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Taproot Cafe & Bar

4.3 (154 reviews)
Closed • 11:00 am - 9:30 pm
Updated over 3 months ago

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TAPROOT CAFE & BAR ATMOSPHERE

What's the vibe?
Quiet
Casual
Dogs allowed
Good for kids

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Recommended Reviews - Taproot Cafe & Bar

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Kale Caesar Salad Cuban Tofu Panini and Green Gift
Diana C.

The food was quite good and the service was excellent! This place seems to be kind of a neighborhood spot with lots of regulars, which was kind of cool. There was little fall decor on all the tables and it felt pretty homey. I appreciated that they have several vegetarian items on the menu. Not so many vegan options for food but lots of great smoothies and juices!

Natasha B.

First of all, downtown Columbia City is so frickin' cute! We were on a waitlist for another brunch place, but were hangry so we walked into Taproot. This unassuming cafe had a full bar and the food ended up being better than our original brunch choice. The person working the counter was so kind. We had our three-year-old there hamming it up for her, and she played with her and interacted nicely with our daughter. Will definitely be back!

Blackened halibut sandwich with kale Cesar salad.

The food here is amazing!!! Yesterday I had the blackened halibut sandwich with a side kale Caesar. Everything was delicious. The cook on the fish was perfect. Fresh ingredients. Everything is well seasoned. It was so good, I came back today and got the ribeye steak sandwich. OMFG!!! Banger for sure. Had the arugula salad with that one and it paired so well. The crispness of the apples and the light vinaigrette dressing was the perfect counterpoint to the rich steak sandwich. The staff were super friendly and the atmosphere was nice and welcoming. I'm definitely coming back for more. See you guys tomorrow!

Spicy Italian.
Sabrina M.

I agree with SusieCreamCheese that I mostly want to keep this hidden gem to myself, but to be honest I am not good at keeping secrets. I have been here on multiple occasions for drinks because their cocktails are legit. But today we unlocked a new addiction. They do not play around with their food menu. Not only are the ingredients top-notch, but the bread might be just as good as Bakery Nouveau. Maybe that's where they get their bread? We will be back to try every sandwich/salad! Staff was great, as always. Very knowledgeable and conversational. One reason you shouldn't come here is because I want to get a table right away. But really you should come here because it's sooo good!

COFFEE CRUSTED STRIP STEAK*  NEW ENGLAND CLAM CHOWDER & the   Spicy Mezcal Paloma
Nichele C.

Amazing Every Time!!!! The drinks are made with love and the food is ALWAYS delicious. I usually go around late lunch / early dinner time for appetizers or a meal with a cocktail or two. Staff is the sweetest and the atmosphere is always a vibe. I usually end up stuffing my face before remembering to take a picture . NOTHING was left behind, literally good to the last drop. Also, the smoothies!!! Get a smoothie!!!!

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3.5(26 reviews)
0.0 mi•Columbia City
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This review for Bourbon Bar is for a WEDNESDAY Evening when Absolute Karaoke sets up and KARAOKE…read morenight is on. This is a great, fun, welcoming, open, friendly crowd that is into the night's "entertainment". My wife and I are big fans and always have a blast. Also, the TALENT of many (most) of the people who show up and perform is really off the chart. You can really enjoy (be amazed) at what you hear, especially sometimes WHO it is coming from! Josh of Absolute Karaoke is the regular host for WED. He is a super pro KJ. And even if there is another host when you show up, they work for Josh and AK, so they will be great!

This place is pretty bad ass! I can't say that I was terribly impressed with the liquor selection…read morebut for a small (and new?) bar - they're really doing a great job. Aside from the awesome food - which I'll get to in a second - and the live music, I was most impressed by the bartender. He was super charismatic, super friendly and very funny. When I popped in with a group of 6 or so friends, he swiftly tended to us, made sure to introduce himself and took everyone's drink order. When it came time to get food I actually decided to opt out. It was nearly midnight and I had already eaten dinner hours earlier. But my friend next to me got a basket of fries and that's when it got hard to ignore the menu... The fries were AWESOME! In fact, they were so tempting that not only did I sneak a few, I actually asked to see the whole menu. Comprised mostly of about a dozen varieties of slider, I was super happy to see the variety. Suddenly my stomach growled and though I didn't want two sliders, I knew I could share with a friend. The only issue then was deciding which to get. I recall a buffalo chicken slider but only got as far as the fried bologna. HELL. YES!!! I ordered one and my buddy ordered another. (They come two to a plate.) My little slider was DELICIOUS! In fact, it was so good that I could totally envision making a trip all the way back to this bar just to have them again. So yeah... I'm a fan. The food is great, the bartender was totally rad, the live music playing in the theater was piped into the bar and the selection of beer and booze was just enough to satisfy. What a great little addition to the hood!

