Bars near the convention?

CrielCriel Registered User regular
This will be my first year going to PAX after years of trying. I'm sure me and the guys will be hitting them after festivities at PAX...every night(DON'T JUDGE ME o:) ).

Every town has those bars you avoid at all costs, does the city of Seattle have those bars?
What bars are an every year tradition for you yearly pax-goers?
How close to the convention are they?

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  • PotatoemanPotatoeman Registered User regular
    I don't know of any cool local bars, but in the past times I've gone, there were a few events sponsored by some of the game companies at PAX at some bars right near the convention center. I met a lot of cool people and just chilled out; sometimes you'll meet people that work on the game and just bullshit around with them. I remember specifically in 2012 a lot of League of Legends employees were always around to talk to; they're pretty rad.

  • BigRedBigRed Seattle, WARegistered User regular
    there are like 50 bars within a couple miles of the convention center.

    Whenever I drink in downtown I usually find myself on cap hill (just east of the WSCC). Some of my favorite bars are there.

    <MoeFwacky> besides, BigRed-Worky is right
  • GdexGdex Registered User regular
    I always like the dragonfish, at the paramount hotel. Especially if you are hungry late at night. After 10 all the apps and drinks go half price and I've been there with 5 people for about 2 hours eating and drinking and our bill for the group barely topped 120. Waitress were always cool and quick service.

  • ApplezJuiceApplezJuice Modesto, CaliforniaRegistered User regular
    Just so you know, I registered on the forum for this topic. I will be 21 in July and this is my first PAX event. I know there are a few pub crawlz that go on before the event and wish to attend. Look forward to seeing everyone! :smiley:

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  • ZealenZealen Registered User new member
    There is a Gameworks (bar + arcade) right across the street from the convention center. Other than that I can't remember any names of the other bars I visited.

  • HeadhunterHeadhunter Registered User regular
    Gdex wrote: »
    I always like the dragonfish, at the paramount hotel. Especially if you are hungry late at night. After 10 all the apps and drinks go half price and I've been there with 5 people for about 2 hours eating and drinking and our bill for the group barely topped 120. Waitress were always cool and quick service.

    I don't know if it's open that late, but the Urbane restaurant in the Hyatt at Olive 8 next door has great food and service.

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  • k2000kk2000k Registered User new member
    Criel wrote: »
    This will be my first year going to PAX after years of trying. I'm sure me and the guys will be hitting them after festivities at PAX...every night(DON'T JUDGE ME o:) ).

    Every town has those bars you avoid at all costs, does the city of Seattle have those bars?
    What bars are an every year tradition for you yearly pax-goers?
    How close to the convention are they?

    There are some, but for the most part they are pretty self evident that you don't want to go in there but there really isn't an area that you avoid as a general rule. For example, Pioneer Square, about a 20 minute walk from the convention center, has some 'clubs' that I would avoid but there are also some really cool new bars that have opened up like Altstadt.

    All the bars around the convention center will be catering to the PAX crowd. The event has gotten so huge that even Seattlites who aren't gamers, or have little awareness of games, are aware of the convention. I'd say that if you want to get a good pax bar, anything along the pike pine corridor either going up the hill or down to the waterfront is a good bet. South Bell town just north of Stewart and between 1st and 3rd ave will have a lot of Paxers.

    My personal recommendation is the Raygun Lounge Bar on Pine and Summit. It's a board game bar so they will be down with the Pax and it's only a ten minute walk up the hill from the convention center. http://tinyurl.com/klobk3f

  • CrielCriel Registered User regular
    I'm afraid I won't be able to have enough time to visit PAX after hearing about all these great places to visit :o

  • I3izzyI3izzy Nonofficial member of the F5 brigade FG, ORRegistered User regular
    Check out the "Tap house Grill" It is next to game works and has a huge wall of taps. Says 160 beers on tap.
    http://taphousegrill.com/

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  • InitialdorInitialdor Seattle's Carl Registered User regular
    I usually end up at the Gameworks bar out of laziness. I drink so much in my normal life that PAX usually ends up being a 'light' weekend for me; Huskies and preseason-Seahawks games notwithstanding. But drink prices at any downtown bar are a travesty... I am spoiled by the price and strength of my regular bar in the U-District: Earls on the Ave. It's too far from the convention center to recommend it event-wise, but it's where I'll be after the concerts let out!

