Finally, somewhere in Ballard where you can get a beer. Plus 7 more Seattle-area bar openings

The surge in restaurant openings this summer led some readers to ask, “Where are the bar openings?” The answer is complicated. Some bar owners stayed on the sidelines due to concerns about the COVID-19 spike we saw late summer. Others waited to pass inspections or couldn’t find workers to complete their construction work. Anyway, here they come. Eight new openings in Seattle and Burien, and another dozen are expected to cut the opening ribbons in the next eight weeks. Stay tuned.

Pourer bottle shop

6400 24th Avenue NW, Seattle (Ballard); pour outbottleshop.com

Located a mile north of Ballard’s bar-hopping stretch, this taproom draws beer freaks, apartment dwellers and hotel workers, a quieter, more relaxed atmosphere compared to the rest of busy Ballard on a Friday night. A third of its excellent beer range is dedicated to two breweries from east Washington that you don’t see often in Seattle: Hop breweries from Single Hill Brewing in Yakima and Varietal Beer Company in Sunnyside. Not to be missed: the fresh hops called Energy Cone from Single Hill and a hazy IPA called Sup Cuz from Varietal. Try the fresh hops while it’s still in season.

Halcyon Brewing Company

8564 Greenwood Ave. N., Seattle (Greenwood); halcyonbrewingco.com

The new brewhouse has built an outdoor drinking area with picnic tables and propane heaters under tents for the Greenwood neighborhood – it’s a temporary patio until a more permanent outdoor structure can be built next year, according to co-owner Matt Hipp, who also owns Broadview Tap House and Hill City Taphouse & Bottle Shop in Hillman City. The inside taproom has room for an additional 150 and has flat screens and a projector for Kraken and Seahawk games. There is a family atmosphere in the neighborhood with children in the taproom and pet owners who are allowed to bring their dogs onto the terrace. Hip business partner and brewer Tom Furey, who has worked at Chainline Brewing Company in Kirkland and Standard Brewing in the Central District, mostly brews lagers and IPAs, but also expects some sours on tap. They have some glamorous hot dogs to eat, including a Seattle take with kimchi, cream cheese, kewpie mayonnaise and crispy wontons.

Bad bar

819 Fifth Avenue N., Seattle (Uptown); goodtimesbadbar.com

The Bad Bar is the newest to open near the Climate Pledge Arena. You can also shoot billiards in the back for free. The drinks menu focuses on locally produced beer and liquor. Next year the Bad Bar upstairs will open a spaghetti western style bar called Good Times. The Cairde Public House sports bar near the arena also opened in summer to take advantage of the heavy traffic on match day. Rochambeau is another bar opening near the hockey arena.

Physical Standard Time

1923 Seventh Avenue, Seattle (downtown); 206-538-0191, thephobac.com

The Vietnamese family who gave Seattle a chain of Pho Bac noodle houses have expanded into the beverage business: first with the artisanal coffeehouse Hello Em Viet Coffee & Roastery in Little Saigon and now with a Speak-easy-inspired cocktail bar on his second floor Pho Bac restaurants in the city center, next to the French wine bar Le Caviste. The drinks menu includes umami and Southeast Asian ingredients, including a pho wash or a pho broth flavored whiskey drink.

Surrell

2319 E. Madison St., Seattle (Madison Valley); 206-402-5698 surrellseattle.com

Chef and owner of Surrell wine bar, Aaron Tekulve, took advantage of the empty courtyard next to his restaurant to set up an outdoor wine bar. Workers leveled the grassy floor with 30,000 pounds of crushed stone and put some covers over tables, chairs, and propane heaters. This outdoor garden bar seats about two dozen. Surrell has also just opened an in-house wine bar next to his dining room. The 50-bottle wine list focuses on wines from Red Mountain and other terroirs in Washington state. Snacks are mostly sausage and cheese platters.

Belltown provisions

2137 Second Avenue, Seattle (Belltown); belltownprovisions.com

Due to the labor shortage, this team slowly rolled out its new cocktail lounge to gain some time for staffing. It has just doubled its cocktail menu to 20 drinks; You can expect a lot of tasty creations for the cocktail connoisseur, but also fruity-sweet mixed drinks for the young bar hoppers. The bar’s next project is to set up its own food program next year. In the meantime, a changing pop-up list serves burgers, wings, tacos or pizzas from the kitchen.

Three 9 lounge

4505 39th Avenue SW, Seattle (west Seattle); three9lounge.com

“Your New Hideaway on the Accidental Island” is the cheeky theme of this tiki cave on the upper level of the West Seattle Bowl. Expect the usual Polynesian beach oasis theme with Mai Tais, Planter’s Punch, and around 35 rums behind the bar. To eat: Kalua Pork Slider and Poke Bowls are on deck. And to answer what everyone is thinking, no, you can’t bring your fish bowl drink down to the bowling alley. But the bowling center has a separate bar with lots of stiff drinks.

chimney Midwest tavern

15212 Sixth Avenue SW, Burien; 206-829-8816, firesideburien.com

The atmosphere is a dive bar with a 1970s hunting lodge aesthetic, though Fireside is technically a family restaurant where kids can run around freely. The food is Midwestern Comfort cuisine with Tater Tot casseroles and Ritz cracker-crust pikeperch and disco-era drinks like a frozen Harvey Wallbanger. Laredo’s popular Michelada is also served here, as one of the Fireside owners, Jose Betancourt, also owns the Laredo Mexican restaurant in Uptown.

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