Cha Cha Lounge

I like Cha Cha Lounge. To a person with rational expectations it’s a great place to hang. Let me be clear, I wouldn’t recommend this place for a first date. Or to grab a bite. It’s not that kind of fun place. Although I’ve seen some brave souls eat there and more power to them.
This place is more of a Tom Waits or Nick Cave meets Jimmy Buffet kind of a hybrid vibe. They got good music and OK drinks. Great spot for a hangout with bunch of friends you know well to let loose and let your hair down. It gets crowded later. Bartenders are hit and miss. I actually think they’re all rank up there with brain surgeons and Superman because I couldn’t do it.
I personally really like this place, but if you’re looking for bartenders to pump your fragile ego or waiters to nanny you while you order your grub, this may not be the place for you. This is a dive bar. They get a stampede of a brain dead belligerent drunkards. Nightly. No one will call you a whambulance only because your crazy wasn’t catered to :-D

One of my favorite spots on the hill.
Cha Cha has a really nice atmosphere for bar hopping, making it one of the usual spots. It has a day of dead kinda theme with a trendy vibe. It’s in a basement so it gets insanely hot and humid on packed nights.
The drinks are stiff and well made except for one exception. One night, my whole group ordered AMFs, and they were pretty much pure alcohol. I would’ve rather drank gasoline! Other than that, I’ve never had any issues.
The prices are about the same as most places on the hill.

This place is amazing, great food for a good price its by far my favorite place to eat then drink away all my feelers

Eat here if you enjoy dishes curated from packages and cans. The tacos were places in cold tortillas from a package. The nachos had canned jalapeños, packaged shredded cheese and other substandard ingredients. YUCK

You know what? For $ 1 beer, I guess you can’t complain.

Update #2: A friend of this bartender convinced me to give an apology for the joke that I have now removed from my original review, but after hauling my ass to that bar three nights in a row hoping she’d be there, the bartender does not want an apology. She defends herself:
1. it being a normal part of bartender culture (apparently),
2. She tells me that she known for her attitude anyways (I can see that…).
3. I was told from one of her friends that this is apparently «Seattle’s favorite bartender» though google suggests otherwise.
4. Her boss encourages it. If that’s the case, this isn’t the place that I want to be around.
5. Apparently letting her know that the experience made me want to review people to warn others about this «behavior» was a bad move when the intention was giving feedback to the company so they do a better job of serving their customers. If you don’t like feedback and you respond by getting your friends to write parody reviews, suit yourself.
Yes, I am new to bars. I had no idea it was «part of bartender culture» to insult patrons. I asked many people and they were unaware that this was a thing. I asked many people, some from out on the streets around Capitol hill and only one person tells me that this is a normal way for bartenders to treat you. From the responses I got, I feel that most people who don’t frequent dive bars don’t know about this. Soooo, If you’re unaware of it, now you are.
Take what you want from this review, and disregard this as you like. This is what my personal experiences are like, and I’ve decided to not give this business my time anymore. I’m just disappointed that this bartender is going to keep up this attitude and won’t even accept an apology for the joke that I removed from the original review.
Every other bartender has served me exactly how I expect to be served, just not *this* particular one. I’m just disappointed this is how she handles conflict.
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Original review:
$ 2 tecate tall boys? Hell yes!
But really, aside for being a cool spot, a month from the time of writing, I was coming down there for a drink. Nothing big, just wanted a drink to hydrate myself after biking from the waterfront up to this joint.
So this bartender asked me if my mother made me wear my bike helmet. Yes, it’s an unflattering helmet but I’m proud for biking around as part of my lifestyle but god’s sake, why would you treat your customers like that?
I asked another bartender and he answered, it’s fairly typical behavior for THAT bartender to be making fun of people. Sure sure, I could «lighten up» from a dumb joke but I wasn’t getting the feeling that it was a friendly joke.
Update: Sure, the hate mail I am receiving is telling me that this is «Sattle’s favorite bartender», but this was a random pot shot I was given, and immediately after having that random joke thrown at me she immediately left to go to break and never even took my order. If you are sending me private messages telling me how sweet and funny this person is, I am sorry, that is not how I was treated so far

Hit up this place on a Thursday night. Love the music down stairs. Fun place to stop in at if you are bar hoping up on Capital Hill

