Bachelor Party Ideas: Seattle

A WEEKEND GUIDE

Seattle, Washington isn’t exactly the first place that comes to mind when you think bachelor party weekends. However, it boasts a unique vibe and things to do that you can’t just find in any city in America. Not to mention that during the summer, it’s one of the most beautiful cities in the U.S.

WHERE TO STAY

With the highest concentration of hotels in downtown Seattle, this is likely where you’ll be staying during a bachelor party weekend. Not to mention that it’s convenient to the airport and many nearby neighborhoods by public transportation. Within mere blocks of one another are many of downtown Seattle’s hotels, including the Inn at the Market, W Seattle, Hotel Monaco, Sheraton, Hotel 1000, and Alexis and in neighboring Belltown, the Ace and Edgewater.

Some of the neighborhoods closest to downtown Seattle, such as South Lake Union and Lower Queen Anne, have hotels, but they are more in the way of two- or three-star boutique or chain hotels, rather than most of the four-star hotels you find in downtown Seattle. You do, however, get some five-star hotels in downtown Seattle, including the Four Seasons and Fairmont.

Plus, in any of these neighborhoods, we are sure there are some amazing Airbnbs and other rentals places.

WHERE TO EAT

While you’ll likely be staying in downtown Seattle, it’s in many of the neighborhoods beyond downtown where you’ll find some of the best food. This starts in the trendy, maritime neighborhood of Ballard, where you have everything from authentic Mexican at La Carta de Oaxaca to popular Caribbean spot Un Bien to raw seafood bar The Walrus and the Carpenter. Ballard is also home to Staple & Fancy Mercantile, an Italian restaurant by local chef Ethan Stowell, who has several popular restaurants around Seattle, many of which have a strong Italian and seafood emphasis.

Perhaps Seattle’s most popular neighborhood, however, is Capitol Hill, located northeast of downtown Seattle, and featuring a variety of great restaurants, such as Li’l Woody’s for gourmet burgers; Altura and Bar Cotto for Italian; and the new, inventive Restaurant Marron.

For sushi and seafood, look no further than downtown Seattle. Downtown Seattle (and adjacent Belltown) has a long list of sushi restaurants, most of which are a few blocks from one another, including Sushi Kashiba, Japonessa, Sushi Kudasai and Wasabi. Great seafood restaurants include Matt’s in the Market, Elliott’s Oyster House and The Brooklyn Seafood Steak & Oyster House.

For a true guys night out, go to the Metropolitan Grill for a great steakhouse or Radiator Whiskey for barbecue and drinks.

WHERE TO DAY-DRINK

When it comes to happy hour, there are few cities that do it better than Seattle, and here, it starts early and goes on well into the evening. Ba Bar, a Vietnamese restaurant and cocktail bar, features a long happy hour menu that starts at 3:00 p.m., while nearby Barrio also starts its Mexican-themed happy hour at 3:00, but offers a late-night happy hour in addition to the afternoon one.

Other great afternoon happy hour spots include BOKA, Lecosho, La Isla Cuisine, and Ivar’s Salmon House. Seattle, too, knows how to do craft beer, featuring more than 40 breweries spread across the city.

Just a few of Seattle’s breweries include Fremont Brewing for its urban beer garden, Elysian Brewing, Hale’s Ales, Hilliard’s and Pyramid, which turns its parking lot into a beer garden on game day. A unique way to hit a number of Seattle’s breweries all at once is with Seattle Brewery Walking Tours, which is a guided tour of top microbreweries in the area.

On a nice day, head to Marination Ma Kai, Little Water Cantina or Ray’s Boathouse for drinks with a view.

WHERE TO NIGHT-DRINK

Continuing with that local, craft trend is Seattle’s watering holes, such as Capitol Hill’s Sun Liquor, part distillery and part craft cocktail bar. Seattle has a number of great speakeasy-esque cocktail bars, including Canon, considered one of the best bars in America, Tavern Law, Knee High Stocking, Needle and Thread (hidden inside Tavern Law) and Bathtub Gin & Co.

Another quintessential Seattle cocktail bar is Zig Zag Café, which isn’t a speakeasy per se, yet is tucked away near Pike Place Market. For less style and more dive, Seattle has no shortage of dive bars, such as The Redwood, Montana, Rabbit Hole, Blue Moon Tavern and Shorty’s, which is part dive bar and part arcade.

Other unique spots include Rhein Haus, a German beer hall; Rumba, a rum bar featuring more than 400 rums (yes, 400); and Pie Bar, a dessert and cocktail bar.

WHERE TO NIGHTCLUB

Late-night bars in Seattle aren’t quite like they are in other places like Vegas. Instead, you find some unique, Pacific Northwest bars that you don’t find elsewhere, many of which feature great live music, such as Tractor Tavern and The Crocodile (the stage early on for bands like Nirvana and Death Cab for Cutie).

Nonetheless, Seattle has some great nightclubs, including Aston Manor, Foundation, Q Nightclub and Monkey Loft, which stays open on the weekends for a couple of hours beyond most bars’ closing times.

You have a number of gentleman’s clubs to choose from, including Little Darlings, DreamGirls and Deja Vu Showgirls, one of the more well-known adult clubs in Seattle, located just beyond Pike Place Market. Perhaps Seattle’s most unique club is Can Can, which is part restaurant, part craft cocktail and absinthe bar and part burlesque theater.

WHAT TO DO WHEN YOU’RE NOT DRINKING

Seattle’s location in the Pacific Northwest makes it a great location for half-day and day trips. In just a 30-minute car ride, for example, you can be in Washington wine country in the little town of Woodinville, and in a 45-minute seaplane ride be in British Columbia.

Additionally, many ferries leave from Seattle for a number of Pacific Northwest islands and port towns, including Victoria, British Columbia. Sports fans can catch professional sports throughout most of the year, including the Seattle Sounders, Mariners, and Seahawks.

On a nice day you can go out on the water in a yacht or sailboat, or for a more hands-on adventure, do kayaking or a whale-watching tour.