Red Onion Tavern

The red onion Tavern is a brash, outspoken, semi washed up punk rocker! It’s the type of bar that lowers the property value of the neighborhood in a much needed kind of way. Its Nestled along a trendy Avenue in a neighborhood that caters to the wealthy retired, and the popped collar fraternity trust fund babies of generations next. Yet somehow This Old War Horse Tavern continues to kick up dust, throw elbows, and bite and scratch for its place among the herd! A refreshing watering hole of a dive bar that leaves judgement at the door while serving you the neighborhoods strongest poor. The drinks are almost as cheap as the pool tables and the food is absolutely delicious in a terrible hate yourself the next morning kind of way. I miss the red onion with a passion. Having moved away from Seattle a year ago I often find myself reminiscing of my time spent there. The bartenders, the bar patrons, the cheesy 70’s style fireplace and the beer stained carpets will always have a place in my heart. So keep on keeping on red onion! You are the last warrior of blue collar soul in that neighborhood. You must survive so that future generations of «dropouts» and «washed ups» will have a place to make their bad decisions.
Thanks for the memories red onion!

Linda Tart McBint… that’s all I have to say. Too much drama caused by her… otherwise a great establishment!!!

I was looking for a local bar to do karaōke with my friends, and found Red Onion through Unilocal.I called them to ask if Saturday night karaōke was still a thing, and the friendly man on the phone said it started at 9:30 PM and ran until about 1 AM. We visited Red Onion for the first time that very night.
It’s on the divey side for Madison Park, which I liked. The clientele ran a little older, as you might expect for the area. I didn’t have anything to eat or drink, but my friends seemed to enjoy their wells and beers. The KJ was easy-​going and would back people up on his microphone if they had trouble finding the right key or tempo. Plenty of song books to go around, and lots of songs to choose from. The backing tracks were a little loud; sometimes they almost sounded like they were blowing out the speakers. The crowd was supportive and engaged. All in all a great place to go for karaōke!

I’ll give it two stars. They have great live music, some good drafts and most of the seats/​booths are decently comfortable. Benny (the owner??) is an awesome dude. My problem is the blonde bartender who will overlook every female standing at the bar waiting for a drink. I work as a bartender and it’s first come, first served. If you walk up to the service station and you’re first in line, you get your drinks first. Makes sense, right? I walked up to where drinks are being served because they don’t seem to have table service, waited my turn and watched as the blonde chick pointed ABOVE my head to men behind me and asked them what they want. This happened four fucking times before I waved my hand in her face (and I felt awful for having to do that, but seriously, what the fuck) before she looked at me and said ‘what’? Can I get a drink? ‘What?’ No niceties, no courtesy, just… I don’t think my tits are going to influence you so I don’t care about you. I’m in the industry bitch, I know how it works.

This bar was not crowded but really fun and welcoming! Beer was cheap and the atmosphere was great. I also lost my card there and they held it there for me for a couple of days until I could get out there, they were super nice!

I have no idea why this place is rated so highly. We walk by on a regular basis and Red Onion always looks empty, dark, and somewhat creepy. We still decided to grab a drink here when my parents were in town because it had such good reviews. There was one bartender who took probably ten minutes to initiate service. We ordered three beers, but we were hungry too. My mom asked about the soup and we were all looking at the scanty menu… to me this would be an obvious signal that we are interested in eating something. When the bartender came with our drinks, he immediately set them down and briskly walked away. We drank all of our beers down and he did not return. My partner had to walk up to the bar to pay for our drinks and then the bartender got it wrong twice and tried to charge him too much. My poor parents probably have a negative view of our neighborhood because of this place.
Now, I understand if you’re busy, and I am a very empathetic person when it comes to customer service, but geez, this was bad. The bartender was doing a fine job of serving the big table next to us, which we assumed were the ol’ regulars (this would explain the high ratings). I can say one good thing about Red Onion — it has an inviting fireplace.
Thankfully, we walked down the street and found the Attic, which had great service, great drinks, and a great happy hour menu, not to mention a friendly atmosphere. Most people will like the Attic better. Red Onion will probably continue as a fixture of the Madison Park drag, but man oh man, I won’t be coming back.

