Triumph Bar

Went to Triumph Bar with a friend before a concert at Key Arena. They were packed and busy but we were lucky to grab the last table for two. The service was fast and friendly despite the crowd, most of whom were trying to clear out before the concert began. The Triumph burger was amazing. I usually like a traditional American style burger with the cheese, lettuce, tomato, etc. But this burger was amazing and needed nothing more than the caramelized onion and white cheddar over a medium-​rare hamburger patty. You can request it cooked more, but I think it was perfect as it was. YUM! It was served with house-​made potato chips, which I usually find to thick and not salty enough, but theirs were perfectly thin, crispy and salty. I will be back ASAP!

food is ok. menu limited and small even for tapas standards. drinks are also just ok. too expensive for what you get.

The triumph burger was likely the best burger I’ve ever had. The cheddar on it is lightly browned, and calling the onions Caramelized is an understatement, they are cooked down so perfectly to have the best texture possible for a burger. It’s cooked medium rare unless you ask for it cooked longer — and you absolutely should not, it is perfect as it is.
At our waiter’s suggestion, we got the bread pudding for dessert. He said they are kind of a destination for bread pudding, and I can see why. It was nice and warm with gelato and a thick sea salt caramel over it. Incredible.
The cocktails were beautifully crafted and delicious. The only thing I would have liked is better service, when we got there the waiters– all of them– walked past us multiple times without even looking at us. Almost left because we were waiting for a while and no one greeted us, made it awkward.

Amazing, inventive cocktails and great service. Ben the bartender is extraordinary and creates most of the cocktail menu from scratch. I definitely recommend this place for any night of the week.

The service was good and fast, but the food — not impressive at all and moreover way overpriced. The dishes are very small, broccoli dish was super oily. 20 $ + for a small dish with 4 small pieces of smoked salmon is very unreasonable. Also the place was also empty on a Friday night… I really wanted to like this place since we live in the neighborhood, but left disappointed.

Wonderful location, fantastic food, greater beverages, as well as the best individuals. Loved an astonishing «Gold Rush» made of bourbon, honey and lemon and I can not wait to get another. The bartender was superb participating and the breadpudding made we reconsider bread as a dessert.

Pork Belly was excellent, Music was (almost) excellent. They were playing a lot of Zeppelin but it was too quiet. Could barely hear it. Turn it up a bit. For a «Gastropub» I would expect a bit more of a selection of beers. Only a couple draft beers, 1 IPA, 1 Cider. But, I will go back, just turn your music up.

It’s ok. Probably won’t come back. Rather go to Taylor next door or Dicks around the corner. A bit pretentious for me.

Went there on a Sunday evening after strolling through the Space Needle area. It was nice to find a local place with a local vibe in that area that wasn’t a chain. It was, as my son would say, chill. We had the salmon pastrami to start which was unique and really good. A little salty but I suppose that’s the nature of anything cured that way. I had the spring vegetable risotto which was nice and creamy with plenty of veggies. My son had the crab Max and cheese which he enjoyed.
It was later on a Sunday evening so hard for us to tell what it would be like during more normal dinner hours or happy hour, but it was a relaxing meal after a long day of wandering around Seattle. We didn’t sit outside but the looked really pleasant. I really liked to way that their windows opened almost all the way across the wall which really opened up the restaurant.
We’d go back if we are around that neighborhood or lived there but probably wouldn’t go to that neighborhood just for the restaurant.

If you find yourself near the Seattle Center and need a happy hour break, you could do worse than Triumph Bar. It’s a nice-​looking, upscale place with a slightly spendy happy hour menu and pretty tasty food specials.
I went right for the $ 6 Casoni spritz, which looks and tastes similar to an Aperol spritz (my current summer drink). The «Jug Juice» is a $ 5 rotating cocktail special, or you can class it up and go with the Gold Rush bourbon cocktail for $ 7. I didn’t mind the minimal drink specials, but if you like lots of options on your happy hour menu, this may not be the best place for you.
We shared a few small plates from the happy hour food menu for dinner. The salumi of the day was an unimpressive ham/​bologna tasting thing, though the portion was fairly large for $ 5 — certainly more than we wanted of it. The cheese selection included a goat cheese and came with a little pot of honey and almonds on the side, which we enjoyed. The veal meatballs were substantial, tasty, and probably the best value of the small plates we tried. The crispy potatoes with truffle aioli were also tasty. It looks like the menu rotates seasonally, so there are some new items on there for summer that would be worth going back to try, like beef tongue tacos.
Service was OK, not exceptional. Our drinks came out fairly quickly and our food all came out together, and then we basically didn’t see our server much after that. We were trying to catch his eye to get in a final round before happy hour ended at 6pm, and had to work fairly hard to get him over to our table.
3.5 stars overall — happy hour drinks are a good price, but those small plates add up quickly and you still haven’t really had a full dinner. I’d bring tourists here after a day of trooping around the Seattle Center, but probably wouldn’t come here on my own regularly.

