North Seattle Sarah got to attend the “soft opening” of The Publican, the new restaurant and bar by the Brouwer’s Cafe / Bottleworks crew opening where Bandolero once stood in Tangletown (2253 N 56th Street). On her blog, she reports:
The Publican has 21 taps for craft beer, and offers an incredible selection from an efficient storage system. […] If you don’t want a beer on tap, just try their bottle selection – no wait, scratch that. There is NO bottle selection. Instead, there is a substantial menu of canned beers, which makes for a refreshing change. […] Like Bandolero, they offer a hefty tequila selection (0ver 30 tequilas), a full bar, and a decent red and white wine cache.
Wondering what you’re in for with food at The Publican? To start with, you’ll find brunch available all day, every day. Although the menu hasn’t been entirely firmed up yet, you’ll find corned beef hash, salmon hash, two kinds of Eggs Benedict, Belgian waffles, and family style hash browns on the side. You’ll also be treated to sausages and beef ground IN-house, grass-fed beef, and house-made sauces.
See North Seattle Sarah’s full report on her blog, along with photos.
Oh, that’s too funny: “family style hash browns” but be sure you don’t bring the family (unless your kids are 21+). Can’t wait to NOT go there.
Plenty of good places nearby to take the kids. Speaking for myself, I look forward to trying brunch at the Publican this week.
Brunch all day everyday? Yes please!
In a few years, say 10 -15 when your kids are grown and on their own, you will be looking for quiet places to go where there won’t be kids. It may happen even sooner. It happens to most people. And according to the census reports there are many more people in Seattle without kids than with so don’t begrudge people without kids a place to go.
@CB – You’re right. Wallingford doesn’t have enough “quiet” places to get a beer. When I go out without the kids, the quietest places I go are louder than anyplace I take my kids. But, hey, maybe the Publican will be that quiet oasis you seek.
According to their Facebook page, The Publican did not open today “due to circumstances beyond our control.” I’m hoping they’re getting a special permit to allow cats.
I am always on the lookout for brunch places so i was excited but not allowing kids will mean that i will go there maybe once or twice a year (if the food is good). NP though cause there are other place around for us family types. My only request is that they ask their employees to smoke elsewhere instead of infront of the restaurant. I didnt appreciate having to walk through a cloud of smoke with my kids on the way to zoka yesterday morning. Yes, we will probably be crossing the street from now on.
I was looking forward to the opening, but am disappointed it is only for 21+ year olds. Those of us with kids still appreciate excellent craft beers and good food. There are many families in the area who would’ve eaten there on a regular basis (including us), but are now excluded. I’m hoping the 21+ changes. If not, I still hope there are enough patrons for it to survive.
What are the rules? I mean, given that they’re pouring a lot of beer and tequila, I would have thought state regs would make it difficult to serve kids?
I can understand the concern – if it turns out that a massive selection of tequila and brunch is a commercially successful model, there goes brunches for breeders. You’ll all have to learn to cook that northern European meat/eggs/potatoes stuff at home.
Just went there for brunch today — really enjoyed it. Great (but not typical) corned beef hash, good beer (and coffee), very nice staff. Pretty quiet, even though there were about 20 people in there.
Here’s my review on Yelp: http://www.yelp.com/biz/the-publican-seattle
Some of us with kids who enjoy good beer and good food enjoy it more leaving the kids at home.
Why do kids have to be able to go everywhere with their parents? Back when I was a kid (I know how old this makes me!) adults were fine having adult time. It would never even be thought of to bring your kid to a bar!
When I was a kid in the midwest we went to bars all the time with our parents. People there don’t think anything of it. If you want people to grow up knowing how to behave in society, you have to let them learn it some time. And it’s not like they’re up late anyway. And honestly, I’d rather have kids in a bar than some of these college students.
But that said, as these are the arcane liquor laws of Washington, so be it. No need to get all up in arms about it.
