Had super high hopes for this place after seeing the picture of their pizza in Seattle Magazine. Â It tasted like a Totino's frozen pizza. Â Super disappointing. Â
The beer selection was great, so I would recommend going in for that reason alone. Â
When we tried to get our bill to leave, however, it took forever to get eye contact with the bartender as some employees had just sat down at the bar and all the attention was being given to them.
I'm very conflicted about this review. If I lived in Seattle, I'm pretty sure the Pine Box would be my local spot.; good beers, good food, what more can you want? But on the night we went the service (ahem...this one waitress) was so laughably bad. Like actually so bad that there was nothing we could do BUT laugh.
We even joked about how bad it could get and then were seriously surprised when it was actually even WORSE than we thought possible. Slow service, bringing us the wrong drinks, forgetting things, giving us someone else's check, you name it.
But at least the beers were good...when we finally got them.
Five stars for the tasty beer list, negative stars for the terrible service. We were in the other night, along with multiple tables that walked in at the same time- the waitress continuously ignored each table. Finally after 15 minutes we got a menu, 15 minutes later we got a beer. Props to the water boy- he was on it and delivering water in the way i wish the beer service was.
Review Source:Beer, beer, beer, beer. I like beer. This place is for me. Belly up to the bar and you will be happy in moments. I haven't tried the food yet. There is an upstairs area good for larger groups, the stairs are a little steep so beware. I wish I lived closer! Interesting interior, I spied a nice looking outdoor area as well.
Review Source:Get the lamb/beef/veal burger medium rare and make sure to add the duck egg. You'll thank me later! This is the new restaurant bar in the former Chapel space, albeit much larger now that they've opened up the adjacent room in addition to the main dining area, bar, and upstairs.
Prices are as you'd expect and the food took a little long to come out, maybe more noticeable because we were grabbing a bite before the Weeknd concert at Paramount just 2 blocks away, but our server was great and helped us get out of there in a timely fashion.
The Pine Box is one of the beer jewels of Capitol Hill. Formerly a funeral home, the Pine Box succeeded its previous business as a coffeehouse. It is now a unique bar and restaurant with an active clientele and a throng of supporters in the neighborhood.
The Box offers over 20 selections of local brews from cites expanding over 10 states and different countries. It also offers a splendid list of original and house-made pizzas. I strongly recommend the Oyster Mushroom and Pulled Pork pizzas, which are made using fresh and organic ingredients representative of the Pacific Northwest. Both pizzas made my last night in Seattle a great way to end a fun and unforgettable vacation.
This place had a really cool atmosphere and a fantastic beer selection but the pizza (zucchini) I ordered was awful. One of the worst I have ever had, it had zero flavor and was really mushy. The waiter forgot our appetizer but was a nice enough guy. Overall I wouldn't go back for anything but a drink, major disappointment in the food area.
Review Source:Great beer and food here! Â One of the best beer selections in town for sure. Â Had the porcini and rosemary popcorn which was delicious and then a pizza with jalapeno creme, shallots, and bacon which was incredibly good.
Only negatives are the high prices and very difficult parking. Â Otherwise a very good beer bar.
I am a regular here. Â I generally always pre-func with some friends here before going dancing one Saturday a month. Â The menu rotates and there is always a little something for everybody. Â They did something great in the space of an old mortuary after Chapel closed and I love the aesthetic, staff, and food. Â I can't recommend it enough!
Review Source:Woah, never seen so many choices on draft for beers, exhausting to figure out what you want. But, we had a lot of fun here. I tried some German/ Belgium style beers and the evening got a little hazy after that! The building is an old funeral home, kind of cool, the bar is in the chapel so is a large space with lofty ceilings, atmosphere is lively and fun when we were there. We sat outside as it was a warm night, in the large outdoor patio- seems like a great place to socialize with a group.
Review Source:I don't know if it was the "best margarita" in whatever region they claimed to have conquered, but it was pretty good. Â The food was what makes for a five-star review from me.
I had the Bacon, Shallots and Jalapeño Cream Pizza and it was enough to make me want to come back the next time I'm in Seattle.  The service was also pretty near perfect - not checking on us every two minutes, but also checking on us at the right times.