No… just. No. I used to really enjoy this bar, but the past year or so I have had too many terrible experiences that I knew it was time to write up how I really feel about this place.
I will start with the most recent experience. Last night my friends and I were here and we tried to order drinks downstairs. It was crazy busy as you would expect it to be on a Saturday night. We waited our turn to order and when the bartender approached us, my friend hesitated for a split second and he dismissed us and went to another customer, saying «Ugh, you’re not ready.» and then it happened again, my friend wasn’t drunk or anything, but she is more on the quiet side, so I don’t know if it’s because he couldn’t hear her or what, so he walked away from us AGAIN. Finally he came back a third time and I spoke up this time and ordered 5 vodka shots with an orange juice chaser for each. He brought us 5 screwdrivers. Uh. No.
We decided to move to the upstairs bar for our second round in the hopes that our service would be better. It was. But what irritated me was that when I barely stuck my head outside to chat with a friend (and I should note that I was basically 2 feet from the door max) when I tried to reenter, the door man asked for my ID and I said «Oh, really?» in more of a surprised rather than rude tone because I thought he saw me the whole time. He replied with, «Uh, YES. REALLY.» I responded with a put off look and said «You don’t have to talk to me like that. I just thought you saw me come out.» Then he replied (almost shouting) «I’m just dishin’ it back at you the same way you’re dishin’ it out to me, lady. You really expect me to remember you out of the 1,000 people I’ve looked at so far tonight??» What the hell. Ugh.
The king horrible experience happened over the summer though. I want to preface by saying that I had had about 3 drinks total over the course of the night, so I was completely coherent and barely felt tipsy at all. I was with a friend and they were telling everyone to wrap things up as it was closing time. There were about 15 – 20 people still in the bar and I decided to dash to the bathroom before we headed out for the night. I was barely in there for 4 minutes and a man comes into the women’s bathroom and barks, «Who’s in here??» I reply that I am, I’ll be out in a moment. He replies, «No. You need to get out right now. The bar is closed and you’re the last person in here.» I say, «Oh, I’m sorry.» and a couple seconds later I start to emerge from the stall and the man approaches me and says, «Ok, you’re out of here now.» I ask if I can wash my hands and he says angrily ‘no’ and proceeds to grab me by the arm and usher me out.
I try to remove my arm from his grip, but he is literally yanking me out and down the hall into the main part of the bar. I am definitely very upset at this point and explain to him that the way he was treating me is shocking, unnecessary and completely was crossing the line. I have never EVER been treated so poorly in an establishment and I told him this and he proceeded to yell in my face that he didn’t care and to «Get the f**k out.» I was almost in tears as I am a very respectful, reasonable person and the fact that someone was treating me this way had left me completely dumbfounded and utterly shocked.
I regret not reporting the incident as it was truly one of the worst experiences. I avoided this place for months, but when majority ruled in picking the bar for last night I sucked it up and hoped my experience was a positive one. I was wrong. I will continue to avoid this place and I sincerely hope they fire that man as I’m sure he is responsible for the mistreatment of many customers.

the lighting is red inside which i don’t like and it’s very stuffy.
just a place to hang out if there’s a large group but i didn’t find anything special about it. there seems to always be guys who look like they’re in a frat or were business majors trying to hit on you if you’re seemingly alone.
i find the seats to be pretty uncomfortable.

I come to Tuesday Trivia at Cha Cha fairly often. I occasionally find myself here on weekend nights but, frankly, it’s a little too crowded and crazy for me (because I am extremely boring and avoid a good time at all costs).
Trivia here is great. The host is excellent and there are $ 2 tacos and $ 2 tacate. I usually grab a margarita which is always a good fall back. Generous tequila pours.
Trivia is free, $ 50 for the winner, tough but not too tough, and a lightening round based on news headlines from the week (not telling you what news outlet…) 6 people win free drinks from the lightening round, which is awesome. I can usually out-​shout someone for a free drink, so I am a happy camper.

Excellent food — the BBQ Tofu was spicy and delicious, particularly in the Bimbo’s burrito. The Happy Hour nachos were delightful as well; they have this lovely chipotle sour cream sauce. And the portions were reasonable.
Drinks were great. The house margarita is on special for $ 5 at Happy Hour.
Service was great: quick, professional, knowledgeable, attentive.
Décor and ambiance were very unpretentious and inviting.

