Olaf’s

Came here seeking a burger and it was pretty delicious other than it being bloody rare. I couldn’t eat it because I’m pregnant, so I told the waitress to flame it up just a tad. When she came back to give me my burger, it was really charred and not palatable. It’s ok though, I should have ordered something else. Next time I will ask for medium-​well rather than medium. It was a miscommunication on both ends. Anyways. the service is great and your food comes out promptly.
The place fills up fast and it can be hard to find seating, but I would comeback to try different items on their menu. I hear the corn dogs are pretty good.

Nice selection of beers — more interesting than typically found in a neighborhood tavern. A lot of locals and a gritty atmosphere. You know, a neighborhood tavern.

DELICIOUS burger. Juicy, and a brioche bun. Fresh tater tots and a variety of hot sauces to garnish. Beer list is online and is pretty good! Happy hour looks amazing. I’ll need to try it. It’s a simple borderline dive bar with a nice casual feel. I will definitely be returning for their beer selection and burger.

A vagina door? Dayenu, as we say. But the bartenders are cool, beer selection is appropriately local, and the food is surprisingly good (short list for best burger in Ballard, IMO)

Sunday all day happy hour! This is a cool little place. Usually not too crowded and has a good vibe. I like the staff too. Fast friendly service. Top notch chicken sandwich and tots. Plus, vagina door.

Love it. Love everything about it. Tots, beers, giant walk-​through vagina. Everything a bar needs. This place is comfortable and lively, has fantastic service and the food is pretty damn good too. Hard to go wrong.

We love the Olaf Burger! The meat is from the best butcher in town, Better Meats, and only $ 11 for a burger big enough to share… Or whatever, just eat the whole thing. It’s gooooood!

Olaf’s is the best bar I’ve been to in Ballard.
OK, I’ve only been to 3. But Olaf’s had the best beer (not the most numerous selection, but the best, most eclectic beer) and the most convivial atmosphere. Friendly staff and customers, feels like a friendly local bar even for a first-​time out-​of-​towner. Very warm, welcoming place. I’m going again tomorrow. If I were in Ballard a week, I’d go to Olaf’s 8 times.

Ultimate vegetarian comfort food. Get the «Breakfast Mess» without bacon. It’s the yummiest vegetarian sandwich I can remember eating: soft, sweet, locally made brioche; perfectly poached eggs; Sriracha mayo; American «cheese»; peppery arugula; and tomato. Served with perfectly crispy and salty tater tots, and locally made habanero hot sauce on the side. You will need napkins, because of the beautiful saucy egg yolk, unless you’re a finger-​licker. Serious yum. Also, the drinks are good and they are showing the Women’s World Cup game on a big screen in the back room. I couldn’t be happier.

A pretty straightforward neighborhood pub atmosphere, not as fun as the previous Copper Gate, although they thankfully kept some of the awesome interior design relics, but they do have an awesome hamburger and an AMAZING fried chicken sandwich. The best in town. Also the bartenders are good guys and deliver great service. Glad I live close by cause I’ll keep coming back.

3 stars for the vagina room! ! How funny. Love the big TV in the back and the pinball machines. Service lacks a little but the beer makes up for it. If my other favorite bars are full I come here.

Had my first visit on Saturday… love it.
Great bartender — they stole Georgetown’s Best
Superb Hamburger — Maybe the best I have ever had
Tater Tots — no comment necessary !

This is a good place to get a craft beer in Seattle. It’s a fun tap room with a giant U shaped bar, a retro pinball room (love), lots of booths and even a private back room. Recently remodeled and reopened, Olaf’s has a lot going for it: nice bartenders, a fun crowd, great beer on tap, a nice, window-​filled setting, and a food menu with decent looking burgers and tongue in cheek tater tots served with local-​made stiracha sauce.
Honestly, I only have one problem with this place, I’m not a fan of their tongue in cheek vagina doorway. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve got no problem celebrating the v-​jay-​jay, and this thing is certainly creatively put together, but in this setting with the great craft beer and Ballard-​cool retro vibe, a giant vagina doorway looks, well it looks the décor at a frat party. In fact I’m pretty sure I was invited to a frat party (my one and only, that I decided to go to as a sociology experiment) and they had a created a vagina doorway too with crêpe paper. All the kids are doing it. Ugh.
For such a fun, lively, retro-​cool place, it took things down a notch for me. As a female customer, its not about not having a sense of humor. It’s about feeling uncomfortable and targeted in a forced, slightly hostile joke that you are expected to laugh along with, but that you are not finding particularly funny. Its like the elephant (um, vagina) in the room.
Any-​who, I did like the refurbished setting, the beer and had a fine time here, particularly when looking in the right direction: away. If they could put a pair of panties on that thing, I might really love it here. Just saying.

