Dim Lights & Stiff Drinks

We pretend to be locals and venture back to old stomping grounds for a visit to Sully's Snowgoose Tavern in Phinney Ridge. An eclectic mix of beer styles, Bavarian architectures, and old Seattle history, Sully's has all the charm of a classic dive bar with the added bonus of a fantastic tap list. Not one but two nitros, and not one but two genuine classic German beers on tap sets Sully's apart fro...

Listen as special guests River and Gordie help us tell the history of the Virginia Inn, on the northern edge of Pike Place Market. And learn more about downtown Seattle history as we explore the Market neighborhood! Recorded live at Virginia Inn on 04/19/2023. Follow the Dim Lights & Stiff Drinks podcast on Facebook (DLandSD), Twitter (@divebarsseattle), YouTube , and Instagram (seattle_dive_b...

Folk music flows as easy as the drinks at Fiddler's Inn in the Wedgwood neighborhood. Don't get Sweet Lou started on the spelling of Wedgwood because he'll lecture you on classic English porcelain. Fiddler's is part cottage, part dive bar, and part local music scene. But it's an entirely good time and the band's literally right next to us! Recorded live at Fiddler's Inn on 03/23/2023. Follow the D...

Nothing anchors a neighborhood like a good dive bar, and Hatti's Hat has been a staple in Ballard since 1904. Booze, gambling, and...soft drinks? Sure. Like a few dive bars we visited in season 2, Hattie's Hat has an epic mural painted by a famous local artist. But this mural's got a crazy story behind it and we're more than happy to embellish that story on air. Definitely no trash-talking the cla...

We put the "old" in Old 5th Avenue Tavern by discussing the memorabilia in Maple Leaf's oldest watering hole. But that's not all. We also name-drop, shamelessly plug, pull some tabs, and freak out about criminals drinking right next to us. Real mystery beers on tap plus a special barely-legal guest! This neighborhood hangout is quite possibly Maple Leaf's first and - arguably - best dive bar. Reco...

We kick off season 3 with a bittersweet farewell to The Northlake Tavern & Pizza House in the University district. The Northlake has been a favorite pizza, beer, and sports hangout for U-district locals since 1954. But like the fate of many Seattle-area dive bars, this beloved pizza joint will close its doors at the end of January when longtime owner and head pizza chef Abdullah retires. Speci...

We wrap up season 2 with a doozy! Shorty's Coney Island is way more than a dive bar, it's a true Seattle institution. Drinks, pinball, history, and celebrity guests make Shorty's a can't-miss listen. We bring back great friend and Shorty's owner Avout for a rap session - let's call it a wrap session - about pinball, dive bar history, stickin' in to the man, and the awesomeness that is boozy slushy...

On this episode the boys venture to West Seattle to learn about the Poggie Tavern and hear stories of "Big Jim" the bartender, discover a local who has decided to make the Poggie his home postmortem, and pull tabs galore. Let's listen! Recorded live at Poggie Tavern on 12/12/2022, one of our last episodes of 2022! Follow the Dim Lights & Stiff Drinks podcast on Facebook (DLandSD), Twitter (@di...

Happy Thanksgiving everyone. Join us as we talk about some of our favorites dive bars that are no longer here! Recorded "live" on 11/22/2022 at the great dive bar in the sky; in other words over a Zoom call. Not quite a full Dim Light & Stiff Drinks podcast episode, this Turkey Day mini episode should tide you over until the next legit episode drops. Follow the Dim Lights & Stiff Drinks po...

Recorded live at the DeLuxe Bar & Grill in the famous Capital Hill neighborhood. Arguably one of the least-divey dive bars we've visited, this historic watering hole has gobs of history and ghost stories. Plus the awesome staff and patrons make the DeLuxe a true dive bar in the best sense of the word. The crew talks of dapper dudes, gentleman robbers, and a bit of local neighborhood history sp...

Recorded at the Waterwheel Lounge in Ballard. We're hanging outside in the patio, where it's crazy smoky and hazy from scary Northwest wildfires. Not good, but at least we're at an awesome dive bar and washing down the smoky haze with some tasty beverages. Beyond the salacious history of Waterwheel, we get into the bizarre blue laws that popped up after prohibition (along with a shameless book plu...

Recorded live at Baranof Restaurant on Greenwood Avenue. Well, actually recorded in the dingy nautical-themed dive bar at the back of Baranof Restaurant. Famous for inventing Marie's Salad Dressing way back in the day, the Baranof is now known for cheap hangover food and one of Seattle's best-loved dive bars tucked way in the back. This joint has as many stories of drunken dive bar clientele as it...

