The Octopus Bar

Came here last night to grab a bite to eat before heading over to the Guild 45^th. I had glanced over the menu briefly online and thought it would be a decent place to try. We got there for the last hour of happy hour and as soon as we got to the door, I knew I’d like this place. It had a super funky nautical theme and they were playing some high quality underground hip hop (Cunninlynguists, Zion-​I, Black Star, The Grouch, etc.). I had just found my new favorite bar, and I hadn’t even had their food yet!
My Dad ordered a salad and flatbread (which were delicious) and I ordered the nachos. Holy crap. Those may have been one of the top three best nachos I’ve had in my life… and I like nachos. The queso was incredible, the chicken was super flavorful, and everything together was DIVINE!
I would recommend Octopus Bar to anyone and everyone. Plus, it’s nice to have a place to go to hear some good lyrical hip hop.

This is, hands down, my favorite bar in Seattle! The staff is always super friendly and welcoming (I love those guys!), I love the jams that their usually playing and the décor is what’s up, there’s always something new to look at no matter how long you’ve been looking at the same wall, the vending machine is hilarious, and they have a photo booth! Not to mention the patio makes you feel like you’re on a pirate ship. This place holds a huge place in my heart!

The décor of this place is what gets me. It’s got an old sunken ship feel to it and all the drinks are appropriately named according to the theme of the place.
I got the Cabin Boy $ 11 — elijah craig bourbon, half sweet, half dry vermouth, bitters, cherries. Pretty good drink but they don’t give you a whole lot and I’ve definitely had better…
Moby Dick Flatbread $ 12 — italian spicy sausage, caramelized onions, bell pepper, and spicy queso drizzle. Now this was pretty tasty, the spice was nice and it lingered quite a bit. So don’t get this if you aren’t into a spicy taste. It also came with a side salad topped off by goldfish (nice touch). The italian sausages were nicely flavored and overall, this flatbread was delicious!
Overall — nice place for a group to just kick back and relax. They also have trivia cards on some of the tables for some added fun!

Its definitely on the smaller side. It gets crowded quickly, They have outdoor seating but during the winter im less inclined to sit outside even when drinking. The Bartenders are friendly and work quickly though. The other patrons are great to talk to as well.

Ahoy mates! This is one of the coolest theme bars that I have been to. The sailor bar ambiance leaves you feeling like you’re an extra in a theatrical rendition of Moby Dick. Great beers on tap here, and the bartender was friendly and attentive. I wasn’t very satisfied with the hummus plate, but it wasn’t terrible and satiated my need for snackin’ while I was drinkin’. I’ll be back someday.

Typical Seattle «dive» bar. Not being too condescending here, I actually liked the place (see, 4 stars!). However, a true dive bar is going to have one of the «big» beers on tap that the denizens of Seattle regularly scoff at (think Coors, Bud, or Miller. PBR does NOT count), basic highballs, peanuts/​pretzels/​popcorn on the bar. I guess modernized throwback bar might be the best description.
What it does offer. Interesting sounding food items, copious amounts of Deep Eddy Vodka based cocktails (I had no idea a little Texas distillery dominated such a distillery heavy area until recently), Manny’s on always on tap.
I just stopped in a for a quick beer before meeting a friend for dinner down the street, so all I can really comment on was the feel of the place. I do need to check it out again and maybe grab a bite while I’m at it.

I’m giving Octopus Bar three stars for now and expect my rating to go up with more visits in the future. My initial thoughts are positive overall. I ordered their Pier 75 drink which is made of Beefeater Gin, lemon juice, simple syrup, and champagne. The bartender definitely filled up the champagne flute halfway with the gin mixture before topping it off to the rim with champagne. Despite the high volume of alcohol, I couldn’t taste it! What a dangerous little drink — I love it!
The bar had a solid playlist going on while I was there. It was made up 90s and 2000s hiphop and RnB. I definitely had the urge to dance the entire time. The joint is rather small but it has a great ambience to it. I’m looking forward to coming back.

Very cool. Like a much less sleazy, hipper Baranof! Nice nautical theme.

