I don’t know exactly when upscale restaurants started offering happy hours, but I’m ready to kiss the first restaurateur who got that sweet wheel in motion. “Let the discounted food and drink commence,” I imagine him saying with a generous twirl of his Monopoly man mustache. No disrespect to foie-gras-laced desserts or hazelnut dust, but high-end happy hours are the greatest thing about fine dining in Seattle. They give the rest of us—who normally couldn’t afford these places—a chance to eat there for less.
I used a few guidelines to come up with this list of favorites: Most of the food should be around $5 to $10 and drinks $4 to $7; the menu should feature a few substantial dishes that you can make a meal out of, none of this just-plates-of-wee-toasts crap; and it shouldn’t be offered in a space so tiny that only a special few can enjoy it.
I had to make up these rules to winnow down the list, which is clearly a sign we are awash in good things. Lord only knows how long these higher-end restaurants can afford to offer these deals in the age of skyrocketing Seattle rents. Slurp up the half-off oysters while you can.