Teachers Lounge

The bartender/proprietor is rude and has unreasonable mask expectations. My husband and I are double vaccinated, boosted and happy to wear a mask. We didn’t have a mask with us because it’s been a couple of months since the state has required it. Immediately upon entering, I asked if he had a mask and mid-sentence he cut me off saying he does not supply masks and asked us to leave. I understand he is allowed to ask customers to wear a mask but I think at this point he could put out a box for folks who don’t have one. The irony of all of this is we’ve been to this bar before. We live in the neighborhood and have had pleasant conversations with him in the past. I get that we are living in crazy times but that should never excuse the unpleasant attitude that we, and clearly many other reviewers have experienced. If you’re looking for a truly great cocktail, go Flint Creek across the street! Teachers Lounge is not worth it.

So, my well-dressed friends and I came into this place before 10pm on a Saturday night from the steak house across the street from this bar. I was already wearing my mask as I entered from the street, and my three friends were loosely wearing theirs. When we asked if seating was available, the host simply pointed out that we had to wear masks, which again were readily available. However, even after reentering with masks, my friends and I were rudely ignored, despite the open space seemingly available.

This place is usually great, but I have to register my frustration with the bartender's mask policy. 3 friends and I tried to go there tonight. One of us stepped through the door before putting on his mask, and the bartender immediately kicked all of us out. He said we needed to have our masks on before walking through the door. All of us had masks, and we had literally just exited the car parked in front of the bar and walked in. One of us just put his mask on 5 seconds too late. It was raining, by the way. Now: we're all 100% pro-mask, pro-COVID safety, triple-vaxed and have been very careful and compliant for 2 years. But not giving customers a chance to even be reminded to put their mask on as they enter the restaurant is WAY too strict. Especially since we'd be taking them off soon after to have our drinks. Frankly, it just seemed like the bartender was on a power trip. This level of strictness is completely unnecessary and doesn't protect anyone. It dampened our mood for the night and lost the bar business from customers who would have happily complied with their requirements if we were given a chance. But no, the bartender preferred to send us away. We ended up going to a different bar. This was a really disappointing experience and may have ruined one of my favorite bars in Seattle for good. I don't think we'll come back while that bartender is there.

My experience with this bar may be a little bit different from others. We went to this bar with a few friends and when we got there the bar still required us to wear a masks and vaccination parts which we didn’t have an issue with. However the woman standing in front of us had her vaccination card but forgot to bring her mask even though people 3 feet away from her were not wearing a mask. The owner yelled at her and told her that she can’t be in here and actually asked her to get out. Then told her we do not provide mask. We were so disgusted by the owners behavior that we ended up leaving . I understand and support a business is right to choose who can come in and out of there establishment however, there is no excuse for his rudeness. And I would recommend that nobody go to this bar unless you want to be treated like a hostile person. Instead go to Poindexter’s or Halcyon, they were wonderful with customer service and we told them what happened and what we witnessed they said that they weren’t surprised a lot of people complain about that bar.

I can’t comment as to the quality of the drinks here. However, my observations of the service mirrors many of the others who have left reviews here. Staff are rude beyond belief for a business who serves customers! These are tough and confusing times for all, the state just lifted the mask and vaccine mandate, and businesses are choosing how to implement that. We entered with some not wearing a mask (we’d just eaten at a local restaurant where it wasn’t requested, and all the staff were maskless) - when the rude staff member approached us at the door he said ‘’yeah, we require masks’ and walked away from us as we put them on - then he looked at us from the bar and said ‘goodbye’. Shocked at the rudeness! No problem wearing a mask, no problem being refused service for any reason, but there’s no excuse for being rude to customers, or anyone for that matter. Drinks might be the best in the area….but wouldn’t ever go here, or recommend it to anyone (I liked).

Horrible service. My group and I had our masks readily available on our face upon entering, but because we didn't have them physically on, we were not granted service. The bartender was extremely rude and said they would not serve us only after we waited a few minutes with our masks on. Even if we went outside, put our mask on, and re-entered, we were not granted service because we didn't initially have our mask on. Would not recommend.