"The Crypt" has become a favorite amongst many people I know in Olympia. They never fail to have creative and delicious drink specials! (The other night, they were offering an Earl Grey infused vodka mixed with your choice of cream or coconut milk. Mmmmm....) Plus, we can't forget about "Dark Disco", the DJ marathon/dance party which takes place in the small dance area in back every first Saturday of the month. Gotta love the disco ball which hangs above and the strong B.O. stench that gets worked up in that tiny space. The music is always dope!!! There's something enticing about the darkness of the place. There are many small booths along the sides, all painted black with red lighting which can seat up to 4 if you squeeze in, and in the center, larger booths for larger groups. It's easy to not find who you're looking for, but that's the fun part. Great drinks, great bartenders, good prices, fun music/dance events, and very cool and unique atmosphere.
Review Source:The decor is comfortable if a bit dim. I went on a Saturday night about 7:30 with my husband and found the bar nearly vacant. If you're into that, great; I found it unsettling. Why shouldn't there be more people at a bar in downtown Olympia on Saturday night? I guess they were somewhere else.
The alcohol was strong. But when we finished our first drink no one asked if we wanted another. Also, it's a cash only bar and my husband's favorite drink (the four horseman) couldn't be made because the bar didn't have Johnny Walker.
I would recommend this bar based on the decor, the free jukebox, and the comfy seats. More for after dinner, or getting intoxicated. Does not serve food.
I love this place! In all honesty I'd give Cryptatropa 5 stars if they changed the lighting in the booths. Right at the bar the lighting is perfect (red-lit!) but they're using way too bright yellow bulbs in the booths. Why even mention this? Lighting in bars is paramount, silly.
Everything else about this bar is excellent: location (right next the the artesian well downtown), ambiance, and drinks. And you don't have to be a goth to feel at home. It has a very relaxed atmosphere and is frequented by a nice and interesting crowd (I even met an actual porn star here once).
Speaking of drinks, there is no better place in town to get a Bloody Mary. For reals, if you're a Bloody Mary fan and you're in Olympia, you must order one here.
The Crypt has really great interior decorating for a bar in Olympia. It's got a nice, dark, gothy feel to it that I like. Their specialty cocktails are tasty, but  if you're not into that sort of thing you can just get a plain old beer.
The clientele kind of keep to themselves, lurk in their respective corners, and moodily jot stuff down in their moleskines. They have live music sometimes -- DJs or bands that feature music that the customers would appreciate. Oh, speaking of music -- don't miss the jukebox. One day I may get a forklift and just haul that thing out of there and plop it in my living room. Really good music on there.
I like this place, it smells weird and has condensation on the windows which is pretty disgusting, guy takes a smoke break then makes drinks without washing his hands, but the drinks are good and it gives downtown a nice twist, being different an all. I like to come here on weekends when other places get too crowded.
Review Source:It's a great place to hide when you're strung out and the world's just a little too bright. Â The drinks are good, and they make their own infusions, although some of them can be a bit overbearing. Â The jukebox is free, and some of the music is quite excellent, although there's some that is probably there just to be challenging. Â It's closer to old-school goth than anything else in Olympia, but I'm not comfortable going all the way to calling it a goth bar. Â Certainly the crowd is not the crowd of a goth bar, nor anything else that might be called a goth bar (e.g. EBM/industrial clubs, etc.) Â It's just a little spooky and not a little dark, though, and that's alright with me. Â It's a fine place to gather in the intimate and roomy booths and shut out the world, although I prefer to sit alone at the bar ordering silly things. Â Your mileage may vary, but do know that it's probably better to bring cash than use their ATM.
Review Source:This place is dark...some might think it's scary....i don't agree. Â I think it's goth chic... They have an embalming table...OOooooOOoo.
Contrary to what people thought in high school, I am not goth. Â i just dress outside of the lines that society deems as normal. Â Maybe it's not goth...it's fancy, dark, did i mention the embalming table? Anywho, it's a rad place that plays decent music(ie the theme song from twin peaks was totally playing last time I was there), cheap drinks($4-$5 well), and awesome bar tenders.
