Seattle’s full of places to drink and lounge in the sun, but if you’re thinking it’s a nice day to chill on a patio, chances are so is everyone else. Patios, rooftop bars, back decks—they all fill up fast around here, so we cobbled together some of our reliable favorites for the next time you end up patio hopping. And, because this is Seattle, we’ve also included a selection of anti-patios for you sun-loathing, Vitamin D-deprived vampires (complimentary).
Perihelion Brewery
Beacon Hill
Perihelion Brewery is right off the Beacon Hill light rail stop, and it has lots of glorious outdoor seating on three sides (choice sidewalk seating counts as a patio, right?). Since Perihelion slings beer (also wine, and—notably—lots of delicious N/A beverages), it does skew a little sporty, but the noninvasive screens are inside. Their sweet potato fries are some of the best in the land, and you will leave breathing and sweating truffle out your pores (in a good way). Bonus: Milk Drunk and their fantastic soft serve is next door. AMANDA MANITACH
Smarty Pants
Georgetown
From Smarty Pants’ patio, you can hear all the major forms and modes of transportation, and sometimes all at once. Airplanes departing from Boeing Field, cars zooming along I-5, trains rattling tracks, buses cruising down Airport Way. This is one of the few places in Seattle that, while drinking wine within a space defined old bamboo chained to a fence—and in the company of a sculpture of a frightened cat and a black motorbike that’s much like the one Marlon Brando sports in The Wild One—you can experience an infusion (to borrow William Wordsworth’s word) that can be described as the gothic industrial sublime. CHARLES MUDEDE
Cafe Flora
Madison Valley
Cafe Flora is perfect for planners, as they take dinner reservations for their picturesque, tree-lined patio. What’s more, they have a selection of fizzes and shrubs made with the flavors of the season—rhubarb orange, blueberry lavender, and beet and orange are currently on the menu. For something that doesn’t require reservations, head to Cafe Flora’s sister shop, the Flora Bakehouse, where you can eat soft serve in a croissant cone in the sun. MEGAN SELING
Marination
West Seattle
The Marination’s outdoor section not only has its own bar, but spectacular views of the city’s skyline, Harbor Island, its cranes, and also the water taxi that connects West Seattle and downtown Seattle. Visit this place when the sun is setting. There is a reason they call it the magic hour. CHARLES MUDEDE
Captain Blacks
Capitol Hill
For me, Captain Blacks—the Old-Man-and-the-Sea dive bar that’s been getting people wasted with a view since 2009—is ground zero for summer patio quests and required summer decking if you want to take in a quintessential view of the city. It’s especially good for that dusk-to-dark hour, but feels like a party whether it’s early-evening happy hour or midnight. Bonus: the resident cat, Lil Baby, is a local treasure (and secretly runs the bar). AMANDA MANITACH
The Lookout
Capitol Hill
Step into the Lookout on the downslope on the west side of Capitol Hill and you’ll find a regular, unimpressive bar. But out the back door is the perfect slice of the best views Seattle has to offer. There’s downtown. There’s Lake Union. Puget Sound. The Olympics! The oft-overgrown greenery surrounding the patio can make it feel like you’re stepping from the dark bar through a portal, a realm where you and every other drinker next to you can own the multi-million dollar views for at least one drunken evening. NATHALIE GRAHAM
Waterfront Wine
Pike Place
Cue “Perfect Day” by Lou Reed and I’ll tell you one of mine. Grab a bottle of [kombucha] and a friend and bike down to the Overlook Walk—the slab of concrete that connects Pike Place Market to the Waterfront. On the terrace closest to the Market, there’s built-in bench seating and tables near the café with places to sit. Bring a snack, watch the sky, watch the people, remember that you live in a beautiful city. EMILY NOKES
Firn
Pioneer Square
If Firn has room for you, you’ll be taken up a short elevator ride to the rooftop. It’s a little Seattle-chichi, but you can’t argue with nice things feeling nice. The outdoor area comprises clusters of patio furniture where you can enjoy a nice cocktail in a nice glass, complete with a view that’s not just nice, it’s Pioneer Square nice. Even the indoor seating here feels semi-outdoors due to the windows, wood, skylights, and ample botanicals. Their four martini options are solid. EMILY NOKES
The Dark Side
Cavernous Bars for Vitamin-D Deprived Vampires
Screwdriver Bar
Belltown
Screwdriver is the bar you dream up when you’re a young punk still living at home and just wanting to hide out in the basement spinning records for your friends. Every surface of the windowless room is plastered with records, photos, and other memorabilia, and it’s not unheard of for rock stars touring through Seattle to stop by after their shows. Throw in great DJ nights, and you got yourself the perfect sunless hideout. MEGAN SELING
Clock–Out Lounge
Beacon Hill
It’s a beloved music venue but also the perfect place to unwind when you’ve had your fill of sun (or did not want to sun in the first place because jesus, Seattle, how many people can fit on one scraggly beach). Clock–Out’s got great pizza—Stevie’s Famous—sweet bartenders, and an easygoing atmosphere that reminds us what the neighborhood bar experience can and should be. EMILY NOKES
Corvus & Co.
Capitol Hill
Do not even try to drink in the outside section of Corvus & Co. Always go inside, go into the dark and lovely space, with its weltschmerz-y bartenders, and piles of books on every matter that’s as far from your mind as possible. This is one of the best places to show that you feel nothing but a very big NO when everybody else is enjoying the sunshine. CHARLES MUDEDE
College Inn Pub
University District
The College Pub Inn has died and, vampire-like, lived again, died and lived again. And this place is not only perfect for vampires, but also for those who feel the sunshine of a mind too brilliantly. Those of us who love to think, those of us who spend our time in concepts rather than the gym. We can think here, we can drink here, we can drink until we stop thinking. CHARLES MUDEDE
Dino’s Tomato Pie
Capitol Hill
Dino’s has big booths, a deep bar stretching toward a darkened back area, an anti-mixology ethos—order a Negroni on tap—and my favorite website of any local business in town. The sturdy square Sicilian slice is where it’s at, as well as the garlic knots. Bonus points for enlisting a disco ball, ornamental light fixtures, and a giant vintage chandelier and still being punk af. EMILY NOKES
Three 9 Lounge
West Seattle
We really wish the exterior signage for this place was better. But once you’re inside, this tiki bar—connected to West Seattle Bowl—serves great cocktails in on-theme barware, as well as Hawaiian-style snacks (my order is a Painkiller and the crispy tofu sliders). It’s cool inside with bamboo and pop-Polynesian accents, and understated colorful lighting for when you want the tropics but not the direct sunlight. EMILY NOKES
Oak
Beacon Hill
Oak is a hip watering hole with Twin Peaks-adjacent accouterment and a super vegan-friendly menu. It’s got no patio, but it does boast covered streetside picnic tables that look out onto some of the consistently cheapest gas in town at the neighborhood Sinclair (a glorious view!). If that’s not your vibe, the indoors unfold like a dark, labyrinthine log cabin, perfect for gin-swilling ghouls. You can’t get better in the summer than a Negroni over a fat cube of ice and a pile of fried pickle spears. AMANDA MANITACH
Il Bistro
Pike Place
Down a cobblestone side alley of Pike Place Market, you’ll find Il Bistro. There’s an intimate Italian restaurant on one side, but you want to go down a couple steps to the moody little bar. It’s got romance (a rose and a candle at every table), intrigue (you’re halfway underground and there’s live jazz twice a week), and it’s perfectly lit (amber lighting throughout, and just enough window where you can see a bit of the Market, but not so much that you’re overly aware of the gum wall on the other side). EMILY NOKES