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  • cloudeaglecloudeagle Registered User regular
    I3izzy wrote: »
    Check out the "Tap house Grill" It is next to game works and has a huge wall of taps. Says 160 beers on tap.
    http://taphousegrill.com/

    Ooooh, nice!

    I'm a beer nerd, and I'm hoping to dive into a bunch of local/regional beers I can't get back home during PAX. Besides Taphouse, are there any relatively closeby breweries you can recommend?

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  • Baka AlBaka Al Registered User regular
    I3izzy wrote: »

    Ooooh, nice!

    I'm a beer nerd, and I'm hoping to dive into a bunch of local/regional beers I can't get back home during PAX. Besides Taphouse, are there any relatively closeby breweries you can recommend?

    Well, beer nerd wise, within walking Distance, you have The Pike @ pike place market(yes it's obvious, but they do good non-shouty beer)
    Up Capitol Hill a few blocks from the WSCC you'll find Elysium's large brew pub(if you want the insanely hoped IPA's/other shouty beer). Also up that way is the Pine Box, which normally has a good selection.

    Regarding breweries themselves (aside from Pike & Elysium) I'm not sure of any breweries that close to the convention centre, but if head out of downtown should find some. Ballard has a surprising number of really good small breweries for instance (and is fairly accessible on the busses)

  • BigRedBigRed Seattle, WARegistered User regular
    edited May 2014
    Its Elysian :P

    For breweries close to PAX you have to go into whats called georgetown (south of the stadiums) or north into Ballard. Ballard has an obscene amount of breweries and distilleries in a relativity small amount of space.

    Theres a couple close to/on the waterfront (Pike street brewing for one) but they are few. The areas I mentioned have the most inside of Seattle.

    As far as bars close to the WSCC (Now that I can make a useful post), IN ORDER OF DISTANCE.
    No, I dont have a problem.
    These are some of the ones I frequent for drinking/food

    Pine Box
    Sun Liquor
    Linda's Tavern
    Capitol Cider (sometimes they have things nobody else does, pricey though)
    Comet (cheapest ive found on the hill)
    Lost Lake Cafe & Lounge (24h)
    Sam's Tavern
    Barca
    Unicorn/Narwhal
    Elysian
    Auto Battery

    (These two are a bit further but worth it if you have $$ to spend)
    Canon (WHISKEY!)
    Von Trapp's (German Beers & sausage & Indoor Bocce Ball)


    For the love of god dont drink in the downtown core. Its always flooded during PAX time and is medicore at best plus $rape. Walk up the hill a few blocks and you will have MANY better choices.

    Plus its easy to stumble back downhill to the hotels and/or transit station... Not that I would know anything about that >.>

    Edit:
    added links

    BigRed on
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  • ApplezJuiceApplezJuice Modesto, CaliforniaRegistered User regular
    Good man! I am going to enjoy many of these bars hopefully when I visit there for PAX! Do you happen to know what bar Riot usually throws their pub crawl at?

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  • BigRedBigRed Seattle, WARegistered User regular
    Good man! I am going to enjoy many of these bars hopefully when I visit there for PAX! Do you happen to know what bar Riot usually throws their pub crawl at?

    I don't follow Riot/LoL so I have no idea.

    <MoeFwacky> besides, BigRed-Worky is right
  • ApplezJuiceApplezJuice Modesto, CaliforniaRegistered User regular
    Ah gotcha, I heard they throw an awesome one.

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  • Rhea_starstormRhea_starstorm Portland, ORRegistered User regular
    edited May 2014
    Last I was there in 2012 Gameworks was having a private party or something after pax once night- the staff was outside was rude to me and my friends so I will probably not support them. Also I remember hearing something about a Dr. Who Themed Burlesque show- anyone know anything about that?

