Seattle restaurant mogul Tom Douglas (aka T-Doug) turned his shaggy head and saw the shiny new biotech towers and biotech-person-storing condominiums of South Lake Union. “They will need food and beverage, these well-paid workers of the future!” he thought. And so it was done.
Douglas’s brand-newest places are all in the same brick building, marooned among the fresh shininesses on Terry between Denny and Mercer. Here, you will now find his (1) Italian restaurant, with a pasta-making theater and a chef from vaunted Cafe Juanita; (2) upscale beer hall, specializing in malt-boiled, hearth-roasted Brick Oven Pretzels, up to $11 each with elaborate accompaniments; (3) Tibetan handmade-dumpling-and-noodle house, graced with the likeness of the Dalai Lama and an imported Tibetan chef; and (4) casu-marzu-on-a-stick stand, bringing Seattle the live-insect-larvae-impregnated Sardinian cheese in a convenient portable form.
My father and I visited number 2, Brave Horse Tavern, last Thursday night at 6:00 p.m. (Number 1 is called Cuoco, 3: Ting Momo, and 4: made up.) Brave Horse is a large space made of bricks and wood, and it was full of very loud early adopters to a degree that might concern the fire marshal. My father and I shouted at each other across a communal table. A muffled bass line was barely audible. “Music!” my dad said. “They should turn it up so we can hear it and then kill ourselves!”
Over my father’s shoulder, other mature persons could be seen entering Brave Horse, blanching, and departing, while the tide of young urban professionals flooded in undaunted. Multiple instances of high-fiving were witnessed, especially near the shuffleboard tables. My father’s spirits were raised considerably by a very hoppy Brave Horse IPA (made by Schooner Exact, $6—six dollars—per pint). “I like it,” he yelled. Everybody was enjoying T-Doug’s new money factory.
We took in what we could see of the room around and between the mobs of people—weathered wood, rusty milk cans, antique hobbyhorses, an old BEER/LIQUOR sign. A pretzel was tested. It was pretzelly. A cold crab dip (called “Mom’s,” but she makes hers hot) served with Ritz crackers (less har-har with Dad there) was satisfyingly creamy, with pieces of Dungeness and bits of pickled hard-boiled egg. The Brave Horse bratwurst was excessively mild, requiring slatherings of three mustards; a small Painted Hills burger pre-spread with barbecue sauce was just fine, and only $6.
We yelled at each other about the remarkably timely service, given the situation; a British neighbor yelled that they must have a system, which sounded like a scientific observation due to his accent.
“This place should be a gold mine,” my dad shouted. 
I’d rather go to Feierabend when i am in South Lake Union. Great German Biers and the food is good too.
Dinner with dad, something very sweet about that.
Damn, I was really hoping the casu marzu comment was for realz…
Tom Douglas jumped the shark (and served it poorly) long ago. I had such affection for Dalia Lounge. But; Palace Kitchen: meh, Etta’s: why bother, Serious Pie, c’mon, it’s pizza, and that place named after his grandmother I went to once: big deal hummus.
Young urban professionals… hhmmmm…..
Didn’t there used to be a term for such?
ponders
I went there a week ago on Saturday. I like the place, but it’s not my crowd. Maybe I’ll try a Monday or Tuesday night.
I hope charging six dollars for a pint of Schooner Exact IPA doesn’t catch on. $6 should really get you a better beer.
Dahlia was great up until about 2006, then I had a couple meals there that were just ehhh. Lola, I adore. I could eat just beets and tapenades from Lola for the rest of my life and be content.
@8: It felt like I was in Parlor, that bar at the top of the mall in downtown Bellevue. Or maybe a Dave and Buster’s commercial.
I’m more or less a yuppie myself, but at least I am well enough aware of it to keep from being totally obnoxious.
The beers they have on tap (including the Brave Horse IPA that was mentioned in the review) are really good. In particular, I was a big fan of the Fishtail IPA.
Good timing- several hundred Amazon.com workers moved into the building 20 feet away just the day before- can’t imagine that had any effect on the crowd.
It’s funny, because the “English Pub” style they’re going for (a) isn’t loud (unless the football is on), because it’s all carpet and upholstery, and (b) has proper Real Ale, cask-conditioned and 4-5%, not gassy, overhopped, 6-7% US microbrews. The price sounds like a London “gastropub”, though.
Is it as loud as the Market Arms in Ballard? An ear-bleeder, that place is.
Dudes — the menu doesn’t make it clear, but the pints are 22 ounces and the schooners are 13. These are both more than the pints at Smith, which are 12 ounces. So, for the very awesome beer Bravehorse has, it’s actually a pretty good deal.
And the brisket chili rocks
I really enjoyed my bacon cheese burger and pretzel today (with my giant beer). I definitely will have it again (after trying the brisket dip first of course!). Typically, I’m not a burger or BBQ sauce person, but enjoyed the BBQish sauce that came on it. If you go, be adventurous and try the sauce.
I also went around 12:30, sat at the bar, and didn’t have to yell to the person sitting next to me.
Okay, I’ll get off your lawn now……
I’m sorry, but three bucks for a Brave Horse teeny-tiny side of cole slaw is bit much. Plus, you’re elbow-to-elbow with people who actually think Amazon.com will be relevant or even in existence in five years.
@13
It’s obvious that you’ve never been to the place. It’s not trying to be a “English Pub ” and your first clue should have been the establishment’s name.
Also, it’s funny how people bitch about a $6 dollar for an imperial pint. Though I find it odd that reviewer absentmindedly left this out or even sadder, was unaware of. For people that actually like beer, the selection is amazing.
Oh and people that have good jobs should totally be ridiculed….f’ing ridiculous.
“imported Tibetan chef”? Really? Perhaps a tiny bit of research is in order to actually report that Chef Dekyi Thonden has been part of the Tom Douglas team for almost 20 years. Your ignorant characterization is gross.
@14
$6 for an imperial pint is totally fair.
But walk out of anyplace selling a 12oz “pint”. In fact, drink one and dine and dash. A pint is a pint is a pint. If it’s less than 16oz American, they’re robbing the customer. Of course if the menu or the b’tender doesn’t call it a pint, then buyer beware. But selling a “pint” that isn’t is thievery, plain and simple.
This is America. In America a pint is 16oz. If i order a pint and get any other amount i have a problem with that. If an establishment specifies imperial pint then it better be 20oz. It’s not ok to call out a specific measurement and not get the specified amount. Darigold doesn’t sell 110oz gallons while Smith Bros. sells 140oz gallons. A pint is a pint.
GREAT PLACE ! CHILL, RELAX , ENJOY AN EXCEPTIONAL BEER AND BURGER !!
I’m with Flounder, a pint is a pint. sixteen oz.
@21, 23, totally agree. I want my beer in fucking graduated cylinders so I’m paying for exactly the fucking claimed amount on the menu. No more, no less, goddammit. None of that heady foam crap, either, to fuck up the measurement.
Looking for rich biotech workers? Try the Bay Area. The two largest places in the area are non-profit, people working at them make normal salaries, we’re more dive bar than Bravehorse.
funny that people who write for the stranger like to make fun of “professionals”; sort of like the way the “professionals” who write for the village voice make fun of the people who write for the stranger.