Nestled in the vibrant Capitol Hill neighborhood of Seattle, The Wildrose stands out not just as a bar, but as a cherished institution within the LGBTQ+ community. Celebrated as the oldest lesbian bar in the United States, The Wildrose has been serving the queer community since its inception on New Year's Eve 1984. This iconic venue has not only withstood the test of time but has evolved to meet the needs of its patrons while preserving its rich heritage and inclusive ethos.
In the face of challenges, including the dire impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, The Wildrose demonstrated resilience and adaptability. A crowdfunding effort underscored the community's support, raising significant funds to help keep the bar afloat during these uncertain times. This act of collective backing highlights The Wildrose's vital role as a safe haven and social hub for the LGBTQ+ community in Seattle.
The bar's offerings have expanded over the years to include a diverse menu crafted by new chef Mahogany Williams, featuring traditional bar bites alongside more inventive fare. This culinary refresh, aimed at enhancing the overall guest experience, signifies the owners' dedication to creating a welcoming space where patrons can enjoy good food, engaging events, and each other's company.
The oldest lesbian bar in the US! That is an amazing feat and everyone should support them.The DJs they hire are fantastic. Dancing was so much fun until...
This is the first time I've been to this bar since I came out as gay/bisexual and I was very hurt. We had polyamorous, trans, bisexual, and gay community...
I met 2 friends and brought my NY city friend along, and had a great early evening at Wildrose. we were all drinking beers and cocktails. That night the...
Pride is for everyone. So long as you're in your designated section" tried to enjoy Thunderpussy but the crowd was literally angry two men were there....
Randomly not open without warning. Planned a trip to Seattle on 10/13 around going to this bar as as a piece of history. When I arrived the bar was completely closed, the website hours listed it as open, google listed it as open, no special events or anything else, I even tried calling but no answer. Kinda messed up my trip.
Was there yesterday evening before another meet up, super glad I stopped by. The place looks amazing! Shelley and Martha have done a great job with the rebuild!It is a good vibes only place and I dig it. Price points are great for drinks. Had the Turkey Panini (yum!). Hats off to McKenna (pardon if name spelled wrong).Love the art work you've done and how you talk to veteran patrons about the old menu. It brought back great memories!The space on the east side of the bar is a game changer. It truly looks amazing and again feels amazing. Looking forward to the next visit.
Everyone was very welcoming and friendly. The space inside is very small and the music choices could be a bit better since it’s then same dj every weekend
Probably one of the worst experiences I’ve had in Seattle.Growing up here in Seattle I’ve always heard of wild rose. I came here for the first time last night 8/17 and I was shocked to experience this.The cover charge was cheap and the bouncer at the door was extremely kind.The drink I got was a frozen slushee that tasted like an icee rather than alcohol.The music was fine but very straight given that this is supposed to be a “lesbian” or queer bar. They were playing 2010 crappy straight people music.But I was fine with that and still danced.Me and my girlfriend were headed out to the outside bar to stand by the street when I was aggressively grabbed by a woman. No she was not a bouncer she was just coming into her shift. She yelled at me telling me I can’t take my drink outside past the bar when I wasn’t leaving in the first place. I was honestly so disturbed by the fact that she thought she could aggressively grab my shirt like that. She could’ve tapped my shoulder or said hey but she resorted to grabbing me aggressively. I will never come back to this place. I heard great things and I was excited as a lesbian woman. Matter a fact I made a google account so I could complain about this place because that lady physically grabbed me and disturbed my experience. I will not be coming back
I had the privilege of volunteering at this event for their outside stage. I cannot express to you the community and enjoyment the workers and patrons have. It was a packed out pride weekend and no problems that were not taking care of immediately and efficiently. I cannot wait to volunteer more events here.
OMG! Just when I had given up on finding people to treat me like crap based solely on my gender, I stumbled across Wildrose. Let me tell you, I've been...
A co-worker was going through a bad breakup with her boyfriend, so some mutual work friends and I organized a night out at Wildrose to cheer her up. We’ve been dating for 9 months now and we’re wild about each other.10/10 would recommend Wildrose. We’ll be back for our anniversary!
