Downtown
Craft cocktails, deep whiskey list, bar bites and pizza
Over 900 whiskey bottles, craft cocktails, late-night pizza
Our Take on The Diller Room
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.
The Move at The Diller Room
The Word on Downtown
- Seattle magazine has profiled the Diller Room as a downtown cocktail bar worth the bar hop.
- Wikipedia documents the 1890 Diller Hotel building that houses the bar, one of the few 1890s survivors downtown.
- Regulars send whiskey drinkers straight here for the 900-plus-bottle back bar.
Read the Room
- A rare whiskey in a historic room
- A downtown cocktail near Pike Place
- Skip it if you want a bright modern lounge
When To Visit The Diller Room
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.
Inside The Diller Room
Editorial by Priya Nair.