Baranof (Greenwood)
8549 Greenwood Ave N
Seattle, WA 98103
(206) 782-9260
The Baranof is a crusty old diner that feels like it's been open forever, complete with an awesome nautical-themed dive bar that's open from 6 a.m. until 2 o'clock in the morning every damn day. The food is unexpectedly good, especially the clam chowder and the roasted-turkey sandwich. Saturday morning bingo in the bar is completely fun and totally surreal (sample overheard discussion: Did Bonnie actually get arrested for threatening a clerk with a box cutter, or is this bullshit?).
Hours: Daily 6 am-2 amCategories: Bar, Restaurant
Restaurant Details
Bar Details
The Stranger's Reviews of Baranof
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Bar Exam: Comfort and Joy: Bars Open on Xmas (and Also Good Any Damn Day) Dec 24, 2009
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Eatin' Good in the Neighborhood Jun 19, 2008
Finding a World of Delight on a Single Block in Greenwood
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Bar Exam: Oh, Sixty-Nine! Bingo at the Baranof Oct 5, 2006
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Reviews/Comments (9)
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9
Hipsters?!
Please! I was nearly the hippest person in the place and I'm forty with two kids.
The Baranof is what in my experience it always has been - a cheap neighbourhood bar where you go to get a drink or ten. There are always a couple of scary-looking but kind ladies behind the bar. The well-pours are scandalously large (don't order a double - you'll look like a naif) even more scandalously cheap, and, to be honest marginal quality (Scorseby Scotch and Calvert Gin).
The clientele are mostly older and all look as if they might have just a wee problem with substance abuse. The TV was showing some variant on Dancing with the Stars. The music was mostly classic rock. The have five taps: Red Hook ESB; Widmber Hefeweizen; Alaskan Amber; PBR and Bud.
But, it's never dead. The karaoke nights are a hoot. And is has a certain ambience, you know. It's just what some bars are supposed to be.
The Baranof is what in my experience it always has been - a cheap neighbourhood bar where you go to get a drink or ten. There are always a couple of scary-looking but kind ladies behind the bar. The well-pours are scandalously large (don't order a double - you'll look like a naif) even more scandalously cheap, and, to be honest marginal quality (Scorseby Scotch and Calvert Gin).
The clientele are mostly older and all look as if they might have just a wee problem with substance abuse. The TV was showing some variant on Dancing with the Stars. The music was mostly classic rock. The have five taps: Red Hook ESB; Widmber Hefeweizen; Alaskan Amber; PBR and Bud.
But, it's never dead. The karaoke nights are a hoot. And is has a certain ambience, you know. It's just what some bars are supposed to be.
8
GREAT DIVE BAR
Run by a few old broads,this place is always jumping no matter what time it is. If you didn't get what you ordered, eat or drink it anyway. Don't under any circumstance piss the waitress or bartender off!!!!! Hot Beer,Lousy Food,Bad Service, Thats what the sign on the front window says.I guess thats what they're all about...Haven fun.
7
"like" whatevvver
It's a great dive that has tipped toward the hipster voyeur crowd. "red necks from n seattle" are being replaced by urban rednecks where every other word is like "like".... ahh yes, soon we ballardites/fremontians/etc will be looking down our noses at those who've discovered this place. Still, the drinks are strong to match the attitude and the ‘who gives f**k about your condo purchase’ persona of the dwindling less-than-hip oldtmers (“they are so awesome for our viewing pleasure, just wish they’d leave or maybe sell me their house”).
I can see it now, the Baraonof and the Copper Gate will merge to produce $10 martinis, but they will be really hip martinis then Ocho will buy them both out and name it “Sambar Norte”. “Whatevvvvr” (also, like the second like word you hear at the sleazy B)
5
Seattle's Dive-iest?
I belive the Baranof was, and may still be, the ultimate Seattle dive bar. I told a friend that he must go there, noting the "bands" that seemed like Saturday Night Live skits (now sadly replaced by karaoke) and the elderly woman I met at the bar, chain smoking and drinking after coming straight there from chemotherapy. My friend ordered a White Russian, which was made with packaged dried coffee creamer. The delightful couple behind us put on a little two-person play, with Act I highlighted by "I'm not going home with you, I know your wife!"; Act II centering around the male's spectacular falling off his stool; and Act III concluding with the two staggering out together with the woman slurring, "Are you sure you're okay to drive?" You don't get that kind of entertainment at Black Bottle or Purple.
3
Cool hidden little dive
This secretive little bar is quite a find - at night the diner out front looks closed, but go on in and find the bar in the back. It's dark, small, and decorated with fishing nets. The crowd is the older, hard-drinking types, and tend to be more outgoing than at your typical bar. Great joint - go sit, get drunk. This is a real bar.
2
Do not impede the karaoke
The Baranof is one of the best places in Seattle to get slowly hammered on a weeknight. Some of the karaoke regulars possess in-a-different-world-they'd-be-huge voices, the drinks are unforgivingly stiff, and stepping inside is like traveling back to Seattle ca. 1974. Standard dive bar rules apply; don't order anything with more than three ingredients, don't act like an ass, and don't piss off the bartenders. They're sweet as pie but if you cross 'em they'll 86 your ass in embarrassing fashion.
Steer clear of the weekends for the most part; every redneck in North Seattle converges on the place. Also, it's best not to put anything on the jukebox. If it interferes with karaoke, you will experience some serious hostility.
Baranof
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