The Celtic Swell

Although the Celtic Swell has closed, Alki Beach Pub replaced it. Loved the Irish food and charm and having a place to go on St. Patrick’s Day.

The Celtic Swell has recently come under new management and the changes are fantastic! The menu is much smaller and they have updated the items and food quality. I was very impressed with the changes to this well loved bar. Thank you for taking care of this place!

My boyfriend and I enjoy Swells on the nights that we don’t feel like going «all out» and kind of just want a chill spot. The tots here are great! The live music is decent, however every time we’ve been there it’s been the same solo guy so I think they should mix it up.

My fiancé and I came on a saturday at the 6 o clock hour. We never get out (no kids weekend!) and decided to go bar hop along Alki, Unilocal reviewing along the way. We had been to 2 other places when we got to Celtic Swell (one we just flat out left before ordering water). The Celtic Swell was our favorite! Atmosphere was good. it was warm even by the door (im terrible to be around if im cold so this is important), and we ordered a custom Tot-​nachos and they delivered! Leo was our server and he was very nice and not introusive. He explained the beers right away. lots of choices. He was a one man show with like 6 other tables. His timing was great and he was very friendly! Best person we met all night! Celtic Swell wins!

A total miss. From the limited beer selection, to the over-​stretched staff, to the nauseating smell, this place screams, «Get Bar Rescue in here now.»
Claims of «…but its a dive bar» ring hollow: this place lacks any kind of charm, character, or anything else to make it endearing. The smell in/​near the bathroom is enough in itself to keep anyone away.
We got a skunked beer (:15 from when we ordered it), sent it back, and were charged for it. Check arrived :20 after we asked to pay up. Staff cannot keep up with the demand, and this is partially attributable to a long table bisecting the place that cuts off any semblance of flow.
I wonder how many people just walk out in exasperation.
Help your staff! Have some pride and take a wet wipe to the place. Get a designer to work on the flow. Maybe hire someone else to help them.
Will never return and cannot recommend.

This used to be a great local pub but it’s gone to hell. The menu has changed and isn’t anything like it used to be. The service is ATROCIOUS! We arrived on a Sunday night with the place half full. We got our drinks and ordered right away but it took 50 minutes to get our food! The order was 2 salads, a burger and shepherd’s pie that was lukewarm. The burger was completely burned without any sauce. The salads were missing croutons and soda bread and without what was requested on it. Even when we asked for the extras to be brought to us, the servers didn’t apologize and gave us attitude. Because it’s our fault that the service was awful and the food was just as bad. I will NOT be coming back here again. It’s sad that this place has gone to hell. Oh — and no manager apparently available.

By far my favorite local spot on Alki Beach. The Celtic swell has the personal staff that instantly makes you feel like family. They have an unmatched selection of Irish whiskey, bourbon and scotch and a authentic selection of Irish beers on draft. And as a musician, I was most surprised to find how much they care about bringing in amazing artists for their lives music on Friday and Saturday nights!

Hornitos jalapeño burger is what my brother had. «Good and meaty. The spice is just right» I liked the fries. reminded me of a lesser greasy version of duck’s fries. Service was real friendly and prompt.

Solid Irish bar on Alki. Food is okay, not great and although the soda bread gets lots of great reviews, it’s too sweet to be authentic.

Tonight my husband and I visited The Celtic Swell for the first time. We passed it and as I have a huge fascination with all things Celt, I wanted to stop in. Imagine my sadness as we’re walking toward the Bar and I hear the most awful caterwauling ever by the nights live entertainment. I had hoped it would be Celtic themed but, oh well. I could of lived with live music of any kind except for this. He was so loud, it was oppressive. And as bars are usually loud with people talking to their friends/​mates/​whoever, here they were practically yelling to be heard over the profound loudness of this ‘live entertainment’. So, as the crowd tried to be heard and got louder, so did he. It was to the point that you couldn’t hear the person that was sitting with you.
In a small place like this, it was unnecessarily loud. And, he just wasn’t that good.
Our service was alright, if slow. She was sweet, but it took almost as long to get my husband’s drink as it did the food that I ordered. My husband ordered an Irish Coffee and his only criticism is regarding that, to which he said it wasn’t the best Irish Coffee he’d ever had by a long shot.
I ordered sausage rolls and bangers and mash. The sausage rolls were divine. A little light on the filling, they tasted good nonetheless. They come with this Guinness glaze that’s amazing. The bangers and mash were tasty, if cold. The peas were cold in the middle, and the bangers were barely above room temperature. The sausage gravy, while extremely tasty, was super greasy. By far my favorite part of that dish is the garlic mashed potatoes, and they were also the hottest part of the dish. In the end, I ate about half of it there, then asked for a box because the music became unbearable. Seriously, music should accent the overall atmosphere of a place, not make it so you have to yell in the ear of the person sitting right next to you to be heard.
We were there late so it wasn’t as clean as it could be. Sticky tables, toilets unflushed with shit in it in the ladies, water everywhere in the ladies. My unfortunate run in with a man trying to put his penis in his pants in the hallway.
I like the food, and I like that they serve some traditional Irish food (Though the Shepard’s Pie is made with beef and should be called cottage pie). And I think that if I went during the week earlier in the day it would also be more inviting. And we did talk about trying to return there during the week sometime, but as we live in Tacoma, its not worth the drive. It just isn’t. I would stop there and eat there if I were in the Alki area, but otherwise, it was a nice dinner that I had to take home in a box to enjoy.

