Madrona Arms

It’s not often you sit down at a bar for a drink and immediately get approached and served properly. What was I served? The drink I asked for plus a water, two coasters, menu and a smile. Well done!

Food is consistently good pub fare; the bartenders are always attentive. This place is quickly becoming a regular hangout for us. Love the corned beef and cabbage… It’s basic comfort food done really well. It’s a great place to bring the family, friends or just hit the bar for a beer on your own. They’ve got a great and varied beer selection, too.

Five stars straightaway for the person in their kitchen who made me the PERFECT medium-​rare burger when I was in on Tuesday. Madrona Arms, you earn a space in my meat-​sustained heart w/​the way you accommodated my desire to eat beef while it’s still screaming. Truly, Met Grill & Quinn’s Pub are the only other places in Seattle that allow me respectable medium-​rare fare. Everyone else crisps up their meat beyond taste no matter my requests.
There should be an additional star or two for the gentleman who tended the bar and waited on my friend and I. He seems like a manager, or just especially competent and able to anticipate needs. He’s waited on me a few times & is always attentive, friendly, and quick to get drinks.
With the liquor options, extensive beer list, yummy food, and great service this place is a win for the neighborhood. My only problem: I can’t decide if I like the décor or the ambiance more.

Stopped in last night after the game for a cheeseburger and fries. and to see if it was an upgrade over the Madrona Alehouse. … I will absolutely, definitely be back. The prices were similar, but I see other options on the menu that I look forward to trying. I am a huge fan of fish and chips, and I am reading several favorable reviews on them, so maybe I will have to sample em tonight.
The bartender was very friendly, and great to talk to. And the girl who brought me my food was very nice too. I look forward to becoming a regular there.
I saw a lot of TVs, so I may even try to catch a game there. I saw a great list of beers, and I don’t remember them having hard liquor (aka real drinks) there last time around, so that is another improvement. I also saw that the indoor playground was turned back into a grownup area, so … another improvement.
I stopped going to the old Alehouse because it sucked, and I got that impression from the first time I walked in the door. I had the opposite vibe from the Madrona Arms, so I am very glad that they are in the neighborhood.

Really glad to have a pub open in the neighborhood. The space is really cozy, with a big fireplace in the corner. They have a pretty good tap beer selection, although the list was on a monitor hung high on the wall, and printed in tiny type, making it really tough to read. We just split an appetizer of the nachos, but they were relatively good. We had good service while sitting at the bar, and definitely look forward to coming back.

This is a sort of Irish bar, featuring corned beef, pizza, gyros and a mix mosh of other items.
They really fixed up the place laying new floor and making the place look clean and inviting.
Unfortunately the food wasn’t the best, hopefully it will improve with time.
I had the corned beef. It came with mashed potatoes that were covered in melted cheese and a small slice of cabbage. (they menu is lacking on vegetable options) The corned beef was very fatty I had trouble picking through the two slices I got to find enough meat to eat. The potatoes were ok, the layer of cheese over them was not necessary. The cabbage tasted like cabbage, it was good, but too small a portion I thought.
My husband had the Gyro with fries. The fries were greasy, and the gyro was what you would expect from a gyro.
This place is kid friendly featuring a kids menu and coloring sheets with crayons. They got rid of the play area the other place had, but I don’t think it will be missed.

This place was great! Nachos and pizzas were both delicious, atmosphere was pleasant, wasn’t overcrowded, waitstaff was friendly and attentive but not overbearing.

Only pub on 34^th in this neighborhood … 3x visit… Since opening! Amazing food, stellar customer service and an awesome manager to boot! All the food is tasty and good sized portions. From Chicken Marsala to Taco Tuesday, veggie options available too, just ask! Im a fan of red wines, the Sangre De Toro is lovely and mellow. Servers: Jonathon and Nikki are friendly and knowledgeable! Thank you, and since i live down the street i have become/​will be a regular!

If you are looking for chicken wings the ones here are BOMB !!! I’ve been to Madrona Arms twice now. I am really excited that there is a new bar/​restaurant in Madrona to kick it at during football and soccer games! Service has been really great as well, Amanda was quick and attentive and made sure my drinks were full! Definitely come back again and again!