While I may not drink beer, it was good to see more Oregon beers than from anywhere else. Â Sure, that doesn't help you, being from Seattle and all, but it makes me happy.
What can I say, I'm a sucker for delicious beer. And delicious food. And awesome bartenders. And full-size cutouts of shirtless men. Oh, and A/C.
I had The Pine Box yelped right when I moved into the neighborhood, and I couldn't be happier that it's become my local watering hole. It's a must-see for any of my out-of-town guests, as they have a lovely atmosphere and plenty of local beers and spirits for people to sample. And it's a must-see for myself after I've had a long day, or if it's particularly hot out, or I'm in the mood to read a book. Basically, I'm always in a Pine Box state of mind.
5 stars, love this place. Now please, bring back the waffle and gravy!!
If you DON'T enjoy beer: Â You're not missing much here besides the pretty room. Â The food hits all the correct "upscale pub" notes (the nuts are pretty decent), but it's not worth the hassle of finding a Capitol Hill parking spot.
If you DO enjoy beer: Â This is a must-stop situation for you. Â It's one of the best beer bars in a city full of them. Â Regardless of your personal tastes, I promise you will like at least 3 beers that are currently on tap.
Service is very hit or miss, depending on when you go. Â Try it on a rainy weekend afternoon for a late brunch.
If I were a beer drinker, I'd be peeing myself in excitement over Pine Box's existence. However, I'm gluten-free (so what the hell are you doing reviewing a beer bar?! one might ask) so my experience is influenced by that factor. AKA What a Gluten-Intolerant Person Does in Seattle's Coolest New Beer Haven.
Well, for one, she drinks cider.
On that front, I was disappointed. I know, I know, Pine Box is all about the beer - but 33 taps and only one cider? Bars/restaurants with less options have more cider variety. Tieton was on the menu (which I love) but evidently they were out of the Tieton and replaced it with Julian (never heard of it) which I was not impressed with. The color was extremely light, like a pale ginger ale, and it was nearly flavorless. Refreshing in the way that drinking a Sprite on a hot day is refreshing, but I wanted a cider, not a Sprite.
I did order a Bloody Mary after that (because why the hell not) and that went better. Nothing terribly special about it, but a good solid Bloody.
I ordered the spicy shrimp and cheesy grits, which were also really solid. The shrimp are head-on, so if you're bothered by your food looking at you, be aware (I made the boy peel mine). The portion was just the right size to fill me up, no leftovers nor did I leave hungry. I can't recall exactly what the boy had (mac and cheese, maybe?) but it had duck confit, and it was tasty.
The service was great, once we got service. It's not evident what the situation is when you walk in - the bar is three-deep and there's no greeter or host, nor is there a sign that tells you whether you're supposed to seat yourself or wait for someone to seat you. Pro-tip: you are supposed to seat yourself. I don't know if it was just an off day, but there didn't seem to be sufficient service staff for the amount of people in the place. It was packed, but there were only 2 bartenders and 2 servers on duty.
They do have a great beer garden, although it's covered. When we were there, they were doing a luau-style pig roast and a band was playing in the beer garden. Despite any shortcomings, Pine Box is definitely shaping up to be a solid neighborhood bar.
This spot has the best beer menu in Seattle and a wonderful full bar, wine menu and a knowledgeable bar and service staff! Â Beer prices are very reasonable for artisan microbrews. Â An especially big choice of full-throttled IPAs is offered.
The interior with its high ceiling and original look is just the right place for quaffing and having a bite or a full meal.
Right now they are not open for lunch during the week (open @3:00) but I hope that their popularity will soon lead to their being open every day @ 11:00 a.m.
Big list of beers $1 off at happy hour. Only one cider on the list, I forget the name but it was really tart.
Service was a little lacking.
Husband got the pretzel which wasn't very good. Â So go for the beer not the food.
Nice covered outdoor seating area that is dog friendly. (the bouncer will let you in through the side gate)
They are 21+ only.
