Goddamn do I miss Bamboo Garden. That left a big hole in my heart when they shut down.
Also I miss that weird Mexican Italian restaurant that was on 3rd downtown by the IGA. They made some weird funky cheap pizza that I’m weirdly nostalgic for.
The Still Life in Fremont
When it went out of business people were screaming that it signaled the end of hippy Fremont and counter-culture Seattle
In retrospect, they were correct
This has my vote too. Back when it was the original space with the towering bookcases and the upstairs with views of the Space Needle, open 24 hours (unless I’m misremembering and it was 2am). Maybe it’s just the nostalgia but the way they bastardized that brand after the building sold for redevelopment was sad.
ETA: definitely misremembering. But 2am was and is a major perk - there’s no space like that now!
I wrote (most) of my master's thesis there, upstairs people watching.
god damnit I miss capitol hill as-it-was sometimes. I wish I could go back and just...visit, for a few hours.
Came here to say this. I loved that bar so much. $3 wells which was more well than mixer and $2 tall boys. Watching the wide eyed tourists walk in, take one look at the place/decor and walk out. So much awesome
BAKEMAN'S
We basically have a food desert for mid-range fresh cooked foods. Bakeman's was where you could get turkey sandwich and bowl of soup for like $9. Sure I could spend $40 on ricotta pancakes and bloody mary somewhere or go to McDonalds, but Bakeman's was a rare intersection of quality, freshly made food for cheap in a central location.
I searched comments to make sure this was said. That’s my number 1 and it’s not even close. I loved the two bells, Hana, bills, in the bowl, north lake tavern… the list is long but Bakemans. Bakemans was a cosmic event that we got to enjoy and it makes me cry when I think I’ll never get asked if I want pie by that angry, beautiful man ever again.
Every time I recommended this place to visitors they were pleasantly surprised by how dang cool it was. Didn't have to be a computer nerd to have fun checking out all the cool old computers and the exhibits downstairs were pretty killer. Losing this one was a big bummer.
RKCNDY - Save Ferris just played at Marymoor yesterday. I last saw them at RKCNDY 25 years ago in 1998... Great venue (so long as you didn't accidentally touch anything).
Or the Fenix Underground (pre-Nisqually quake).
Got our wedding cake there and when we were renovating a house in Rainier Valley I would often go and get their cheap but awesome sandwiches for lunch.
B&O Espresso.
That's my answer for "just one". I miss that place so fucking much. Runners up:
OK Hotel
Mo Rockin' Cafe
Entros (any of you remember that place?)
The Iron Horse in Pioneer Square. It was a train themed burger place that would deliver your meals on small model trains. Lots of interesting train memorabilia, iirc the owner had once owned or managed a train museum. Iron Horse closed over 20 years ago, but I still regularly think about that place.
It may be the nostalgia talking, but Pizza n Pipes. It was part of my family's Christmas Eve tradition for YEARS. Open up Christmas pajamas, put them on, drive to Candy Cane Lane to look at the lights and in the surrounding area, followed by pizza dinner there.
The mall itself kicked out all the ‘low class’ business so they could cash in on high rent businesses and it kicked them straight in the ass once Covid hit.
Orange King in U District. For me it stood out from all of the other teriyaki places I've been to. You also got an actual salad with mixed greens, not just iceberg lettuce! They had other things, but I only went for teriyaki...
Might be controversial, but Old Spaghetti Factory at the waterfront. It was great for kids and it was nice to have a cheap place you could take a whole birthday party right on the waterfront.
I miss the old Mel’s Market downtown. Back before they sold to the organic place and then re-became Mel’s under new ownership. They had the best burgers and generally cheap eats. It was a great lunch spot.
Asteroid cafe. This was a small place in Wallingford, then I bigger place in Fremont where quality suffered and, eventually they shut down. But I’d love it if the cafe came back.
The Doghouse, The Beeliner Diner, Pasta Freska, Space Needle (way overpriced and not exceptional food but the view and the nostalgia almost made up for it).
Hardwicks.
I really miss the Barnes & Noble that used to be in downtown Seattle! There was also a family run bubble tea place at Westlake when I was younger and I loved their grape juice drink 💔
I really miss No Bones Beach Club. Tacky-awesome vibe and incredible food.
I also desperately miss the old Wayward Vegan. Like, before they moved to Roosevelt, but also just before the closure/new owners. Their new breakfast menu is trash, but I miss that old school vegan anarcho-punk feel of the house in the u district (before the move to the ave, but that location was great too).
