Seattle University's Newest Pub Getting a Great Start
For those of you whom are familiar with Finn MacCool’s on the Ave or McGilvra’s in Madison Park, the Chieftain is the newest addition to Capitol Hill’s bar scene, directly across the street from the Seattle U campus.This is yet another Irish Pub brought to you by Peter Johnson, who hails from Northern Ireland. For information about the bar’s namesake and other controversial bullshit, please see other blogs and reviews, this one is not about that. I don’t give a shit about all that. I care about what the bar is like and what sort of beer they have on tap.
The atmosphere was something like what I came to expect — mostly full of college “kids” (though school hasn’t even started yet, they seem to come out of the woodwork for a decent happy hour). I highly recommend sitting at the bar and chatting with some of the regulars that you might see sitting at their laptops working and the bartenders who are fun, animated, and relatively knowledgeable about beer. The bar has only been open for about two weeks and it already appears to have a consistent crowd and established regulars.
On tap: The standard Irish beers. Guinness, Smithwicks, Harps and Magner’s Cider, all on a nice clean line which makes these beers taste great. The Guinness I had was probably one of the best I’ve tasted in a long while. Fremont Solstice Ale (which was a nice surprise), the standard Manny’s, Mac & Jacks, Stone IPA…and then (sadly) Bud Light, Rolling Rock and Stella. But, it is a “college bar”, so it stands to reason. I got pretty excited when I saw the rad red chieftain bird tap, thought it would be something amazing. But, sadly, it was just Rolling Rock. Apparently, this will be a rotating tap, which could have some promise. Crossing my fingers it will be something slightly more…beer-like.
If you’re looking for a good trivia night in the area, the Chieftain holds a regular Tuesday night (at 8 p.m.) Trivia Night, MC-ed by the manager, Simon. According to bartenders Alison and Kyle, it is a rip-roaring good time which may or may not include chugging contests and more. You can also catch some football (aka soccer) on the big screen or pool and pinball in the back room. Overall, a pretty decent spot for the Seattle University crowd. Mondays are all-day Happy Hour (similar to the all-day half-off Sundays at Finn MacCool’s), which, again, certainly appeals to the college campus. Might not be the spot for hipsters or 40 year-olds looking for a quiet spot, but looks like Mr. Johnson has established yet another great university-style Irish Pub in Seattle at just the right location to fill the place up and serve some decent brews.
The Chieftain is located at 908 12th Ave (between Columbia St & Marion St).