I think its their tap list that bumps it up to 4 stars. Â Its a pretty great one and definitely one of the best around capitol hill. Â Most bars in the area have about 6 or 7 taps this place has close to 25 i think? Â Wonderful for beer lovers. Â I also don't think any of them are bad. Â There are some i don't prefer but i respect their quality. Â I went just the other night during craft brew week and was not disappointed in the results. Â They had some great beers just for the occasion. Â The location is fantastic too, about half way between home and work. Â
Some negatives though, the service is hit or miss. Â A few of the employees have been great others treated me like a fool. Â I tried to tell them they didn't give me the beer i ordered (I was definitely right) and they gave me some attitude but also a free beer. Â The food was okay almost ignorable. Â that's not really something to consider when thinking about heading here. Â The prices are a bit high and their happy hour is only $1 off beers so its really not much. Â And to make matters worse it only lasts to six. Â Those are its biggest pitfalls. Â But you do get what you pay for which is quality and they do have some cheaper options on the menu.
This isn't the kind of place i see myself going on a nightly basis but once every other week for a beer or two might be just right. Â And the whole "used to be a funeral home" thing really gives it a funky vibe. Â At first i thought it used to be a small theater or something but the crosses on the pew seats got me thinking otherwise.
All the Seattle locals we asked seemed to point us to the Pine Box, so we had to try it! Definitely the place to be if you're a beer lover! I'm not a huge drinker myself, but my boyfriend was in love with the drink selection here! They had a ton of Firestone beers on the menu, so he couldn't contain his excitement. The bartenders were all very nice and super knowledgeable about each drink.
For an appetizer, we shared the house-made pretzel spicy Hefeweizen mustard. Decently made pretzel and the mustard had that nice wasabi kick to it! I couldn't really pick up on the Hefeweizen aspect of it, but it was still good! For late lunch, we ordered two pizzas. 1) the capicola, duck egg, & arugula pizza. 2) the jalapeno creme & bacon pizza. The duck egg pizza was my favorite. I've never thought about adding an egg on a pizza before. The jalapeno pizza had a creeping spicy to it. Once you stopped eating, then the heat started to kick in! Not the best pizzas I've ever had in my life, but not too bad either!
I think we went a little early than the usual bar crowd, so the place was pretty empty when we were there. Our local friend told us the bar used to be a funeral home, thus the name the Pine Box. I think with that knowledge and the emptiness of the place at that time, I got spooky vibes while going to the restroom. That's totally just me though! I'm such a chicken when it comes to the paranormal!
Go to the Pine Bar for drinks! You'll have a good time!
First you should know: I am a beer nerd. Secondly you should know: this place is cool.
Went back 2x in 3 days and the beer selection changed entirely. I thought that was pretty neat as I like to try new things. The prices vary from $5-$7, again pretty standard. (both times was disappointed in the IPA selection FYI but the Hoptimum by Sierra Nevada was surprisingly delicious)
Nice outdoor section. I can easily see coming here on a nice sunny day. Right across from bauhaus in that trendy little area of the hill. Inside ambiance is ok. Food is a little pricey but looked delicous. The $5 pretzel was pretty good - tasted like buttered popcorn.
TRY THE RANDLE. Be adventurous - do it! We tried a "fruit salad" one which my boyfriend absolutely loved and I tried an espresso one. The randle def flavors the beer in a unique way which I found quite pleasant. The randle flavors are surprisingly strong but not overwhelming and they are usually well thought out.
5 stars because I had a good time here, it was a beautiful day, and the staff was friendly. Came here for happy hour (err, I think it was HH) on a Sunday -- or maybe it was around that time that happy hour USUALLY is. Hmm. Anyway:
They had some local (?) cider on tap so I ordered that; it was a dryer cider, so more tart that sweet, but it was good. Came with a friend (beer snob) who really liked the large selection of local brews. We ordered the mushroom-something-something pizza, which was pretty good -- all their pizzas looked good actually but my friend doesn't always eat me so we picked the vegetarian one.
Also worth raving about are their thai-style hot wings. I don't even really like thai food but these were really quite exceptional. The dish was well-plated, with 4 "full wings" (they're like z-shaped, with the tip of the chicken wing still connected to the drumstick part, if that makes any sense). Nom nom. Would definitely order those again.
