11/07/09

Wonderful Manhattans!

by PotPie71

Experienced bartenders and a cozy atmosphere. A grown ups bar, which is a nice change from the usual corporate styling.

• Pros: Great drinks

06/24/09

Great drinks, abhorrent attitude

by jncjansen

A group of eight of us went to Zig Zag tonight to meet an old friend. We'd all been there before, and liked their drinks and atmosphere. We sat in the back area, where they have banquette seats and half-round tables, and had to push a couple of tables together to accommodate all of us. We all ordered cocktails and several appetizers for the table to share. The waitress was fine, nothing great but not too bad. About 35 minutes in, we'd all ordered a second round of drinks, when a short, bald man in a Charlie Sheen bowling shirt comes out of the back with an air of importance and makes a beeline for our table. Without a word, he yanks one of the tables we're using back to its rightful place, sloshing a couple of fresh drinks all over it in the process. We all looked at each other, and someone said, "can we take a couple extra chairs from over there?" you know, so we could at least all crowd around the one table we had left. To which the man replied, "Nope, the fire department wouldn't like that". And left. The guy wasn't Murray the bartender, and he wasn't serving any tables, so I assume he was one of the owners. We were there for another 90 minutes, and no one ever came and sat at that other table - I'd guess the place was about half full. Our party's bill was about $200. In these times, I'm surprised that people who have chosen to be in the service industry - you know, when you offer a service to other people, who pay you for that service - insist on treating customers badly. It's a shame that this guy's attitude overshadowed an otherwise enjoyable evening - while I work about a block away and like their drinks and atmosphere, I probably won't be going back to ZigZag anytime soon. Who wants to spend $200 to be treated like that?

• Pros: Excellent cocktails, cool bartender, fun location
• Cons: service, service, service

04/11/09

Best Cocktails in Seattle

by ajanmd

If you are a cocktail aficionado, or just like to expand your horizons in the world of booze, go hear. Its not as much fresh fruit as some of the up and comers, but its amazing drinks at a reasonable price. And service is incomparable.

• Pros: Service, Drinks, Drinks
• Cons: parking

03/27/09

Best maritini in Seattle?

by SkySurfer

I usually go to Zig Zag to have exotic, hard to find and even harder to make cocktails. If you're a purist, have an interest in mixology, or like trying new drinks you can't have anywhere else, this is a great place to go to. Most bartenders in Seattle know who Murray is (bartender) and how amazing he is, although he only works weekdays.

Never really tried the food, although I've been told it was ok. The rest of the staff can be a little indifferent, in a faking to be friendly kind of way. The only thing I hate more than a snobbish place is a place that pretends to be nice, but clearly doesn't care. As an example, we once showed up 7 for a booth, and instead of accommodating by letting one of us sit in a chair that could clearly fit, basically told us we were out of luck.

• Pros: Amazing bartender, exotic cocktails
• Cons: Can be expensive, can be crowded

02/21/09

No Go

by grambofood

OK Ill try tobe fair we never got past the front door . It was a friday night happy hour the place was packed a hostess met us at the door and asked how many their was we had 3 in our party . She went to look for a table and came back with some guy saying it would be awhile and did we know it was happy hour and that you had to be twenty one our daughter was with us and she was twenty one.I thought we could stand around the bar like everyone else was but they said all of those spots were taken,OK I know their are fire codes but I really thought we wern't welcome like we were not good enough for the place. I read about this place and had wanted to try it out for some time and yes I knew it was happy hour thats why I chose to come at that time ,you know its cheaper at that time hello!! I just think they are a little full of them selves to turn us away like they did.Oh well like you care what i have to say, Guess Ill never know how great the Zig Zag is............

02/09/09

Nice people! good service

by nelson0071

loved this place even busy people are nice. good drinks.

kinda hard to find the parking space but. cozy and warm.

we be back again

01/12/09

Love the Zig Zag!

by csmk

Zig Zag is a timeless, classic cocktail bar and by far, my favorite of it's class in Seattle. I love it's ambiance, it's stellar service and (of course) the cocktails. Delicious drinks guys!

08/25/08

Some choices are simple

by hghstnrds

In Seattle, some choices are simple. Like where to buy a hat or where to go for a drink. No one bothers to compete with Bernie Utz Hats. It would be futile. It has a history, integrity, and a niche. It?s like that with the Zig Zag Cafe on the Pike Street Hillclimb, behind Pike Place Market. There are hundreds of places where you could go for a drink. It all depends on what you expect. If you appreciate hospitality, integrity, and a passion for drink, then the universe sharpens to a point. Zig Zag is Colin Powell?s doctrine of overwhelming force (+ knowledge, skill & love) applied to booze. The atmosphere is authentically intoxicating. Drinkers are appreciated and treated according. It?s palpable.

07/26/08

Merose atmosphere

by qa_scenester

Tried after hearing great things only to be disappointed by the "smugness" of the staff.

Ordered a Manhattan only to have them put other ingredients in it because "I'd like it".

Small bar top to actually watch the bartenders, no parking.....it was tough.

07/13/08

great cocktails and a wonderful atmosphere

by eskercurve

My wife and I had just started watching a japanese animated series called Bartender and it actually got us interested in cocktails (dorky, I know, but that's how we roll). We wanted to find a place that had wonderful drinks made by a man who knew what he was doing. Doing a search on google found Drinkboy, which is an excellent site run by a man who knows his drinks. So my wife and I went out on a limb and went here.

The location is somewhat hard to find. The bar is located on the second terrace of the Pike Hill climb, which is about half a block south of Pike st., and then you have to find the staircase doing down to Alakan way, and then you have to remember to look beyond the mexican restaurant. We both missed it on our first try.

But boy were we rewarded for our searching! We came in on a Sunday afternoon about 30 min after it opened and at the time the bartender is conversational, and wanted to learn who we were. He seemed genuinely interested in us and made us an excellent Hemingway Daiquiri, a nostalgic Manhattan, then we tried the menu. We had the foccacia, which was superb, if American-ized. I ordered a Black Velvet, made with champaign, which is VERY difficult to do, but he executed it flawlessly. When I said I first had it in Japan, he asked how often I went there. He then brought back a Violet based liquer which isn't exported!

The man is a genius. He even made a couple free drinks for us! We will definitely make this a weekly regular thing.

• Pros: Everything ... even the regulars!
• Cons: a little hard to find, but that could be a pro