Cruise info
We present a map to Seattle's queer clubs. Click the zoom controls at the top of the map (in green) to see a smaller or larger group of bars. Click a map marker or a name in the list to identify the club's spot on the map and to get more information about the bar.
Use controls on left side or click and drag the map with mouse
to view a different area. Double-click to recenter.
In the details area below the map, you'll also find a quick review of Washington's sometimes-odd
alcohol-related rules and regs and a brief
introduction to the Pike/Pine neighborhood,
where most gay bars and clubs are located.
Most of Seattle's gay bars and clubs are tightly concentrated at the southern edge of the Capitol Hill neighborhood. This area, which adjoins the First Hill neighborhood, is slowly gaining its own name: The Pike/Pine Corridor.
The area was Seattle's original auto row in the early 20th Century before cars got too big and heavy for the indoor display areas common in the corridor. But that heritage survives with several specialized auto-service shops still doing business along its streets. You can even buy a new car if you're in the market for a high-end European brand.
That auto-row heritage also survives in a large inventory of sturdy, high-ceilinged old buildings with tall windows. Many of them have been converted into offices, loft apartments, or retail stores; but a few of those old auto-service and light industrial buildings have found new life as venues for the area's active nightlife. R-Place and Neighbours are examples among the bars listed here but several non-gay bars in the neighborhood also occupy spaces that hearken back to the auto-row days.
Words like "eclectic", "funky", and "diverse" are often used in descriptions of the neighborhood. A Seattle Times urban-design writer once described the area as combining "lowbrow kitsch with high-style design and small-town sociability with big-city sophistication."
Many non-gay bars and taverns share the area with the clubs listed here. Most of them welcome gay patrons and some offer evenings and events that draw a largely gay crowd.
You'll also find a wealth of dining options in the corridor, ranging from fast food (mostly of the independent, non-chain variety) to multi-star restaurants with reservation lists measured in months rather than hours.
In addition to the common instances of our local mega-chain coffee retailers, you'll find several independent coffeehouses along the streets. These are places that are, well... eclectic, funky, and diverse.
It's described in official documents as a "pedestrian-friendly neighborhood." That means, among other things, that parking is a challenge anywhere in the Pike/Pine Corridor. Expect to hunt for a parking spot if you feel the need to drive.
If you're planning a pub-crawl on foot in the Pike/Pine Corridor (which is always a good way to get around under that condition), it's often best to start out on the east side and work your way west. The altitude drops in that direction.
You can't buy alcohol or consume it in a public place in Washington between 2am and 6am. Even if a bar stays open after-hours, all of the liquor in the place must be removed by 2am. The rules allow bars to be open for these hours seven days a week.
Everyone in a Washington tavern or in the lounge area of a combined restaurant-lounge must be at least 21 years of age. Everyone there is required to have an ID -- even the folks who are clearly over 21.
Although it might not happen everywhere all the time, you should expect to be carded when you go into any bar.
Some places with a separate restaurant area may allow persons under 21 in the dining area, but only in that area, which must be clearly separated from the lounge area.
Open containers of alcohol may not be removed from the establishment that served the beverage. It's the tavern or lounge that will get into trouble if you try to walk out with a drink in your hand, so expect to be tackled by a bartender or bouncer if you try to do it.
Some establishments may have an outdoor patio area, but the size and location of that area is strictly defined by the license and you won't be allowed to take a drink past its clearly marked borders.
You can't do it, as of December, 2005. (It used to be left to the bar owner to decide, but is now made illegal by a new voter-mandated state rule.) Smoking is banned not only inside any bar or restaurant, but also within 25 feet of a door or an open window which makes it technically forbidden to smoke even on most outdoor decks or on the sidewalk anywhere near an entrance. Bottom line: If you want to smoke and drink, stay home or head off to a tribal casino.
Most grocery stores and some specialty shops have licenses that allow them to sell beer, wine, or malt beverages between 6am and 2am.
Some taverns or lounges may be able to sell sealed containers of beer and/or wine for removal from the premises. But doing so requires a special license and many taverns don't pay the extra fee, so don't count on being able to buy a six-pack as you leave a bar.
Distilled spirits of various sorts including whiskey, gin, vodka, rum, and all related potables can, in general, be bought only from state-run liquor stores. The stores tend to have short hours on any day and most of them are closed on Sundays.
This -- whatever it is -- is clearly prohibited by liquor board rules. But what "lewd conduct" means is not clearly defined. Nonetheless, the existence of this "I-know-it-when-I-see-it" rule means that some things that might be acceptable elsewhere won't be allowed in Washington.
Open containers of alcohol are prohibited in Seattle parks. In general, Seattle rules prohibit public consumption of alcohol except in a licensed establishment.
Patio | Food/Dining
Young, urbane, mixed crowd. Sidewalk dining. Very popular for weekend brunch.
(No website)aka: The Men's Room; Cadillac Grill
1501 E Madison StPatio | Pool/games | Food/Dining
It's the café/bar with many names even though most of them are no longer used. It is now a large cruise bar. Notoriously stiff drinks. Food served in the larger lounge areas and on a large sunny deck.
Visit their websiteOutDancing: Fridays twice / month
915 E Pine StDancing | Food/Dining
Swing, salsa, tango. Lessons. OutDancing gay night is on Friday twice a month month. Consult their calendar. Large second-floor dancefloor. Separate café area.
Visit their websitePool/games | Food/Dining | Karaoke
In Wallingford. It's the neighborhood bar for all of north Seattle. Karaoke on Sundays.
