2 new rooftop bars for Seattle summertime - one far better than the other
Seattle's two newest rooftop experiences are both brought to us by big business - but one is massively better than the other. Up we go!
The major letdown of Next Level Lounge
400 University St., Seattle; 206-970-0028; fogodechao.com/location/seattle-rooftop
This new rooftop lounge above downtown's branch of Fogo de Chão starts with an escort to the elevator, then a little complimentary bubbles on the 11th floor. Classy, yes?
Your guide might swipe you in rather robotically; the sparkling wine is Marqués de Cáceres cava, about $12 a bottle retail. Still nice, right? Beware: To book an outdoor table, you must go through OpenTable proper, not via the Fogo de Chão website, where that is not an option, despite what the host might tell you. It's not their fault! Staffers are very nice up here, and they'll let you go outside if it clears out.
There, you're promised, you'll "discover Seattle's skyline anew" with "360° rooftop views." In reality, the vista consists of the top of the Fairmont Olympic and the midriff of several much taller buildings - but that is not good promo copy. The motley assortment of outdoor furniture gives Wayfair Outlet; carpets are mostly those faux antique, Ruggable styles.
When it comes to "award-winning wines to elevate your evening," no more bubbles by the glass are offered, free or otherwise - grocery-store standby La Marca Prosecco is $61 per bottle, and it's yellow-label Veuve for $171 and up from there. Cocktails, $16-$24, skew sweet-toothed - load up your caipirinha with passion fruit or strawberry hibiscus; an adapted vesper gets an addition of ginger liqueur.
But you're topside! How bad can it be?! Next Level Lounge's food hits a nadir. Hearts of palm and spinach dip had three detectable pieces of the former, a distinct blandness and extreme gluiness, plus arid "crispy toasts" ($15). Pieces of queijo assado ($10), firm cheese cooked on the grill, were rubbery and wildly salty; their malagueta honey tasted like runny corn syrup, with zero peppery spice. An 8-ounce filet mignon "board" (oddly low-priced at $22.50) offered chewy meat with a liberal sprinkle of rock salt providing overpowering flavor; chimichurri added eye-watering vinegariness.
Founded by two sets of brothers in the Brazilian countryside in 1979, the Fogo de Chão steakhouse chain was acquired by Bain Capital Private Equity in 2023 for a reported $1.1 billion. Of the sale, Chão CEO Barry McGowan said, "We are excited by this next chapter and believe there is tremendous upside in our future as we continue to execute against our growth plans with Bain Capital." Here, you can taste this particular brand of excitement.
Leveling up to Firn
100 S. King St., Seattle; 206-309-1100; populusseattle.com/the-rooftop; 21-and-over only
Firn, the lounge atop Pioneer Square's new Populus hotel, isn't exactly homegrown, either - it's part of RailSpur, a project from multibillion-dollar Denver-based real estate developer Urban Villages. But compared with Next Level Lounge, this is leveling way up.
While only on the sixth floor, Firn's view shows you something about the city. To the south: the stylized arches of two stadiums, which may come with the intermittent roar of a hometown crowd. Down First Avenue: Starbucks' headquarters (for now). Adjacent buildings of lovely old brick allow a slice of glinting Puget Sound, while the tops of the neighborhood's majestic trees wave past the parapet; the deck itself gets a border of native wildflowers and grasses. From here, you actually do see some of the Seattle skyline, around to the top of elegant, old-fashioned Smith Tower.
The neutral-toned deck furniture all matches. Service is entirely sweet. Cocktails - $18-$24 each, with $12 mini andnonalcoholicoptions available - bear all the earmarks of a careful contemporary program, coming courtesy of Ballard Cut and Cornelly alums. E.g.: the Sea-tini, made with both vodka and gin, fino sherry and an ideal level of salinity, garnished with a little swirl of chive oil. And: Love Battery, sounding complicated with fig-root-infused mezcal, yuzu curaçao, Lillet, kefir, lime and mango, but staying balanced between light and forceful, tangy and sweet. Also: summertime-friendly boozy shaved ice, $32, serves two.
Firn wisely keeps the food simple - a Caesar ($16), chilled prawns ($20), a prettied-up Seattle dog ($16). Twenty-nine dollars is too much for crab dip, however, even hereabouts nowadays - and should you get it anyway, you expect some actual pieces of Dungeness, of which there are none. Still, it's served with housemade potato chips plus leaves of endive for dipping, and it's at least three times better than Next Level's $15 non-crab dip. Still-still, get the bountiful loaded hummus ($21) instead.
Ownership here talks the talk of sustainability, community, etc., and Firn shows neighborliness by hosting local DJs for First Thursday Art Walk. If you go for that or anytime, they promise they'll do their best to honor requests for outdoor seating in online reservations.
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