Black Bottle Gastrotavern

"Capacity: 20-40 (28 seated) Black Bottle is a great little bar that serves a bunch of small plates such as smoked tea duck along with some great cocktails. But in the back, they have a room you can book if you’re trying to organize something like a team Happy Hour. Expect a nice mingling session with your coworkers in this dimly lit room with lightbulbs hanging from the ceiling." - aimee rizzo

"Here’s a potential Belltown scenario: You and your coworkers just got off work at your downtown high-rise office and want to go somewhere for Happy Hour, and together you look like a tableau from an imaginary musical about administrative assistants set in 1998. Black Bottle is a gastropub filled with other people who just got off work and need one more use of their business casual wear before retiring to their sofas at home. Grab some cocktails and small plates and call it a night." - aimee rizzo

"Belltown has plenty of spots that would work for a first date, but Black Bottle has some top-tier atmospheric magic happening. It’s noisy enough not to be awkward, but not so loud that you’ll miss any red flags that might come up in conversation, like that passing mention of your date’s creepy antique doll collection. The cocktails are strong, and the menu is full of decent little snacks if you’re hungry, like katsu-style avocado fries, crab artichoke dip, wild boar riblets, and prosciutto-topped flatbread." - aimee rizzo

"A nice place to hang out with some cocktails before you go home and trade your work clothes for sweatpants. Plates here range from Korean fried chicken bites to spicy cauliflower and cheesy Dungeness crab dip with flatbread, and there are so many options that you can mix and match different snacks every time you visit." - aimee rizzo

"Black Bottle is an ideal place for birthday drinks, particularly if presenting yourself like a grown adult and being in a lively, attractive space containing ferns are things you care about. Cocktails range from guava palomas to a great Old Fashioned, and if there’s anything left in the shaker after the bartender pours your drink, it’ll hit the table like the extra milkshake you get at a diner. Share some small plates like spicy fried cauliflower, Dungeness crab dip, and bulgogi lettuce wraps, too." - aimee rizzo