A nostalgic cocktail bar in an 1890 hotel lobby on 1st Ave, across from the Seattle Art Museum, pouring from one of the deepest whiskey lists in the city.
Published Mar 29, 2026 Last reviewed May 14, 2026 · How we pick bars Location 1224 1st Ave, Seattle Downtown Price $$$ Craft cocktails, deep whiskey list, bar bites and pizza Hours Mon–Sun 3:00pm – 2:00am Whiskey 900-plus bottles Kitchen Bar bites and pizza Booking Walk-in Drinks Specialty Whiskey and cocktails Over 900 whiskey bottles, craft cocktails, late-night pizza Cocktail Bar Whiskey Historic Downtown 4.4 ★★★★☆ aggregate across Google and Yelp reviews (n=368) Visit The Diller Room Suggest an edit Ask the editors Listings are editorial. Tell us if hours or details have changed and our editors will verify and update.
The Diller Room sits at 1224 1st Ave on the corner of First and University in downtown Seattle, across from the Seattle Art Museum and a short walk from Pike Place. It occupies the former lobby of the Diller Hotel, one of the few buildings left from the 1890s after the 1889 fire.
The room is a nostalgic cocktail bar with serious whiskey depth, created by Robert and Josie Wilson in 2009. It suits anyone chasing a rare pour in a historic room, and is the wrong fit for a bright, modern cocktail lounge.
The building carries the story. The Diller Hotel opened on June 6, 1890, exactly a year after the Great Seattle Fire, designed by architect Louis L. Mendel for owner Leonard Diller, per Wikipedia. The bar keeps that history visible in the woodwork and the old lobby bones.
The whiskey is the headline. The Diller Room stocks over 900 bottles, with rare bourbons, ryes and American whiskeys alongside a full craft cocktail list and late-night pizza. For more of the city, see our Seattle cocktail bars guide, the best bars in Seattle, and the near-me bar finder.
Evenings suit the dim, historic room, with the bar opening at 3pm and running to a 2am close. Earlier is calmer for a long whiskey conversation.
Weeknights are the move for the deep whiskey list, since weekends pull the downtown and Pike Place crowd later in the night.