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Off Alley

3.6(108 reviews)
0.0 mi•Columbia City

The best way to describe the food at this place is it's off the beaten path (alley?)…read moreThe meats here are not something you can find everywhere else. From the most prized (foie gras) to the more normal (frog legs) to the odd (beef liver). And there was what I had - the rabbit kidneys on toast. I love the inventiveness of this place. It's so easy to just serve the same cuts of meats everyone else does - the prized, fatty parts of each animal and call it a day. But when there's a place that decides to dive deep (literally) into an animal and produce its organs and put that on a plate for you, it's just very cool. When you see a rabbit kidneys on toast dish on the menu - you can't not order it. The dish was pretty much exactly what you would expect - a bunch of rabbit kidneys on a slice of toast, over a cream sherry sauce. I had no idea what to expect in terms of kidneys, but these actually tasted quite normal. The best way to describe them is they had the texture and shape of larger beans, but had a bit of a meaty taste to them. Nothing over the top in terms of flavor or anything - just solid. They seemed to have been grilled. There were also a good amount on the piece of toast. The piece of sourdough bread it came on was quite good. The edges were crispy, and certain parts were perfectly lightly charred without being too burnt. The best part was the inside - which was super soft. What really tied this all together though, was the cream sherry sauce. This was outstanding. Certain parts were above the bread but a lot of it was below, and just tasting it I was blown away by its richness. It was on the sweeter side, but complemented everything so well. The way it soaks the inside of the bread is perfection - eating that was my favorite part. For dessert I got the foie gras ice cream. This was also really damn good. When two very fatty things come together, you'd expect there to be a full blast of flavor, but this was actually milder than I expected. It's still slightly salty, and very rich, but the added wine helps make it a more normal dish. I could still absolutely have a full scoop of this though. The one thing to know here is the portions are VERY small. The rabbit kidneys on toast dish is literally a single slice of bread with about 10 or so kidneys on top. The foie gras ice cream is truly miniscule - it's the smallest ice cream you've ever seen. The server did recommend 2-3 small plates per person, but I didn't particularly feel like paying a ton this night. If you were to come with someone (don't recommend groups here - the seating is very small), I'd say you could share a bunch of plates and feel pretty happy though. I wanted to give a shoutout that this place has the price inclusive of tipping. It's just so rare to see that, and absolutely wonderful when it occurs. I ended up paying around 38 for my two dishes. Overall, while not quite truly special, this place serves inventive, delicious mini-dishes that are certainly worth a try. 9/10

Everything here is delicious. These reviews saying otherwise, well. With all reviews, consider the…read morereviewer. If you're someone who cooks, and has said recently that everywhere you eat it costs a ton and is just okay -- like, you can make better at home? Come here. Because with few exceptions, I don't think you can. I've been here three times now and two out of three times everything was perfect. Absolutely. Perfect. I've recommended it to others and heard similar back from them. I think it's one of the more exciting restaurants in Seattle, and while the observation about cramped quarters is spot-on, I would imagine they'll likely evolve beyond that venue at some point, and that will be a pity, because having them close by in Columbia City makes me very happy. So book the patio if you want shoulder or elbow room, and enjoy a meal al fresco. And yes, it's a more expensive place, portions are small. It's a fine dining approach, and I think that's fairly clear up front. If you want a big pile of slop somewhere, there are a ton of options to fill up more cheaply. But if you want demi-glace and pan sauces that are perfect -- PERFECT! And meats you might normally not find compelling, like rabbit livers and kidney and, well, offal -- suddenly made succulent and delectable, try this. The only thing I felt was sort of not worth the bucks was the rabbit skull. Just not much in it and getting to it was a semi-feral process. Everything else, including the delicious salads, has be exquisite. Love this place.

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Taproot Cafe & Bar - juicebars - Updated November 2026

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