Listen as the gang heads to Lake City this week! We talk small-time capers, heavy metal, and the history of Lake City Way! Let's listen! Recorded live at the Backdoor Pub on 09/01/2022. Follow the Dim Lights & Stiff Drinks podcast on Facebook (DLandSD), Twitter (@divebarsseattle), and Instagram (seattle_dive_bar_podcast). Share, like, follow, and subscribe! Check out the Dim Lights & Stiff...

A special episode recorded live at the Shanty Tavern celebrating the book release for co-host and resident historian, Brad Holden. The book release party for his new book "Lost Roadhouses of Seattle" was a crowded and raucous affair, as you can hear in this episode. This was the very first time we recorded our show in front of a live audience and we hope to do more live events in the future!&...

Listen this week as the gang boot scoots on down to the Little Red Hen in Greenlake. A bar known for line dancing and it's open mic nights. Learn of it's original location and hear some of it's seedy history. Let's listen! Recorded live at Sylvia's Little Red Hen on 8/18/2022. Follow the Dim Lights & Stiff Drinks podcast on Facebook (DLandSD), Twitter (@divebarsseattle), and Instagram (seattle...

In this episode we crown the winner of our search for old fart dive bar bragging rights. Seattle's oldest continuously operating bar is...Merchants Cafe. Let's listen as the gang and a special guest from Seattle's bar scene gets to the bottom of the story. An old Seattle door store holds a rich history of dive bar awesomeness. Avout the French Fries Taster of Shorty's fame joins us to reveal Seatt...

Heading down south, the saga continues in Georgetown as the gang searches for the oldest dive bar in Seattle. Part 3 in the series, Dim Lights and Stiff Drinks find ourselves at Jules Maes with spittoons, cranky bar staff, and sketchy back rooms. Is this really the oldest bar in Seattle? Well...let's listen! Recorded live at Jules Maes Saloon on 6/23/2022. Follow the Dim Lights & Stiff Drinks...

Recorded in the dark, spooky basement of the Merchants Cafe, the crew discuss the building's often scandalous history including the upstairs that was once used as a brothel as well as the "seamstresses" who worked there. This episode is continuation of our quest to find Seattle's oldest bar, and the Merchants certainly has a long history spanning back to the late 1800s. So join us as we...

We kick off season 2 of Dim Lights & Stiff Drinks in one of Seattle's oldest bars, the Central Saloon in historic Pioneer Square. With drinking and debauchery roots going back to 1892, the Central lays claim to being Seattle's oldest saloon. But is it really? We get into the history, the booze, the tall tales, and especially the music. The Central also claims to be the birth place of Grunge mu...

Recorded live at Slim's Last Chance Chili Shack & Watering Hole in historic Georgetown. Since this is the final episode of the season, we reminisce about all the awesome dive bars we've visited over the last few months. Plus a sneak peek of great content coming next season! It's super loud around here but we still riff and jive over beers while the bachelorette party rages in the background. O...

Recorded live in a dark corner of Streamline Tavern in lower Queen Anne. Unlike the typical dive bars we frequent, poor Streamline Tavern has been the victim of more crimes than they've perpetrated. Plenty of comical stories of thwarted stickups and cat burglar safe-cracking, with plenty of booze. If that wasn't enough, Streamline also got kicked out of their original home by international gentrif...

Keepin' it real and live at The Shanty Tavern in historic Lake City. Bothell Way begets Victory Way begets Lake City Way, and the old Mac's Shanty honky-tonk roadhouse from 1934 begets the current Shanty Tavern. Cold beer, live music, and great times...but only on Fridays. Even better than a history rundown of this classic dive bar, current owner John Spaccarotelli and his daughter Dana join us an...

Recorded live at Targy's Tavern in upper Queen Anne, where monocles and top-hats rule. The hills around here are so steep you'll need...horses. Targy's opened in 1934 which is the "golden year" of dive bars in Seattle. We barely get through the door before the staff threatens to beat us up. Okay not really but the history of Targy's pretty much defines dive bar lore with stories of rowdy barkeeps,...

Recorded live at Eastlake Zoo Tavern with absolutely no view of a lake so don't ask. And don't you dare call it billiards since this is a snooker table, bitch. Plus an Iron Maiden pinball machine thrown in for good measure and some epic graffiti. Mad bartender skills come shining though with the Whatcha Drinkin segment, complete with uppity 50/50 beer concoctions. The Where We At segment goes deep...

Recorded live at Darrell's Tavern on so-seedy-we-love-it Aurora Ave. Darrell's embraces the dive bar ethos and proclaims it's "where your dad used to drink." None of our dads used to drink here but they totally should have. Only cool dads drink here. For this episode, we get the owner Dan to come tell us all about the history of Darrell's and the evolution from music venue (a piano bar!), to mafia...