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White plate with bright red tomatoes sliced for caprese salad with round slices of mozzarella  the same size as the tomato slices and small cubes of feta cheese with sprigs of fresh green basil throughout and a drizzle of olive oil. In the background there is a bright green drink in a cocktail glass and a bright red drink. The two drinks match the colors of the caprese’s red tomatoes and green basil. In the background, there are people all around the restaurant and glittering lights.
Caprese salad at The Pink Door.
Sabra Boyd

6 Seattle Music Venues With Great Food

Where to catch live music and an exceptional meal

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Caprese salad at The Pink Door.
| Sabra Boyd

Restaurants and live performance venues were two of the industries hardest hit by COVID-19. It’s been a rough few years, and the pandemic, in addition to some outright bad luck, has robbed us of some no-brainer spots that would’ve been on this list. For instance, we hope against hope that Vito’s somehow makes a comeback from a fire and subsequent water damage, and that the Factory Luxe can regain traction after a longer-than-expected building remodel. We’re still lamenting Ronette’s instant greatness being nipped in the bud by an ownership change-of-heart, and already miss Breezy Town Pizza since its move out of the Clock-Out Lounge (though newcomer Shady Lane Pizza & Pretzels is set to take over the space).

The good news, though, is that live music is thriving in Seattle, and despite the long odds, there’s still an abundance of spaces where you can catch a great show and an equally great bite. While it’s true that a majority of spots in town fall under the category of basic burgers-and-tater-tots bar food, or else standard New American, there are still places where the menu is as much of a draw as the music. And the best ones range from dress-up, dinner-and-a-show atmosphere to humbler fare that encourages you to, as one slightly famous Seattle band once put it, come as you are. Here are the standouts.

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The Pink Door

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Hosting a range of consistently high quality cabaret-style shows including vintage jazz, tango, theatrical-leaning rock music, and even trapeze, The Pink Door is as much an Actual Restaurant as it is a performance venue. They’ve been featuring menus of carefully sourced local and seasonal produce since 1981, well before that approach was fashionable. The lasagna here is a definite star, made with fresh spinach pasta and topped with a veritable Italian flag of pesto, béchamel, and marinara. It’s decidedly not like nonna’s, but it’s delicious nonetheless. For something lighter in the warmer months, the Everything Green salad is butter lettuce along with peas, fava beans, asparagus, and pistachios in a buttermilk tarragon dressing — a formidable Tuscan answer to Le Pichet’s famed salade verte.

The Triple Door

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Gently luxe with a large stage and table seating throughout the house, the venerable Triple Door is a classic Seattle nightclub. Wild Ginger handles the food side of the operation with a greatest-hits version of its eastern Pacific Rim-spanning menu. Beef rendang is satisfyingly heady with lemongrass, galangal, and coconut milk, the monk’s curry is abundant with tofu, eggplant, sweet potato, and daikon, and dry-fried sichuan green beans are a winner for something a bit lighter. The menu helpfully indicates which dishes are vegan and/or gluten-free.

Central Saloon

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A historic grunge venue in a historic grunge-y building, the Central Saloon used to be a place where the main sustenance option was Vitamin R. But now top barbecue joint Pecos Pit has set up shop within, offering sandwiches and snacky smaller plates. It’s a perfect pairing; the rough-hewn rockers, well-rehearsed metalheads, and timeless blues bands that play the Central are exactly what you want to be listening to while eating that signature Pecos brisket.

The Royal Room Seattle

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The Royal Room hosts a gamut of local jazz combos, hip-hop artists, folk singers, singer-songwriters, contemporary funk bands, and more in a laid-back nightclub space that’s larger than it looks from the outside. The dinner spans styles, too — Southern soul food, modern PNW, Mexican, along with some bar food standards — but the Southern-inflected dishes are where the Royal Room is at its absolute best. For instance, the Artist’s Special is a hearty plate of dirty rice with black beans and collards, topped with sliced avocado and pickled cabbage. The blackened catfish is an enticingly well-seasoned larger plate, while the shatteringly crisp house-made yam chips served with a bright remoulade is one of the best bar snacks in the city.

Slim's Last Chance

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Like the Central Saloon, Slim’s is a place where the menu and the music feel thematically aligned. In this case, it’s rockabilly and chili. Now, chili can either be a haphazard collection of cans opened up and poured into a crock pot, or it can be a deeply warming, scratch-made stew that derives rich flavor from dried and fresh chilies, rendered fat, and patient reduction; a dish that takes time and real effort to make. Slim’s is bringing the latter, of course, and in four different varieties: There’s all-beef Texas Red for purists, a smoky brisket and red bean version, pork chile verde, and a much less Southern turkey and white bean chili, all served straight-up, or atop a choice of white cheddar grits or jalapeno mac and cheese. There’s no wrong answer there, but if you aren’t up for chili, the crawfish po’boy is an excellent alternative, and hot new sister restaurant Pig Iron Burger Shack is right next door.

