Hard Rock Cafe Seattle

The basics

As in Hard Rock Cafes around the world, the Seattle location features a large café, bar, music club (the Cavern Club on the second floor), shop for merchandise, and walls decked out in music memorabilia, much of which is city-specific. It's also got an expansive rooftop terrace overlooking Seattle's iconic Pike Place Marke. Above it all, its collection of music memorabilia—what Andy Warhol called "the Smithsonian of rock and roll"—is what makes this location shine.

Things to know before you go

• Members of the Harley Owners Group (or H.O.G.) receive a 20 percent discount on food and non-alcoholic beverages at Hard Rock Cafe Seattle.

• The Hard Rock Cafe menu includes Impossible burgers for anyone who enjoys plant-based meats.

• You can upgrade some cocktails to come in a Hard Rock Cafe-branded souvenir glass that you can take home.

• The cafe adds a taxable 22 percent gratuity to every check.

• Take a sightseeing tour with a City Sightseeing hop-on hop-off bus and get a discount on food and non-alcoholic beverage items.

How to get there

The Hard Rock Cafe Seattle is in the heart of downtown Seattle on Pike Street. Being so close to all the action, including the Pike Place Market and Westlake Center, makes the area prone to congestion. While the Union Street exit off I-5, or First or Second avenues can get you there by car, consider public transportation—either by monorail, light rail, bus, foot, or bike—for peak tourism times, including weekends.

When to get there

The Hard Rock Cafe Seattle is open from late morning until late evening on weekdays and Sundays, and it's open until around midnight on Fridays and Saturdays. Given Seattle's famously rainy weather, it can be a good spot to dry out and soak in some music history. On sunny days, don't miss the rooftop, where you can appreciate epic views of the Pike Place Market and Puget Sound.

Peek Seattle-specific rock memorabilia

One signature element of Hard Rock Cafe restaurants is their displayed music memorabilia. Worldwide, there are an astonishing 86,000 pieces of music history in the collection, including touring outfits fit for divas, instruments scribbled with autographs, and photographs you won't see elsewhere. The Seattle location includes Eddie Vedder’s iconic acoustic guitar and the autographed doorway from Robert Lang Studios, where bands like Soundgarden, Foo Fighters, Alice in Chains, and Nirvana recorded.