The Canterbury Eats & Ale“Work is the Curse of the Drinking Man.”
Let it be known that I care a great deal for the Canterbury & that this piece will be neither unbiased nor objective. ACTUALLY, I FRICKIN’ LOVE THE CANTERBURY. It is unequivocally the coziest bar in my town. It feels like home, perhaps because for years I lived 4 blocks away & whenever my internet-porn addicted roommate used to chase me out of the apartment so he could look at skeezy websites, I would walk to the Canterbury.
Naturally, since those days I’ve spent much time in its Tudorian splendor of my own free will. Truly a dive, there’s been many a frigid winter evening snuggled into a roomy cracked vinyl booth enjoying the fire place and a glass of Jameson in this Olde English bar. Cathedral ceilings & cobwebby wrought iron chandeliers contribute to its haunted castle aura. Despite the décor, it is mercifully free of Gregorian chanting. In fact, the Canterbury has one of the best juke boxes in Seattle & it hasn’t been changed in at least a decade. Typical of a night’s playlist: Neil Diamond, Murder City Devils, Pixies, Tom Waits, maybe a little Van Halen, some Dolly Parton or Patsy Cline, possibilities are endless.
The cast of characters here is also unlimited. The staff is fantastic, consisting of no nonsense, hard pouring bartenders & cute, snappy waitresses. Patrons are generally heavy drinkers, few hipsters. Perhaps you will meet the elusive Ice Wizard, whose sheer absurdity rivals Spinal Tap. I promise this guy is for real. He looks like a Scandinavian death metaller, won’t divulge his actual name, wears a massive pewter belt buckle in the image of a wizard in a pointy hat holding a crystal ball & hangs out by the juke box urging folks to play his favorite selections from Screaming for Vengeance. You can’t miss him, just look for the leather biker jacket bedazzled with “Ice Wizard” on the back. Honestly.
Though not the place to find the cheapest drinks, the Canterbury provides excellent quantity for the price. Certain cocktails historically served as shots have been known to come in a rocks glass here, such as Chocolate Cakes & Oatmeal Cookies. Order your drink with or without mixer, you get the same amount of liquid. Happy hour is Monday – Friday 3 to 6 PM. The deal is 50 cents off all beer & cocktails. Not a great savings, but your $8 double call liquor drink is still going to come in a pint glass, even when it’s not happy hour.
For entertainment, there are several pool tables, pinball & shuffleboard. Pool is free until 4 PM
every day. Better yet, bring a book or the newspaper & settle in. Feel free to treat it like your living room, whether it’s relaxing times or a lively gathering you’re searching for. It’s an ideal place to meet a few friends or arrange a shindig. Just don’t arrive hungry. Food here is often questionable, but the menu is sprinkled with fantastic quotations about drinking. If you’re really drunk, you should just have some nachos. FP
534 15th Ave E. Seattle, WA 98112
(206) 322-3130