This is a dive bar (well it seems to be trying for that vibe anyway) in an upscale neighborhood, but it has the worst elements of a dive bar without many of the good. Bad music played far too loud, even when the place is nearly empty, making it difficult to converse at all. Didn’t try the food. Beer selection on tap was limited but fine. Crowd was almost entirely made up of the baby boomer set that probably lived nearby, except for the motorcycle gang… well, who am I kidding, they were also baby boomers who probably lived nearby. All in all, nothing special about the place.

Comfy, warm, welcoming, with yummy comfort food and beer served with a smile and a wink. The fireplace is perfect on a rainy eve, and the jukebox welcomes a tavern atmosphere. Somehow the service is speedier and friendlier than most other places despite a high customer/​staff ratio. The place could stand to be spruced up, and is not a fine dining establishment, but if you’re looking for a place to just go for a few drinks and be comfortable with your friends, this might be just the place. Warning: you should enjoy a mixture of hair metal, funk, R&B, and other miscellaneous 80’s music! They have karaōke some nights.

I’ve never had a bad experience with the bartenders in this place. I go in for a drink, which they are happy to oblige. I can imagine that they wouldn’t be excited if you are just there to use the seating (especially by the fireplace). Be prepared to talk (to the bartender and the regulars). If you’re a loner, go somewhere else. I have never eaten here so I can’t comment on that. This is a spot to visit after dinner. They do have live music sometimes which can be an unexpected bonus.

Tonight at 8:30pm, the owner of Red Onion stopped me, as soon as I walked in, from sitting at the corner booth, with my laptop. It wasn’t busy and no special events on Wed. nights. In fact there weren’t any people sitting at the booths, by the fireplace or at any of the tables. There were only He said his bartender, a middle aged woman with Blonde hair, wanted me to sit at another table, instead. He pointed at the smaller table by the open door. Well, I smelled the smoke from outside sitting by the door, tonight.
I argued with him that it’s not busy. He said it’s summer and it’s going to get busy later. Sitting by the door I said I will get cold and needed a better outlet. That outlet by the door was loose and I showed him when I plugged in the adaptor. His Neon Sign plug was half off and about to fall off too. He told me to I can’t plug my laptop, even though they offer free wireless. He told me to go home when I run out of my battery. That comment was uncalled for. Any restaurant that offers Free Wireless as a customer service and doesn’t want their customers to be able bring in their laptops have no clue. Plus it’s an informal pub and not a fancy restaurant. I’ve seen other students bring their laptops. The Madison Park Starbucks closes at 9:00pm, so I like to go somewhere close, after 9:00pm and has free parking nearby.
I haven’t been so insulted from an owner of any bar or restaurant in Seattle. Plus it’s Madison Park, where it’s upper middle class and wealthy neighborhood. The owner acts like he owns a Biker Bar and the customers are low class the way he treated me. Low Class! I was going to write a good review of the Red Onion since I’ve been coming here once a week for the past month and half. The other bartenders have been very friendly and they have never hassled me sitting in the corner booth on a weekday night ever!

We heard this place a good vibe and decided to try it out. When we first walked in we were a little disappointed with there being almost no one in the bar and the décor clearly has not been updated for at least 20 years.
Then we met Benny. This guy is something else. We ordered drinks and Benny introduces himself. He is full of witting banter and really made the whole night. Having a small fire with some love seats around was a big help too
I’ll be back for suede
Thanks Benny!

I’m a huge fan of Sammy and Benny the Bartender. Karaōke here was the best time I’ve had in years and I’m itching to go back!
Although the house was packed, I never had to wait too long for a refill on my beer. Sammy kept the line up of singers moving. It felt like a big party and not a room full of strangers.
I haven’t tried the food, but I can say (after having worked in a bar) you don’t go to bars for the food or the drinks. You can have the same beer at home for a hell of a lot cheaper. You go to bars for the people.