One of the best places in Capital Hill to get a drink and they have Nachos and other nice snacks. The drinks aren't too expensive and their outdoor sitting area is really cute especially right now for Pride
Loved this bar. Their frozen drinks are amazing, especially the coconut lime. YUM!! The staff was very friendly and very pro lesbian. They DO NOT play about keeping this a Lesbian establishment, and I love that! Really enjoyed our conversation with one of the bouncers. My wife and I had a great time, can't wait to go back!
I came on a karaoke night and was super excited when someone picked Pink Pony Club to sing! I was singing along when someone in the crowd told me to "pipe...
because I am a Latina woman and coughed in line, I was told I was too drunk and not able to enter. I haven't had alcohol since 2021. the bouncer is racist...
I love having a lesbian bar in Seattle! There’s under thirty in the entire unites states. The bartenders are always amazing and staff as a whole is wonderful. The music is fun and the food is always good. The drinks are so cheap, especially for the hill.
I love this place! The atmosphere is always good, the bartenders know how to make drinks and are really friendly. You can always hear the music playing from down the road! And there are never any problems here. It's just chill
Spent three nights in a row here on our third trip back to Seattle. So refreshing to be at a lesbian bar. The bartending staff is amazing. Music was too tier and great for dancing.
WOW! I went to the WildRose on 3/31 for a day party called Glossy, and it was heaven on earth! I hadn’t been back to the rose for way too long. I saw so many queer locals that I hadn’t seen out in ages, and let me just say that whoever made that party happen knows what’s up! It was incredible diverse and the music was next level. There was also a curated number of local queer vendors. This event is every other Sunday, and I will be attending all of them! It’s also $5-20 pay what you can, so I payed $20 since I make a living wage. That’s less than 2 drinks cost another bars! I recommend the boozy slushy!
This is one of the safest bars in Capital Hill for women and NB people, even men are made to feel comfortable here. The drinks are great, the bartender is always very quick and efficient, the bouncer is always friendly. The music is consistently good with a good mixture of hip-hip, rap, pop, and dance music. My only complaint is that the dance floor is just too small and becomes overcrowded quite early in the night. Other than that I love Wildrose!
So, this afternoon I was at the wildrose with three friends. Unfortunately one of my friends tipped over into overly inebriated. So I stayed with her in the bathroom until I could get her out to an Uber w her boyfriend. Martha the bartender let me and my gay bf know she wouldn’t be able to serve us at our table anymore due to my friend’s issues. No problem, fully understood that. I successfully got my friend and her bf in an Uber and headed home around 8pm. My gay bf left shortly after. I had a meet up with friends after and all was ok. Almost three hours later, around 2230, I left to go home, still sober. As I left the bar, the male bouncer decided to take me to task for my friend’s issues and pile all sorts of negative comments on me, still holding me responsible for my adult friend’s unexpected issue. Blew my mind that he felt the need to rail me for her issues, despite the fact that I was the one who made sure she was ok and got home safely. Such a negative experience with that bouncer. I’ll be hard pressed to return to the Wildrose and will make sure my lesbian friends know the judgement that they lay down on customers when the night doesn’t unfold as expected.
I love coming here to dance with my friends on Fridays and Saturdays! There are great DJs on the weekends. Taco Tuesdays are rad, and there’s a nice selection of food throughout the rest of the week too. I love seeing the other regulars on the weekends, but there’s no shortage of new faces so I always get the chance to meet new people too.
My partner and I had a good time here. There was a $5 entrance fee, cash only. The place is small compared to LA/Weho bar/clubs. The line for getting...
Spontaneously took a friend here for their first purchase of an alcoholic beverage! Front door person was sweet and wished them a Happy Birthday! I received no grief for being a bearded enby amab in a dress. The bartender was spunky and told us a whole as story about their lube wrestling experience while preparing our drinks. Was cute as heck and made my lil BB queer friend blush. Great first bartender experience.They also had a good selection of NA beverages for my other friend, who was happy to have a CBD seltzer.It was absolutely dead when we arrived after Trivia night was over. Three other folks in total, so we chilled on the couch, had our drink, and bounced. Was a nice lil safe space.
great lesbian gay bar!! super safe place. their is a cover charge at the door but the music and vibes are so worth it!! their bartenders are also fast and...
The current young security guard is so bad at his job it would better to fire him than to keep him on. I and my friends were searching for my phone which...