Not returning to this place. The bartenders are rude and disrespectful. I get that you deal with loud drunk people all the time, but what happened here went too far.
My friend got a little too drunk. At the end of the night, I took her to close her tab. As she was closing out, she began yelling at one of the bartenders. I stepped in and tried to difuse the situation and helped get her out of the bar. She told me that as she was talking to the bartender, he got mad at her and wrote something on her arm. We looked, and written on it was «You’re Drunk.» I was shocked to see that a complete stranger would do that to a patron of the establishment, even if they were drunk. Appalling. Never coming back. Way more and better bars in Seattle.
DRINKS: C– (Average /​Nothing Special)
PRICE: CHEAP, but you get what you pay for
SERVICE: F (which stands for F-​ing terrible)

Sweet place, awesome decorations, drinks nice and strong.
The bartenders worked hard, and I don’t even know how they could hear drink orders above the noise.
This place was my new favourite dive for all of half an hour, and then it suddenly got packed out of nowhere!
Folks weren’t unfriendly, just drunk and uncoordinated.
And of course, what bar experience would be complete without being hit on by homely dudes with inflated egos?
Would definitely go back, maybe a bit earlier in the night before it gets packed. Would prefer not to be bothered by dudes who won’t shut up about how they model part-​time and their only hobby is working out, lol

My favorite place in Seattle. Any who hates on Cha Cha gets a strong word from me! Consistent drinks, great atmosphere, quirky décor, cheap prices. What’s not to like? Also their tacos are pretty tasty and their Happy Hour is insane. Love it!

Not really sure what I make of this place. It’s unique, that’s for sure. A little creepy? Maybe that too. But fun, definitely fun. The decorations were one of a kind and frankly quite strange, but that is what makes this bar one of the coolest in Seattle. Their drinks are also priced very reasonably. Oh, and they have arcade games! Can’t forget that. I was there on a Tuesday night, which was chill, but I’m sure the place gets quite busy on Fridays and Saturdays. You can’t miss this experience.

Wow. This place is enchanting. Maybe I’ve been to too many dimly lit, boring dive bars, because I was totally enamored with rosy lighting and pretty much everything about this place. The ambiance really was perfect for hitting on the tour guide from the hostel I was staying at. They have pinball machines, too!
On a Tuesday, it was pleasantly crowded, with music just loud enough to be festive but not loud enough that I couldn’t hear what anyone was saying. It was perfect. :)

Quintessential Capitol Hill watering hole. Now that isn’t a bad thing, if that’s what you’re into, but personally, trying to maneuver between a sea of humanity while elbowing my way to the bar doesn’t really appeal to me at this stage of my life. Lisa N said it «I can guarantee that something like 75% of the patrons you encounter hate it here. And yet they still come back.» Spend one night here, and you’ll understand exactly what she’s talking about.

Basically the coolest bar I’ve been to in Seattle.
The halloween decorations are incredible

Without the velvet paintings this place is garbage.

Where do start! I’m not from here but love local beers and good vibes. A friend recommended the cha chas and it was conveniently right by my condo! So wacky, I LOVED it. That décor and red light! It was still daylight I felt like I was in a parallel universe. The bartender was Steve. His aura was chill but caring an instant new friend. His style was spot on and he had a corner of the most intimately cool looking entourage. He made me a vitamin c? The best craft cocktail to ever touch my tongue and the speed and quality of service is unmatchable. If you want the best craft cocktails in town this your go to spot. I recommend the rainier draft as well. It’s local.

This is one of the bars that my friends and I like to bar hop at before ending up at our final destination to dance. There are 2 floors involved in this place, the floor you enter from is the ground level which I haven’t hung out in much and then there’s the downstairs which gets very, very crowded and you probably have to fight your way in to order a drink, but that is where everybody hangs out. There is a cute Tiki theme, as soon as you walk downstairs, it is like an instant change in temperature, but I guess the heat is just adding to this tropical Tiki theme: D It’s not somewhere I would hang out at all night, but I guess that’s my personal preference of not liking to hang out at bars with no dancing. Great place to pre-​funk or pre-​game or whatever you may call it depending on where you are from because since it’s just a bar with no loud bass, you can socialize with your friends and goof off. There’s a projector screen that shows random clips on the wall, when I went, it was showing the funniest clips of older women dancing provocatively so that adds a hilarious event to our night. Ahaha.

