Cafe Venus & The Mars Bar

How have I not reviewed Venus yet?!
They have AMAZING breakfast, especially for vegetarians. The soy sausage is spectacular in omelets. I’ve given up ordering what they have on the menu and just get a special order omelet every time. Prices are very reasonable! $ 9 for an omelet.
I love the tiki mug and feel lucky every time they give me one.
Service is really nice and the food has never disappointed. Yum!

3.5 Lucky Stars
The stars aligned and about a week and a half after my trip to Café Venus (for lunch), I came to the Mars Bar for the first time as well (for a show). My friend’s band (Not From Brooklyn) was playing so I got to see how the space is used at night. It wasn’t super crowded but there were enough people that the bands felt supported. I think the cover was around $ 5. The sound was fine, I was standing next to the stage and didn’t need earplugs. The stage is small and maybe a foot high so it really is an «intimate» venue. My drunk friend was literally rubbing the head of the guitarist while they were playing. The women’s restroom stalls have curtains instead of walls or doors, which is not my fav, but it’s tolerable. Drinks were easy to come by, the table was cleared periodically, and I was having either Mirror Pond or Fat Tire. The odd location means they can have bands late at night and not worry too much about noise. I don’t know if the inhabitants of Mt Olympus would want to hang out at Mars Bar, and I’d probably only return if someone else suggested it.

First of all, I want to point out that I haven’t been to the Mars Bar or Café Venus in a few years. Back in the day, dear reader, I used to order some of the best Mac and Cheese in Seattle here, so when I found myself near by tonight, I decided to head on over and order some. But when I arrived I found one small incovenience preventing my from ordering anything… the place was closed for the night!
As I approached I could see that the lights were out on both sides. I wondered to myself why a bar was closed at 12:15am? I guessed that they might close early earlier in the weekbut that’s not the case. I went up and looked at the hours of operation, and there clear as day it said that they were open until 2:00am. Hmmm.
I will have to continue wondering why a bar was closed almost two hours early without any kind of explanation. And dang it, I was in the mood for some of their Mac and Cheese!

I came here 45 minutes before closing and the server told us the kitchen was closed and woulnd’t let me order. So I give you 2-​stars!

I’ve been going to the Mars Bar for about 10 years now off and on. I’ve seen a couple of recent bad reviews and thought I might weigh in with a different perspective.
As it pertains to menu changes, I’m a fan of where they’re headed. There is now a nice blend of carnivore goodness and yummy vegetarian fare designed to make meat-​eaters happy too. Yep, it may not be coming out perfect every time, but they’re working really hard to change that. In my opinion, the old menu was starting to get a bit stale and change isn’t necessarily a bad thing here.
To that end, it should be stated that the new owners (who run the excellent Georgetown Liquor Company) are exceptionally good folks who are continually listening to the feedback, making the tweaks, and working their asses off to make the bar awesome. Sometimes these things just take a little time.
So for those that have written or read the bad reviews and are thinking of giving Mars Bar a skip, I say give the bar a chance! Knowing what I know of how awesome the owners are, I guarantee it’s only going to get better and better.

Note the date, 29 April 2012. Mars Bar is recently under new ownership/​management. And the results have been very disappointing.
For the past 3 years, I’ve recommended Mars Bar (Café Venus) to just about everybody I know. I made it a point to treat out of town friends to the wonderful brunch as well. But having now given the new owners five tries to live up to the previous reputation, I am afraid to say they’ve lost a neighborhood usual.
I had called Mars Bar one of the friendliest dives in Seattle. All the bar tenders and staff were knowledgable and friendly. The interior décor was an appropriate dusty collection of comic book style knick knacks, geiger-​esque paintings of alien beings, and other great pieces of campy astro antiquity.
This has all been replaced with a flatscreen TV, unimpressive photos, and other out of place attempts at proving some unknown point that didnt need to be proven. The staff now consistently seems flustered, irritable, and completely uninterested in any solo (or +1) party.
When once I was greeted with a «Hey, how’s it been going?», I am now greeted with «Did you need something?»
When once I was able to select from several awesome brunch dishes (two specials every weekend made from an inspired kitchen staff who would visit Pikes Market in the morning to gather fresh/​local ingredients), I am now handed a watered down menu with only a few weak choices that struggle to satiate the vegan crowd, but there too fall flat.
Each of the five visits since the re-​organization have had me chasing after a check from an invisible service staff that ultimately is accompanied with an apology for something, which at least I get that much.
Bottom line, South Lake Union doesnt need another half thought out «lounge» that tries to stay afloat by catering to the «Amazon crowd» and alienates the people who actually live in the area. What was once one of the coolest and friendliest establishments in the neighborhood has become someone’s failed attempt at a hobby project.
If I want to watch TV while drinking a beer, I’ll go to Victory Lounge next door. If I want brunch, I’ll now walk the additional 20 minutes to Louisas in Eastlake.
Sorry new Mars Bar. Although change can be a great thing, you’ve missed the mark.
Two stars for keeping the pinball and ms pac man machines, and because I still love the open mic night crowd.