Anyway, I hang out with a lot of beer drinkers, so I'm sure I'll be back again. Flexible ambiance works well for a casual night out (since many "casual" Cap Hill bars are dark with those little tables, etc.) or a nice intimate dinner.
The PIne Box is a true drinking establishment. This is the type of place that other businesses try to model after, because it has so many awesome qualities.
They have a fantastic beer selection, and we really enjoyed the considerate and informative bar service. The interior is cozy and comfortable with warm lighting.
I would give this place 5-stars if it wasn't for the food. We had the burrata and pretzel which was delicious, but our order of spicy wings was just fine, not great. I'm also pretty sure that bleu cheese sauce had celery juice/water in it. It was very runny and tasted like fresh celery.
Overall, just great. This could easily become a regular bar for me.
We drank our dinner that night! ;-) Â Recently went on a mom-daughter trip to Seattle; had an amazing time being complete tourists and dinning only by personal and YELP reco's. Â This recommendation came from one of my daughter's -she's an awesome Barista- Â customers. Â We walked in fabulously perfect gray-drizzly Seattle weather from 5th & Blanchard to the Pine Box...we had a blast getting there (walked past it a 1/4 mile the first time)! We had a blast when we got inside and the entire experience was really fun! Â Tasty beer and they poor an excellent shot(s) of vodka. Â The food smelled great, the patrons were friendly and all of the staff was gracious and funny. Â
It was a lot of fun!
A year later and my thoughts about the Pine Box are all over the place.
First off -- thanks for taking PBR off your tap list. That was a fucking joke and if you brag about being a beer bar, keep that in a can and save a tap for something interesting. Â Your beer list is excellent these days -- just please update when you blow a keg because I hate having to change my beer order 2-3 times each time I visit.
Second -- the ever changing menu. The pizza was and is never anything to write home about. Tasty? Sure. Worth the $10+ price tag? No way. The newer additions -- like the soup and burger are good and more aligned with the price point, but still. The food doesn't live up to the beer list which is too bad. When I drink beer I get the munchies and having something truly worth while to nosh on would be great.
Third -- the service. It was never a strong point. Granted, you guys do get busy before big shows at the Paramount, draw in the beer snobs in droves, and can get pretty damn crowded. It has been a year though and one would think the Pine Box would have the ups and downs of dinner/concert rushes figured out. Even when it isn't busy you can feel ignored here. The last time I visited the service was absolutely atrocious. Beers took forever to come, orders for food were somehow miraculously put in after being ignored for tables who came in after us, and when it came time to close out our server was too busy clearing tables even though we tried flagging him down for 20 minutes straight. When told we had a show we were trying to make we only got a snarky reply back. I was embarrassed to have suggested coming here for a pre-funk considering how bad and slow the service was.
I can't truly hate on them though. I do love my beer, and they at least have their list figured out with some excellent, quality brews available. They just need to sort out their staff's attitude and service issues before I would ever recommend someone else coming here again.
I don't remember much in my drunken haze of the night, but I do remember that the bartenders, as well as the patrons, were very accommodating and welcoming to my friends and I seeing as we were strangers from a far off and distant land. Okay, not too far. Just the Bay Area. Of the bits and pieces we got there right before last call and thankfully didn't give us the cold shoulder. We got to order two beers and we were already done for the night.
I usually don't write reviews of places where my judgment seemed to be most cloudy, but it was the last bar that my friends and I visited in Seattle and we had a grand ol' time and left with all those warm fuzzy feelings despite the freezing temperature. I would definitely come back again but this time I'll start drinking here first.
I'd give em a five if they had more than white and red  choices instead of generic wine. My family loves beer but i like wine. I found that throughout seattle the bars consistently ignore their wine offerings and focus on beer. Hey, there is great wine in the pacific northwest, let me have some!
That said, the atmosphere is open yet moody. Love the pew banquettes. Spicy thai chicken wings were fresh, hot and delicious. Not so spicy, blue on the side. I especially liked sitting so close to my kids, so cozy.
Nice and quiet on a saturday early afternoon.
