Jake’s

My daughter was assaulted there last night. There was a girl there she had a no contact order with due to her assaulting her a few months ago. The law states the girl can’t be there due to the order as long as my daughter is there. Staff was informed of this and still allowed the girl to be there. My daughter was assaulted as she was leaving. This is a blatant disrespect for the law. Makes me wonder what other kind of illegal activities are going on there. I will be contacting a lawyer to see what kind of lawsuit we can press against this establishment.

good vibes here all around. Good DJ (new generation music), cool lights, smoke/​fogs, cheap drinks, and ALWAYS crowded. Very accepting to the gay community, although there is more straight people than gay people at the bar most times. Out of all the times I’ve been to jakes, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a bouncer. They check ID at the door.

Whoops, boy did I make a mistake. Thought this would be a gay bar. Instead I found a redneck haven full of degenerates and full on alcoholics. Good lord, the people in here could easily be listed on the «People of Walmart» website. This is the saddest excuse for a gay bar that I’ve ever seen. Wish I had read the reviews more closely before spending money here. Yep, avoid this place if you’ve any dignity in yourself.

Incredibly rude staff. I went outside fairly early on in the night and wasn’t allowed back in and they wouldn’t give me any explanation what’s so ever. Would not allow me to let the people I was with know that they wouldn’t allow me to go back in, had to stand outside and wait. I can’t figure out why I was treated this way. I don’t know how people can treat others this way and still have jobs. People who see this review might assume to get kicked out I would have had to have been trashed or belligerent, that simply wasn’t the case. The staff ruined their customers perfectly good night.

Well on the Monday before easter i was verbally attacked by either a pimp or drug dealer while sitting in front of the bar because i guess i was in his way at the empty bar. One of those types who thought is illegally obtained «stacks» made him of value or something. Although the bartender backed me up because i wasn’t in the wrong here, if that’s what’s this «safe and accepting» place offers, ill pass. How should that have been handled? That large and aggressive man should have been told to LEAVE. I had my friend here from our of town and was wholly embarrassed that she had to experience that on her first visit when I’ve lived here 4 years and it was a first for me.
Both that «man», who i can only presume is regularly abusive to small women, and the bartender should be ashamed. You don’t treat people that way and you certainly don’t allow it. If the homeless outside can be more respectful than you, there’s a problem.

I had fun. Pretty good drink prices and the music is ok. The best part is the yummy hot dog stand right outside the entrance.

There is a new dj that, well, has bad taste in music. That was the general impression of many patrons. I tipped him $ 5 for a single song request, he never played it. There was a bunch of loaded hooligans knocking everyone around and trying to start fights :(I’ve never experienced such negative vibes at jakes before. No more Fridays for us. 2 stars for the bartender in the back & one for the girl collecting cover charge (she’s always awesome!). Here’s to hoping Saturday has a better dj and nicer crowd

One of the only places in the town where you can dance. By the way, this isn’t really a gay bar anymore, it’s about ²⁄₃ hetero at this point. I’m a local in Olympia, and this place tends to attract obnoxious people, not to mention the ambulance usually pays the place a visit every weekend. On the bright side, the drinks are cheap, there’s a great food stand attached, and it’s better than the 1230 room.

This place just isn’t what it used to be. It’s a «gay bar» only if the only requirement for that label is that it let’s gay people in. Drama is always going down here and definitely not a space where many people would feel safe. I guess we need this place so homophobes can have an environment that teaches them how to interact with somebody unlike themselves, and this bar does a halfway decent job of it, but that’s about all the value this place provides Olympia or the lgbtq community. Skip Jakes.

Horrible environment. Supposed to be a gay club but is full of straight people? Music sounds like someone plugged in their iPod and is playing a playlist. Drinks are okay, but the people that go here are terrible. One guy was walking around yelling out homophobic slurs. In a GAY club. Not returning any time soon.

Jakes claims to be an «accepting and safe» space and a «gay bar» but they play songs like «blurred lines» which BLATANTLY condones and encourages rape and artists like Katy perry, who is a homophobe AND a racist. that doesn’t make me feel safe, that doesn’t make me feel like I’m in a queer and accepting space. This bar is cheap, but if you want to go somewhere where you as a queer person are accepted and RESPECTED, don’t go here, go to Obsidian.

It has been 4 years since this experience, but I felt it critical to tell Jake’s and everyone else that they ruined my one and only 21^st birthday.
I went to the bar and ordered 10 jello shots for me and my friends. I had ONE of them and the bartenders REFUSED to serve me another drink all night even though I was STONE COLD SOBER (as anyone would be after one jello shot) and it was my 21^st BIRTHDAY
Honestly, y’all are FUCKING ASSHOLES, I’ll never have that day back and thanks to you it ended in tears and anger.

The staff at Jake’s are some of the greatest people I’ve ever met! Many of the reviews on here are about how straight the bar gets on the weekends but they all fail to mention how Jake’s will do whatever they can to make all LGBT people feel safe while they’re there. The staff tries to screen assholes at the door with a signs everywhere proclaiming «Gay Bar» and a long listed poster of unwelcome guests including «homophobic, transphobic, racist, bigots, assholes, etc». You get a stamp at the door but the door girl will remember you for the rest of the night, making you feel even more like family. My favourite night is Wednesdays for awesome dancing and $ 1 well drinks! Jake’s has by far the most racially diverse crowd in white washed Olympia. Everyone is welcome as long as they are respectful of others, I love Jake’s. Tip your bartenders!

