The Pike Pub Review

Jason here. I really like bar food. Particular appetizers, burgers, wings, and fries. However, most pubs don’t cater to gluten free, and when they do the appetizers are usually still fried along with everything else limiting my options. I was hesitant to agree to try out The Pike Pub for those very reasons, but I’m happy to say I was mistaken and this place has excellent gluten free options.

The menu is pretty expansive, and all gluten free options are labeled. To start I ordered a Bison Bacon Burger, with a side of fries. The fries were listed as gluten free, but I have found in the past that means nothing when it comes to fried foods. I asked my waiter, and he was very knowledgeable and let me know that only fries go in that fryer to keep them safe for that reason. He even let me know they would take off the Pale Ale braised onions which would not be gluten free. Having the waiter catch that made me feel very safe ordering off the menu, and I did not have worry about cross contamination.

The plate came out with a massive burger, and covered in fries. It also had two delicious pickle spears which I was not expecting. They were listed on the menu, so I must have been particularly absent minded that day. I love the burger, with plenty of crispy bacon and some sort of cheese I did not quite recognize. The menu listed it as Samish Bay Ladysmith cheese, but I’m not sure what that is. If you have never had bison burger I recommend you give it a try. I find I prefer the taste just a little bit more, and it has more of a solid patty consistency, as opposed to the ground beef. Ground beef tends to leave a fatty coating in my mouth, which bison does not. I’ve heard it described as sweeter, but that’s not been my experience. I think just having less of that fatty coating in my mouth brings out the flavor more.

Now that we have found a couple different places not too far from the convention center, I’ll feel more prepared when Emerald City, or PAX roll around and we are hunting for places to eat.

Kayleigh here. Despite always being on the lookout for gluten free restaurants with homey pub atmospheres, I had passed this one by so many times because I assumed it was just another tourist trap on the waterfront. But then I noticed it had actually won a few awards for their beers, and I decided it was worth giving the food a shot. The gluten free menu is mostly limited to sandwiches and pizzas ( a couple of the salads are also safe), but there are quite a few options to choose from, and being able to order actually gluten free french fries is such a rarity! Plus, they have some decent kimchi as a side dish option- who would have guessed?

Elysian Brewery review

Jason here. A friend was up visiting for the weekend and we were looking for a fun restaurant downtown. When I heard that the Elysian Brewery had gluten free wings, I knew where I wanted to go. One thing to note is that as far as we can tell from their website, the Capitol Hill location seems to be the only one which has a gluten free menu.

We had a little trouble finding parking, so I would recommend allotting some extra time in case you need to park a few blocks away and walk there. It was also a busy restaurant, so while we didn’t have a wait I would definitely call ahead and find out. Luckily, it is located in Capitol Hill if you find yourself wanting to walk about for a bit.

The first thing you will discover when you enter the restaurant is all the fun decorations. One piece that stood out to me was a life sized space-lizard man sitting in the rafters near the back. It would have been easy to miss if I wasn’t looking around admiring all the stuff. Someone out there might know what is actually is, but I am unfortunately ignorant. It might be my imagination, but I just feel like there must be a cool story around who and why it was made.

Now to the food. I of course ordered the wings. I will start by saying they were good, just not excellent. They came in a fairly small portion with no filling side, but I can’t fault them for that as I did order off the appetizers menu. I ordered them buffalo style, and they came like I would expect. The taste was definitely of Franks red hot origins, most likely mixed with some butter when cooked. They were slightly crispy on the outside, but only from the cooking process, so no breading which was fine. They did come with some celery which was a nice addition, but not exactly filling. Overall, while they were average, they were also one of the only gluten free wing options I have found in the area. If I don’t want to make them myself, I can definitely see me ordering them again.

One of the awesome things about the Elysian is that they have a ton of gluten free appetizers. I have found this to be a rare thing of the course of my restaurant adventures. Out of the 8 items on their appetizers menu, six of them are gluten free. One of the things I really appreciate from a restaurant is a little variety. If for nothing else, this will have me coming back in the future to try out some of different items, which I passed up on the first time around.

Kayleigh here. For my entrée, I did a similar thing and ordered the nachos. Besides being a delicious, varied, and well spiced plate of nachos, they came with a peanut arbol chili sauce. Peanuts. And chilis. I will definitely be going back for more here, and likely order the same dish again. In fact, I should just get a bottle of that sauce.

That being said, Seattle is widely known for their craft beers and independent brewpubs, so there’s a pretty big chance that visiting friends and relatives will want to experience one or two for themselves. And while Elysian may not be offering any gluten free brews at the moment, their extensive, well-labeled menu makes it a perfect spot to go and actually feel safe ordering bar food.