Washington State’s third-largest city, Tacoma (population 204,000) sits just 30 miles south of Seattle and even closer to the Northwest’s largest airport, Sea-Tac. It is the kind of city that those who have never visited tend to know little about it, as it has undoubtedly been overshadowed by Seattle’s international prestige, but Tacoma is a lively and vibrant city with a beautiful setting on Puget Sound, a cost. of enviable life (and sightseeing), and a host of great attractions: exceptional historic theaters, the stellar Museum of Glass and LeMay Automobile Museum (among others), the vast and verdant Point Defiance Park, a growing cluster of restaurants from First class and great cafes, and a surprisingly sizable and visible gay scene.
Additionally, the city hosts a popular Tacoma Gay Pride festival each year in mid-July.
Was a bit exaggerated when the magazine The Advocate named Tacoma the “gayest city” of the United States? Probably, although the distinction certainly sparked a lot of rumors and interesting conversations. But Tacoma has a lot to offer, including a small but vibrant gay bar district, as well as eclectic restaurants, antique shops, and performing arts venues clustered in and around the downtown St. Helens hill district.
Bares gay and St Helens
Around the corner, the Silverstone Club (739 St. Helens Ave., 253-404-0273) opened in the late 1990s and is owned by the same folks behind the Urban Onion restaurant and lounge in Olympia and the popular resort. Cuff, a favorite gay dance club and bar on Seattle’s Capitol Hill. Club Silverstone is fun and friendly, with a glitzy dance floor (where there is karaoke too many nights) and a quieter lounge space. Other giveaways include a free pool on Tuesday and Thursday nights. As with the Mix, the crowd here is a group of LGBT people and friends – many revelers from Tacoma visit both clubs on weekend nights.
Gay-friendly food, hotels and entertainment
In the same neighborhood, attractive and diverse nibbles include B Sharp Coffee House (706 Opera Alley – Court C, 253-292-9969), which serves high-octane coffee, beer and wine, and light fare (such as sandwiches and pizza flatbread), and the outstanding Over the Moon Cafe (709 Opera Alley – Court C, 253-284-3722), which is a delightful option for lunch, dinner, or post-theater dessert, serving delicious and inventive Modern American fare, like steamed clams with a white wine sauce, cioppino filled with fresh seafood.
Like Seattle and Portland, Tacoma has a fairly integrated community: In many other bars, cafes, and restaurants in the city, you are likely to find a mixed crowd, and people will not feel out of place or unpleasant due to their sexual orientation. in the vast majority of establishments in the city. In the city center, within walking distance of the St. Helens district, you will find a number of attractive dining and drinking options. There’s the gay-owned Pacific Grill (1502 Pacific Ave., 253-627-3535), a chic, urban spot that serves great contemporary seafood and modern Northwest-inspired dishes – it’s a fun spot for lunch, dinner, and dinner. Happy hour, and the El Bar is very much a place to see and be seen.
At the stunning modern Hotel Murano (1320 Broadway Plaza, 253-238-8000), an art glass-inspired boutique hotel that is part of the gay-friendly Provenance Hotels group, which also operates Hotel 1000 and the Max Hotel in Seattle and the Lucia, deLuxe and Sentinel Hotels in Portland: Consider stopping by the hotel’s BITE restaurant for a cocktail or meal. It’s a sophisticated but still refreshingly casual space serving creative regional fare with a farm-to-market approach. The Murano Hotel is also the most modern and elegant place in the center to stay.
When in Tacoma, be sure to spend a little time along the waterfront and Ruston Way – the views of Commencement Bay and the Puget Sound peninsulas and islands are breathtaking. Many of the seafood restaurants along the water are common at best, but Duke’s Chowder House (3327 Ruston Way, 253-752-5444), which is part of a chain of seafood restaurants with locations also in Seattle, Tukwila and Kent. – offers some of the tastiest and freshest food, plus a good list of beers, wines, and cocktails.
Take a table on the terrace in good weather.