Jake’s on 4^th has great bartenders and excellent prices on their draft beer. Jake’s has a very busy day time crowd of interesting people and seems to be the in place to go in Olympia.

I love this place. I’ve been trying to find a place like this for years. If somewhere is to play dance music, it should be somewhere that actually plays a variety. When I hear the same 4 on the floor dance rhythm for more than 15 minutes, it makes me panic. This place is divey, laid back, awesome, assorted, eclectic, it just makes me feel good.
This may sound stupid, but this place made me so happy to find that I’ve been teary happy. I live in Tacoma, and have generally tried to go between Tacoma and Seattle to find gay or gay friendly hangouts and have always been disappointed since 2003. In the 90s it was different.
Dance music is a gay nightlife staple, and being such, it’s wonderful to find a place that actually promotes diversity in every way. I love it. A huge assortment of people come here, and that’s awesome.
I’ve found my favorite night hangout!

I used to love Jake’s. Gay sweeties, weirdos, lovely people all around. Crazy loud club music, but with such an accepting vibe.
Came here this weekend and it was filled with bros and ho’s. Redneck straight dudes hogging the pool table and getting agro over «reserving» their booth while their girls danced, bachelorette party, just generally rude people. I lost my patience a bit. NORMS!!! NORMS EVERYWHERE!
Joked with my girls several times… «I wanna see their gay badges!!!»
I get that this is the seemingly only venue to dance in Olympia at night. But get your own bar!
And. If you leave your shit on a table to go dance when there’s a Disneyland comparable line wrapped around the block outside, you better BELIEVE I am moving your shit and sitting in that booth. BAH!!!
Let it be known, this is no insult to Jake’s as a business, but more to the recent clientele. If you’re looking for a REAL gay bar, check out the Urban Onion. If you’re looking for a club full of norms, Katy Pery, and disco lights, check out Jake’s.

Every time I come here, I ask myself why.
Why has what started out as Olympia’s first gay bar become overrun with rednecks? Could it be the jukebox, which features heavy metal, country, and 1970’s butt rock? Or the 1 dollar shots of Monarch? Maybe it’s the TV screens featuring sporting events, talk and reality shows? Or it could be greasy hot dogs that pass for cuisine? Perhaps it’s the ATM that charges you $ 5 each time you use it, and the bar’s insistence on only taking cash?
For a bar that features signs saying GAY BAR in large letters, that’s about the only gay thing there is. The patrons range from Shelton trailer trash to homeless folks. There’s occasionally a bar fight. On drag nights, the only gay people in the bar are the performers.
The entirely straight patrons are aware that this is a nominally gay bar, and will inform you begrudgingly that «they’re okay with that», but they look like they’re none too pleased.
They seem aware that the owners are going to throw them out if they say anything homophobic. In a sense, this bar serves as an environment to coach ordinarily bigoted straight people on how to not be assholes. Which is much needed training. It’s part of the reason why Olympia is the safest small town in America for GLBT people.
This is probably why I return to Jake’s, even if it’s the least gay «gay bar» I’ve ever been to. They’ve done more to change the culture than gay bars where actual gay people go.

Damn. One of Jakes’ top-​rated comments is decidedly homophobic (though quirky enough to make me laugh. then cry at how stupid it was).
** For all that is HOLY, if you want to go somewhere clearly marked «Gay Bar» and mock the queers, here’s some advice for you: DON’T DO THIS. We don’t get many places that are ours!
That being said, I adore Jake’s. I adore Jake’s on a Thurs. night, I enjoy it during the afternoon, I like it on the weekends, I like it with a spoon (sorry. that was beginning to sound a bit Dr Seuss). The bartenders are wonderful, the drinks are poured beautifully, the happy hour is the best in town (wells 4 $ for generous doubles), the hot dog stand is great, and the patrons are usually like a big pack of old friends. Unless you go on a weekend night. In that case, the patrons are a big group of sweaty bros wondering why gay men are looking at them. Get with the damn program.
I prefer Saturdays before cover. The group of folks there is pretty chill and if not queer, very down to just chat to whoever without being an ass. I prefer that to the packed dance nights. If I want to dance, I go on Thursdays.
5 stars for Jake’s. thanks for being my first gay bar experience and for looking out for your patrons!
Also: tip your damn bartenders! They are lovely people!

I realize that part of the problem with Jake’s is that we were here in the afternoon which explains quite a bit as to the lack of energy going on in here.
The place seemed to be more like the Star Wars Cantina where oddballs go to gamble and drown away their sorrows.
There is plenty of seating here but the dance floor seems kind of small.
The bartender was alright but again, just kind of whatever.
Jake’s only accepts cash and will not take credit or debit cards. There is an ATM inside that you can use which is helpful but what good, upstanding bar doesn’t take cards? Or is good and upstanding being called into question here?
Definitely a «whatever» experience. Another affirming reason why the only bars that I go to are Seattle bars.

Gays. Dancing. Hot dogs.
My three favorite things all rolled into one establishment. Yes you get all the stars.
Tip: always put cream cheese on your hot dogs