Love this local bar. It’s a great place to escape to by yourself or to visit with friends. Always some friendly locals to make friends with at the bar and the bartenders have been a great resource for this new Alki girl. Fried pickles are my staple. If they’re on a menu, I just can’t not get them. Sliders are good as well. Haven’t had the bangers and mash yet though I’ve heard great things. Latest open establishment on Alki so good for a late night snack and drink.

This is one of my favorite places to grab a drink in West Seattle. They have a nice selection of whiskey and beer. The view is amazing year round and it has a very relaxed atmosphere.

I adore the Celtic Swell.
Service is great, personable and easygoing. The bangers & mash with all that gravy? And servers who don’t even bat an eyelash when you order a shot of Jamie to go with your mac ‘n jack for brunch. I mean, c’mon, that’s just an all around win right there.
Corned beef hash for brunch is delectable, although eggs can be a hit and miss every now and then. Mac & Jack Mondays and whiskey Wednesdays. This is the only place on Alki I really, really like.
Comfortable wooden booths and a lovely little breezy patio to watch the sun set with your drink of choice and some food.
Life is good at the Celtic Swell.

The Swell is a great place to get drinks, watch sports and see some live music. I love going there with my friends on any night and throwing a few back. However, the reason i give ³⁄₅ stars is because of the menu. It definitely needs an upgrade. Whenever we decide to get food at the swell, i find myself searching through the menu wondering where the selection is. Its a very small menu and doesn’t have enough variety. Last time we were there, i ordered the Caesar Salad, which has soda bread croutons on it. I thought that was weird, but i decided to give it a shot. It was not good, the croutons were sweet… and with the combination of the dressing it just tasted strange. My salad was also DROWNING in the caesar dressing which was unpleasant.
Drinks are awesome, atmosphere is great, entertainment superb and the staff is wonderful. The food… not so much.

OK, this revue is for the Irish food ‘The POTATO” american style.
it’s about the most expensive potato I ever ate and felt totally ripped off by how it was served. I got a giant potato and –if it had 10 shredded strands of cheese on it, I’d be surprised. It was melted on and not fresh, which means microwaved. The sour cream cam in a standard little tub and chives and bacon were underverwhelmingly adequate

Outstanding food. Sausage rolls: flavorful sausage with flaky crust; fish & chips: three huge pieces of fish, mountain of fries that are the best on the planet, plus coleslaw; bangers & mash: perfect sausage, mashed potatoes really tasty, delicious green peas, all served hot and everything in the place looked really clean. We finished with a Guinness brownie that has a generous scoop of ice cream on top. Waiter was kind and attentive, my only complaint — for lack of a less critical word, is that our really wonderful waiter was the only waiter. He and the bartender (who gave us absolution after delivering the brownie :) — much appreciated!), and the cook were holding down the whole place, which was crowded on a mid-​Sunday afternoon. But hold it down they did. I can’t wait to go back. It’s totally worth the 70 minute drive from my house.

I love this pub. My best friend lives in Seattle so whenever I make the trip up there we always make sure to go here. Yummy food and drinks!

Pretty good Irish spot in Alki. The food is pretty good. The sausage rolls for an appetizer are a must. They come with delicious gravy and are light and flaky. I had the shepherds pie which was alright. I thought there was a little too much mashed potatoes on it for my liking, but I thought the filling was very tasty. I also sampled the bangers and mash at our table which was very good. They have a few Irish beers on tap. Overall, I like coming here for dinner.

Normally give a high rating for the bangers and mash but I think they changed it up. It seems much smaller and less peas and potatoes. Also, I think the sausages are different. The service was still spot on and the drinks are good. However, the food seems to be different.

