Frolik Kitchen + Cocktails: Fun And Comforting

In that brief, glorious window of time known as the Seattle summer, the evenings are long and the skies spectacular. Sun-starved citizens flock to sidewalk cafes, patios and decks – one of the finest of which belongs to Frolik Kitchen + Cocktails.

As its name suggests, Frolik emphasizes fun, with drinks aplenty, elevated comfort food and a swanky nightclub atmosphere. Located in a beautifully revamped space on the fifth floor of the Red Lion Hotel Fifth Avenue this sassy newcomer only made its debut in April, but with ridiculous daily happy hours from 4-10 p.m., it's already making a serious play for downtown happy hour supremacy.

Of course, it's the libations that make happy hours happy, and the inventive craft cocktails designed by award-winning mixologist Mike McSorley certainly fit the bill. His Frolik Fizz will bring you a new appreciation of Aquavit, inventively combined with crème de cassis, ginger beer, lemon juice and cinnamon, while his refreshing Splish Splash might be the ultimate summertime beverage: watermelon juice with vodka, salt and pepper.

As for the kitchen, chef Shailu Salian puts indulgent Pacific Northwest twists on good old American fare on Frolik's expansive take-out and eat-in menus, such as crab mac and cheese flavored with Pernod and chili fennel bread crumbs. The kitchen also offers nibbles from the best local purveyors, such as oysters from Taylor Shellfish Farms or platters of salami from Salumi. Happy hour brings a proliferation of tantalizing, bite-size items, such as grape "bon-bons" coated in goat cheese and rolled in pistachios, as well as yummy bacon-wrapped dates and bourbon bacon popcorn.

Properly fortified with bacon and armed with a fruity cocktail, then, patrons are ready to explore that deck: a magnificent 4,000-square-foot rooftop expanse with peek-a-boo views of Puget Sound where guests can play Ping-Pong and shuffleboard. The obvious dangers of drunken table tennis on rooftops aside, Frolik's deck might be the ideal spot to unwind and recharge the solar cells in the summer.

With the patio's communal fire table and dramatic firewall sitting area, the fleece-clad will probably frolic here in the gray seasons, too. It's too fun not to.