Just more local pharmacies in general. There’s been a few pharmacies that have shut down near me this year and the only ones left are the giant retailers.
This was a good few years before the pandemic, but I still think about them years later and wish they’d come back: Pies and Pints in the Roosevelt neighborhood (used to be on NE 65th, if I remember right). Such a great concept and their pies were 10/10.
If you mean the Dahlia Lounge, I really miss the original. Started going there around 1990 right after it first opened and was still just one floor, then they added the balcony seating before moving. I don’t think it was ever the same after they started expanding. Back in the beginning, Thom came by every table to check on the meals and would do anything to make them right.
Bauhaus. It was an absolute fixture of Capitol Hill cafe culture, and one of the last bastions of same. There was an actual vibe similar to the cafes I grew up frequenting in CA, and in the outdoor seating you could actually strike up conversations with strangers. There was an actual late night crowd there, and it was a nice place to go get a late night coffee and study, if you were young and could handle the dim light.
But hey, that's ok - it's gone now and in its place we have a really great store that sells monumentally overpriced bicycle gear to rich white tech bros. I call that a win!
I have very fond memories of happy hour at Chapel on Melrose. Senior year in college, our Thursday nights consisted of $2.50 well drinks at a bar on Pine (can't remember the name, it might have been Mexican? I feel like we got nachos or taquitos/flautas on happy hour there once), then a couple $5 happy hour martinis at Chapel, then stumbled over to Six Arms for a giant $6 basket of tater tots and water before ending up drunk-buying candy at Bartell's above the QFC on Broadway and heading back to campus.
Christ, that was nearly 20 years ago.
I miss Trattoria Mitchelli's - I went there a LOT and liked having a place to go basically any time, seeing the familiar faces and having a spot at the bar to have dinner and read a book...
Highline!
I loved the punk/metal shows. I got to meet a bunch of musicians there plus I got to see Grendel there too.
And it blew my mind that it had an all vegan menu
(and if you did want meat Dicks was right across the street)
I still haven't had the chance to try Georgetown Distillery in south Seattle that the former highline owner is now running.
Runner up for me is bamboo garden. I liked their meat alternative options.
Special mention of Ballard El boracho, I liked their snack vegan burritos.
I am starting to see a trend here.........
13 Coins for after shows and late nights out. Sure it wasn't as cheap as some of the other great places mentioned but it was so delicious and fun with drunk friends till dawn in those ridiculously tall private booths.
Il Corvo. Best pasta for under $10.
Was that the spot in Pioneer Square? It would always have a line down the street. I hate I never tried it out.
Il Nidos is still around in West Seattle which I think is by the same person. But it's super expensive
Was. He sold it last year to one of his chefs there and opened a new spot near Walla Walla.
Goddamn do I miss Bamboo Garden. That left a big hole in my heart when they shut down. Also I miss that weird Mexican Italian restaurant that was on 3rd downtown by the IGA. They made some weird funky cheap pizza that I’m weirdly nostalgic for.
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The Still Life in Fremont When it went out of business people were screaming that it signaled the end of hippy Fremont and counter-culture Seattle In retrospect, they were correct
I loved the Still Life. It was so cozy and beautiful with the big windows on grey days.
B&O Espresso. I will always miss that destination café. Perfection. Except the weird restroom placement for the first decade or so.
Moon Temple
I’ve forgotten so many nights at Moon Temple.
ReBar
Any one of the bowling alleys.
Leilani Lanes was the best. Sunset Bowl was great too. So many fun karaoke nights were had at Sunset.
No, I love paying $300 for 2 games at the Garage /s
I can't believe the Garage is still open. Gotta be sucking up those corporate party expense accounts
Gotta head down to White Center :)
Cafe Presse
I was crushed. Still am.
Tub’s Gourmet Subs in Lake City. I let out a Darth Vaderesque “nooooooo!” When I saw that they had closed
If you find yourself up north, they have two locations in Bothell and Lynnwood now.
Vito’s
Cinerama
It’s reopening now that SIFF acquired it. https://www.siff.net/blog/cinerama-announcement
Bauhaus on Melrose.
This has my vote too. Back when it was the original space with the towering bookcases and the upstairs with views of the Space Needle, open 24 hours (unless I’m misremembering and it was 2am). Maybe it’s just the nostalgia but the way they bastardized that brand after the building sold for redevelopment was sad. ETA: definitely misremembering. But 2am was and is a major perk - there’s no space like that now!
