50 Best Bars near Spanaway

“The Exchange Tavern in Spanaway is a piece of living history—established in 1890 and still serving up cold beer and stiff drinks over 130 years later. Originally known by the colorful nickname “The Bucket of Blood,” this spot started as a loggers’ saloon and still carries that gritty, authentic old Western charm.

Step inside and you’ll feel like you’ve time-traveled. The original wood floors have seen generations come and go, and the bar still feels like the kind of place where stories are made and legends are told.

The beer is ice-cold, the pours are generous, and the vibe is delightfully rough around the edges. If you ride a Harley, you’ll fit right in—but even if you don’t, just smile, be respectful, and buy a round. That’s usually enough to earn your place.

Yes, you might get a curious glance or two, but it’s all part of the atmosphere. This place is real. It’s got character. And it’s definitely worth a visit if you’re anywhere near Spanaway.“

“lazy j is like home away from home john an tracy are like brother and sister“

“Every time we go we have THE BEST service, THE MOST delicious fresh food, and we ALWAYS get the donut holes - they are to die for! 🩷“

“Shrimp and grits are amazing! Eggs cooked over medium, no snotty whites. Perfect! Bacon was crisp and biscuits were wonderful! Amber is a great server with a great personality!!!!! Thanks for a terrific Sunday morning breakfast!“

“A to Z, this place is nailing it! Fantastic variety of food, 100% recommend their variety platter of sausage and more. The spicy cheese sausage was grand! The staff was so kind and attentive. Made friends around the fire and loved the beer! Will be there again! Prost!“

“Love this place so much! The owners have a way with keeping up with trends and giving it such a fun atmosphere!!! This is a great place to go for any occasion!“

“Such an amazing and unique atmosphere. The owner is a true mixologist, coming up with delicious drinks off the top of his head. Food is amazing 🤩. Gordon Ramsey would be impressed. The owner also made sure to come to our table to check on us. I will absolutely return 🤩😊“

“The coolest and most friendly staff! Thank you so much for helping me with the gender reveal for my husband. He loves it!“

“After an already long evening we stumbled into this place - as it was right in front of our hotel.

What a great experience. Shill and relaxed atmosphere. Jessi was also nice and attentive and showed us how to use the tap. Tried a good variety of beers there. Nice concept and a nice ending to our evening.“

“Great atmosphere, delicious food, nice vibe and great craft cocktails.“

“great selection and staff!“

“What an awesome revival of an old dive on South Tacoma Way. The drink selection is broad, and the pour is good. The beer selection will fit just about any taste. The food selection is limited and separate from the actual bar, but it is all good food at decent prices. Seating is a bit limited, so if you are planning on having a seat, get there early and bring friends to save some space. People are friendly and will join you, uninvited, at your table. The old video games, and skee ball is fun. The music venue though!!! WOW!!! It is impressive. Festival seating (meaning there are no seats) with a bar at the back of the room. The acoustics are great, there is no bad place to stand to get a full view of the stage and a full experience from the music.“

“the service an food {says the cook}“

“Strongly recommend Thirsty Hound Drinkery. The food is great. The beer is awesome and the owner Stevens and Zaneta are such a pleasure to interact with. Highly recommend you visit this place.“

“Food isn't bad. Best deep fried mushrooms in town. Beer selection could be better. Daily specials. Nice atmosphere. Friendly staff. Has pull tabs.“

“Came for midget wresting a while back. Waited like an hour for fry’s but the staff was very sanitary and polite I saw the kitchen dude actually wash his hands. Most people don’t go to bars and expect fast food and locals know that kitchen is micro.“

“Certain things remain the same, but there is a loss of spirit since original owners Jaime and Jason went South. Great staff as ever. The burger was excellent, the tacos were ok.
It was not busy when we went at 830 on a Saturday... But the music was really loud and I wasn't crazy about the album they were playing. The lack of musical variety hastened our departure. Certainly it's the staff choice on music but a whole hour of it wasn't for me.

2017 Review:
While it's become too crowded at night for me to venture in as much due to the college aged scene, I'll brave the neighbourhood crowd during the day for ToT's fantastic menu of sandwiches, salads, nachos and other yummy stuff. Great veggie selections - I order their Buddha Belly wrap most of the time. Delish!
The staff here is amazing. I'm a ToT fan for life!“

“Good times Good times good times good times“

“I had the pleasure of eating here for lunch today. It was recommended by a dear friend that is no longer with us (R.I.P. M.W.). I shared the fried oysters with the hubby. O! M! G! We will be back!“

“❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️🏁 ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️😤“

“Serves mainly pizza only other thing on the menu are paninis and salads. Growing up Italian I would have liked to see more panini options. Pies were small a bit greasy but overall pretty damn good. I didn’t get drunk there but if I was the pizza would have been the perfect remedy. The lady with the short hair served me I didn’t get her name but she was professional, friendly, fast, attentive and a great overall bartender and server. Drinks wee reasonably priced and specialty mixed drinks displayed on the wall with prices. Gentleman in the kitchen was also fast with orders cooked to perfection. Overall I would recommend coming here for a good buzz and a quick bite.“

“We were looking for a spot to eat outdoors with our pups and a couple of friends and happened on this gem. Delicious sandwiches, ginger beer and craft cocktails! We'll be back!“

“My daughter was scammed for dinner for her wedding. Roy Tavern stepped up and made 70 meals in two hours. They helped save her dinner part of wedding. Thank you so much to them.“

