Martinis on MLK? Absolutely! Tempest Delivers

We received an email from some friends that asked us to join them for drinks at Tempest.  Our first question:  What’s Tempest?  We were then told that’s it’s a nice little martini place at South 9th and MLK.  Other than getting food at Le Le’s, we haven’t ever found ourselves on MLK.  It’s so close to us, but the area hasn’t exactly been on our short list of places to check out on a Friday night.  Tonight would be different.  We had to check it out.

We were pleasantly surprised.  The outside is simple.  Two doors, windows across the front, and a brushed metal Tempest sign over one door.  The inside is tiki lounge cool with a hint of mid-century.  Bamboo lounge chairs sit amongst curved booths and a half-moon bar.  This is on MLK?  The drinks are solid.  We didn’t order food, but did pick at a few friends’ plates.  The antipasto was good.  The potato wedges were great.  The simple things.  I can’t remember ever complimenting somebody’s potato wedges.

Tacoma now has another good bar.  We have other good bars around this town.  But this bar brought us to a neighborhood and a block that we wouldn’t have considered before.  Yes, we know that the Monsoon Room is just a block or two away, but we haven’t made it there yet. Tonight we made it to Tempest and I believe more places like this are good for the city.  That’s a win for both us and the neighborhood.