 50 Best North America list.
Tip: Reservations strongly encouraged via the bar's site; the room is tiny and walk ins are rare on weekends. Daily 16:00 to 01:00.
The Hideout on Boren is Greg Lundgren's First Hill art bar, 20 years deep, with classic cocktails poured under contemporary work from more than 80 local artists on every inch of wall.
Tip: Happy hour 16:00 to 18:00 Monday to Friday with discounted wells. Saturday opens at 18:00, Sunday closed.
Bookstore Bar at the Alexis Royal Sonesta on 1st Avenue is the library style hotel bar with floor to ceiling bookshelves, an award winning bourbon list and quiet cocktail service.
Tip: Open daily for lunch and dinner. Reservations via OpenTable; the bar holds the dark wood, the smaller dining room sits one step up.
Pony on East Madison is the gay dive in a 1930s gas station, with a graffiti washroom, a tiny dance floor and a covered patio. Built as a tribute to the Castro and West Village bars of the 1970s.
Tip: Open Monday to Thursday 17:00 to 02:00, Friday to Sunday 15:00 to 02:00. Cash and card both work; no cover. Sunday afternoons fill the patio.
Wildrose on East Pike opened New Year's Eve 1984 and is the oldest lesbian bar in the country, with a DJ booth that runs Friday and Saturday from 21:00 and a Pride takeover each June.
Tip: Closed Monday. DJs every Friday and Saturday from 21:00 to 02:00. Cash and card; no cover. Outdoor seating for warmer months.
Diesel on 14th Avenue opened 2011 as the Capitol Hill bear bar, with strong drinks, a leather themed back bar and Taco Tuesday plus the monthly Third Thursday Leather Night.
Tip: Monday to Friday 15:00 to 02:00, weekends 12:00 to 02:00. No cover, walk in friendly; bear and leather nights post their own dress code.
Madison Pub on East Madison opened 1986 as a gay sports bar and runs three darts, two pool tables, pinball and the friendliest crowd on the Hill with the tagline no DJs, no cover, no problems.
Tip: Happy hour 17:00 to 19:00 with a dollar off drafts and wells. Sponsors local softball teams; quiet weeknights, busier on game days.
The Cuff Complex on 13th Avenue is the gay leather club open since 1993, with four bars, a 500 capacity dance floor and a Northwest Bears, Seattle Men in Leather and Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence home base.
Tip: Tuesday through Sunday from 18:00. Themed nights are posted on the calendar; the deck opens in warm months.
Kremwerk and Timbre Room on Minor Avenue is the explicitly queer dance complex that runs electronic music nights alongside Kings drag, Safeword leather, Studio Saturdays and T4T programming.
Tip: Tickets via Dice, doors typically 21:00. Queer first programming with a posted safer space and consent policy.
Shibuya HiFi on Leary Avenue is Brian Rauschenbach and Quentin Ertel's purpose built listening lounge with 1976 Klipschorn speakers, a Technics SL 1200G and two to five albums a night.
Tip: Tuesday and Wednesday 18:00 to 22:00, Thursday to Saturday until midnight, closed Sunday and Monday. $21 listening sessions; reserve via Tock.
Revolver Bar on East Olive Way is the all vinyl cocktail bar owned by Electrokitty Recording Studio's Gary Reynolds, with 2,500 LPs above the spirits and two turntables running all night.
Tip: Daily 16:00 to 02:00. Happy hour 16:00 to 19:00. The bar takes song requests in line with the night's direction; cash and card both work.
The Royal Room on Rainier Avenue South in Columbia City has booked live jazz seven nights a week since 2011 around a Steinway B grand, with a full kitchen and bar in the same room.
Tip: All ages until 22:00, then 21 plus. Reserve a dinner table or hold first come seating; advance ticketing via Stranger Tickets for headliners.
Linda's Tavern on East Pine opened February 1994 and is the grunge Cheers, the last place Kurt Cobain was spotted before his death. Buffalo head over the bar, side door for hippies.
Tip: Daily until 02:00. The back patio runs in warmer months. Cobain's favorite booth still gets pointed out; biscuits and gravy at brunch.
The Comet on East Pike is the grunge era dive that survived a 2014 reopening with new ownership, an arcade in the back room called The Mezz and the smoky rocker hangout DNA intact.
Tip: Daily through 02:00. The arcade and pinball at the back is the play; small kitchen runs bar food through service.
The 5 Point Cafe on Cedar Street has poured since 1929 and runs 24 hour diner service in Belltown, the oldest drinking establishment in the neighborhood with bar service from 06:00 to 02:00.
Tip: Cafe open 24 hours, bar 06:00 to 02:00 daily. First come, first served, no reservations. 21 plus at the bar; minors okay in the cafe or patio.
Shorty's on 2nd Avenue is the Coney Island themed Belltown carny dive with hot dogs at the bar, two rooms of pinball through the back and boozy slushees up front.
Tip: Daily noon to 02:00. Cash bar, pinball back room with no cover, hot dogs and corn dogs run all hours.
Screwdriver on 1st Avenue is the basement rock and roll dive in the historic Barnes Building, a former grunge era recording studio, with Belltown Yacht Club's live music room next door in the alley.
Tip: Daily 16:00 to 02:00. Go down the staircase between the photo walls to find the bar. Belltown Yacht Club next door for ticketed live music.
Hillside on East Olive Way is the neighborhood Capitol Hill bar with 18 rotating drafts, 100 plus liquors and a game room running pool, darts, pinball, skee ball and Big Buck HD.
Tip: Daily 14:00 to 02:00. Happy hour 16:00 to 18:00 with $1 off drafts and wells, $8 Evan Williams and PBR. Trivia and pop ups rotate.
Peak food season in Seattle is year-round.
Local dining hours: lunch around 12:30, dinner from 19:30.
service is typically included; small extra is welcome but not expected.
Ask the next local you meet what they would order. Seattle rewards trust.