NITRO TAPS!
When I went they had 2 nitro taps of amazing quality. Â If that's not your thing, their selection will blow your tiny mind. Â You can pick a state and just go from there, or sample a wide variety of types and origin. Â The also serve food; while we just got their spicy thai chicken wings that wood fired pizza oven and interesting topping choices looks to legit to quit. Â I'll definitely be back.
A lot like Brouwers, only closer to my house. And less of that Belgian beer stuff, which is just not for me, so we'll put that in the win category, too.
More than once they have been out of the beer I've selected, and I try to order something different every time. Not sure if I just know how to pick 'em, or if they don't update their menu enough, or what.
Beer beer glorious beer. They include the alcohol content and pour size so you can be sure you're getting a bang for your buck. The beer list is generally less expensive than at Columbia City Alehouse and other beer-centric restaurants.
If you're a vegan and you're hungry, forget about it. This place is for lovers of cheese and meat. And really, when you're drinking beer, would you want anything else? Pizza was delightful, but not enough that I would come here for the pizza if not for the beer.
It does get loud, service often seems ingenuous, the place is hard to find, for as big as it is, there aren't really that many places to sit, and it's certainly not very intimate. But hey, I'll take it.
The Pine Box is too cool for me. The name is clever (a nod to its mortuary past), the beers are crafty and the space is inventive.
There's just something a little off. Like they take themselves too seriously but can't quite figure out what they are.
If they are a house of beer, why the empty space and loud music? Through likely no fault of their own, the acoustics in the former chapel are terrible. One has to shout to be heard in the pews, which makes it difficult for intimate conversations, and there's not enough warmth to feel cozy. The beer list is exceptional, but it's hard to focus with all the noise.
If they are a gastropub, then why the limited menu items and small portions? Granted, the pizzas were absolutely delicious, but the other plates left us wanting for more. HH is only $1 off beer and food, but doesn't make a big dent if you're in a big group.
Unfortunately we bar hopped elsewhere before getting the real answer to Pine Box's identity crisis. It felt like more hype than value, and perhaps I'll never be cool enough to find out.
May I have a good beer, please?
I haven't sampled many of the beer options from the list at the Pine Box because I keep ordering the same one, but... I really like the Maisels Weisse and I already know they have other interesting options, so I don't really "need" to branch out. A friend recently celebrated his birthday here, and I sampled his very interesting sour beer. It wasn't a beer I could drink a whole glass of, but it was pretty enjoyable and really good to try. Wonder if they have beer samplers...
I haven't experimented with their food menu much, but I've had their hanger steak & arugula salad and sampled the pizza with mussels before. Not a big fan of shells on my pizza, but it looked pretty cool and I remember it being pretty good. The hanger steak salad is amazing some days and not-so-good others. The first time I ordered it, the salad was wonderful and the Walla Walla onion had a very distinct and wonderful texture/flavor. When I ordered it again months later, the salad was kind of dry and not amazing. Guess it just depends on the day!
Answer to my question: Yes, because it's easy to find a good beer at The Pine Box.
Amazing selection of beer here! Â Truly impressive list of beer and cider and I LOVED the fact that they had a flat screen TV dedicated to all the current beers on tap. Â I was personally overjoyed to see that they had Dogfish Head on tap (very hard to find in Seattle). Â Servers were AMAZINGLY friendly and attentive. Â My boyfriend had the pepperoni pizza and it was your average, general pizza. Â I had the seasonal mushroom pizza (portebello & crimini mushrooms, Walla Walla onions, mornay sauce) and it was damn good. Â Pizzas are big enough to share, or if you prefer to have your own, you will certainly have a couple/few slices left over for lunch the next day. Â :)
Pine Box is really a great venue for beer lovers and is quite a bit different from it's predecessor, Chapel. Â I really dig the vibe of this place and the fact that it was a funeral home, at one time, doesn't make it creepy, but rather peeks your curiosity.
Pine Box is very community-involved and hosts charitable events (check out their web site for details). Â They also have live music and beer-related events.
This place is perfect for when you may want to grab a beer or cocktail and a bite to eat before catching a show at the Paramount Theater.
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