Awesome nautical décor, friendly bartenders and bargoers. Small place, always lively, gets pretty crowded but fun. Last time I was there some guy bought a round of whiskey for the whole bar. Definitely check it out!
I actually met the owner Liza before the place even opened. She was a super friendly bartender at the Iron Bull and told me about their dream of starting a nautical themed bar. They funded it with a kickstarter campaign and it’s been a great success!

Delicious drinks, great ambiance, and that vending machine cracks me up every time I go in.

Get ready for a rant…
My girl friend and I came here after getting pretty wine-​drunk at the movies, we were giggly, dancing on the sidewalk and obviously intoxicated. The bouncer at the entrance checked our ID’s joked around with us and let us in. We had a couple more drinks there, and then left and went across the street to meet our friends. The other bar was extremely crowded so we decided to head back to the Octopus for a little more mellow night.
The friends we met had come from home and had not been drinking before the met us, they all had ONE drink across the street. My friend (who was not drunk) was the first to approach the bouncer who immediately said she was too drunk to be allowed in. Too drunk after ONE drink? Or was it because she was holding hands with her girlfriend?
I have never experienced such blatant discrimination in my entire life. My friend and I were drunk and not hiding it but had been let in by the same bouncer an hour before. There is no excuse for this, especially in Seattle. Congrats to the duck-​dynasty-​beard wielding bouncer who has lost the Octopus many customers.

Very small bar not much seating. decorations are weird and dirty.
The food was OK but expensive and so were the drinks.
I got 2 long islands made by 2 different bartenders and they were nothing alike!
I will not be back.

Just walking around as we had just made it to Seattle and as we walked by this joint this was the livest place we saw. You could hear the action half a block down it was so loud… not mad at that. The place looks like a ship which is cool and quite unique as it has the whole theme of a ship as the décor. Everybody here seemed cool and seemed to be having a good time hence the noise down the block lol.
The actual bar was packed, but we were able to grab some drinks in a timely manner. We grabbed a comfy seat in the back area and got to watch some preseason NFL on the TVs. Servers were walking around taking orders, but we saw that it would be quicker to go to the bar. The whole place got packed around 10pm (it was Sat night) to the point it was difficult to move around so we decided it was time to hit up a new joint… music was rocking here though. Cool spot to hit up

You enter a ship! No joke, the bar looks like the exterior of a ship (I don’t know if there is a technical term…), and once you step inside it definitely continues the nautical theme with netting, life preservers, and other sea-​inspired decorations. BUT, in no way does it look kitschy, which is impressive!
For a Tuesday evening, people really seem to enjoy this place as it became quite busy after 8 pm. The bar staff was very nice, attentive, and quite frequently checked to see if our party needed another drink. Thank you kind people for ensuring I always had booze in my hands! The drinks were quite tasty and also have nautical inspired names, such as the «Latitude Adjustment» and the «Yeah Buoy.» The food itself was actually really good and fancier than the typical bar food I am accustomed to! Yay for them! AND it tasted fresh, double points for the Octopus Bar!
Only down side was the smell of cigarettes in the back tables. While I appreciate the fact that they allow smoking on the patio, the smell did occasionally waft inside. In no way was it ever an overpowering smell, but it is something to keep in mind if you decide to sit in the back tables and have an overly sensitive nose.

My friend and I decided to try this place out for a light bite and drinks after a long day. This place is hopping for a Wednesday, but not totally crowded. We found a seat on the deck and we were waited on surprisingly. There are signs everywhere to order at the bar, but obviously we looked like newbies. Anyway, she had a Shipwreck Molly and I had a Jackie Pearson. Both were super delicious! Then she ordered a chicken Caesar and I ordered the Green Torpedo flatbread with a side salad. Food was also very good! Deck is dog and smoker friendly.
Really great experience and we plan on being back!

The Octopus has a great vibe. It’s locally owned, has a great beer and spirits selection, plenty of indoor and covered outdoor seating, a fun photo booth and other nice touches that can make this place a special or regular hang out. It’s proximity to the movie theater and great food choices add to this experience.
The Octopus is on our regular rotation and we’ll make a point to visit at least once a quarter. We live a fair distance away so this place is reserved for a special progressive date night.

