A Visit to the Smith Tower

An iconic view of Seattle from the 35th floor of the Smith Tower. 

This year for our sons' 6th Birthday we treated them to an experience instead of a party. We chose a visit to the Smith Tower. There's an observatory on the 35th floor and also an all ages restaurant. In all my years of living in Seattle, I'd never visited the Smith Tower. If you love history and you appreciate gorgeous city views, then a visit to this classic tower is a must.

The Smith Tower opened in 1914 and at the time of being built, it was the tallest building west of the Mississippi River. Tickets to the observatory are pretty affordable compared to other attractions in the area. WA locals pay $12 at the tower, and that's a great deal for the views you get.

We were impressed by the food served in the restaurant. There's a full bar and a menu with choices for all types of eaters. I started with their special September cocktail, a La Vie en abricot. The drink had vermouth, Salers, golden apricot liquer, and Prosecco. My husband chose an Old Fashioned.

Our sons shared a Grilled Cheese, which had Beecher's cheese, and was served with Kettle Chips. We also ordered a Flatbread Pizza, the Hattie Freeman, which had Mozzerella, Tomato sauce, and Basil Oil. I had the Buffalo Chicken Sliders with Bleu Cheese. The chicken had just the right amount of heat and had nice and tender pulled chicken. My husband ordered the Chinese Room Soba Noodle Salad, but we're pretty sure he was served the Yuzu Slaw Salad, by the looks of it. He didn't care, and happily ate the salad anyway. For a fun birthday dessert to share, we had the Banana Foster Cheesecake. It was served in a cute cup and was topped with candied walnuts. It tasted like banana pudding and also had caramel sauce. The sweet and crumbly cookie crust was my favorite part.

After gazing at the 360 degree view once again, we got on the elevator that took us back to the lobby. Once outside, we stared up at the Smith Tower to where we had just stood.

If you haven't visited the Smith Tower before, I highly recommend it. It's cheaper if you go before six p.m and purchase your ticket there. Happy Hour is Monday-Thursday from 4-6 pm and they have some decent discounts on food and drink. This would be the perfect spot for a date night, to cozy up at the bar and have all of Seattle below. But it also was just right for our family, too, since our boys love views and grilled cheese. Hopefully they'll never forget their birthday celebration at the Smith Tower.