This place was just Ok ok — not going back

We booked Café Venus for a private party in October and it was a fabulous venue! The staff was very friendly and helpful, the bartenders were awesome and the food was great (many guests commented on it). It was a seamless party, we were well taken care of by the in-​charge staff that night. We had pre-​ordered everything off the menu and the kitchen staff replenished it as soon as we devoured it, needless to say they could barely keep up with our huge demand for the mac ‘n cheese! The party was a rockin’ success!!!

A very cozy, warm place, with mood setting lighting and delightful music played. Wonderful smells of food being made, from scratch might I add, wafted through the air. The nachos? Devine. The pizza? So very very good. the russian dressing was the best I have ever had, and it’s hard to find a really good russian dressing.
You can tell the thought and care that goes into each and every plate of food upon first glance. The nachos were covered in handmade salsa that I could have just eaten with a spoon and nothing else; the salsa was that good.
Next time, I will stay for trivia night, but as the WS bridge ramp was closing, and, to be fair it was a Tuesday, I was tired. But Mars Bar, I will be back. If only for a bowl of your salsa.

Seattle needs more places like this. Whether you’re looking for brunch or dinner and a beer, you won’t be disappointed. The flavors here are really out of this world.
We shared a hummus plate, the apple gorgonzola house salad, the vegan pizza (incredible), caprese sandwich and something else I can’t recall at the moment.
Oh yeah, don’t forget to check out their beers and *space* drinks. They’ve got just about everything except the pan-​galactic gargle blaster (which cost them the star).

I finally made it to brunch at Café Venus after living in the neighborhood for the better part of a decade. If only I had known what I was missing!
The food was homey and delicious. I had the Veggie Eggs Benedict and a Bloody Mary. The Hollandaise consistency wasn’t perfect, but the flavor was great and the baby roast potatoes were perfectly seasoned.
As mentioned in other reviews, there is only one server and one person in the kitchen but she might be the most efficient person I have ever seen because although I never saw her rushing around, service was quick and friendly even though most of the tables were occupied.
I’ll definitely be back soon to try some more brunchy delights.

I came here for lunch one day and had some awesome planetary mac n cheese and a space sandwich (or something — the names are all in theme, but the names I’ve made up aren’t real, as far as I know.)
The waitress was delightfully hip and kept my iced tea glass full, while the atmosphere was surprisingly bright and cheerful. I’ll definitely take the walk up to Eastlake to get more of the awesome food and cute names on the menu.

I love this place — it’s not all scene-​y the food is way better than what you’d expect, as the place has kind of a dive feel. My whiskey lemonade was stellar and the live music is always a good time. Next I have to try brunch. Service can be a little slow but everyone’s friendly.

Delicious veggie eggs benny with whole baby red potatoes! Also, PINTS of Mimosa. Yes please. It takes a little bit service wise but it appears that there’s only one person working and basically doing everything.
They also have a pesto egg scramble that I WILL try before I die.

I used to come here solely for lunch (when I worked nearby), then I added brunch (because it was easy to get to from Capitol Hill). More recently I started coming for a few of the trivia nights and getting ma drink on. The only thing I haven’t done is taken in a show here.
I guess that’s my way of saying there’s plenty to do here, no matter what you’re looking for. There are two different sides (the Venus Café is on the right, Mars Bar on the left) but they’re connected via a pass through, and they share the kitchen and bathrooms, so it’s really one place.
The food’s better than you might expect from the location/​seedy building — lots of options for regular and abnormal (read: vegetarian) eaters. Soups, salads, sandwiches, none has ever been a disappointment. I’m partial to Sputnik (basically a Rueben) and the Hubble (Tuna) Melt. For brunch I always like the quiches they have, but I will say the potato-​sides (quartered new potatoes) leave something to be desired.
Parking’s usually not hard to find on the street right in front or around the corners, although that’s changing with all the new buildings (damn you Paul Allen!) — but I haven’t had a problem yet.
They’ve got plenty of beers on tap and a good amount of seating in the Mars Bar, too, and the trivia’s always fun even though we never seem to win.
All-​in-​all, one of the better bars and cafes in Seattle, and definitely one of the only ones in this neighborhood worth a repeat visit.