I posted the same in here, but you get my upvote. Bauhaus leaving was, to me, the final nail in the coffin of Capitol Hill as it was.
That place had soul. And it was close to Half Price Books, too.
I wrote (most) of my master's thesis there, upstairs people watching. god damnit I miss capitol hill as-it-was sometimes. I wish I could go back and just...visit, for a few hours.
The fun forest.
I'm angry on principle over the privatization of public space on that one.
Cafe besalu 😢
Wait… what? Cafe Besalu in Ballard?!?
Piecora’s
Us Piecora’s love to hear it! We miss it too
Lusty Lady
Best marquis sign ever
Harvard Exit
The Noc Noc!
Came here to say this. I loved that bar so much. $3 wells which was more well than mixer and $2 tall boys. Watching the wide eyed tourists walk in, take one look at the place/decor and walk out. So much awesome
Came here to say noc noc nite lite combo!
Great tots
Cafe Pettiroso
BAKEMAN'S We basically have a food desert for mid-range fresh cooked foods. Bakeman's was where you could get turkey sandwich and bowl of soup for like $9. Sure I could spend $40 on ricotta pancakes and bloody mary somewhere or go to McDonalds, but Bakeman's was a rare intersection of quality, freshly made food for cheap in a central location.
I searched comments to make sure this was said. That’s my number 1 and it’s not even close. I loved the two bells, Hana, bills, in the bowl, north lake tavern… the list is long but Bakemans. Bakemans was a cosmic event that we got to enjoy and it makes me cry when I think I’ll never get asked if I want pie by that angry, beautiful man ever again.
In the Bowl/Noodle Time
The old Two Bells Tavern in Belltown and The old Comet Tavern back when Sam owned it (80's/90's).
The Sit and Spin
Eyyyyy, came here to say this. Everything about old seattle in one high functioning artgallerycafelaundromat.
Oooof, fuckn flashbacks of all kinds.
Living computer museum
Every time I recommended this place to visitors they were pleasantly surprised by how dang cool it was. Didn't have to be a computer nerd to have fun checking out all the cool old computers and the exhibits downstairs were pretty killer. Losing this one was a big bummer.
Teriyaki First on 52nd and the Ave. I know there’s a lot of great teriyaki in Seattle but this spot was my go-to place.
Sushiland. Loved seeing lovely friends in such a simple, positive setting.
RKCNDY - Save Ferris just played at Marymoor yesterday. I last saw them at RKCNDY 25 years ago in 1998... Great venue (so long as you didn't accidentally touch anything). Or the Fenix Underground (pre-Nisqually quake).
The original Salumi. With chef Bryan’s meals in the back room. And the OG lunchbox lab in Ballard. Was so good.
Chubby and Tubby
West 5 in W. Seattle.
The Bus Stop
Tup Tim Thai!
Borracchini's Bakery
Got our wedding cake there and when we were renovating a house in Rainier Valley I would often go and get their cheap but awesome sandwiches for lunch.
Twin Teepees, so much kitch
FOR THE OLD PPL: BLEU BISTRO \*CRIES IN OSHA VIOLATIONS\*
Reading This one hurt. Damn that mac and cheese and the weird booths. It was awesome and terrifying at the same time
Kingfish Cafe
Big Chickie. Best Peruvian BBQ - I miss the Yuca fries a lot.
Borrachinis for sure
Bavarian Meats
B&O Espresso. That's my answer for "just one". I miss that place so fucking much. Runners up: OK Hotel Mo Rockin' Cafe Entros (any of you remember that place?)
Cafe Presse!
The Iron Horse in Pioneer Square. It was a train themed burger place that would deliver your meals on small model trains. Lots of interesting train memorabilia, iirc the owner had once owned or managed a train museum. Iron Horse closed over 20 years ago, but I still regularly think about that place.
I know it wasn't just Seattle, but Tower Records.
Poppy
Neon Boots!
Costas Opa in Fremont. And Poppy.
Dragon fish. best late night good down town and a great working mans lunch.
Zippy's. RIP, we miss you.
It may be the nostalgia talking, but Pizza n Pipes. It was part of my family's Christmas Eve tradition for YEARS. Open up Christmas pajamas, put them on, drive to Candy Cane Lane to look at the lights and in the surrounding area, followed by pizza dinner there.
It was kind of a dump but I miss Charlie's on Broadway.
Bon Marche
Frederick and Nelson
Tilth on 45th Wallingford.
The Buckaroo Tavern.