I have been coming here for years. I don’t generally go to that area that often now but when I do I beeline it right to the Red Onion. Always had a great time there. So glad to know they are still alive and kicking unlike so many other land marks in Seattle. Have to make it a point to get down there more often.

Came here to get a soda pop with two friends to relax because was were just in the area snapping some photos. Being a visitor in Hawaii, I’ve never been to a place like red onion tavern with such character.
The place was old and a little run down but the people in there didn’t mind.
There was a older lady playing pull tab and me being from hawaii i wanted to see what its all about. I start snapping photos of the pull tab machine and my ticket that i got.
Then up comes the bartender asking us if we are doing a documentary on their place. He was really rude and un welcoming and so were the lady playing pull tab.
Won’t ever go back there again, people were weird, creepy, bartender was rude as hell and unwelcoming and place was run down more worst than a crack whore house that was in operations for 20+ years.

Tis where I met my husband 31 years ago. It was a super bustling establishment at the time and needs to be again.
Who else met at the RO and later married???
Let’s all meet up and celebrate this fine establishment!

One of my fave place to go on the weekends!
I know I get that look from everyone when I say that but I truly adore this place. It’s always nice to leave the city on the weekends cause that’s mainly when all the amateurs head out for a big night on the town. ANNOYING!!!
I have only been here on Friday and Saturdays when they have karaōke. Vanessa is a karaōke goddess. She knows how to keep the energy level up with her fantastic MC skillz. She wil do anything from cee-​lo F*ck you to Lady Gaga. People do start dancing towards the middle and end of the night.
The bartenders are always very attentive and friendly. This is a tavern so yes only beer and wine. There are pool tables in the back and a pinball machine.
The crowd ranges from senior citizens to the best looking 20 somethings I have ever seen in Seattle and everything else inbetween. I absolutely love it!
Great place to come in groups or with a few close friends,
If you like karaōke and good company you will love this place!

What to say about the Red Onion…
First off it is a Beer/​Wine only bar, no hard alcohol.
That is my only gripe about this place. It is spacious, has a fire place, 2 pool tables, Terminator pinball, and chips and pizzas to snack on.
I arrived here late on a Sunday to celebrate my friend’s birthday. It appeared the bartender was ready to close up but stayed open since we brought a decent sized group. He was nice enough to let us play music off of our iPod since there wasn’t anyone else in the bar. He also gave us some tips on getting our taxes done, thanks John!

Karaōke Saturday night with Baby Van Beezly rocks my world!!! She is the karaōke champion of the west coast and if you are lucky enough to hear her sing pony by ginuwine or f**k you be cee lo it’s going to be an excellent night. There is some serious talent in the singing pool at this place and no judgement if you’re not as *well practiced* as some.
Benny the bartender is awesome and drinks are cheap, so really you have no excuse for not coming here. In fact, even I you’re not in Madison park you should make the trip for Saturday karaōke because it’s a full night event that usually culminates in dance party shenanigans.

Close to home and oh so cozy… I love Red Onion… its everything I need… beer, roast beef, and great bartenders!

Let’s say I have, like, a week left in Seattle. And for every night of the week I have left, I have to pick one perfect place in town that captures a small slice of my little Seattle life. Well, the Red Onion would be my Thursday pick, and anyone who’s anyone knows that Thursday is definitely the third best day of the week.
This is my homebase for monthly reunions with two dear friends of mine: one, a Botticelli beauty with a ghetto mouth; another, gorgeous, smart and gay as the night is long. And then there’s me, tall and strange, snorting uncontrollably. The Red Onion is our place, and it’s your place too — whoever you might be. There’s tons of happy seniors here, getting their 4:30 drink on… but somehow this just makes the bar more hip. It’s truly a neighborhood classic for all walks of life.
Important to note: You can order a large wine here for sooo cheap (a schooner!!). And they have the best French dip in town for under $ 7. For real — I know my French dips.