Mckay’s Taphouse

Cool, locals-focussed pizza joint with an usually nice taplist. Lots available (in bottles and on tap) that I would be hard pressed to find anywhere in Seattle. Everything available in small pours, reasonably priced. Didn’t try food, but it seems to make the crowd happy. Nice spot.

Hard ride up the hill from downtown, McKay’s is a divey place with a long beer list. On our visit, there were only a few beers of interest, and they ended up disappointing. I had one rare, highly-regarded WA brew, though, and I know this place gets that sort of thing fairly regularly. Worth visiting when in town for such specialty items, and if you want to get a little downmarket from the usual clean hipstery places in town.

I dive sort of place with too much going on and a boxy cluttered space. This masks a great educated beer geek staff and taps and bottles to match. This is where all beer geeks should go in Bellingham. Food is OK and prices are solid for the area. Small pours with an opportunity to try anything. Great place.

Awesome place with a semi-old school bar feel to it. Excellent taplist with all sorts of specialties, such as KDS on tap at the time we visited. Prices are very reasonable and service is super friendly. Highly recommended.

Beautiful place but not pretentious. Good selection of brews that rotates. 100s to choose throughout the year. A game shelf to take a game back to your table. Suitable for a date, to begin or end a pub crawl, to study for a college exam or just hang with friends.

30 taps give wide, if sometimes limited selection, which is difficult for a place with that many taps, mostly mainline micros. Food is mostly pizza, which is average. Service is friendly, but not outstanding. Worth a stop if you’re in the area.

This place is obviously a labor of love, and the owner is slowly fixing up a pretty dreary building. At present, the interior is funky and cozy, and the outside is undergoing renovation. Hopefully the place will get a more attractive sign with the remodel. Owner/bartender very friendly and knowledgeable. The biggest plus is a pretty darn good selection of beers on tap. Don’t expect much good to eat except pizza, but the pizza is very good. If the owner can hang in, this place will continue to get even better.

Place looks like a dump on the outside, the owner spent his money on the inside first, and apparently the outside will be next. Great selection of both draught and bottles. Being basically attached to a pizza joint the food is limited, but decent Sat at the bar, bartender was very attentive It was "Christmas in July" the day I was there this visit, so the tap lineup was primarily winter beers.