Visit their websiteKaraoke | Pool/games
Regular weekly event nights. Karaoke every night. It's quietly become a Seattle classic by staying a basic no-frills tavern (and, now, cocktail lounge) that is defiantly non-trendy.
(No website)Dancing | Karaoke | Patio | Pool/games | Sunday T | After-hours | Wi-fi hotspot | Dance lessons | Leather/Levi
Multiple bars. Frequent special events and guest DJs. Consult website. Leather shop. Dance floor open weekends. Karaoke Tuesdays and Thursdays. Country Western dance w/ Jim Drew Wednesdays and early on Fridays. Sunday T. After-hours Saturdays.
Visit their websiteSeattle's Oldest Gay Bar
402 2nd AveCabaret/drag
It's easy to mistake for a Pioneer Square neighborhood dive, but this classic still occasionally presents a drag show, much like the ones that entertained troops returning from WWII. A Seattle and a Square classic.
(No website)Real Guys, Real Events, No Attitude!
314 E Pike StPatio | Pool/games | Leather/Levi
Frequent special events, including weekly leather night and monthly all-gender queers night and a dyke's night. Next door to Benson's Grocery at the corner of Pike and Bellevue.
Visit their websiteWi-fi hotspot | Pool/games
Large, classic old bar highlights the airy space on Olive. Pool tables, games, wi-fi (with an upstairs living room perfect for surfing and watching at the same time).
(No website)Patio | Food/Dining | Cabaret/drag
Diverse menu all day at this popular mixed restaurant and lounge. Includes vegetarian options plus a huge breakfast menu. A must-visit weekend breakfast or brunch spot for many. Shows on most weekends.
Visit their websitePool/games | Wi-fi hotspot
Frequent special events and tournaments. Local pro-teams on TV. National Trivia Network games.
Visit their websiteFood/Dining
New bistro bar and restaurant for before- or after-show meal. Piano bar. Eentertainment with live music including jazz, classical, new age, and more.
Visit their websiteFood/Dining | Wi-fi hotspot | Coffee/Juice
One of the most unique spaces in town. Like a moonlit café district. Daily drink specials including Tequila Tuesdays, Cheap Shot Saturdays, and Wine tastings on Wednesdays. Espresso. Sandwiches and desserts till late.
Visit their websiteDancing | Karaoke | Cabaret/drag | Pool/games | After-hours | Underage (18+)
Closed Mondays. Entrance in the alley behind the building. Special events nightly.
Neighbours Underground is an 18+ club located in the basement of the Nightclub. Open Thursday, Friday, Saturday.
Friends Martini Bar open weekends
Food/Dining | Sunday T | Karaoke
Mexican food. DJs play an eclectic mix of listening music Thursdays through Sundays. Sunday T Beer Bust 2pm to Midnight. Keraoke on Tuesday nights.
Visit their websiteDancing | Cabaret/drag
Mixed club by design. Very friendly to queer guests, but often vastly outnumbered. One of the most unique clubs in Seattle. Dancing. Stage shows. Rasslin' nights. Movies. An institution Sunday nights for "Flammable" house with DJ Brian Lyons.
Visit their websitePatio | Food/Dining
Restaurant with an intimate lounge. Mixed crowd.
Visit their websiteDancing | Karaoke | Pool/games | Wi-fi hotspot | Sunday T | Cabaret/drag
Main entrance on Boylston Ave. Frequent special events in the third-floor dance space, plus game nights in the lounge and game area on lower floors. National Trivia Network games. Consult the website for details.
Visit their websiteSeattle's Lesbian Bar
1021 E Pike StDancing | Karaoke | Pool/games | Food/Dining
Frequent special events. Consult website for schedule.
Visit their websiteIt's anything but basic
1505 10th AveEntrance around the corner behind Comet Tavern.
Visit their websiteFormerly Club Seattle, this facility is open while also undergoing a complete overhaul by its new Chicago-based owner.
Visit their websiteA Man's Private Club
1117 Pike StreetWi-fi hotspot
Visit their websiteIn the basement under Wildrose. Enter from the steps behind the bar. This is a contemplative spa open to all women.
Visit their websiteLeather/Levi
Located inside The Cuff Complex. Open every Friday and Saturday nights, or by appointment with Daddy Jeff or Puppy. On Wed or Thur nights, you can ask for Daddy Jeff (Cuff security) to open it up for you.
Visit their websiteCoffee/Juice | Wi-fi hotspot
A favorite Alaskan roaster offers their coffee to Seattle drinkers in the Center for LGBT Wellness. Open weekdays and some weeknights.
Visit their websiteCoffee/Juice
This private mail-box center is just about every LGBT organization's address. They also serve coffee and juice behind windows onto the wonders of the Pike/Pine corridor.
(No website)Gay City & Verbena services, offices
511 E Pike StJoint service of Gay City Health Project and Verbena. Wellness Center offers HIV/STD testing and counseling, Pap smears. Appointments recommended. Drop in or call for appointment. Open Tuesday-Friday from 3:30-8 pm and Saturdays 1-5 pm. Coffee shop.
Visit their websiteThrift Store (on Union St.). Case management. Emergency assistance. Food services (including food bank). Insurance help. Care services.
Visit their websiteMental health/case management | Substance abuse | Education and consultation. Specialized programs focus on adiction, same-sex intimate partner violence, coming out, gender identity, sexuality, work and family challenges, parenting, aging, HIV/AIDS.
Visit their website