I would not recommend unless you fit a certain ‘type’ of lesbian. I was super stoked to be spending a memorable birthday with my partner on a queer vacation only to be disappointed. As a masc nonbinary individual with a non-typical appearance, I was not felt to be welcome. Adversely, I was made to feel very much UNWELCOME, and, excluded to the point that I would want to warn those who border non-typical queer stereotypes as perpetrated by the employees and culture of the WILDROSE. I’m leaving queer Seattle disappointed, but I am made very much aware that there is a lot of work to do about inclusivity within our LGBTQA+ community. How can we make global progress without internal progression? I hope WILDROSE, as one of the FEW remaining lesbian bars, educate staff and community about the expansive limitless love and understanding that IS the FOUNDATION of our community.
As a Queer couple from Southern California we were SHOCKED by the lack of inclusivity shown by the staff. The bar staff made snide and offensive comments...
Everything about Wildrose is phenomenal! the bartenders were amazing, the drinks were delicious, and the thursday karaoke was so fun! definitely felt safe and comfortable there! i’d recommend a dirty shirley with vanilla vodka!
As one of the oldest lesbian bars on the west coast, everyone feels welcomed. It can be daunting finding a bar with good vibes, good music and good rinks...
it was amazing. boner asian was the best. it was aammmmaaaaaaaaaazzzzzzzzziiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnnnnggggggggggggg. i would recommend to a friend, he is very...
Is this place always a TERF bar or just some of the time? Was about as friendly as a Chick-fil-A. Bartender skipped my trans partner and tried to ignore her, Door guy repeatedly misgendered both of us, and when my partner went on the dance floor(which was packed) people still moved away from her to form a gap of space around her, so it wasn't all staff. Just another disappointing experience.
The oldest lesbian bar West of the Mississippi River. An excellent establishment with good food, pleasant staff, and well trained security. I would highly recommend this establishment. Be kind. I suggest the Mac& cheese
Visiting from Los Angeles and was excited to visit a queer woman's bar. Came here Saturday night and was delighted to see the energy of everyone in here to...
The music on a Friday as absolutely awful but the crowd was eclectic, multi-generational, super cute, and just fun. 9.5 out of 10, would gay bar here again.
Your reviews are starting to affect out of state visitors. Awful experience. Just terrible. As a younger queer person I'm very highly disappointed in my...
My friends and I had a blast here. We were visiting from Sacramento for a few days and spent each night here dancing. I wish we had a bar like this in our gayborhood! The DJ played the best music and the service here was amazing. The bartender Jen was friendly and had a really great vibe.
I am writing this review as a queer person who desperately wants more fem queer spaces in the city and it sucks that the time I had at Wildrose (seattles...
Drinks are great, lots of variety as well! The staff are super sweet and we somehow stumbled into bingo night which was super fun and we actually ended up...
Me and my girl were celebrating her 21st and not only was security extremely unfriendly and condescending but the atmosphere overall didn’t feel welcoming. The drinks were okay and moderately priced. We constantly got dirty looks and someone even told us the DJ “wanted to see us” just so they could take our table. We went ahead and danced until the DJ started messing up. We were really disappointed and won’t be coming back.
What a gift to the Seattle scene. A truly loving, safe and personal space to celebrate things. Ive been to trivia nights, drag shows, karaoke. So many...
I saw pride stuff and as a gay man thought it would be cool to see what's up? I was wrong. They not so politely asked me and my friends to leave the line. I...
My first experience here and the bouncer asked to hang onto my water bottle which was in a visiblepocket of my backpack while I was standing at the bar to...
I'm from a state with no lesbian bars, and it meant so much to me to be able to come here. I ordered the Strawberry Dyke-uiri and it was lovely, and quite...
My friend and I stumbled across this place because we thought it looked cool from the outside and had a good vibe. Yes, we were two straight men who didn't...
I'm a 6' cis woman with short hair and tonight I got yelled at for going into the women's bathroom. I turned around to face the owner and she said "oh,...
The WildRose is a great place to get a drink and dance with fellow queer women! The bouncer is great and has always made us feel welcome. They're super diligent about keeping the space clean and picking up empty cups, and the crowd is always a ton of fun to dance with! Sometimes I wish they'd play a bit more music intended for queer women and music by queer musicians, but the music they play is still good!It's the only space in Seattle intended for queer women, so don't be surprised when people are protective of that! I find that most of the bad reviews this place gets are people completely misunderstanding the atmosphere of the bar or people not realizing how protecting we have to be of these spaces to keep them open!
