Old Town Alehouse

Second stop on the pub hop through Ballard and we stopped at the Old Town Alehouse for a beer.
Always wanting to try new beers, I picked one that I’ve never heard of. I really enjoyed the Corsendonk, which was a dark Belgian. My guy went with one of the local wheat beers.
This place was cool, yet kinda quiet so we decided to head to a new place after the one beer. I was impressed by the selection of belgian beers here and would definately try each one if I lived nearby. Life is too short to drink the same ol’ beer.

Did this place Finaallllyyyy Close? Thank God I Hope So. You sucked.

I just heard that Old Town is going to be closing down. How sad!
I haven’t gotten to visit here more than a handful of times, because my partner loved coming here for lunch on workdays. I’ve had salads (great), fish & chips (okay), and their French dip (yum! Spicy!).
Beer selection (and cider) were varied enough for me, and service was laid back & just what I needed.

My lady and I had a bunch of time to kill while on the ave a while ago and stumbled onto this place. My first impression was good, looks nice on the outside, and inside. We sat down, were promptly greeted, and ordered some drinks. I thought the beer selection was pretty good, a well rounded choice I might add. Once we perused the menu we discovered that it was typical bar fare, which isn’t a bad thing. We both settled on the fish & chips and I must say it was a good choice. You get a lot of fish and fries for the cash and they were both perfectly done. Hell, even the coleslaw was good, a rarity in most places. Overall, I really liked this place a lot and wouldn’t hesitate to go back soon.

Overpriced
Wilted salad
Weak toppings
I ordered a Caesar salad and it was pretty weak. I had to have it taken back as the leaves were all wilted and browned around the edges. They replaced it with a different salad that I asked for and those leaves (different type of leaves) were sickly as well. All this focus on leaves made me want to leave. Geez I’m funny, but hungry.

This weekend a group of us had dinner and drinks here and were pretty pleased.
The environment of the alehouse is bright, cheery, and welcoming. I think it has a different feel than a lot of other bars on Ballard Ave.
Service was friendly. There were plenty of menu items to choose from. Prices are reasonable for appetizers and entrees ranging from $ 8 – 12 /​plate.
I had the spicy chicken buffalo sandwich with their Parmesan seasoned fries. The fries were very good. The buffalo sauce on the sandwich was great and the sandwich had a good kick to it. For the sandwich and a lot of fries on the side the price was $ 11.50. Pretty good value!
The table ordered a large plate of fries to share and that was $ 7. The side of fries on my plate was almost as big as the large.
I had the cider which was $ 5 for 12 oz. Very tasty. They have a good but limited selection of beers. I was surprised they didn’t have more taps being an ale house.
The check in offer for Unilocal was a free dessert with the purchase of an entrée! Score! We were pretty full but I ordered the brownie with ice cream. Between 7 of us we were able to have a couple bites each which was plenty.
The brownie was just okay, nothing I would order again. If I had paid for it I would have been disappointed.
Old Town Alehouse is a great choice for dinner and drinks in a casual, laid back atmosphere. I’d recommend them!

Hot and hungry I needed food and a cold beverage. I was told to go here from a shop down the road.
I started off with a pint of their cider and then the BMT sandwich– basil, sliced fresh mozzarella and roma tomatoes spread with our own Kalamata olive tapenade, & a dash of balsamic vinaigrette. It came with a generous serving of well seasoned fries. Yes, it was a salty meal, but just wanted I wanted.
It was all great. Give this place a try if you’re walking around the area.

Love this place. Killer old school look and feel with red brick and high ceilings. Constantly rotating beer selection. Great sandwiches and the best fries in Seattle.
Kid friendly. Too bad we don’t have a place like this in QA.

I really like this place. I only gave it 4 stars out of 5 because the wine selection is not fantastic, but…
The Hot Turkey Pesto is the third best turkey sandwich I have ever had in my life. I am a turkey sandwich fan, so this is a huge accomplishment. It is delicious — always. The fries are hit or miss, the salad is fine, and I’m not a fan of the slaw (too sweet for me, but most NW slaw is). I like the capreze appetizer as well.
This is also a great place for the family. The kid loves the kids tortellini (ok, it is just cheese and noodles), but she always orders extra carrots and they always give her a few more. We’ve always had pleasant service and we have been coming here for years.
Everyone in my family always walks away happy, and that is worth a lot.