This is a great place to go after a long day at work or in advance of a show/​event. The food is top notch, especially the the steaks and Lamb dishes. I’ve had several dishes from their specials board as well and have yet to be disappointed.
The bar service is great and especially fast when Jon is working the rail. If you are a bourbon fan be sure to ask their selection as it is very well priced for the area.

I had such high hopes for Triumph bar, but I was sadly underwhelmed at my first visit. A-​Ok is the perfect rating.
Drinks were great– probably the best part. The ambiance was very cool. I enjoyed the staff as well. We showed up on a Friday night at about 9pm for 6 people and the place was pretty empty (also side note, if you do want to make reservations they only accept for groups of 6 or larger).
The food ordered was Crab Mac and Cheese– it was tasty, very rich, lots of truffle, but still didn’t seem to blow me away. The burger is served alone with a fancy sliced pickle– no other sides. We shared this and when we cut it in half it was so bloody I was pretty turned off (they also do not ask how you would like it prepared, so I guess I could have said how I wanted it). I still ate it, it wasn’t inedible but it was a little scary looking, if I were to order I would ask to have it cooked a bit more. A friend also ordered the Beet Salad, which looked good but not worth the price tag.
I had such high hopes when I read all the reviews, I think I will go back to give it one more chance. But I am in no rush to get back.

After visiting the gardens this afternoon, we stopped in for a late lunch and found ourselves immersed in an array of lovely small plates during Happy Hour. The jug punch and the champagne were excellent, cheese was very good, the mac and the potatoes were on point, but my goodness the salmon pastrami sliders were divine. I ended up ordering a second plate straight away and almost refused to share!
We finished our meal with their salted caramel bread pudding, which absolutely melted into my mouth. Jon, our server, was incredibly knowledgeable and passionate about the restaurant, yet walking on that fine line of making sure to be excited without being pushy. This truly was one of the best dining experiences I have had in Seattle the several times I have been here. Try this place out — you will absolutely be glad you did.

Triumph Bar has a friendly staff, good bartender, unique cocktails and great proximity to Key Arena, earning it one more star. Other than that, its meh.
The food wasn’t great — the burger was on the rare side of rare and the noodles for the pork belly mac n cheese were quite al dente. In fact, that seems to be a trend — things leaning towards the raw side.
My cocktail, the Gran Paradiso, was quite good and also featured a raw egg to get a rather nice foamy texture. It had some liquor I’d never had before in it and when I asked the bartender about Bonal, he gave me a small tasting. That was pretty cool — I enjoy learning about the food and drinks I’m tasting.
It was crowded the night my wife and I were there, but there was a concert and many of the patrons were on their way to the same concert. I think that Triumph Bar wins and location, location, location and needs to up their food game a bunch.

Would you eat a bloody burger? Then you came to the right place. Please see attached pics.
Seriously would you have eaten this?
Background: So last night we went to Triumph Bar – a highly recommended on Unilocal restaurant near where we were seeing a Damien Rice concert in Seattle. I was a little unhappy we were put at the bar on wobbly bar stools and not offered the open table since I have back issues. Cocktails were slow coming even sitting at the bar. We ordered food.
Food came late with only one entrée-​we ordered two. After asking about 10 min later, they said «30 sec» and then sent out this burger in the pictures 10 min before we needed to leave.
So would you have eaten this $ 14 burger and pickle? Honestly we were in a hurry and ravenous, so we did, but had rumbly tummies later. I am ALL for super rare steaks and I like medium rare burgers but is this a thing in restaurants because I wonder about food safety when the burger is still bleeding…
They never asked what temp we wanted burger and honestly I cannot believe it is legal to serve a burger that bleeds as over the bun and plate.
Gooey inside…
As for that pork belly Mac and cheese? Um no macaroni or cheese in sight. It was a dry, crispy, pork belly that tasted like jerkey rather than melt in your mouth pork belly goodness as it should be. The sauce was a wasteland of bland cream and Essence of Velvetta. The macaroni was equally bland pasta shells which I would be surprised came out of a box. $ 14 for this unappetizing dish? No.
That bloody unsafe in my opinion burger and a unremarkable pickle? Also $ 14. No.
The only thing satisfactory was my ale and my husband cocktail. Ok. Over-​priced, but nothing special.
Maybe this was an off night, but seeing other reviews of rare burgers and chefs refiring burgers and re-​serving them to wrong person??? Wtf?
Sadly we didn’t have time to take this to the manager because we had a concert to catch.