They asked for my ID and vaccination card after the state requirement was dropped. I gave them both but they weren’t satisfied even though I got all 3 of my covid vaccines at CVS. If they have wanted money they would have let me in to spend it.No worries Life on Mars loved me there and I spent a lot of money to support them. Life on Mars is beautiful, go there instead
I really want to love this bar. As an avid supporter of gay women's spaces - and we all know lesbian bars are closing faster than you can say "Ellen...
We went queer bar hopping tonight and by far Wildrose was the one that passed the vibe check. The bartenders are friendly, the drinks are strong and...
If you are a cis man, PLEASE STOP COMING HERE. Gay or not, STOP. This is our ONE SPOT and my god, we are SICK of you randomly approaching us cause you think it’s a safe space. Stop!!! I didn’t come to a lesbian bar for a cis man to come try and get my number. There are TWELVE lesbian bars left in the WHOLE country, PLEASE LET US HAVE OUR SPACE.
The wonderful bartender recommended their new slushees and boy, did they not disappoint. Absolutely delicious and a must-try for anybody that can't stand...
The wonderful bartender recommended their new slushees and boy, did they not disappoint. Absolutely delicious and a must-try for anybody that can't stand...
I came here on pride weekend with a good friend. We live somewhere where there aren't any gay bars let alone lesbian bars so we were really excited to hang...
I went there Saturday and they have a dj starting to play at 8:00 pm. They ask for pictures of covid test before entering. The drinks are really pricey...
If I could give a negative amount of stars, I would. This used to be a place that I supported and loved. Until I realized and found out that they had a...
I always have a good time here and have fun for years but what i don't understand is you have lines full of people right now after you almost closed and you...
Taco Tuesdays are still poppin. Such a fun and enjoyable safe space for the queer community. I highly recommend this lesbian bar to anyone looking for an...
Sad. So sad. So much opportunity wasted. Lesbian bars are closing all over the country, and this bar has the opportunity to be the last bastion of lesbian...
I finally got to go to Wildrose. The Captain Punch is delicious! Also got the black bean tacos. I was very pleased. The bouncer and bartender were nice. I am going to come again on a weekend when they have the street shut down for more seating.
I visited in January while on a solo trip for my birthday and had an incredible time. The drinks were affordable, the music was the best on the block (this...
Lovely place to stop by for a casual meal & people/women watching. Especially if you can snag a window table/seat. Intimate and cozy venue for concerts and other such events too. Staff doesn’t usually feel the need to put up with customer rudeness, so respect will garner you best service.Sit and read, play pool, socialize and even do some cruising. Welcoming to the full range of the Womens’ and Lesbians’ communities, and courteously serves all other (well behaved) other folk too.Evenings, eat, drink, dance and be merry!
The concept was good, but I’m frustrated by the fact that my friend was asked to leave based on her having a French accent and not being served due to being “intoxicated” after only having one drink. The music was average, the service was mediocre, and I will not be returning. For an inclusive bar, this feels quite the opposite.
Okay men and womyn. My sister and aunt are both lesbians and I am a gay man. We've been coming here for years. So here's how people conduct themselves in a...
Me and my partner visited Seattle's "Only Lesbian Bar" all the way from Canada Sunday, Oct 7th; and it was the worst, uninviting horrible experience we've ever had. We were met by a blue haired angry and rude bartender who immediately and gruffly greeted us bluntly with "I.D.S". We then proceeded to sit at the bar and order drinks, but we seemed like an inconvenience and being hurried to order when there was only two other patrons in the entire bar. The bartender was VERY unfriendly, angry, and literally the worst customer service experience we've ever come across, especially at a bar that touts an "inclusive-friendly-community" on the signs at the door. We ordered one beer and were there 5 minutes before leaving due to the aggressive nature of the bartender. The bar is tired and sad, and so is it's staff. Stay as far away as you can if you're looking for a good vibe.
Taco Tuesday is where it's at! Always have the special veggie taco on Tuesday and cheap Tecate. Usually not too crowded here when I go for some reason. Friendly bar and table service, they are always quick to take care of you.
Leave your comment