Lately, all the Seattle bar buzz has centered on a stretch of Greenwood Avenue North in Phinney Ridge. Last week, Bon Appétit magazine lauded the creative Khmer-inspired cocktails at Sophon, anointing that Cambodian restaurant as one of the 20 best debuts in the country.
And that’s not even the most popular bar along this stretch.
Two blocks north of Sophon sits a 240-seat bar that has been packed every sunny weekend this summer. It often looks like a block party, with hundreds of people squeezed into the patio area and inside the two-story bar.
More details below on that hot spot, along with nine other new bars and tasting rooms around Seattle and the Eastside.
Phinney Station
7418 Greenwood Ave. N., Seattle (Phinney Ridge); 206-402-5339, phinneystation.com
One of the largest bar openings in North Seattle in recent years, Phinney Station can hold 150 inside and 90 more in its front yard. It’s an open-wall bar with an indoor seating area that blends into the covered patio area. A big hit on sunny days, the bar plans to keep the party going during the dreary, damp seasons with four heaters and four firepit tables. The bar plans to set up a tent out front come winter.
The bar has 18 taps of beers, ciders and slushies. Phinney Station serves Korean-Mexican fusion tacos out of a trailer, and management plans to bring in two more food trucks to give patrons more food options soon.
Phinney Station is family-friendly and allows dogs in the patio area.
Chandelier Lounge
416 Broadway E., Seattle (Capitol Hill); 206-420-2014, chandelierloungeseattle.com
Some of the best fries in the city are served at this unassuming bar near the Capitol Hill light rail station. Potatoes get brined in vinegar and then fried twice in beef fat to give these golden fries a distinctive tang and savory quality. Even white-cloth bistros don’t afford their fries this much attention. On the menu, to go with a side of fries: stellar gourmet sandwiches, reasonably priced from $14 to $17, including a pork belly porchetta and a jambon beurre stuffed with housemade ham.
Little Thing Wine
3003 Beacon Ave. S., Seattle (Beacon Hill); littlething.wine
The new kid on Beacon Hill’s hip restaurant row is Little Thing, a 12-seat wine bar that has been a hit in the neighborhood. It helps that Little Thing is adjacent to three big-name restaurants (Homer, Bar del Corso and familyfriend), so the bar gets plenty of foot traffic from patrons who drop in for a glass while they wait for dinner reservations. The bar has sidewalk-cafe-style seating out front and a backyard to handle large crowds. It’s a modest but well-curated list (about 18 different bottles) of local and Old World boutique wines. Up to seven wine-by-the-glass options are available, including whites from the acclaimed Kelley Fox Wines in Willamette Valley.
Slim Goody
5411 Ballard Ave. N.W., Seattle (Ballard); 206-420-2277, slimgoodyseattle.com
Ballard gets another sports bar just in time for Seahawks, Kraken and Husky football seasons. With 18 televisions, Slim Goody can show multiple games with the volume on in different corners of the bar. There are also two heated patios and games to play, like foosball and cornhole. There are wings and fish and chips along with rotating regional specials, like a Chicago-style hot dog that Slim Goody will roll out when Seattle plays teams from the Windy City.
Tilda’s Lounge
5239 Ballard Ave. N.W., Seattle (Ballard); instagram.com/tildaslounge
A couple of blocks southeast of that sports bar sits this hidden nook in the back of Lupe’s Situ Tacos, a Lebanese-Mexican fusion taqueria. Tilda’s Lounge offers plenty of agave drinks, slushies and cervezas to wash down those deep-fried butter beef tacos. There are also vegan tacos with harissa cauliflower and a vegetarian version with garlic mashed potatoes.
1988 Cocktail Lounge
6009 12th Ave. S., Seattle (Georgetown); 206-829-9057, instagram.com/1988.lounge
This Georgetown bar does Southeast Asian riffs on classic cocktails, such as an Old Fashioned with a coconut-washed whiskey mixed with pandan-flavored simple syrup and bitters. It also composes many Vietnamese-inspired cocktails such as The Zenith, which is a vodka drink with pho-spice simple syrup, ginger, basil and lime.
King Leroy
500 Bellevue Way N.E., Bellevue; kingleroyseattle.com
Seattle’s King Leroy expands across the bridge to Bellevue’s Lincoln Square with a 30-seat bar and a menu that looks cribbed from the hipster playbook. There’s Rainier, Miller High Life ponies and, for cocktails, a Portland favorite: the old-school Grasshopper. The food at King Leroy — chicken sammies, burgers and a hot dog fancied up with caviar — comes from the neighboring Great State Burger, since both share space.
Dossier Wine Collective
15029 Redmond-Woodinville Road N.E. #300, Woodinville; dossierwine.com/woodinville-tasting-room
Dossier is known more for its celebrity ties, as former Seahawks receiver Sidney Rice teamed up with investor Tim Lenihan to open this Walla Walla wine company in 2021. But the brand has serious cred. The duo, along with winemaker Billo Naravane, have put together a respected wine portfolio that’s the envy of many in the industry. Now, at Dossier’s new Woodinville digs, Eastsiders can see (or taste) what all the fuss is about. Its stellar rosé is a bargain at $7 a glass. Try its critically acclaimed Columbia Valley cabernet or its Bordeaux-style red, called Index. No food in-house, but you can order dinner at Von’s next door.
Kinhaven Winery
14463 Redmond-Woodinville Road N.E., Woodinville; 425-892-0239, kinhavenwinery.com
South of Dossier is Kinhaven, a Walla Walla-based winery that specializes in Bordeaux reds. The tasting room also features blanc de blancs as well as a rosé made from cabernet sauvignon. The tasting room has 24 seats indoors and can fit a dozen more in the patio area.
Chi Chi Bellevue
3720 Factoria Blvd. S.E., Suite F, Bellevue; 425-590-9517, instagram.com/chichi.bellevue
This is technically a restaurant, but Chi Chi caters to the party set with beer pong tournaments and other drinking games, set to a blaring soundtrack of K-pop and hip-hop. Located in Factoria Village, Chi Chi is 21-and-older-only on Fridays and Saturdays, though it has a bar vibe on other days, too, with half-off pricing on all alcoholic drinks from Sunday through Wednesday from 5 to 9 p.m. For food, the 200-seat bar does Korean fried chicken and other beer noshes.
The opinions expressed in reader comments are those of the author only and do not reflect the opinions of The Seattle Times.