Zig Zag Café

Zig Zag Café sits below and behind Pike Place Market, on the Pike Street Hillclimb, the stairway that runs down from the market to the waterfront. It occupies the Fix-Madore Building, dating from 1910, and has a speakeasy feel, partly hidden from the busy market above. The bar opened in 1999, serving pizza, beer and wine, before its owners brought in Ben Dougherty and Kacy Fitch to build a cocktail programme. Dougherty has been the sole owner since 2012.

Zig Zag's place in cocktail history is secure. It describes itself as a pioneer of the classic cocktail revival, and it was here that the bartender Murray Stenson, who worked behind the bar from 2002 to 2011 and was named the country's top bartender in 2010, brought back the Last Word. The Prohibition-era drink had faded after the Second World War, and Stenson found it in a 1952 copy of Ted Saucier's book Bottoms Up; from Zig Zag it spread to cocktail bars in many cities. The Trident, another house creation, was invented here by Robert Hess. GQ named Zig Zag the best cocktail bar in the United States in 2010.

The bar is open seven days a week from 5pm to midnight, and the kitchen serves until 11pm, with happy hour, dinner, late-night and dessert menus. Live jazz plays from Sunday to Wednesday, 8pm to 10:30pm. Reservations can be made through Resy, which is a good idea at weekends. Entry is for over-21s only, so bring ID.

Order a Last Word if it is your first visit, then ask the bartenders to suggest something based on what you like; the bar is known for free-pouring its drinks rather than using measures. Zig Zag suits couples, cocktail enthusiasts and small groups, and it works well before or after dinner in the market.

Allow an hour or two. Finding the entrance is part of the fun: head down the Hillclimb stairs from the market, or come up from the waterfront. The waterfront and the Seattle Aquarium are below, and Pike Place Market is above, so it is easy to fit a drink into a day on the waterfront. The Pink Door and Matt's in the Market are a short walk away for dinner.