This is quickly becoming the first bar on my "Oly bar hip-hopping" list. Â If you have a chance, try the whisky ginger(I think it's $5)...the ginger bites back.
My second favorite bar in Olympia is the Crypt. It's a dark, red-lit, goth bar. The decor is really cool if you're in to that sort of thing, as there are several demon statues and even an autopsy table in the front next to the door. You also can sit in big, private church pew booth tables with your friends if you don't feel like mingling.
The bartenders are really friendly and boy, if you need a stiff drink, this place is for you. The prices are a bit higher than the other bars I've been to around here but you get your money's worth if you're prefer hard alcohol. The last time I was here, I ordered a double gin and tonic and the bartender filled over half of the beer glass with gin. He also crushed the limes in the bottom of the glass before pouring in the gin and tonic which was a thoughtful touch.
The free jukebox is also filled with an assortment music, everything from Jethro Tull, to Tom Waits, to Neurosis- if that's your thing.
I'm on the fence about this bar. So I'm just going to make a list of positives and negatives.
+ Intimate atmosphere - great to sit and talk to your friends
- It always smells like B.O.
+ The bathroom is pretty clean for being a bar in Olympia
- The drinks are WAY too strong all the time
+ The drinks are pretty cheap
- They don't serve certain beverages [i.e. wheat beers, energy drinks] because they apparently think they're too good for that stuff
+ The Dark Disko nights are fun
- None of the bartenders are ever really friendly
- The bartenders have taken tips out of the change without asking
Not gonna lie, I'm not goth or metal or anything close. Â But I love Oly and it's ability to be unique, and for the most part accepting. Â I went into the bar feeling like I was gonna have a cool experience, what I was left with was literally the worst experience I've had in my hometown of 30 years. Â Sat at the bar for literally 15 minutes without being acknowledged (maybe more) before I realized the Bartender wasn't busy, he was just a pretentious douche bag, who clearly doesn't follow his own mantra of fake rasta braids and muscle T's. So needless to say, I let him know what I thought about him, and he kicked us out. Ok, fair is fair, but its sad to see judgement passed on you by the very last people you'd think to do so. Â I am sure the people that go there, are much cooler then the people who work there, think they are cool. Â The day this place closes will be a victory for all the real "outcasts".
Review Source:This place is awesome. Â I don't know how I have lived in Olympia for a year and not been here yet. Â My boyfriend really likes dark gothicky metal music, and I am a fan of dark cozy gothic feeling places, so this place is basically heaven for us. Â KC kept wandering over the juke box and exclaiming things that made little sense to me but seemed to make him freak out with joy, like "THEY HAVE THE BURZUM RECORD THAT'S ONLY EVER BEEN RELEASED ON VINYL!" Â I kept wandering over to the gargoyle in the corner and admiring its terrifyingness. Â This place is delightfully dark and private with cool private booths, the mixed drinks are unusual and fun, and they've got good beer on tap. Â It'd be a good place to bring a small group of people and play a private game of Carcassonne or something :) Â I'll be back here.
Review Source:The bartender was an arrogant asshole with BO, but hey, it's Olympia, and anyway, as my friend Alex has said, all bartenders are arrogant assholes. Â And I too am an arrogant asshole. Â Hurrah. Â Anyway I care not a whit since my interaction with him was all of 50 seconds. Â They have good-ish cocktails. Â All of that is unimportant. Â What's important is the atmosphere. Â It's very dark, gothic, and cavernous, with amazing wooden booths that are completely separate from each other so it's as if each booth is its own bar. Â Good jukebox with industrial, dark wave, and suchlike excellent spooky music, and all of the song titles painstakingly hand-lettered on black paper in gold paint pen. Â That is dedication. Â I would LOVE to go to a good dance night here, if it was packed and sweaty and there was a good DJ playing dark and dirty music. Â One can dream. Â I have heard they have dance nights but haven't made one yet. Â
My only complaint is the god-awful too-bright naked bulbs they have installed above each booth. Â Please, put some red plastic around em or something for the love of god. Â There are booths with less-bright bulbs, though, so seek one out. Â Definitely stop here if you're in Washington state's fair capitol.
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