What is the difference between Café Venus’ Mimosa and Orange Juice?
Apparently $ 2, a straw, and half a bottle of champagne. Their Mimosa is about $ 6 while the orange juice is like $ 4. You must know that the mimosas here come by the PINT. They don’t play around here with the silly champagne glasses like other brunch places. They mean business!
Beyond morning drinks, I love their Corned Beef Hash which is topped with two eggs over easy. The order also came with a choice of a biscuit or a scone. Both were quite delicious so you can’t go wrong either way, but if you’re getting the biscuit, make sure you get their mushroom gravy on the side to dip it in!
For a restaurant that does not look the most upscale, their presentation was definitely stellar and unexpected — each entrée is nicely garnished and comes with a slice of watermelon.
Last, but not least, our waitress was super friendly and awesome.
This is definitely a place that I know I will be frequenting regularly.

I’ve driven past this place many times on the way to the gym next door, only to dismiss it as shady. Apparently, my snap judgments are doing me a disservice again.
I knew this place was a winner when there was already a bottle of Cholula on the table (awesome!) next to a bottle of ketchup (perfect for Calvin Y!).
Having heard good things about the mac + cheese (and being a bit of a mac + cheese lover), I asked if it was available, even though it wasn’t on the brunch menu. The waitress said it wasn’t because the kitchen was too small to prepare brunch and dinner items at the same time, but she recommended the Eggs Florentine since it uses the same cheese sauce.
Of course I had to go with a recommendation like that! And the Eggs Florentine were delicious. An ooey, gooey, cheesy mixture of eggs, with a hidden treasure of spinach on the bottom. With a side of bacon, quite possibly the perfect brunch dish.
The nice thing about Café Venus is that, unlike most brunch places in Seattle, the wait was minimal when we showed up a bit before noon. Couple that with good food and good service, and I’ll definitely be back!

When I asked the bus driver if he stopped at Eastlake & Mercer, he asked me if I was headed to the Mars Bar. When I said I was, he made some comment about how «at least she told the truth» or «at least she admitted it». Huh? This made me feel like I was going to some seedy gentleman’s club or something. Anybody know what that was all about???
In any case… I was pretty happy when I arrived and saw that it didn’t look out of the ordinary in any bad way.
Actually I think the space is pretty darn sweet. I love that it’s divided into a front café, a big bar area with a stage, and a nice little lounge.
There was a table of young women in the Venus Café and a table of young men in the Mars Bar, so I opted to grab a seat in the (Venus?) Lounge. I sat at the bar, got a menu, and exchanged a few words with the girl working. All was good.
I had my first sidecar ever, and I thought it was delicious. Followed that up with a glass of Manny’s. I ordered the $ 2 chips and pico de gallo as well as the $ 6 hummus platter (both off the HH menu). The pico de gallo was quite flavorless, so I ended up using some of the chips to eat the copious amounts of hummus. The hummus was pretty good, the pita was warm, and the veggies on the platter (some fresh, some pickled) were mostly good. I think that, if I end up here again, I’ll try at least one of the items with (on??) the flat bread!
The service got kind of non-​existent after a while, and that was a bit of a bummer. Besides that and the pico de gallo, though, I think it was a pretty nice spot to chill out and have a conversation.
Happy Hour means: 50 cents off drinks, $ 2 off pitchers, some food discounts.

I stepped into the Mars Bar for the first time and went to the bar to order a beer. Everything on tap was $ 2 right then and I hadn’t been standing there for 30 seconds when some old guy offered to buy my drink. Cheap beer and forward old men? This is my kind of place!
I hung out and played some trivia, which was fun. I’d eaten before I came but I wished I hadn’t since the nachos on the next table smelled amazing! My friend ordered a sandwich but didn’t want his side salad so I ate that (can’t let it go to waste, right?) and damn it was tasty.
I’ll be back SOON to eat!

Ya know, I’ve driven past this joint a gazillion times and never even gave it a second glance. Or a first one, for that matter.
Then my friends played an acoustic show here last nite. And we rolled in, sat down, and had a v. friendly, v. pleasant bartender waiting on us. And then I spied the mac & cheese the guy next to me was eating. You can only guess what happened next. Yeah, I ordered it b/​c I’m a mac & cheese whore.
And then I took a bite.
HOLY CRAP. It was DEEELISH. Not as rich as Oddfellows’ mac & cheese, but just as flavourful & the bowl was huge and YES, I finished the whole thing and topped it off w/​a vodka cocktail.
We stayed til v. late chatting w/​our friends & the staff didn’t even seem to mind — they were still pleasant & lovely.
I will be hitting this place up for brunch too… since it’s just down the hill from me (who knew?!).