    Rhea_starstorm on
  • Rhea_starstormRhea_starstorm Portland, ORRegistered User regular
    Initialdor wrote: »
    I usually end up at the Gameworks bar out of laziness. I drink so much in my normal life that PAX usually ends up being a 'light' weekend for me; Huskies and preseason-Seahawks games notwithstanding. But drink prices at any downtown bar are a travesty... I am spoiled by the price and strength of my regular bar in the U-District: Earls on the Ave. It's too far from the convention center to recommend it event-wise, but it's where I'll be after the concerts let out!
    My party is staying in the University Dist and busing in so feel free to recommend bars in the area

  • TicaldfjamTicaldfjam Snoqualmie, WARegistered User regular
    BigRed wrote: »
    Its Elysian :P

    For breweries close to PAX you have to go into whats called georgetown (south of the stadiums) or north into Ballard. Ballard has an obscene amount of breweries and distilleries in a relativity small amount of space.

    Theres a couple close to/on the waterfront (Pike street brewing for one) but they are few. The areas I mentioned have the most inside of Seattle.

    As far as bars close to the WSCC (Now that I can make a useful post), IN ORDER OF DISTANCE.
    No, I dont have a problem.
    These are some of the ones I frequent for drinking/food

    Pine Box
    Sun Liquor
    Linda's Tavern
    Capitol Cider (sometimes they have things nobody else does, pricey though)
    Comet (cheapest ive found on the hill)
    Lost Lake Cafe & Lounge (24h)
    Sam's Tavern
    Barca
    Unicorn/Narwhal
    Elysian
    Auto Battery

    (These two are a bit further but worth it if you have $$ to spend)
    Canon (WHISKEY!)
    Von Trapp's (German Beers & sausage & Indoor Bocce Ball)


    For the love of god dont drink in the downtown core. Its always flooded during PAX time and is medicore at best plus $rape. Walk up the hill a few blocks and you will have MANY better choices.

    Plus its easy to stumble back downhill to the hotels and/or transit station... Not that I would know anything about that >.>

    Edit:
    added links

    Big Ups for this info. Much appreciated!

  • bacon_avengerbacon_avenger Defender of Pork Products Pacific NW, USARegistered User regular
    I'm still a fan of Elephant & Castle (http://www.elephantcastle.com/seattle) under the Red Lion. Very neat British pub and restaurant that serves stuff in proper pints.

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  • mcdermottmcdermott Registered User regular
    Definitely bite the bullet and head to Belltown or Cap Hill. A 15 minute walk will get you a much better selection of bars, by far.

  • Baka AlBaka Al Registered User regular
    BigRed wrote: »
    Its Elysian :smile:

    Gah. I blame auto-correct/fact that I was posting late at night. Yeah, I did mean Elysian!

  • VangardeVangarde SeattleRegistered User regular
    edited May 2014
    I can lend some info on the riot pub crawl. They hand out info and flyers about it at their venue. Also follow their twitters. Last year I remember hitting Pike brewery, Whiskey Bar, and lava lounge. After that, it gets fuzzy.

    On that note about bars though, yeah the downtown core is pricy. Walking up to Belltown or Capitol Hill is a good idea if u want to see the best of Seattle's bar scene. Check the party thread when its closer to PAX if you want to try to follow the game industry drinking groups. I ran into Ubisoft AC4 team while I was out with Riot at Whiskey.

    Vangarde on
  • LexiconGrrlLexiconGrrl Registered User regular
    edited June 2014
    If being a distiller gives me any clout, I vote Belltown over Cap Hill. I'm tilted in favor of the bars down there that carry my booze, but they're also the kind of bars that carry more locally made, interesting and just creative stuff. Cap Hill bars are typically pretty snotty and don't carry many products that weren't made by a wax-mustachioed 25 year old hipster dude. That kind of extends to the service and selection in general up there.