Jules Maes Saloon

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Going strong since 1888, Jules Maes has been an essential venue for punky up-and-coming bands in more recent years, and new  owner Rache’ Purcell has expanded the scope since bringing back live events. Now Jules Maes also books Latin psychedelia, synth-wave, blues, metal, and Americana bands, and hosts trans social nights, brass and percussion jams, theatrical variety shows, standup comedy and more. And while at first glance the menu looks like standard bar food, the dynamite braised-then-fried pork shank and knockout beef stroganoff emphatically separate Jules Maes from the burgers-and-tots pack. Doesn’t have to be haute to be good.

The Pink Door

Hosting a range of consistently high quality cabaret-style shows including vintage jazz, tango, theatrical-leaning rock music, and even trapeze, The Pink Door is as much an Actual Restaurant as it is a performance venue. They’ve been featuring menus of carefully sourced local and seasonal produce since 1981, well before that approach was fashionable. The lasagna here is a definite star, made with fresh spinach pasta and topped with a veritable Italian flag of pesto, béchamel, and marinara. It’s decidedly not like nonna’s, but it’s delicious nonetheless. For something lighter in the warmer months, the Everything Green salad is butter lettuce along with peas, fava beans, asparagus, and pistachios in a buttermilk tarragon dressing — a formidable Tuscan answer to Le Pichet’s famed salade verte.

The Triple Door

Gently luxe with a large stage and table seating throughout the house, the venerable Triple Door is a classic Seattle nightclub. Wild Ginger handles the food side of the operation with a greatest-hits version of its eastern Pacific Rim-spanning menu. Beef rendang is satisfyingly heady with lemongrass, galangal, and coconut milk, the monk’s curry is abundant with tofu, eggplant, sweet potato, and daikon, and dry-fried sichuan green beans are a winner for something a bit lighter. The menu helpfully indicates which dishes are vegan and/or gluten-free.

Central Saloon

A historic grunge venue in a historic grunge-y building, the Central Saloon used to be a place where the main sustenance option was Vitamin R. But now top barbecue joint Pecos Pit has set up shop within, offering sandwiches and snacky smaller plates. It’s a perfect pairing; the rough-hewn rockers, well-rehearsed metalheads, and timeless blues bands that play the Central are exactly what you want to be listening to while eating that signature Pecos brisket.

The Royal Room Seattle

The Royal Room hosts a gamut of local jazz combos, hip-hop artists, folk singers, singer-songwriters, contemporary funk bands, and more in a laid-back nightclub space that’s larger than it looks from the outside. The dinner spans styles, too — Southern soul food, modern PNW, Mexican, along with some bar food standards — but the Southern-inflected dishes are where the Royal Room is at its absolute best. For instance, the Artist’s Special is a hearty plate of dirty rice with black beans and collards, topped with sliced avocado and pickled cabbage. The blackened catfish is an enticingly well-seasoned larger plate, while the shatteringly crisp house-made yam chips served with a bright remoulade is one of the best bar snacks in the city.

Slim's Last Chance

Like the Central Saloon, Slim’s is a place where the menu and the music feel thematically aligned. In this case, it’s rockabilly and chili. Now, chili can either be a haphazard collection of cans opened up and poured into a crock pot, or it can be a deeply warming, scratch-made stew that derives rich flavor from dried and fresh chilies, rendered fat, and patient reduction; a dish that takes time and real effort to make. Slim’s is bringing the latter, of course, and in four different varieties: There’s all-beef Texas Red for purists, a smoky brisket and red bean version, pork chile verde, and a much less Southern turkey and white bean chili, all served straight-up, or atop a choice of white cheddar grits or jalapeno mac and cheese. There’s no wrong answer there, but if you aren’t up for chili, the crawfish po’boy is an excellent alternative, and hot new sister restaurant Pig Iron Burger Shack is right next door.

Jules Maes Saloon

Going strong since 1888, Jules Maes has been an essential venue for punky up-and-coming bands in more recent years, and new  owner Rache’ Purcell has expanded the scope since bringing back live events. Now Jules Maes also books Latin psychedelia, synth-wave, blues, metal, and Americana bands, and hosts trans social nights, brass and percussion jams, theatrical variety shows, standup comedy and more. And while at first glance the menu looks like standard bar food, the dynamite braised-then-fried pork shank and knockout beef stroganoff emphatically separate Jules Maes from the burgers-and-tots pack. Doesn’t have to be haute to be good.

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