Worth Leaving Town For: Vessel Taphouse
My friend Lisa asked if I wanted to join her to check out a new place in her neighborhood months ago, Vessel Taphouse. I was familiar because I'm a sucker for funny signs and I'd seen theirs as I drove by at the corner of 99 and 156th in Lynnwood:
TOPLESS SERVERS
FREE BEER
FALSE ADVERTISING
Our schedules finally lined up on a snowy day and because of the rapidly worsening roads, it was empty when we arrived, perfect for checking the place out and grabbing some photos. We were sad to see the second floor wasn't open for the day yet, but the room the stairs are in has a pool table and comfy booths. Through the next doorway, surprise! A tiki bar.
Hopefully it picked up in spite of the snow, this bartender looked a little bored // Christopher Bragg
Passing through the tiki bar, we found a very large game room with picnic tables, ping pong, foosball, pinball, and old school arcade games. Plus some longer elbow-high tables along the wall to lean on while you wait for a table and leave your drink while you play.
Giant Jenga in the game room with Lisa for scale // Christopher Bragg
Back in the main room, a few more people had arrived and we settled in with our drinks while our food was being made. It was hard to choose between Vessel's own wines and ales, but we ended up with the impressive Kraken Red Ale, while Lisa had a lovely bourbon drink from the cocktail list. (Minor pet peeve, I can't find a current menu on their website or Facebook for the name and more details.)
Lisa loved her pork sliders and offered a taste, but since there were three to an order, I just sampled her slaw, which was sophisticated and full of flavor. We also ordered two pizzas and left with a slice shy of a full one, so we could have ordered one and been happy. I'm glad we tried two, though, because they were both very tasty.
Pork sliders and Morgan's Revenge, the first of two pizzas we ordered. It and the Minoan were both great // Christopher Bragg
We mentioned to the bartender that we were surprised how large the place is and he said it's still growing, with another large room and stage coming soon in the back. Vessel's obviously a great place to hang out when the weather isn't so intimidating, and we'll certainly be back to try more of their offerings and play some games when we aren't worried about the roads freezing up.
Vessel Taphouse
15615 Highway 99
Lynnwood, WA 98087
(206)629-5024
Christopher Bragg works from home in Everett and loves walking, swimming, and cats. You can find him all over town, but only if you keep weird hours and avoid crowds like he does.