By Alex Peery, UW News Lab student

A restored wooden boat and a caged piranha hanging from the ceiling might be the first sign that Paratii Craft Bar is not your average establishment.

“I just dreamed of a place like this,” said owner Samir Hassan.

The boat, which ties together the maritime-themed Brazilian bar, was brought back to life by Hassan. He recalls painstakingly cleaning every copper nail one by one. In fact, practically everything in the bar was built by Hassan and his team.

“It's our joke here,” he explained. “I said I can restore it in 10 hours, so people now realize 10 hours in Brazil means 90.”

Paratii is the namesake of Paraty, a historic coastal town in Brazil. Once Hassan thought of the name, the rest was easy.

“We have to go maritime. We have to go cachaca,” said Michael Kostin, bar manager and bartender at Paratii.

While the Brazilian liquor is an important part of the menu, both men stressed that they are more than just a cachaca bar.

“We want a bar with amazing cocktails,” said Hassan, “but we are not trying to impress the other bartenders. We are not trying to be known for being really crazy. We are just trying to make great cocktails.”

Kostin said his favorite drink creation is The Gisele - named after the Brazilian supermodel.

"It's blond and beautiful," Kostin said.

The bar also boasts an impressive selection of beer and wine. Paratii is one of the few locations in Seattle to carry beer from Redmond's Black Raven Brewing. According to Hassan, they are also the only bar in the state that serves Hobgoblin, an English brown ale.

What really sets Paratii apart from the other bars is the food menu, said Kostin.

“Because of the great cocktails, great beer and great wine, we have to have great food to go with those drinks. Instead of going to a bar and all you get is jalapeno poppers, buffalo wings and nachos, we have great Brazilian dishes.”

Half of the dishes on the menu were created by Hassan. The other half are traditional Brazilian dishes, which might eventually include Piranha Soup.

“They say it's an aphrodisiac in Brazil,” said Hassin.

“But then again, they say everything is an aphrodisiac in Brazil,” added Kostin with a smile.

State restrictions make it difficult to import piranhas, but Hassan is currently looking for someone to source the fish.

Paratii isn't the first bar that Hassan has started. Before moving to the U.S., he owned three restaurants in Brazil and two in England. Most recently, he established All Nations Soccer Bar in the Bitter Lake district of Seattle, which is where he met Kostin.

He started working at All Nations as a bartender. It didn't take long for both him and Hassan to grow tired of the sports bar atmosphere.

“It's not the type of bar we are trying to have,” said Kostin. “After six or seven months, we decided to sell this place and start a new bar.”

Hassan visited 80 locations before they settled at 5463 Leary Ave N.W. in Ballard.

While the bar has been open for a just over a month, there is still more work to be done. Hassan wants to eventually have live Brazilian music, although he is selective on what they will play. He wants to avoid the stereotypes.

“I think we are cliché proof,” he said. “As you can tell, we don't have a single cockatoo, we don't have a single macaw. I don't wear flowery shirts. Nobody here wears flowery shirts, unless they want to, but it's not mandatory.”

For more information, call Paratii at 206-420-7406.