Update: came back for round two. Got a gin and tonic and yum. I was happy to get a response from the last review that my preference in a gimlet was just that. The bartender had one way and my brain had another.
I’m upping my stars for the acknowledgment, the good gin and tonic, and coming back to this place, it is still very awesome.

We stopped by the Octopus Bar during Happy Hour when they offered a selection of drinks from $ 6 – 9. I like that the place wasn’t so crowded yet (it was about 4:30pm or so). The finger food selection was just ok. We got a flatbread and it was somewhat a meh. It came with a small salad and some goldfish snacks. hmmm? The S.S. Minnow flat bread tasted just so so, and I wouldn’t order that again. Their drink though, was quite yummy. I had a Ruby Mainsail (the bartender suggested that to me) and it was actually yummy, not overly sweet at all and simply refreshing!
What I love about this place is that this bar is divey and makes a great place for a very small get together (maybe max 4 ppl in your group). The place is a bit narrow and their tables are small, so if you are with a larger group of people, you might not find a seat.
They also have a unique, cool looking style décor around sea/​ocean/​fishing. It’s just a great place for browsing, good conversation and good backdrops for rad photo opportunities! I don’t know how crowded this bar get, because as we were leaving the bar around 5:30−6ish, people started coming in already. Since they didn’t have much space/​large tables, I wonder whether many people who came in would actually be able to find their own seats as the bar gets more crowded at night.
Overall though, I would love to visit this place again. It has a cool, funky feel to it, and just a fun place to look around!

I’m a little torn on this place.
Let’s start with the bad:
1-​The truffle deviled eggs… Although they weren’t bad, they did not taste of truffle. They tasted like plain deviled eggs :(
2-​The «Bait Bucket» wasn’t great. It’s a dip, but tastes like something you could buy pre-​made at the grocery store. The chips also tasted stale.
Now for the good:
1-​The bartender/​server was super nice and very helpful
2-​The drinks are delicious and really unique
3-​The flatbreads are soooo tasty! I recommend the «Chorizo Catch flatbread» (Argentinean Chorizo, chimichurri, blue cheese, caramelized onion and spinach) or the «Mediterranean Bait & Switch» (Lamb sausage, feta, tomato, spinach, caramelized onion and tzatziki drizzle).
4-​The atmosphere was really cool
I’m not sure if I’ll be back, but due to the flatbreads are pretty good, I might give this place another shot.

I’m a sucker for big bright colors and things which belong in the ocean or near the water, but adorn the walls — like buoys, crab nets and used condoms. When I saw this place being renovated with the classic porthole windows and funky décor, I knew I had to try it out. When I saw on Unilocal that this is a BAR, I was all in. Getting drunk near my house, without having to drive home or really be near a body of water where I could drown is a dream come true for me.
The bar is described as a gastropub, but besides the fact that food is served on odd wooden plank/​plates — there’s nothing really gastropub-​ish about the Octopus — more like a very friendly dive bar with cool servers, casual customers and better-​than-​average bar food.
We were there at the start of HH (4 – 6:30pm) and the smallish bar was already packed and a little noisy, so we went outside to the covered deck. There was only one lady behind the bar serving food and mixing up drinks. At the start of the HH we were told to go inside and place our orders, but after HH swung into full force, our server came out to take orders. Despite the fact that she was the only one working the bar and the floor, the service was great.
We ordered the HH Caesar and Nachos ($ 6/​each) were pretty good, and for the portion of nachos we got, and the fixin’s the price isn’t bad. My vodka & tonic ($ 4 HH) was a little watered down (1^st time), but better the 2^nd time around. My friend knocked down two draft beers like a merchant marine and promptly started passing out on me. (She had just gotten off of a 12 hour international flight and 2 hours in Customs.)
Overall bill was $ 45 for 2 beers, 2 wells, and 2 apps, which is a little more on the spendy side for a HH. However, the atmosphere was great, though later on the crowd became quite LOUD (seems to be a mixture of newly-​graduated college folks and professionals).