Bar/Club

Until recently, the Lava Lounge couldn't serve hard liquor. This failing, a result of Seattle's archaic liquor laws, meant that the Lava Lounge couldn't serve a mai tai or Singapore Sling, only beer and wine.

Now that the Lava serves booze, those days are more or less forgotten. Patrons still order pitchers of microbrew even though real liquor is available (you're done with college, son — move up), and you're more likely to hear the jukebox blasting Dead Kennedys than Esquivel. But the tiki elements remain, and they look better than ever (it's true — tiki bars look better as they age). The bartenders are slowly losing their sneers when asked to mix something more complicated than beer with glass. Live DJs spin new and classic lounge and exotica tracks that are worthy of the décor.

And you know something? The place grows on you almost immediately. The chain-smoking, More-Indie-Than-Thou crowd will warm up to you over a game of shuffleboard. The bathrooms are terrifying, but the graffiti on the walls is always good for a laugh. And the wooden booths may look uncomfortable, but it's easy to spend a couple of hours in one, drinking in the Lava's atmosphere and nearly everything else that's put in front of you.

By Geoff Carter
NWsource staff