I ordered the pork belly mac & cheese, the beef tongue tacos and the lasagna. I almost ordered the bread pudding, but I was just too full from all the other stuff I ordered. Mac & cheese was awesome! The pork belly was nicely seasoned and the macaroni was nicely cooked. The beef tongue tacos were delicious as well. The the only thing I would have wanted was some sort of spicy sauce. I like spice in my tacos =) Lastly the lasagna. Of the 3 that I ordered, it was my least favorite, but tasty nonetheless. It does take a little longer to cook so they warn you when you order that it could take up to 30 minutes. I dont think mine took that long though. Overall I loved everything about this place and I will definitely go back.

I was hungry for warm food after spending 200+ at the Metropolitan Market on snacks and such (damn that market for being so cool) so I dropped off all my stuff in my hotel room and wandered out alone to find this mythical pork belly mac and cheese.
The place was buzzing and I was greeted promptly and asked if I wanted to sit at the bar or snag a table and I went for the table.
This place reminds me of a lot of typical places these days… craft cocktails and cute plays on classic comfort foods with other trendy items thrown in. Staff was attentive without being overbearing and while I always feel semi awkward when I go out alone, that was all in my head. No one in any way made me feel unwelcomed or out of place, so that was great.
I got their cocktail with vodka and scotch (strange combo but it works) and the pork belly mac and cheese of course. The cocktail actually paired really well… cut the richness of the mac and cheese perfectly and I left feeling satisfied.
Totally worth a second round next time I am in Seattle.

A great pre show Happy Hour spot in Lower Queen Anne! $ 5 rotating cocktails and many food specials.
There is a great selection of food available on happy hour. The Veal Meatballs are a treat that you can’t miss. The Pork Belly Mac and Cheese is rich and savory but has a very grown up cheese profile. The Fried Pickles were spear cut, which provided a low ratio of coating to pickle and should be avoided. Expect to order 5+ plates per couple for a full meal.
The $ 5 Jug Juice was good but it was well worth the $ 2 upgrade to the Gold Rush cocktail.
The décor is phone it in modern, but the good service and friendly bartenders more than make up for it. There is real value here for happy hour, but you might be feeling a little lean in the wallet if you pay full price.

Triumph’s happy hour is what I consider the stereotypical foodie’s dream menu: pork belly mac & cheese, oysters on the half shell, beef tongue tacos, foie gras ice cream (yes you read that right!).
I have tried everything on the hh menu and everything was so tasty! Oysters are a must to order and I like that the portions of all the hh items are perfect for sharing. The only thing I’m not too crazy on that menu is the foie gras ice cream. I would have preferred that the foie was blended and not in chunks in the ice cream, which gave it a weird texture.
Aside from the hh menu, I have sampled the scallop crudo. I love that its paired with grapefruit and mint, it gives it a nice fresh taste. I am eyeing the dried aged porterhouse for two the next time I come with my bf, they had me at foie gras butter!
Triumph is also next door to the Key Arena, which makes it the perfect spot for a pre-​show dinner.

Had a great dinner experience.
First, location is awesome, as it is right next to IMAX theater/​Key arena. Get there early for an event, and walk down to have a relaxing dinner before going to an eventz
The owner is very friendly and knows what he is doing. We enjoyed delicious grilled hanger steak and the triumph burger. The meat were cooked just right with lots of flavor.
The interior/​atmosphere of the triumph bar is chic and modern, mostly metal and dark, but has pop of color! This will be a good spot for both girls night out and a dinner date!
Price range was also reasonable and they also have a good happy hour for both food and drinks. I was glad to discover the triumph! Check it out!