    Also, there's a 75% chance the Schlitzkrieg will happen again this year. For anyone who's unfamiliar, it's an epic Pre-PAX Brewery tour somewhere in the Seattle area, thrown by PAXers, for PAXers, with PAXers. The focus is on small, obscure breweries that you've probably never heard of.

    EDIT: This is a personal opinion. Individual experience may vary.

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  • Rhea_starstormRhea_starstorm Portland, ORRegistered User regular
    If being a distiller gives me any clout, I vote Belltown over Cap Hill. I'm tilted in favor of the bars down there that carry my booze, but they're also the kind of bars that carry more locally made, interesting and just creative stuff. Cap Hill bars are typically pretty snotty and don't carry many products that weren't made by a wax-mustachioed 25 year old hipster dude. That kind of extends to the service and selection in general up there.

    Also, there's a 75% chance the Schlitzkrieg will happen again this year. For anyone who's unfamiliar, it's an epic Pre-PAX Brewery tour somewhere in the Seattle area, thrown by PAXers, for PAXers, with PAXers. The focus is on small, obscure breweries that you've probably never heard of.

    That sounds fun- will Schlitzkrieg be announced on the forums?

  • sye46sye46 Registered User regular
    edited June 2014
    I currently live in Seattle and honestly, i prefer to hang out at Capitol Hill. Belltown and Pioneer Square have some nice spots, but that's just my preference. In downtown, close to PAX, check out Frolik. They have a killer outdoor patio that you must experience during the summer in Seattle. Don't expect great service or cheap drinks and food, just go there for the sunset behind the towers of Seattle. It's pretty cool.

    If you have a car and want to venture out, check out Ballard and Fremont as well.

    sye46 on
  • BigRedBigRed Seattle, WARegistered User regular
    If being a distiller gives me any clout, I vote Belltown over Cap Hill. I'm tilted in favor of the bars down there that carry my booze, but they're also the kind of bars that carry more locally made, interesting and just creative stuff. Cap Hill bars are typically pretty snotty and don't carry many products that weren't made by a wax-mustachioed 25 year old hipster dude. That kind of extends to the service and selection in general up there.

    You must not have been on the hill in a while :P Most of the places in my list above arent really hipster-ish and have decent service, well other than lost lake, but only 24h place there. Walking to ballard from PAX also sucks ass.

    Although I do drink in ballard a lot and have gotten my fair share of terrible service at bars there. Just easier for me to get to cap hill from PAX (couple block walk) and from home for that matter.

    <MoeFwacky> besides, BigRed-Worky is right
  • BrewtiConBrewtiCon Registered User regular
    Cool Seattle bar? Lenny's all the way.

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  • CennediCennedi A strange man A strange landRegistered User regular
    I've got an issue that I might as well throw into here. I'm not a beer drinker, and I think a lot of bars that I've gone to mess up their alcohol to mix ratio way off in favor towards alcohol (which is not my thing), while a friend who is coming with me is a big friend of stout beers. Is there a bar in town that you would recommend for us? I'm renting a room at the Sheraton, so nobody needs to be a DD.

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  • LexiconGrrlLexiconGrrl Registered User regular
    That sounds fun- will Schlitzkrieg be announced on the forums?
    - If it happens, yup!
    BigRed wrote: »
    You must not have been on the hill in a while :P Most of the places in my list above arent really hipster-ish and have decent service, well other than lost lake, but only 24h place there. Walking to ballard from PAX also sucks ass.

    Although I do drink in ballard a lot and have gotten my fair share of terrible service at bars there. Just easier for me to get to cap hill from PAX (couple block walk) and from home for that matter.

    Unfortunately, I've been on the hill more than I'd like recently, doing sales calls and attending other distillers' events. Again, this has just been my own experience, but the level of douchebaggery on the hill has gotten worse in the last year than I've ever seen it. Bars and restaurants make a lot of noise about their 'mission' but you really see who's serious about it and who's just using marketing manipulation to sound cool when you see who really does buy local, get engaged in the drinking scene, introduce customers to new products, etc... instead of just buying the same tired old shit. What I love about more of the bars in Belltown is that there's a higher percentage there that honestly execute on their marketing claims and really care about providing an open, exciting, creative experience to the customers.

