The sun is finally out, and I’ll be damned if I’m going to hole up in some dark and lonely dive bar again. Of the limited waterfront bar options, I chose Dock Street Landing as this week’s victim of Bar Exam torture.



Otherwise known as “The Dock,” this place holds a heavy nightly crew of karaoke superstar wannabes. And what I hold are fond memories of belting out Madonna’s “Holiday” and purposefully putting my hair up into a high-right ponytail in order to capture the essence. The Dock has always been a place for late night antics and drunken memoirs. It wasn’t until I started to be all grown-up-like that I noticed just how much of a borderline dive this joint could be.



The excessive beer signage, wall of pull-tabs, grouchy bartender, usual domestic/domestic microbrew selection, and mid-afternoon blue-collar crowd are definitely inside my dive bar radar. Yet the deck, large water view windows, and extra smoker’s balcony held me back from declaring The Dock a full-fledged dive. It was actually nice.



I was certainly confused and ready to just forget about it all until I decided to take my cold Blue Moon brew outside and enjoy the sun. It was there I noticed a lone gentleman in the corner, wearing all black, sitting spread-eagle, one leg propped up on a table — the other on a bench — straddling nothing but a heaping helping of Tacoma waterfront air. He glared at me in the weirdest and most wonderful way possible as he silently pulled out his harmonica and began to play me his tune.



That’s when the confusion cloud parted and it all became suddenly clear — The Dock is a beautiful sunny day, anyone welcome, no-holds barred, sail up and have a beer restaurant by day, and a throw-down karaoke dive bar by night. And I love it. Next time I’m bringing my harmonica.

Dock Street Landing

535 Dock St., Tacoma, 253.272.5004



Food: burgers and fried fish

Service: so-so

Beer: good daily beer specials, six cold drafts



Bar Exam Dive Grade: C+