Skip to content

Best Cocktail Bar: Roquette

By Seattle Mag November 10, 2025

Roquette is a modern craft cocktail bar with a long counter, black stools, brown booths, small tables, and a mural of palm trees on the back wall—perfect for enjoying drinks at this 2025 James Beard Award contender.
Photo courtesy of Roquette

This article originally appeared in the November/December 2025 issue of Seattle magazine.

Behind its beautiful blue façade, Roquette finds balance as a chic must-stop lounge for special occasions and a neighborhood watering hole. Dark and moody, with green velvet banquettes and Art Deco-inspired lighting, this Belltown bar has received a number of accolades, including a nomination as a semifinalist for the 2025 James Beard Award in the Outstanding Bar category and a spot on North America’s Top 100 Bars list. Serving up French-inspired cocktails—with an emphasis on spirits like Cognac, Calvados, Benedictine, and Chartreuse—Roquette is the type of bar created by industry folks for industry folks (owner Erik Hakkinen used to work at Zig Zag Café), and the rest of us are lucky that we’re invited, too. Low-and-no-ABV options, beer, wine, and bar snacks are all available, and if you’re feeling particularly flush, the Horns of Plenty (Osetra caviar, Bugles, and crème fraiche) is a splurge-worthy high-low indulgence.

2232 First Ave., Seattle | info@roquettesea.com | roquettesea.com

About Best of the Best

Everyone loves a winner. And when it comes to Seattle favorites, there’s no shortage of opinions on which places, spaces, and bites deserve top honors. This year, we did things a little differently—our staff weighed in, debating and voting to determine the best of the best across the city. We also ran our annual Readers’ Choice poll for comparison (and yes, there was overlap in just one category). Here’s to celebrating all the winners, no matter who cast the vote.

Follow Us

Best New Restaurant: La Loba

Best New Restaurant: La Loba

An exercise in global fusion, La Loba successfully brings together Spanish technique and Northwest ingredients, with a hint of Japanese flair. Located in the recently opened 1 Hotel Seattle and helmed by James Beard-nominated chef Oscar Amador, La Loba offers à la carte options (tableside butcher’s beef tartare, patatas bravas, a selection of meats, pastas,…

Best Outdoor Dining: Westward

Best Outdoor Dining: Westward

In a city known for unmatched water access—and rainy weather eight months a year—outdoor dining becomes a coveted prize. And while there is no shortage of options for enjoying a meal with a view, Westward is a tried-and-true pick, unique in its full-city snapshot straight down Lake Union. Originally opened in 2013, Westward became a…

Best Pizza: Bar Del Corso

Best Pizza: Bar Del Corso

After more than a decade of serving up Neapolitan-style pizzas in its Beacon Hill niche, Bar del Corso has become a mainstay, not just for the neighborhood, but for the city at large. (In July 2025, the New York Times named the joint one of the top 25 restaurants in Seattle.) Opened by chef Jerry…

Best Burger Joint: Red Mill Burgers

Best Burger Joint: Red Mill Burgers

Nothing hits the spot quite like a burger and fries. Despite the dozens of places to pick up a patty around Seattle, Red Mill Burgers offers straight-up classics featuring juicy beef and melty cheese, all at an affordable price. (A deluxe cheeseburger for less than 10 bucks? Almost unheard of these days.) With roots extending…