As with any formerly up and coming part of a major city, Seattle’s Fremont neighborhood struggles with the tension between new and old. Pacific Inn Pub is old by Fremont Stone Way standards, opened in 1981 and praised by Anthony Bourdain for resisting the changes that come with existing in a newly fashionable part of town. This is a Seattle dive bar to be sure, a low building dotted with splashes of blue throughout, including the stationary stools that line the diner-style counter inside.
Under the watchful eye of what looks to be a very paranoid fish, Pacific Inn Pub is best known for its fish and chips, often cited as some of the best in the city. Traditional dive bar neon is traded in here for a printed sign of a man enjoying a pint, probably the unofficial mascot of dive bars everywhere. Thankfully, the late night food menu stretches until 1 AM, creating an all-comers at all hours vibe to the space. The patio offers great summer seating and views, covered and tented for a cozy community feeling in winter.
Leather booths line the front room opposite the diner-style counter, looking very much like an old school breakfast spot. The room in back is dominated by wood benches that surround the dive bar’s pool table, balancing out the diner feeling in front with a classic dive bar pool room in back. The authenticity is clear here from the paint out front to the faded surfaces inside, a Seattle dive bar in a part of town that would do well to preserve its existence.