The first two times I came her I would have given this place 5 stars, however after the last two times both being a 1, I’m going to have to average it out to a 3.
First off the location is amazing. It’s right off Alki and you can have lunch and a drink all while enjoying a nice view of the sound. The drinks are reasonably priced and have yet to fail me. The good the first two times was great and the service was even better. The last two times the food has been terrible and the service was equally as poor.
When it was good: went on a Wednesday and a Saturday. Great Irish music was playing, attentive and friendly service, awesome mood in the bar.
When it was bad: went on a weekday and a Sunday. Attempted to watch two separate sports games (one baseball game on the weekday, one Stanley cup playoff game on a Sunday).
On the weekday one, there was a class discussing musical law over the PA. I attempted to have a conversation with someone else at the bar, but we were scolded bc the people were trying to focus on their music class. I’m sorry, I thought I was in an Irish pub, not a classroom.
On the Sunday visit it was even worse. The service couldn’t have cared a less about our table (at one point we had 5 empty glasses), the food was terrible and some not even warm, and they weren’t playing their typical Irish music but instead rolled with a random early 90s montage. Both bad times the same bartender was working and scolded me for cheering at the game. The hockey game was two hours long and they only scored twice, which were the only two times I cheered.
I’m really on the fence right now and will give it one more chance before I decide for good. I would say its worth the trip for the chance that you get good good and service and they are actually playing good music.

Love the Swell for the location, their tap selection (Magners!) and the (usually) delicious food. But damn, what a filthy place they’ve become. The bathrooms are atrocious. The ceilings, floors and fixtures don’t look like they’ve had a good wipe down in eons, and the servers have a habit of disappearing for far too long (empty glass — need refill).
All cleanliness neurosis aside, I do worry that with such poor housekeeping standards, the kitchen itself isn’t likely to be up to sterility snuff either. Nothing scary than a dirty establishment that also serves food. Nowadays, I tend to avoid the food and stick to the booze. My happiness & satisfaction quotient stays much further in the black that way. Clean the joint up, physically and show your patrons you actually give a damn about the business you own (and I *know* you do, or at least used to) and I will gleefully up the star ante to a «Woohoo!»

I have to say Celtic Swell comes in at number uno on my list of best fried pickles! Those crunchy circles of dill goodness have been coated in an awesome beer batter and are always fried to perfection. The spicy aoli is definitely the perfect accompaniment. Order them. They’re life changing.
Beyond the fried pickles their food is pretty solid. I found their burger to be a bit underwhelming and dry but their fish and chips and anything with potato are pretty spot on. A few months ago they changed their sausage roll recipe and I have to say I enjoy the new one less than their old version.
Typically when I come to Celtic Swell it’s for a drink. I live just down the street and I feel they have one of the better selections of beer on tap in the area. I haven’t ventured much past things like scotch, whisky, and beer, so I can’t comment on the mixed drinks (although on my last visit someone ordered me a cider with a shot of Fireball… which was surprisingly awesome).
What continues to impress me the most is the friendliness of their staff. I would say I’m a bit of a regular here (probably here roughly once a month) and even after the second or third visit most people recognized me as a repeat and some even remembered what beer I almost always order.
On my last visit here the bartender (who is always friendly) found out it was my birthday. We had already told her we were eating next door for dinner but she insisted we come back later for a nightcap and dessert on the house. Despite being stuffed to the brim from dinner, my friends and I took her up on her offer and returned and received an awesome dessert plate… or perhaps platter is a better description? It was an incredibly generous portion with an amazing bread pudding, something chocolate, and plenty of ice cream. There could have been other things, but in all honesty the details are a bit fuzzy after a few earlier birthday drinks. At any rate, the bread pudding was delicious and it was nice that she really wanted to do something considerate for me.
Can I go there right now and just have 2 or 3 orders of fried pickles for dinner?

There are things I love about the Celtic Swell. After all, how could one not love a place where a «bacon and eggs» special translates to succulent pork belly and wasabi-​stuffed deviled eggs? And they have a great beachfront patio with bowls for doggies. But those sorts of items are high on the restaurant hierarchy of needs, above basics such as opening when you say you will open, and serving what you say you will serve.
About six weeks ago, we went for Sunday brunch at about 10:30AM. This should have worked out well, since the posted opening hour on their website is 10AM. However, when we walked in to the smell of the previous evening’s bar moppings, we were informed they didn’t open until 11. Fine; we went next door to the Alki Café.
This morning, we craved their bloody mary brunch, so headed down at 11:15. The door was open, and we walked in to that familiar dirty-​mop smell to see the cook washing dishes. A server walked in five minutes later to announce that their bartender hadn’t shown up, that they were not serving brunch, and to come back next week.
We continue to enjoy the diminished menu, but two strikes were enough to convince us that the only time we’ll choose to eat here is if we’re walking by… and they are open… and we see people eating.

Being Irish myself, I love me a Pub. My first time here wasn’t too exciting though. It was a Friday evening, around 5 and the ambiance was just dull. not any music playing, bright lights were on — i wasn’t too impressed. Our server was great, very attentive and helpful. So that was nice.
Drinks were ok — Magner’s came in a bottle. Oh well. But the food. eek! The Fried Pickles were tiny slices of pickles buried under about 3″ of deep fried batter. So gross! The potato soup was alright… eh, i just don’t even feel like taking the time to write more because i disliked it that much :-/​fail.