This place looks fantastic after the remodel (my first visit since it changed hands). Open, bright, inviting, and modern. So much more space, and it is now definitely setup to be more than just a watering hole. Lots of tables to sit and enjoy a few drinks as well as grab something to eat, of which I did, and although I’ve tried nothing other than the steamed clams, they were tasty and a great snack.
Don’t know the relationship between the business and the guy behind the counter, but he was pretty jazzed about the place, super friendly, and kept my beer glass filled.
Great transformation all the way around.

When The Viking in Ballard closed down a while back, I felt a huge void was left behind that could never be filled. Man, was I wrong! The spirit, the fun and the customers of the Viking are still alive and well at Olaf’s. This bar rules. The décor is rad, the back-​room is bitchin’ and the rotating tap list super-​duper. I love this place!

Great bar! Good variety off local beers, TVs for games, awesome selection of pinball, and decent burgers. The atmosphere is amazing. Great artwork in the bathrooms. Don’t trip and fall into the nude Betty Page display case as you ascend the stairs and pass through the vagina staircase.

I’ve been here a few times and I’ve yet to have anything but a great experience.
Good things:
–Vagina doorway, Yes that’s right and it’s awesome
–Pinball machines, who doesn’t love pinball?!
–Great beer selection (including Olympia in can and draft!!)
–Tasty snacks
–Amazingly nice and friendly bartenders. I’m not the extrovert type or very talkative but I had great conversatiosn with the tenders both times I sat at the bar. They really leave the pretentious attitude for the cap hill bars and help to make the experience a little more enjoyable.
Bad:
None really… I don’t think they allow dogs, but then again that’s not really their fault.

Cute little neighborhood bar in Ballard that’s frequented by a friend of ours, which is how we came here one Friday night.
Parking was easy and it was a bit crowded, but we eventually got a seat. I liked that the vibe was friendly and laid back. You could tell it was frequented by a lot of locals.
Would I come here again? Yes, as long as parking was as easy as it was the other day!

We came here last night for my friend’s 50^th birthday celebration. It was held thru the anatomically correct vagina doorway, it gives a new meaning to «hole in the wall». The room itself was a throw back to the ‘50s ‘60s rat pack days. Plush red booths lined the room with tables and stools. The room also had a projection system. And there were velvet paintings of very voluptuous, naked ladies on the walls. It was a really cool, intimate room. Olaf’s provided some pub grub for the party like sliders, veggies with dip, tater tots, and salad. All were decent enough and we had one server for the party, Cheeto (yup, that’s his name), and he did an awesome job with the group!!! Opposite to the room was an area with pinball machines, too.
Olaf’s is a cool, neighborhood spot to grab a beer (or two), eat some pub grub, and watch the game. If this was in my hood, I’d be a regular… (even just to gaze at the vag doorway)

Olaf’s, which used to be the long-​standing neighborhood staple Copper Gate, still has a large vaginal-​like opening.
I’d just thought I’d get that out of the way, for those concerned about if Copper Gates lady parts were neutered in the switch over. She still stands proud, canoe shaped, bright red and pink, with a large spray-​painted sphere hanging top center, to demonstrate Olaf’s designers’ faint familiarity with female anatomy. Olaf’s may have to be called Ola’s, or Olivia’s, if you want to get technical. Have no fear, you must enter the skillfully constructed and slightly anatomically correct vaginal crevice to enter the plush secret room of the P***Y. (I edited it, see? I can be polite.)
Olaf’s has plenty of well-​priced beers on tap, often rotating, if you’d like to sip on suds while you check out the big Vag hole. The day I went it was IPA heavy on the rotating list, with cider and hometown faves (read: Ballard approved) on of the permanent tap list. There’s also a full bar, obviously, and the whole bar had shots of whiskey along with their beer, so clearly it was a special I was unaware of.
I was aware of tater tots on the menu, of which my inner child approves of, and plenty of burgers and greasy sammiches great accompaniments for the beer drinking. Olaf’s whole vibe is chill. relaxed friendly staff, art on the walls, cozy booths, and a very unpretentious neighborhood crowd. A nice change up from Copper Gate, and props for them keeping their crotch door intact.