Sloop Tavern

Seattle, Washington

The world of dive bar puns is a rich and vibrant ecosystem of land-locked bars called yacht clubs and rustic joints called lounges. But few of those puns hold a candle to Sloop Tavern’s “Sloopersize” offering, the ability to upsize any draft beer to 32 ounces in a frosty mug. Just the prospect of saying “Sloopersize Me” to a dive bar bartender is about all that’s required to get this reviewer in the front door. Founded in 1952, Sloop Tavern is its buildings only tenant, ownership progressing from moriginal found Ole Olson who christened the dive bar Sloop Tavern in honor of a favorite British bar named The Sloop Inn that he experienced while deployed for World War II.

Today, the carpeted, bigger-than-it-looks space specializes in nautical décor, naturally, and the appropriate signature menu item of fish & chips. The nautical connection runs deep enough here that in 1977 the Sloop Tavern Yacht Club was created thanks to local enthusiast Peter Martinson in an effort to provide access to the very hoity-toity world of sailing to normal people. Current owner Patrick Files inherited the site from his father, Charley, who purchased the Seattle dive bar in 1999. The building was sold in 2022 and thankfully the new owner of the building indicated support for making a handful of upgrades but largely preserving the Sloop Tavern space.

The Basics

Classification:
Neighborhood Bar

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Further Reading