Organic stout (Hub). Yum, really good stout if you can get it.
Food menu and kitchen maybe could use some work, but I guess that’s not really why you go here. The number and quality of draft beers is amazing. Server was helpful and in a good spirit even though had a long day behind him.
Note to self: Go back when they have live music, should improve overall experience.

Picture this:
You’re nine years old. You have a few dollars in your pocket. It’s lunchtime and you just picked up your green plastic tray with compartment sections on it for each «food group». In general, I didn’t get to have «hot lunch» (I’d bring my food in my Empire Strikes Back lunch box), but when Sloppy Joes were on the calendar, I would plead with my mom to have mercy on me and give me cash. There’s something about those messy sandwiches which stayed with me to this day. If I see one on the menu I have to order it.
:…Fastforward 30 Years…:
Not much has changed. If I see a sloppy joe on the menu, it’s a foregone conclusion what will be ordered. The only difference… at Old Town Ale House, instead of drinking a small carton of milk, I had a cold foamy ale to accompany my Sloppy Joe.
Since this is touted as an ale house, I should mention there is quite a selection of brews on tap to choose from. They were written on a blackboards, so I’m assuming they change often and seasonally. They had local microbrews, but also had some foreign (i.e. Belgian) beers as well.
When we were here we fortunate to enjoy some bumpin’ old school hip hop. So, I was bobbin’ my head with my hand in the air (which had a pint attached to it), and had a sloppy joe in my other hand.
Ah, to relive one’s childhood!

It’s a cold November Monday at 1pm. As a visitor and beer nerd, I had to find a public house for lunch. I’m so happy my guide book (Lonely Planet) guided my feet to this place.
Sadly, they didn’t have all the specials. They didn’t have a full portion of the Autumn stew to feed me, but they comp’d what little they could scrape together. Effing, delicious. The house salad is pretty much all ruffage, and that’s what you need it for, and I didn’t mind that it was simple. What made it a great salad was the spiced pecans on top, delicious.
I know nine revolving taps is modest, but when you only have nine you make sure you its good beer. I enjoyed the Big Time IPA on cask (they have a beer engine!!!) and the Oakshire Winter Ale. In addition, they have bottled Belgium beer. It’s nice to know a bar that sells Belgium beers isn’t afraid to serve a sour beer. Yay sours!
It was not crowded and I sat at the bar. I love the woodwork on the bar. I love bars with wood work in them. It seems to make a place warm and friendly.
I had excellent service and I tipped extra for my free stew, my food was excellent, the servers pleasant and nicely tattooed. I would recommend this place to the friends I’m visiting.

Nice rotation of local brews to try. Love the inside, with the brick wall behind the bar and the big windows looking out on the street.
Staff was great. Food was bah. Gumbo sort of tasted like chili.
Have to respect the local flavor.

I’ve lived here a long long long time and thought I knew where the BEST FISH & CHIPS were, but I was just skooled in fishnchipery. The Old Town Ale House has some charm but we stumbled into happy hour and yes it was!
After I mowed down this $ 6.50 perfectly cooked and seasoned meal I grew fins. Swim there right now, even if you have to pay full price.

Something of an institution both in Ballard and on the local craft beer scene. It’s been here since well before Ballard started undergoing its renaissance, and it’s been focused on craft beer since well before the third wave of the craft beer revolution hit critical mass in the last 5 – 10 years. Cheers to the Old Town for sticking so long to what it does well, and making a success of it over the long haul.
It’s a clean, friendly neighborhood pub with plenty of wooden chairs and tables and a nice long bar. They have a great draft lineup, and a formidable menu of hot sandwiches, along with a wicked plate of fish and chips in crunchy panko batter (I go more for beer batter, but I can see why panko fans dig these). The french fries are awesome, the prices are great, and so is the staff. Always a part of my rotation of watering holes, and I wish I made it in more often than I seem to.

