The intersection of Bellevue, Bellevue, and Bellevue lives up
to its triple French namesake with a view so belle, you can
hardly stand it. It’s a Capitol Hill favorite for fireworks-watching,
so it’s a safe bet that the Lookout—the new bar incarnation of
what was the restaurant Artemis—was full to bursting with
thirsty patriots on Independence Day.

As far as the view goes, only those at tables in the Lookout’s back
windows and on the smallish back deck get to partake of the sunset, the
Space Needle, and any ambient explosions. When it gets full out
there, it’ll be tempting to hop the fence into the neighboring area,
which looks like a garden tended by an obsessive-compulsive (it’s the
plant-and-tree holding pen for the landscape architects next door). The
massive new Italianate Bellagio condominium is the vista to the south;
Lookout owner Oscar Velasco-Schmitz said by phone that no noise
complaints have been reported so far, which he attributes to
triple-glazed windows and the ambient rush of the freeway. All things
considered, it’s a sweet spot for a summer evening—a
couple giant maples make a canopy overhead, and people stand by the
railing and smile for photos with the city behind them.

Inside, a few booths have been added in the front, but the
differences from the days of Artemis are not dramatic. Graffiti-ish
murals make a bid for urban hipness, depicting ocean-borne bottles and,
across the room, a bearded, plaid-shirt-and-newsboy-cap-wearing man
peering through a telescope (maybe looking for a fresh style).
Overhead, there are new light fixtures: the butt-ends of wine bottles,
stuffed with lengths of Christmas lights, protruding from lowered
panels. The effect is club-contemporary at a glance, do-it-yourself
upon further inspection, and quite a contrast with the faux-Tiffany
lamp shades that remain over the bar. Other Lookout innovations include
a Frankenstein pinball machine, one of those jukeboxes that
conjures any pop song known to humankind out of the ether at the touch
of a finger, and a flat screen over the bar (playing Starship
Troopers with subtitles; if you thought Starship Troopers was stupid, try reading it).

Drinks do not ascend to the level of craft cocktails, but nor do
their prices: A pint-sized jalapeño margarita, made with muddled
lime and orange and a handful of sliced peppers, is $7; a gin and
juice, $6. Opening weekend featured a Malibu Rum promotion with the
Malibu Rum girls, which Velasco-Schmitz said went well. Depending
on your predilections, you may get excited or be warned: More such
events are planned. Velasco-Schmitz was receptive to criticism about
the $11 cheeseburger, a very flat, not very big, nonlocal, nonorganic
patty served with nondescript steak fries; they’re still tinkering with
the menu, he said. recommended

9 replies on “Bar Exam”

  2. I hated Artemis. Some of the worst food I’ve had in Seattle — I only went once so maybe it was an off-night but everything was over-oily (the mezze plate) or over-salted (both entree and horrible chocolate salt dessert).

    I was at Lookout last weekend and had some of the best hummus of my life. Even though I was with friends it felt like the perfect romantic after date location. LOVED IT.

  3. I live across from the Lookout. I went there the other Saturday night to check it out and was disappointed. The bartender was a sort of strange and slow moving man-sloth and he made a nasty margarita for my friend and a too much Coke Jack and Coke for our other companion. All this took about 15 minutes for the bartender to wrap up some conversation and slowly poor the premixed stuff into a glass, limply shake it up for a half second and then poor it out.

    I had a beer. It was fine.

  4. How embarrassing. Now I’m one of those people who misspelled an easy word.

    I meant pour. Not poor.

    Or what I maybe meant was that it was a poor pour of Jack into the Coke that went into creating the aforementioned Jack and Coke.

    Thanks.

  5. Yeah, I went in there, too, it took ten minutes to get a draft and a shot, the bartender was far too interested in chatting up his buddies. No thanks. I’ll go to Sam’s joint, down on Summit, where the folks are always friendly and moving. I don’t like joints where serving me is a sigh and a eye roll. Lookout, I won’t be back, my drinking buck is worth too much these days to get bad service and bad drinks!!!The Lookout has all the hip shit trappings (that will look very aged very soon), BUT IT HAS SHITTY SERVICE!

  6. or, Sun Liquor, next to The Summit, great little vibe going between these two neighborhood joints. The Lookout, well, they ain’t neighborly, unless you’re one of the 12 “regulars” that they fawn over.

  7. I head over to the Lookout about twice a month. I’m super happy for the transition from Artemus.

    Let the bartender invent something for you, play the rickety old pinball game, stay away from the jukebox and enjoy an 80’s movie… for god’s sake don’t read the closed captions.

  8. Funny. I enjoy the service, actually. They made my drinks fast and brought the food out promptly. They don’t have table service, but it’s really not that inconvenient to order myself. Plus, the pinball machine is dope.

    I think they’ve changed things up. I noticed they have a new menu. Much better than what I remember before.

  9. Funny. I enjoy the service, actually. They made my drinks fast and brought the food out promptly. They don’t have table service, but it’s really not that inconvenient to order myself. Plus, the pinball machine is dope.

    I think they’ve changed things up. I noticed they have a new menu. Much better than what I remember before.

Comments are closed.