An Irish Pub on the Seattle waterfront.
Ok, I will start with my disclaimer. This was not a strategic foray into the Seattle dining scene. Sometimes you are simply hungry and looking for someplace close that serves warm grub! Yesterday we headed up to Seattle to do a walk through on our new home in Kirkland (19 days to move in.) Then we ventured into Seattle to check on construction progress on our new offices. The new office is in Belltown overlooking the sculpture park and the Puget Sound. By the time we finished checking out the office it was nearly 3:30 and we hadn’t had time to get lunch. So, we walked the two blocks down to the waterfront and went into the first place we found: Paddy Coyne’s Irish Pub.
I understand that this location on Pier 70 is their fourth restaurant. Other locations are in Union Square, Bellevue, and Tacoma. The decor is pretty much what you would expect inside; Irish pub meets American sports bar. It does have a cozy little fireplace in the corner, which on a typical Seattle day can be a godsend. What is unique is that the restaurant sits on the pier and has outside seating with a water view. Since it was nearly 4pm we were in that quandary of eating a full lunch or a quick snack to tide us over until dinner. We opted for a middle of the road approach.
The menu includes Soups & Salads, Burgers & Sandwiches, Small Plates, and traditional Irish fare. I was tempted to go with more Irish selections but thought they may be a bit heavy for this late in the day. So, I opted for two sliders, some french fries, and a Guinness. When you order sliders you have a number of options, and I went for the beef slider with white cheddar, lettuce, tomato, and honey mustard. For my second tiny burger I picked the corned beef & cabbage slider with lettuce, swiss cheese, and a house sauce. Claire ordered the chicken skewers which included glazed chicken with a teriyaki sauce, peppers, onions, and peanut sauce. She didn’t realize that fries came with my sliders, so she ordered a side of the shoe-string fries with cheese and seasonings. I should mention we ordered from the Happy Hour menu which is available from 3-6pm and 10pm-midnight each day.
The service was friendly and quick. We received our drinks within a few minutes, and our food came just 10 minutes after our drinks. The food was simply plated, but served hot from the kitchen.
A simple mid-afternoon lunch.
We clearly had more french fries than we needed, but it turned out ok since the fries that come with the sliders were not great. On the other hand, the shoe-string fries were addictive. They have just a hint of cheese on them, but are well seasoned and perfectly fried.
Claire’s chicken was nicely done, and the glaze and sauce were tasty. The first slider I tried was the corned beef and cabbage selection. Wow, it was excellent! The ever important bun-to-burger ratio was perfect. The bun was moist but not mushy. The burger was done medium and had amazing flavor. I could have easily eaten a plate of these!
The beef slider had a good bun/patty ratio and was cooked medium rare (which I have found to be uncommon in sliders for obvious reasons,) but overall it was nothing special. Wisely, we had the waitress take the basket of shoe-strings away before we put too much of a dent in it. Did I mention how addicting they are?
We finished up our late afternoon lunch and promptly received the cheque. How often have you had a good lunch, on the water front, in the middle of a tourist area, had drinks with your lunch, and had a bill less than $25? Well, that’s what we got!
Overall we were very pleased with Paddy Coyne’s. Good location on the water front, good service, good food, and darn good pricing (especially when you order from the Happy Hour menu.)
We will certainly being going back, and next time plan to take friends. As I said, it is only a couple of blocks from our new office, so I can easily see this becoming a great after-work hangout.
– Randy & Claire
Randy & Claire's Northern Michigan 