Essex

essex bar seattle
Image: Essex
TUESDAY: 5 P.M. - 10 P.M. | WEDNESDAY - THURSDAY: 4:30 P.M. - 11 P.M. | FRIDAY - SATURDAY: 4:30 P.M. - 12 A.M. | SUNDAY: 4:30 P.M. - 11 P.M.
206.724.0471 | WEBSITE

Bartender Brandon Pettit has long been experimenting with creating his own small-batch shrubs, bitters, ginger beer and liqueurs at Delancey—the popular pizzeria he runs with his wife, writer Molly Wizenberg—but when the vintage umbrella shop next door closed up, the couple turned it into a 12-stool craft cocktail bar called Essex. You’ll find sparkling Americano cocktails on tap and many of the drinks are doctored with housemade amaro (Pettit makes his own Fernet and gentian liqueur) along with small plates of salumi, cheese and housemade pickles. You may even regret coming off the wait-list for a pizza next door with cocktails like the Man-About-Town (bourbon, Campari, lime juice, housemade IPA syrup) and the Safe Passage (Amaro Nardini, Aperol, Castelvetrano olive brine, lemon juice, sparkling wine) holding court on the bar in front of you. —Brad Thomas Parsons

Known For
  • craft cocktails
  • amaro
  • bar food
What to drink
Anything with house made amaro; the Man-About-Town (bourbon, Campari, lime juice, housemade IPA syrup) and the Safe Passage (Amaro Nardini, Aperol, Castelvetrano olive brine, lemon juice, sparkling wine) are also solid go-tos.
Neighborhood
Ballard
ProTip
Come with time to kill. Put your name in for pizza at Delancey next door, and kill an hour with a drink or three.