I think it’s more a 3.5 but I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt. Definitely a big step up from the prior alehouse but that place was terrible.
Pros: longer hours so you can actually catch a game here. Decent service.
Cons: a bit pricier than I was expecting for a pub. Pretty close to St clouds prices but not nearly the quality. Burger was $ 13.
kids food needs a bit of work. A lot of madrona kids are young. Chicken breast was seasoned as if for an adult. it was very tasty for me, I know this bec my kid wouldn’t touch it after the first bite. Also kids menu said chicken breast and steamed veggies. Was not expecting celery sticks and ranch dressing.
Will definitely go back as it offers something very needed in the neighborhood. If I went for a drink Id def go after 830 when the kids are in bed.

Super excited to have this place in the neighborhood. The fish and chips are delicious, and the whiskey-​crab-​bisque-​soup-​in-​a-​breadbowl is some of the best soup I’ve ever eaten. The beer list rotates regularly, which is pretty exciting. I hear tell of Taco Tuesday specials in the future. Hopefully the rumors are true.
My buddies and I convinced Marcus, the manager, to take down the beerski for us. We chugged a very pleasant beerski while sitting at the pew in front of the fire.

Great place, great food, great service, owner is a class act guy! Can’t wait to come back in the very near future. Thank you for such amazing service.

Great food and a really friendly atmosphere! We’ll be back!

Please bring back the sexist signs! Please don’t cater to the vocal minority and remove the opportunity to have a good laugh at a sign that nobody takes seriously anyway.
The more we give-​in to these over-​the-​top PC Nazi’s, the more we lose our individuality. Some people confuse the right to pursue happiness with what they believe is a right to not be offended.
It’s okay to be offended and by giving in, you may lose what makes your establishment great.

Great addition to the neighborhood. The new place is a big improvement on the previous Madrona Alehouse. It’s got a kind of an urban modern rustic feel with a nice big stone fireplace, live-​edge wood tables, and cool decorations. Nice selection of beers on rotating taps listed on a screen. Showing soccer and football on the TVs. Seems pretty family friendly — several families with small kids were there. Even on a Tuesday it was pretty crowded and the noise level was a little much; I feel like this could be improved if they put some sound-​dampening material on the ceiling. The food is excellent. Since my hubs and I were there on a Tuesday he tried the Taco Tuesday fare: great little tacos for $ 2 and $ 3. You can get pork, chicken, beef, fish, or steak. I tried the clam chowder in a bread bowl ($ 9) which was incredible… HIGHLY recommended! The salad was nothing to write home about, though, and the cilantro-​lime vinaigrette was a bit watery. There was also a guy who wasn’t our server who kept checking on how things were going; I think he must have been a manager. The staff seem to have their act together. Great ambiance, great food, must go.

We’ve visited Madrona Arms twice since it opened two weeks ago and had a great experience both times!
There is a huge selection of pub style food (big fan of the fish n’ chips and corned beef sandwich) and an equally large selection of drinks and beers on tap. The atmosphere is casual and the staff are extremely friendly.
We also heard Madrona Arms plans to bring back trivia night — looking forward to that getting up and running!

I’ve been to Madrona Arms three times since they opened. The first time I had the shepherds pie — — mostly mashed potatoes with assorted copied veggies that taste as if they came frozen from a bag. The second time, I had the Irish crab soup – excellent! But each time I’ve been there, I’ve been ignored by bartenders who wait on the men and seem to ignore single women — — even when I’m right in front of them.

