Tom Douglas’s Brave Horse Tavern is located in South Lake Union, one of Seattle’s hottest neighborhoods. Named after the horse stables that occupied the area over 100 years ago, the Brave Horse now serves up great food and over 24 beers on tap. Urbanspoon.com says it’s one of the hottest places in town - so hot, in fact, people are willing to line up outside just to experience the Brave Horse happy hour.
And while it’s famous for burgers and brews, people also can’t get enough of the pretzels.
The hearth-baked pretzels come with mustards and spreads, like smoked peanut butter and bacon or sour cream and crispy onion. Dough for the pretzels comes from the Dahlia Workshop, which provides all of the Tom Douglas restaurants with their baked goods.
“We roll it out, twist it and then we let them proof, and we put them in the lye water, then we bake them. The lye water gives then the color and the chew,” said Brave Horse Tavern Chef Brian Walczyk.
And you have to try the burgers. Beef is ground fresh daily and burgers are topped with everything from cheese to fried eggs, bacon to avocado and paired with fries or crispy onion rings. And there’s always a special burger of the week.
Patrons particularly love the Double “R” Ranch beef patties.
“It’s all about the chuckhouse. It’s got a fried egg, it’s got bacon on it, so you can’t go wrong with that,” said one patron.
“I just love the flavors that they throw on there. It’s got barbeque sauce, ham, just all kinds of stuff mixed together, so it’s a good burger,” said another.
Brave Horse also started serving breakfast with baked eggs and new pretzel breakfast sandwiches. And every Sunday, you can get a full fried chicken dinner.
And there’s the beer. Brave Horse “beer czar” Kayle Thompson shared what makes Brave Horse’s 24 beers on tap so special.
“I think that the thing that makes us really unique to the city is the number of taps that we have. It really allows us to have something that suits everyone’s palette and it also allows us the space to have things that are more experimental,” said Thompson.
The Brave Horse has great atmosphere. Play a game of darts or hit up the shuffleboard tables.
“It’s a good place to meet people, have great beers - and they’re gigantic beers. It’s a fun place to be,” said Chef Walczyk. “When the sun comes out, our patio is hopping. We’re nice people too. I want people to come and have a good time. That’s what we’re all about.”
When it finally came time for me to try some of Brave Horse specialties, I couldn’t wait.
First up: the Southern Hospitality Burger of the Week. Topped with ham, bacon, pimento cheddar, onion chow chow and Tommy’s D’s BBQ sauce, it was - in a word - amazing.
Next up, the new pretzel breakfast sandwich, filled with delicious house cured ham and melted cheese, and of course the famous soft pretzel with all three spreads. You can’t go wrong when you pair pretzels and peanut butter. And it wouldn’t be a full Brave Horse experience without washing everything down with a Brave Horse beer.
With its friendly atmosphere, fantastic food and huge selection of beers, Brave Horse Tavern is a must visit happy hour spot in Seattle.
For more information:
Brave Horse Tavern website
310 Terry Avenue North
Seattle WA 98109