Had a great meal here after wandering around Ballard and the Locks on a rainy Sunday. The space is really gorgeous, with exposed brick walls, floor-​to-​ceiling windows in the front and airy ceilings, good-​sized dark wood tables and linen curtains, tied back, between every table for some illusion of privacy.
The service was great too, friendly and prompt. When we asked our server about the rotating beers on tap, the bartender was just changing one of the casks and she offered us a taste (we ended up ordering a glass of it, some dark Belgian). Our server also chatted to me about her industrial as I remarked on how good it looked (I have a recent one).
The food was quite delicious. We ordered the fish and chips, and it came out with three pieces of juicy, flaky white fish lightly breaded in tempura batter, a heaping serving of fries seasoned with herbs and shaved parmesan and a decent-​sized little tub of tangy coleslaw. Yum! We also supplemented our meal with a bowl of gumbo, which came out with two scoops of rice and a few slices of crusty white bread. Great flavor, nicely spicy with tender beef and sliced jalapenos, perfect to wash down with a pint. The beers on tap are split fairly evenly between Belgian and local offerings — I had a great red ale from a Georgetown brewery and my friend tried a tasty local porter.
It’s a bit pricy for pub food, although it’s an upscale pub — but I’d definitely come back for happy hour or a daily deal (Taco Tuesday!) when I’m in the area again.

Old Ballard stand out that has seating on a Saturday night without hoards of Belltown overflow… I have been here for drinks and recently for dinner wanting to escape from the overwhelming trendiness of surrounding hang outs. I love the lighting here– warm and comfortable with large windows welcoming you in. Unpretentious service with a great bar food menu. I tried a turkey sandwich and my brothers fish & chips, and my Friends sandwich — all tasty. Relaxed atmosphere — and cider on tap! Delicious crisp refreshing cider.
Yes, I shall return for more…

Fab slaw and beers. Fair prices. Johnny cash on the radio!
I love this neighbourhood in Seattle. The Old Town Ale House did little to change my mind… even though it was freezing cold! The concept of heating the restaurant seemed lost on Old Town, but aside from that the food came super super fast and I loved the pork sandwich. Massive USA-​sized portions (he-​LLO obesity!)
Bön Appetit!

My boyfriend and I went here for a quick dinner. Since he loves fish and chips, we have been constantly on the lookout for the best fish and chips in the city. Since Old Town proclaims their fish and chips to be worthy enough of the title of «House Special,» we figured they had to be pretty good. Unfortunately, he was quite disappointed. He found the fish to be extremely watery and lacking in flavor.
My Hot Turkey Pesto sandwich was rather good, particularly the bread. But the fries were a huge letdown. I’m not quite sure what was off about them (I mean, fries with a sprinkling of cheese and pepper should be great!), but they were disappointing. They were marginally better when reheated the next day, but that isn’t really a good sign to me. My boyfriend agreed that the fries were not very good at all.
Service was quite quick, especially in regards to the arrival of the food, but I honestly would have rather waited longer for better food. Our waiter was quiet, but polite. When removing the dishes, however, he bumped the tartar sauce, which went sailing across the table towards my lap. Had I not somehow caught the cup and the sauce pouring out of it (it poured out all over my hand), my favorite sweater would have been covered in tartar sauce. Considering I caught the cup and the sauce spilling out of it, it wasn’t really a big deal. But it would have been a huge deal had I missed it and it had poured all over me. Thank goodness it didn’t come to that!
Overall, I was rather disappointed in Old Town. I had heard great things about the food, and while my sandwich was good, the rest was very much not. I’m certainly willing to give it another try, however!

Old Town Ale House has come through for me several times.
Most recently, a dear friend of mine was visiting for the weekend and we needed a laid back lunch spot that had some veggie options. We were working within a time frame, since we got a late start to the day and had plans for the evening, so bonus points if the lunch spot wasn’t too busy and quick to get food on our plates. Old Town Ale House is where we landed.
Having been here before and trying several items off the menu during those visits, I was pretty confident that we could both find something that sounded appetizing. My friend ordered a bowl of the Orzo Minestrone, which she liked. I ordered the Hot Turkey Pesto, which came with a generous portion of fries. Whether you order soup, salad, pasta or a sandwich expect a large portion without a large bill.
Old Town is a laid back, relaxed place that is perfect for a start to a night out in Ballard or just grabbing a beer and bite with a friend.