Went here for drinks with my mom while exploring Seattle. You can access the lounge by going down stairs. At first we almost walked past it because there wasn’t a sign for it so look closely to make sure you don’t do the same thing.
It had a cool vibe and has red lights. I had to order a margarita and enjoyed it. It was a bit on the strong side which I like. I feel like a weak margarita is too sweet.
We went around 10pm and by 11pm it was becoming more crowded. I liked that the music wasn’t too noisy so you were still able to speak to the people you were with.
I could go back to this bar when I’m back in the Seattle area.

Kitschy and fun tiki bar, but soooo friggin’ hot in the basement due to not a lot of air movement, too many people and maybe 2 fans. No bueno. The bartenders, however, are nice, so if you go here on a cooler evening (i.e. not an August night in Seattle) you might enjoy it a little more.

Fuck cha chas. they swiped my card saying it was declined, when I know there’s money in there. they kept running my card and eventually charged me 12 fucking times. I showed my bank statements to the bartender I my phone and he said nothing. Not apologizing and saying oh it will be fix in the morning, leaving me with 4 $ for the rest of my evening at 11pm. You work at a bar, can’t even get that right. If I could less than 1 star.

Cha cha cha
La la la
Divey bar
Up to par.
Had a drink
No time to think
Vodka, beer
Not top tier
Met some friends
Had the bends
Cha cha cha cha cha

Yeah, after a night of bar/​club hopping in Capital Hill, and getting full of Jizz at Unicorn, this might very well end up being your last stop for the evening. It seems to be a CH staple where regulars go to get their groove on. I havent seen such enthustaic dancing in well… never. Lol! Very infectious; I couldn’t help but go join in on the action… embarrassing my husband as usual.
A local B1 dimly lit bar with cool décor, cheapish drinks, cool tunes, and super friendly folks-​very diverse crowd.
So, stop in and «dance your ass ass off!»

Came here to grab a drink with a friend when another bar up the street was way too crowded. Came here late afternoon, early evening and it was a nice spot to rev up the drinking engines. Wasn’t crowded at all, bartender was nice & friendly. Its downstairs from Bimbos and music was pretty good playing Metallica etc.
I love the Lucha Libre/​Luchadores art décor the best! Cracks me up!
If you like hanging out in a basement vibe, dimly lit place with interesting, quirky décor… this is your place.

Ohhhhh Cha Cha. I doubt a ton of people are reading Unilocal reviews before they drunkenly stumble in here during a night out in Capitol Hill, but I’m gonna write a review anyway. I’ll keep it short and to the point with minimal anecdotes.
Simply put, it’s fun and it’s a quintessential Capitol Hill experience. The drinks are as strong as you could hope for (well drinks are 90% spirit, 10% mixer as a general rule of thumb) as well as inexpensive, the bartenders are nice and patient and the people are fun to watch if nothing else.
The crowd can get a little out of hand on a Friday or Saturday night. So be prepared for waiting and the inevitability of being pushed while enjoying your drink. The dank, infrared lighting in the basement makes for an interesting experience. It definitely hides the paleness of my office-​dwelling face pretty well.
The bathrooms are a disaster, however. There’s a decent chance you’ll get an STD if your genitalia accidentally touches any surface in the bathroom. So keep a close eye on everything while you’re handling your business. Now, this is not something I’ve experienced first hand, but I wouldn’t be shocked if someone came forward with that story…
It’s not my favorite way to go drinking, but it certainly serves its purpose and it has generally provided a good time for my friends and I. It’s definitely someplace that you should visit at least once as a Seattleite.

Fun place. Kind of a dirty-​chic place to get a drink with friends. Loved the weird décor. The service wasn’t super friendly, but the bartenders were at least efficient. I ordered wine which is always kind of a hit or miss thing to order, but it was actually decent!

Hot, over crowded, stale air. This is inevitably a stop when bar hopping on Cap Hill but it’s never the place you want to stay long. The service is terrible on the weekend. This is not due to the staff, it’s just too crowded for them to notice you.
On a side note, it is generally a good place to start a conversation with a stranger. Everyone always seems to be on the same page in regards to why they’re there and wishing they could get a drink.

Best place early in the evening for Taco Tuesday’s. They have like 7 different types of filing and hard or soft for $ 2 each. Great deal on happy menu for drinks until 8pm.