Lauren – Kids go everywhere with their parents because it’s expensive to hire a babysitter on a regular basis. I would love to have the luxury to leave the kids home on a more frequent basis (one of the kids need to be 12 yrs old before leaving them alone).
We bring our kids to Tangletown on a regular basis, but I wish the food was better. I was hoping the Publican would’ve been an alternative choice.
I agree with chuck, it’s good for kids to see that drinking can be done responsibly at a restaurant/pub.
Meridian, I’m not sure where you’re getting the age of 12 as the age a child has to be to be left alone. Washington state does not have a law that states when a child can be left alone. The guidelines below suggest 10, though it could be younger or older depending on the kid.
http://www.childcare.org/families/article_school-aged-home-alone.asp
Jen, I was going by the suggested guidelines at http://askville.amazon.com/legal-age-child-stay-home-state-Washington/AnswerViewer.do?requestId=6875012. Although, I mistakenly said 12 wheras the general guidelines are starting at 11 yrs old for letting them stay at home for up to 3 hrs in the evening. [These guidelines suggest 8-10 yrs old should not be left alone for more than 1.5 daylight hours/early evening. I suppose I could go out for Happy Hour at the Publican when my kids reach this and are ready to be left alone.]
I agree with Chuck. I enjoy being in a kid-free environment as much as the next person, but I’d choose to be around a screaming baby over the drunk, obnoxious and irresponsible college kids that frequent our neighborhood lately. It’s sad to me that businesses in the area seem to be pandering more and more to this growing demographic… 56th Street Market, for example — most of their patrons appear to be guys in their 20’s buying booze or junk food, which is a pretty radical shift from the customer base I’d see at the former market.
The fact that the Publican has chosen to be “anti-family” annoys me, because it’s just one more step in this direction. I suppose you can argue that a business owner has to do whatever they need to in order to survive nowadays, and these young kids are all too eager to spend money on alcohol. That’s fine, but I still don’t like it. I moved out of the U-district 10 years ago for a reason!
When our kids were 8 and 10, we would routinely leave them watching a video to run up to a restaurant on 45th for 50 minutes to eat a meal. It totally depends on the kids, but they had our number and we were blocks away if anything happened. It’s great to live in Wallingford and be able to do that.
I also like going to kid-free restaurants for a nice dinner, however in a neighborhood like Wallingford, it seems like the Publican is cutting off a large swath of customers to not allow kids in for brunch. I don’t go out to brunch often, but when I do, fully half the tables have kids. It just seems weird.
I like the variety of eating establishments in Wallingford. I welcome the Publican as a new addition, and it’s a bit early for me to draw conclusions about how they’re structuring their business and what it may mean or not mean.
As to kids, or college kids, or middle-aged kids, it’s not the age group that defines whether their presence is pleasant for others or not, it’s the behavior. SOME kids are obnoxious, SOME college-age kids are obnoxious, while many kids are pleasant to be around, ditto many college-age kids, and so forth.
Patrons and restaurant managers have their respective responsibilities, so that our public places can be civilized and enjoyable for everyone. It happens elsewhere in the city, so I’m confident it can happen in Wallingford, too.
Welcome, Publican…and Happy 2012 to all! 🙂
I totally get and respect the idea of teaching kids how to behave in society by showing them how to do it. But I also think it’s okay to have establishments that are adult only – and leave the kids at home every so often.
The Publican is owned by the people who own Bottleworks and Brouwers. This is not a Rainier/PBR type place. If college kids can afford to get drunk here – they’ll have to be much wealthier than I!
Wouldn’t be surprised if many of them are, or rather their parents are, and I very much doubt that the affluence correlates positively with acceptable social behavior in students. But in any case, I believe skilled professional management will be able to keep the place from turning into a rowdy drunken student scene, if they want to.
There are 9 places to eat between the Publican and Diggity Dog. Hope the fickle neighbors support this venue. I would like to see more support for 56th Market myself. The owners are trying to do their best and are the most friendly couple you will meet in this area.