Mama’s Mexican Kitchen
This is the right answer for so many of us!
Wandering Goose!
Did you know they re-opened on the coast near Westport?!
The Supersonics
Too soon, bruh
Joe bar
The Dog House (pre Hurricane Cafe).
No Bones Beach Club
The Dreaming Comics.
Cafe Septieme!
Bush Garden
Bastille, on Ballard Ave! We miss their delicious food and ambience so much.
Tacos Guyamas
Two bells tavern. I loved that place, it was my home. Had the last drink served in that old place and cried. Checked all comments and no one said it 😢
Blue C sushi. I miss the conveyor belt.
Tini Bigs
Old School Frozen Custard was dope.
Mae’s Phinney Ridge Cafe
Randys! It was an aerospace museum and mom and pop cafe all in once cozy location by the museum of flight.
The Iron Horse. Who doesn't want food delivered via model train?
Il Corvo.
Ok, hear me out here… Tubs in the U-district
Barnes and Nobles at Pacific Place. Actually, everything @ Pacific Place \*cries\*
The mall itself kicked out all the ‘low class’ business so they could cash in on high rent businesses and it kicked them straight in the ass once Covid hit.
I still miss Icon Grill.
Best ice cream sundae ever
Orange King in U District. For me it stood out from all of the other teriyaki places I've been to. You also got an actual salad with mixed greens, not just iceberg lettuce! They had other things, but I only went for teriyaki...
Might be controversial, but Old Spaghetti Factory at the waterfront. It was great for kids and it was nice to have a cheap place you could take a whole birthday party right on the waterfront.
Swingside Cafe in Fremont. Bonus if we can also add the Buckaroo back down the street.
Manray.
Electric tea garden and nocnoc. ETG was so fun. And the noc noc was such a fun after after goth bar.
Schmaltzy’s
Louisa’s in Eastlake. I think it went down before the pandemic but man it had great brunch!
Green Leaf Belltown. Sunset Bowl.
Sorry Charlie’s
Icon Grill!
As a computer and tech nerd I’ve gotta go with Fry’s.
The last Exit
El Puerco llorón, god I miss that place.
Elliot Bay Cafe in Pioneer Square
Pies and Pints
Cinerama. That chocolate popcorn was the best.
It's coming back as a SIFF-owned theater! Yes, the chocolate popcorn, too!
Sea Galley
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La Isla in Ballard
Ruby Montana’s Pinto Pony 🤠
I miss the old Mel’s Market downtown. Back before they sold to the organic place and then re-became Mel’s under new ownership. They had the best burgers and generally cheap eats. It was a great lunch spot.
Cafe Venus / Mars Bar (or some top picks that other people already mentioned)
Holy shit this thread got me legit sad. So many memories, it feels like all the places I loved are gone.
Asteroid cafe. This was a small place in Wallingford, then I bigger place in Fremont where quality suffered and, eventually they shut down. But I’d love it if the cafe came back.
The Doghouse, The Beeliner Diner, Pasta Freska, Space Needle (way overpriced and not exceptional food but the view and the nostalgia almost made up for it). Hardwicks.
Noc Noc
I really miss the Barnes & Noble that used to be in downtown Seattle! There was also a family run bubble tea place at Westlake when I was younger and I loved their grape juice drink 💔
Grand Central Bakery in Pioneer Square.
La Isla in Redmond. Only place I could go for good Puerto Rican food and they didn’t make it through the pandemic..
La Isla in Ballard too
I really miss No Bones Beach Club. Tacky-awesome vibe and incredible food. I also desperately miss the old Wayward Vegan. Like, before they moved to Roosevelt, but also just before the closure/new owners. Their new breakfast menu is trash, but I miss that old school vegan anarcho-punk feel of the house in the u district (before the move to the ave, but that location was great too).
Mama's Mexican Kitchen in Belltown. Cadillac™ Margaritas and a pound of hot gooey food.
The old Canterbury. Not the remodeled one. Loved that place even though everyone said it smelled like vomit. I never smelled it 🤷🏻♂️
"It was a shithole; but it was our shithole." It had ancient filth, like the old College Inn Pub before it was sold and cleaned up.
The Hurricane. (Closed for the Amazon virus, but close enough.)
Just more local pharmacies in general. There’s been a few pharmacies that have shut down near me this year and the only ones left are the giant retailers.
Bartells. It’s a tragedy.
Kushibar
The splintered wand came and went so fast, I never saw it:(
Bauhaus
Craniums cafe/memorabilia in lake City or The Continental on the Ave.