“This is a good place for strong drinks and good food. The waitress was awsone. The cook brought out our food. Very friendly gal. The nacho tots were perfectly cooked. What surprised us was that it wasn't greasy for bar food. My only complaint is it's not handicap friendly. All of the chairs and tables are tall. I have MS & my hubby had to help me up onto the bar stool. We would have sat outside where they have picnic tables, but it was too chilly.“

“This place is amazing! Had the garlic fries and onion rings plus a couple drinks, was delicious! Also, had my first experience of legally smoking a cigarette inside a public building here, that was neat! Will definitely be coming back. My only complaint is over the trivia. It is fun to watch and guess on, but the trivia app being used was full of AI generated images. Obviously it's not a huge deal, but personally, I don't really like seeing AI pics, as they're usually quite uncanny and give me the creeps lol. Maybe consider a different trivia program that doesn't use AI generated content? Otherwise, absolutely love this place and would recommend!“

“This place is perfect in many ways ! It is chill atmosphere parking is easy front and rear points of entry , one of the cleanest little watering stops around , bathrooms are extremely clean just a fun place ! My favorite reason Miller high life on tap and the owners are family 5 star“

“Great atmosphere, amazing food! One of the best bars for great food, never disappointed!“

“Rarely do I write reviews but feel this hidden gem deserves great praise! Our server Tanya was amazing… Very friendly with excellent service; menu options mainly burgers, salads and sandwiches with large delicious portions! The spectacular view of Mt. Rainier topped off our evening!“

“Love this little brewery in my hometown.“

“This place is an experience. Very interesting vibe inside, very friendly staff, and inexpensive beer. Would I eat here? No. I would not. Something about the fact that the place used to have monkeys inside really taints things for me. But I would love to return for a can of Rainier and some karaoke.“

“El Gaucho Tacoma is our go to for every celebration! They have literally thought of everything when it comes to fine dining and ambiance not to mention the customer service and food is always 5 star! Highly recommended, thanks again guys, we’ll be back!“

“Food garbage drinks over priced hooker vibe desperate“

“The owner Rocks and cares about her customers. the food is wonderful!! And if your looking for fun and family feel. Welcome home tootsies!“

“We went mid day and ordered a level 4 weird pizza. It was DELICIOUS! The chef came out to tell us about what he put on it and again to see if we liked it. The bartender was great too. It's a perfect neighborhood bar. Anyone that came through the door was happily greeted by other patrons. We quickly got pulled into their comraderie and it was such a fun place. PLUS. Their sign says "People suck. Pizza doesn't, pizza understands" and that's a message I can get behind.“

“great atmosphere. friendly staff and patrons. it's home away from home“

“It's a dive bar with a decent outside setting. Covered car port with fake trees and a nice heater. They're trying to make it nice enough. There's a pool table. It's small inside, but worth going for a couple drinks. Nice staff as well.“

“Best soups ever for lunch!“

“Truly the best staff anywhere.,“

“I just tried to get into big whiskey and they refused my service I wasn't acting drunk and I didn't have an open container so there was no reason to refuse me“

“Great place. Nice security. Fun bartenders. Great DJ’s on Friday and Saturday.“

“Ok I know things change and yes this place has changed for the better Monica always gets my order right and the food is amazing they have a new breakfast menu I had the taco omelette and to be honest it was awesome .
I am very pleased thankyou for all he changes“

“Started out as a new date night spot for us Pre-Covid and haven’t stopped going at least a few times a month for date night, bingo and trivia ever since! Love the cider selection! Shelby and Michael are the best 👍 🫶🏻“

“There's great bands, the most entertaining and fun events, delicious food, tasty drinks, and a laid-back atmosphere.“

“The staff were friendly and attentive. A great atmosphere and I’ll be back“

“a very nice local hang out. pool and darts. Great food and friendly staff. live bands and keroke“

“Wonderful experience yesterday taking my dad who lived in NOLA for 6 years. He loved the crayfish etoufee. The rest of table was pleased with real blackened chicken salad, blackened catfish and rice, and kids burger. Best fries I've had in a long time.“

“Honestly. I am shocked about how good this bar food is, and how friendly the staff is here. I typically dine or drink at upscale places, but everything here is made fresh, and it's pretty effing cheap. The drinks are great, they have a ton of regulars, and yea the crowd at night can be a little rough, but everyone respects. Day time drinking here is great as well! Been coming here the past month, never had an issue. Great pool table too! Music can be too loud at times though, which can be hard to have a conversation.“

“Just went in to get a couple of orders to go. This is the first time we've eaten their food. I've gotta say, IMO it's the best place around. The food is great, big portions, the staff were very friendly and the atmosphere was chill. La Michoacan grill is our new go to spot.“

“The past two times visits to this location they’ve struggled to find the appropriate ratio of sauce to cheese. Cheese slip will occur here. It’s unfortunate my experience the past two times was lack luster. I used to come here quite often and looked forward to my most recent visits, but now I’m left with the feeling of having been better off.

As for their mixed drinks… second to none.

Lastly, waitress assistance could improve, I’ve noticed a trend of people waiting exuberantly long to receive their checks.

Overall, I’d say this place is worth the visit, I’ll give the place grace and say my most recent visits have been “off days”.“

“The Summit Pub is a special place.
Everybody feels like family there. Even though it’s located in the city limits, it has that small-town bar charm that’s getting harder to find.

The staff is awesome, and the food is even better. I’ve tried just about everything on the menu, and it’s all solid—but the tuna melt is my go-to, and the taco salad is huge (definitely enough for two people).

Josh, the owner, is a great guy. Quiet and soft-spoken, but always kind and genuine. The Summit is a spot that does things right—good food, good people, and a place where you’re always welcome.“