    You should go on a sales call with me some time to see the 'real' side of the bar scene up there. Or... maybe not, because you might kick somebody in the knee once you see the shitty looks and snotty fuckitudes I get for not being a 25 yo blonde with a 100k marketing portfolio. I just don't feel like it's a scene that cares as much about the booze as it does its own image.

    ALL THAT SAID, yes it's closer to the con. And there are some solid places on the hill. All the above is me splitting hairs between two downtown-adjacent neighborhoods that both have hundreds of bars/tavs/pubs.

    *Assuming you meant Belltown, not Ballard. Because yes, walking to Ballard would suck many, many asses.

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  • Agent00Agent00 Tucson, AZRegistered User regular
    The Diller Room, the one bar I make sure to visit every year.

  • spookymuffinspookymuffin ( ° ʖ ° ) Puyallup WA Registered User regular
    We're going to be hitting the Unicorn Bar after the Pre-PAX dinner, if anyone wants to join.

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  • whypick1whypick1 PAX [E] Info Booth Manager ~2' from an LCDRegistered User regular
    That might not be the best idea, since it'll likely be pretty damn crowded.

    Is it PAX <insert nearest future PAX here> yet?
  • spookymuffinspookymuffin ( ° ʖ ° ) Puyallup WA Registered User regular
    The whole area is likely to be crowded, with an additional 70k+ people flooding downtown Seattle that weekend.

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  • LexiconGrrlLexiconGrrl Registered User regular
    The whole area is likely to be crowded, with an additional 70k+ people flooding downtown Seattle that weekend.

    Except that the crawl is a scheduled event with many people bombing the bar at the same time. Drinking at a scheduled crawl bar the night of the crawl may not be the greatest experience. For a gamer bar alternative, consider Shorty's downtown, Gamma Ray on Cap Hill, or Cafe Mox in Ballard.

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  • zannahzannah Registered User regular
    As a local (who is admittedly not a huge drinker), I'd second most of BigRed's suggestions (I haven't tried the others), as well as LexiconGrrl's suggestions of Shorty's and Gamma Ray/Raygun Lounge.

    (Would recommend Cafe Mox if you are willing to drive/cab, but it's definitely out of downtown.)

    I'm also a fan of the Dragonfish in the later evening.

    Taphouse does have a big selection of beer, but IMO, they tend to be pretty crowded and the service there has been hit or miss for me.

  • LexiconGrrlLexiconGrrl Registered User regular
    edited August 2014
    There's a new (and only) Scandinavian-themed bar that's opened up in Hotel Andra, if anybody is staying there. It's a small, intimate bar with great Swedish small plates and a FUCKING AMAZING selection of imported & local Aquavits you won't get anywhere else because the bar has them specially ordered directly from the producers. If you want to try something different, check it out.

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  • pogoplaypogoplay Writer/Blogger/Gamer Calgary, AlbertaRegistered User regular
    Speaking of bars, any good liquor stores (or grocery stores with a good selection of liquor as the U.S. is different like that) around the area (Preferably close to the Westin)?

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  • brettpoolbrettpool Registered User regular
    pogoplay wrote: »
    Speaking of bars, any good liquor stores (or grocery stores with a good selection of liquor as the U.S. is different like that) around the area (Preferably close to the Westin)?

    I'm not sure how 'good' it is but it's one of the few places my group found liquor at last year, there's an IGA in downtown that's a super easy walk from almost all the major PAX hotels
    http://www.kressiga.com/
    1427 Third Avenue
    Seattle, WA 98101

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  • nitrousdavenitrousdave Registered User regular
    Was bored at work so compiled a list of some of the bars around the convention center, along with their Happy Hour times.

    https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1dsWxCih6sTXmV74oCXftnIe7OPkjQxYIn6i_VQTvpjQ/edit?usp=sharing

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