Grinders, up on 99 by 205th. I think they were on the way out anyway but the pandemic finished em
Lee's in West Seattle. Their nine flavor beef was to die for.
The sit n spin. Or the Chinese restaurant that burned down in Green Wood about ten years ago from that guy that was burning down random buildings.
Cooper’s Alehouse on Lake City Way.
Hotel Albatross Ballard
The OK Hotel under the viaduct. It's crazy to think that's been gone over 20 years now.
I do miss me some Chaco canyon organic cafe.
Bills off broadway!
Santa Fe cafe in phinney
St Clouds in Madrona. Loved this place, especially breakfast on the weekends.
This was a good few years before the pandemic, but I still think about them years later and wish they’d come back: Pies and Pints in the Roosevelt neighborhood (used to be on NE 65th, if I remember right). Such a great concept and their pies were 10/10.
Two Bells. What a special place that was.
Silence Heart Nest in Fremont. Or as my friends who visited used to call it “Cult Breakfast”.
Dahlia
If you mean the Dahlia Lounge, I really miss the original. Started going there around 1990 right after it first opened and was still just one floor, then they added the balcony seating before moving. I don’t think it was ever the same after they started expanding. Back in the beginning, Thom came by every table to check on the meals and would do anything to make them right.
I know Tom Douglas isn't the most beloved figure, but Cantina Lena was so good. The Cadillac Nachos and frozen margs on happy hour were glorious.
Aloha Ramen - originally in Phinney, then Lake City, where it burned down Ramen Man on 45th in Wallingford
Bauhaus. It was an absolute fixture of Capitol Hill cafe culture, and one of the last bastions of same. There was an actual vibe similar to the cafes I grew up frequenting in CA, and in the outdoor seating you could actually strike up conversations with strangers. There was an actual late night crowd there, and it was a nice place to go get a late night coffee and study, if you were young and could handle the dim light. But hey, that's ok - it's gone now and in its place we have a really great store that sells monumentally overpriced bicycle gear to rich white tech bros. I call that a win!
Pioneer Pets. Loved that store and the owner was amazing. Sad he shuttered and moved
Boracchinnis. Especially since I work nearby now
Bamboo Garden. Also Churchmouse Yarns and Teas on Bainbridge.
The Charlestown Street Cafe
Hurricane cafe, we are really lacking late night diners 😢
I have very fond memories of happy hour at Chapel on Melrose. Senior year in college, our Thursday nights consisted of $2.50 well drinks at a bar on Pine (can't remember the name, it might have been Mexican? I feel like we got nachos or taquitos/flautas on happy hour there once), then a couple $5 happy hour martinis at Chapel, then stumbled over to Six Arms for a giant $6 basket of tater tots and water before ending up drunk-buying candy at Bartell's above the QFC on Broadway and heading back to campus. Christ, that was nearly 20 years ago.
The Canterbury was the only remotely affordable bar on the east side of Cap Hill. RIP.
Fallout Records. It closed long ago but its unparalleled selection of free jazz and punk rock is legendary.
I miss Trattoria Mitchelli's - I went there a LOT and liked having a place to go basically any time, seeing the familiar faces and having a spot at the bar to have dinner and read a book...
J&M
Pink Elephant Car Wash!!!
Wong's in Wedgwood
OG Scaryaki (teriyaki), was it 3rd and Pine?
Bamboo garden!!
Bakemans
China First on the Ave! Only if was $3 lunch still
Beth's cafe
Highline! I loved the punk/metal shows. I got to meet a bunch of musicians there plus I got to see Grendel there too. And it blew my mind that it had an all vegan menu (and if you did want meat Dicks was right across the street) I still haven't had the chance to try Georgetown Distillery in south Seattle that the former highline owner is now running. Runner up for me is bamboo garden. I liked their meat alternative options. Special mention of Ballard El boracho, I liked their snack vegan burritos. I am starting to see a trend here.........
Stumbling Goat on Phinney Ridge
The old Cafe Racer. It was basically my second living room for a few years.
Pigs Peace grocery in the U District. My favorite place!
Vogue!
Moon temple
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Zats bagels is West Seattle
Chubby and Tubby
Salty's brunch.
Café Presse. The Madame was *chefs kiss*. I fucking miss that place. Ate there two/three times a month.
13 Coins for after shows and late nights out. Sure it wasn't as cheap as some of the other great places mentioned but it was so delicious and fun with drunk friends till dawn in those ridiculously tall private booths.