Eat Out Seattle!Cha Cha Lounge
Cha Cha Lounge - Seattle - About
It all started back in 1995, with a little shack on East Pine Street called Bimbo's Bitchin' Burrito Kitchen, where local musicians and artists made tacos and burritos for the hungry masses on Capitol Hill.
Enter the Cha Cha Lounge… Opening it's doors alongside Bimbo's on Cinco de Mayo in 1998, the Cha Cha was a cozy, hole-in-the-wall sanctuary of exposed brick and black leather booths, bathed in red light and old velvet paintings, a grass hut awning around the entire bar, and even more Mexican-flavored knick-knacks and decor adorning the walls and just about every inch of the ceiling.
Both Bimbos and the Cha Cha employed many local musicians and artists to make all of those tacos and pour all of those drinks; so numerous touring bands that made the lengthy trek up to the Pacific Northwest would make it a point to swing by the bar during their Seattle stop, guaranteed to see some old friends, have a few cheap cocktails and fill their bellies with some delicious burritos.
Throughout the years, both Bimbos and the Cha Cha have had their fair share of local talent working in the kitchen or behind the bar as well; at one time or another, members of the Murder City Devils, Modest Mouse, the Fleet Foxes, Fastbacks, Band of Horses, 764-Hero, Pretty Girls Make Graves and the Scissor Sisters have prepared your nachos, checked your ID or poured your drink.
The East Pine Street setup had the bar and restaurant side by side, whereas the new place has Bimbos at street level, and the Cha Cha occupies the basement below...a subterranean and cavernous haven basking in red light, a Mexican-wrestling motif, and many more velvet paintings.