Bait Shop ★★★★☆
Ever been to a Hawaiian dive bar?
One of my favorite Hawaiian experiences was visiting a dive bar. I got to connect with a local woman and have been close friends ever since. That night, I protected her from a creepy guy at the bar, we danced through the night, and she recommended a beautiful restaurant and excursion for the next day. It was a magical experience that I wished could be repeated every night of my life.
Walking into the Bait Shop, I instantly got those same vibes. The Bait Shop is the closest version of that scene with a nice local feel, tropical drink specials, and hot wings. Instantly, I connected with the bartender who pointed to their Hawaiian themed drink menu. All of them seemed like tasty options and I decided to eventually make my way down the drink menu. (Yes, after less than 5 minutes in the bar, I already made my mind up that I would be back over and over again!)
One of my favorite Hawaiian experiences was visiting a dive bar. I got to connect with a local woman and have been close friends ever since. That night, I protected her from a creepy guy at the bar, we danced through the night, and she recommended a beautiful restaurant and excursion for the next day. It was a magical experience that I wished could be repeated every night of my life.
Walking into the Bait Shop, I instantly got those same vibes. The Bait Shop is the closest version of that scene with a nice local feel, tropical drink specials, and hot wings. Instantly, I connected with the bartender who pointed to their Hawaiian themed drink menu. All of them seemed like tasty options and I decided to eventually make my way down the drink menu. (Yes, after less than 5 minutes in the bar, I already made my mind up that I would be back over and over again!)
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In addition to the “L” shaped bar, there are booths for dinning as well as high top tables in the middle of the dining area where we saw a going away party. Matter of fact, I was there for a networking event too. Seems like a great, informal space to meet up with your group.
As the name would suggest the décor includes various fish and seafood elements in addition to the tropical feel based on their Hawaiian themed drink menu.
Taking a seat in one of the comfy booths, we asked Rebecca, our server, to recommend a cocktail from their Happy Hour menu and she suggested a Frozen Painkiller. The cocktail was presented in a tropical cocktail glass featuring a parasol umbrella, fresh pineapple slices, and a cocktail drink mermaid.
MERMAIDS!!!
Yes, you heard that right! This was one of the many small additions which made this experience so amazing.
The frozen concoction included rum, pineapple, orange, coconut, cinnamon & nutmeg and was delicious, refreshing. After a few, no matter what your pain is (work, significant other, etc), it will absolutely be killed!
In addition to their normal cocktails, they have cocktails for 2+. This includes a Pineapple Dream Team for 2, Scorpion Bowl for 3, Five Fun Shots for 5, and The Benjamin for 5, which includes Ketel One Botanical, Tito’s, Pineapple, Orange, Guava served in a flowing fountain that you get to keep as a souvenir.
As the name would suggest the décor includes various fish and seafood elements in addition to the tropical feel based on their Hawaiian themed drink menu.
Taking a seat in one of the comfy booths, we asked Rebecca, our server, to recommend a cocktail from their Happy Hour menu and she suggested a Frozen Painkiller. The cocktail was presented in a tropical cocktail glass featuring a parasol umbrella, fresh pineapple slices, and a cocktail drink mermaid.
MERMAIDS!!!
Yes, you heard that right! This was one of the many small additions which made this experience so amazing.
The frozen concoction included rum, pineapple, orange, coconut, cinnamon & nutmeg and was delicious, refreshing. After a few, no matter what your pain is (work, significant other, etc), it will absolutely be killed!
In addition to their normal cocktails, they have cocktails for 2+. This includes a Pineapple Dream Team for 2, Scorpion Bowl for 3, Five Fun Shots for 5, and The Benjamin for 5, which includes Ketel One Botanical, Tito’s, Pineapple, Orange, Guava served in a flowing fountain that you get to keep as a souvenir.
You would think that the food menu would be focused on seafood; however, besides the fish & chips, fish tacos, and fish sandwich, the menu features the typical bar food fare like nachos, hot wings, chips & salsa, tacos, BLT, burgers and more. (Did I mention the Mermaid?! You can’t eat her, but it adds to the “Bait Shop” theme.)
Their snacks menu featured devilled eggs. I love devilled eggs and I always order them when I see them on the menu. Of course, everyone always has their own special recipe handed down from mom and from her mom and from her mom’s mom and from … [you get the point]. Bait Shop was willing to share their “secret” recipe with us, which includes mayo, smoked paprika, and garlic. You can even add real bacon bits as well—and why wouldn’t you?! The very chilled devilled eggs were very tasty, just note that without hesitation the smoked paprika will hit your taste buds. (I happen to like smoked paprika, but know that it may not be everyone’s favorite.)
Yelp rated The Bait Shop’s fish & chips as #1—so we had to try them. The basket came with two beer battered true cod filets and house cut fries with the normal accompaniments: a side of tarter, ketchup, and a lemon slice. There was a perfect amount of beer batter coating a very moist and flaky true cod. While the fish lived up to it’s good Yelp rating, it could have used a little salt before being battered and fried. The house cut fries tasted like any other good classic pub fries. The $15 price tag for the 2 piece fish & chips is on par for Capitol Hill prices, but not comparable with the prices for #2 rated Yelp fish & chips at Emerald City Fish & Chips (off the hill in Rainer Valley), a 2 piece goes for $6.95 and a 5 piece goes for $12.95. (Be on the lookout for the Emerald City Fish & Chips review where I’ll make a true comparison.)
(Thanks to Ernie Lou for collaborating with me on this post and trying the Bait Shop with me!)
Their snacks menu featured devilled eggs. I love devilled eggs and I always order them when I see them on the menu. Of course, everyone always has their own special recipe handed down from mom and from her mom and from her mom’s mom and from … [you get the point]. Bait Shop was willing to share their “secret” recipe with us, which includes mayo, smoked paprika, and garlic. You can even add real bacon bits as well—and why wouldn’t you?! The very chilled devilled eggs were very tasty, just note that without hesitation the smoked paprika will hit your taste buds. (I happen to like smoked paprika, but know that it may not be everyone’s favorite.)
Yelp rated The Bait Shop’s fish & chips as #1—so we had to try them. The basket came with two beer battered true cod filets and house cut fries with the normal accompaniments: a side of tarter, ketchup, and a lemon slice. There was a perfect amount of beer batter coating a very moist and flaky true cod. While the fish lived up to it’s good Yelp rating, it could have used a little salt before being battered and fried. The house cut fries tasted like any other good classic pub fries. The $15 price tag for the 2 piece fish & chips is on par for Capitol Hill prices, but not comparable with the prices for #2 rated Yelp fish & chips at Emerald City Fish & Chips (off the hill in Rainer Valley), a 2 piece goes for $6.95 and a 5 piece goes for $12.95. (Be on the lookout for the Emerald City Fish & Chips review where I’ll make a true comparison.)
(Thanks to Ernie Lou for collaborating with me on this post and trying the Bait Shop with me!)
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If you want to check it out, here is a bit of their info:
The Bait Shop 606 Broadway E Seattle, WA 98102 www.baitshopseattle.com (206) 420-8742 Hours: Sunday-Saturday4pm-2am Happy Hour Sunday-Saturday4pm-6pm |
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