I’ve upped my ranking to 3−½ stars ( Unilocal only let’s me choose 3 or 4, and it isn’t yet deserving of 4-​stars).
The ambiance is Irish Pub /​Football (soccer), and there’s an emphasis on nominally Irish pub food including bangers and mash, corned beef and cabbage, etc. While there are a few lighter dishes (salmon risotto, mussels, salads), most of the fare is pretty heavy, which is to say high calorie and focused on meat, cheese, pizza and fried items. And it probably goes without saying, but the beer list is extensive and good. The new flooring is a hard surface, and it makes the space much louder. For folks with hearing issues, it’s problematic (too much reflected sound), but most folks didn’t mind at all. The beer and the sports on TV are great, and the live music on a Friday night is nice. The staff is settling in and getting friendlier.
And now, on to the main item — the food: the prices are reasonable and the quality is OK but varied (some items are good, some are so-​so). Below I give a rundown of the dishes I’ve tried.
The mussels are really good — with a lightly spicy tomato broth. The Caesar salad is a good salad (I got mine with salmon on top) — but is basically a romaine salad with feta and not a traditional Caesar. Instead of anchovies, egg yolk, garlic, lemon, dijon mustard and parmesan, that you’d find in a traditional Caesar salad, there’s feta and a non-​traditional dressing. The grilled salmon was great and cooked to perfection. (N.B. if you want a traditional Caesar, go across the street to Saint Cloud’s).
The presentation of the spinach salad with chicken was wonderful with the grilled chicken sliced and grouped, the pear slices in a fan, the tomato slices to the side. The salad part was good (spinach, feta crumbles, dressing flavor). The bacon was great and done just right, the pear slices ripe and very tasty. On the other hand, the tomato was completely lacking in flavor, and the chicken was a disappointment — I’d get either the Caesar or spinach salads with salmon on top (really good, cooked to perfection) and avoid the chicken (good grilling on the outside, but watery, salty and poor texture inside — like processed chicken tenders) .
The Reuben sandwich had all the right fixings, with a good dressing, sauerkraut (or is it cabbage) and good bread, but the corned beef itself was greasy and not great. The black bean burger is OK but nothing special.
The fish component of the fish & chips was really good (top notch), but the fries not so good — they appear to be frozen potatoes and overly crispy, and were just not great (next time I may substitute a salad, though a pub really should have good fries). The flat iron steak continues to underwhelm — while well-​seasoned, the meat is tough and poor quality — I’d avoid this item (FYI, for good steak and fries, go down the street to Red Cow). Also, I could do without the cheese on the mashed potatoes.
The Whiskey crab soup is quite good — not much crab but good flavor and a bit spicy (which I like). Last time I tried it, it could have used less salt (actually that applies to most things on the menu).
Generally, the sides are blah — the potato salad had excessive amounts of mayo (or whatever the sauce is), while the coleslaw was standard and bland. The beers and drinks are good — the iced tea was fresh brewed and tasty. They have a good selection of beers, which is now on a darker screen and much less intrusive. For wine drinkers, there’s a reasonable selection, though this is not the emphasis of the pub.
I’m sure things will continue to settle down. The Madrona Arms is still a mixed bag — and the biggest issue is food quality — some is quite good, some remarkably pedestrian. It’s all edible, but the quality varies considerably. Notably good are the beer selection, the availability of mixed drinks, the mussels, the crab cakes, the fish part of fish & chips, and the computerized ticketing system — this is a well organized establishment, and that is a good thing.
This is a nice neighborhood eatery, and still making adjustments and finding it’s way. The manager is working hard at making things right, and I give him lots of credit. So I’m glad to have a pub on 34^th, but I hope the quality of the food continues to improve. I fully expect the Madrona Arms to mature and mellow, but for now, it’s not a place I’d go to frequently.

Wow! Am I the first reviewer? I guess so. I think this place has been open for about a week or so now and we live a couple blocks away so it was time to give it a try. I am happy to say it is great! We got here around 6:15 on a Wednesday evening, the place was already packed but they were able to seat us in about 15 minutes. The staff was attentive, polite, informative (which is remarkable given they just opened recently). Things are running smoothly. All good with the service. But that’s not really why you pick a place — it’s about the food! Which I am happy to report was delicious. We had two different kinds of wings (hot, spicy and sweet), a Madrona burger, bangers and mash, shepherds pie, gyros, and assorted beers and ciders. Clean plates all around! Everything was fresh, perfectly cooked to order, and yummy! Food came out in a normal amount of time and was delicious. Great beer selection too! The atmosphere is kind of dark wood and stone, with soccer on tv, and although it is packed it doesn’t feel crowded or frantic. Laid back, comfortable, smells good! There are some families in here but it doesn’t feel chaotic or crazy with kids running around or anything. It’s just right! Spacious and chill. It’s not cheap but not over-​priced either. We are happy and will be back! Welcome addition to the neighborhood!