My wife was born and raised in Seattle and had never been in Smith Tower, so she asked me to take her here for her birthday. We thoroughly enjoyed the architecture and the antique appointments to the interior. The beautiful old elevators were amazing! Smith Tower was at one time the tallest building west of the Mississippi.
We took advantage of the weekday happy hour promotion: $12 tickets to ride the elevator to the 35th floor observatory, 4-6 p.m. Mon-Thurs. Once there, you walk outside for stunning views in all directions, then come back inside to the bar for happy hour food and drink ($9 select small plates and select drinks). We had a couple of drinks and the Pork Char Sui plate. Both the drinks and the Chinese style sliced barbecued pork were quite ordinary. For dinner we both ordered their Chili Prawns ($21.00 ea.). The prawns were perfectly cooked, but the sauce was overwhelmingly sweet, due to the use of too much Thai sweet chili chicken sauce. Even the rice over which it was served couldn't soak up that much sugar. Service was excellent! Only wish I had gotten our male server's name.
The interior of the building with brass and marble, the amazing elevators and the outstanding views from the top were what made our visit. Next time, we'd likely skip the food. They could do so much better with an improved menu. Plus I feel I should mention that for our first hour at the top, it was very loud and noisy due to a private party. Period dress from the early 1900's for the building staff would be a nice touch. And please...hire some ticket takers at ground level who look and act like they're enjoying their jobs!