Shay’s Restaurant

The carpet smells bad like a Rabit Hutch. As soon as you walk in. Otherwise tge Waitresses are nice and experianced. The Breakfast was great really good Omaha Bacon. Nice fluffy pancakes.

My wife and I always go here during the week. I can honestly say we will never go back on the weekend and would leave if she was out server. The bartender was unattentive, to say the least.
It was a game day, 11 – 22 around 11:15. There were 2 others in the bar besides us and our friends. We ordered our drinks, and they were out in about 7 minutes. Our lunch was ordered. Mine was modified, and the bartender seemed upset. I ordered something I always order… and she said «if we have it».
After about 25 minutes I went to the restroom. The restaurant was not busy. It was a little steady, and as a fellow industry professional I know the difference. 18 minutes later lunch was served to us… but not our friends. That was 8 minutes later. I didn’t want to eat hot Food as it was due to it being freezing cold outside. I was worried it may have put my system in shock.
Cold or not, food was great. As always. However my beverage was empty. I tried to get the attention of our bartender and I even did the slurping straw and rattle the ice during tv silence, but the tv was up so dang loud. When our dishes were finally picked up I asked for a refill. She so courteously pretended I was in another hemisphere and dropped two checks that were never asked for, let alone two separate checks.
And to think that we were going to spend more money. I guess we can save it for the next weekday shift when the nice, attentive, older gentleman is there.

Food was ok NY Steak Sandwich. they may want to replace the pie refrigeration unit as it sounds like a chainsaw when it kicks on.

Greasy spoon, horribly understaffed Sunday morning experience, which made sitting in the dirty and dingy dining room for so long even more of an issue.
Would have been two stars if not for how tasty the meat lover’s omelette was… Once we were served.

Wow one of my grossest restaurant experiences. The dirt in the little places and the rug looking like it was bought used from a frat house were bad enough. I’m eating my food and it’s kinda gross but I’m housing it down outta hunger and I notice my toast is moldy. I mean real moldy. including what I have eaten. I point it out to the waitress and she comes back knocking $ 2 off my bill for the test and hash browns since I ate my eggs. Just gross. I spend the rest of the morning waiting to get sick. Just a nasty place.

This is a classic greasy spoon. I will say it doesn’t fit the Seattle vibe at all, looks more like a place you find in a small town and everyone knows the staff. That said, good food, great service and super adorable. Skip the trendy brunch scene and give your wallet a break by coming here!

Nice to find a bar with people at 3 PM and cheap beer. A drinker’s heaven if you don’t care for fancy placws.

Dude!!! There were dead flies on the window sill! Seriously??? Do u guys ever clean that place? Makes me wonder what the kitchen looks like? Food is mediocre, great if your hung over, or just drunk and don’t give a crap. They use packages for there sauces need I say more:/

Love the all day breakfast! I’m always a fan.
Today I brought my family there for the first time and they loved the breakfast and really happy with the service. Really not much to say… Food is good. The waitress is funny and nice. Great place to chat and have coffe all day!

Good olé fashion blue collar food, this is what I miss having grown up in Seattle, places like the 234 broiler, Vals café, glad Shays is here when you just want some great food, low price and good service. The bar makes ‘hay-​maker’ drinks your liver will be crying uncle, not for me but it too is a blue collar bar, and for that I appreciate them.

Best «hole in the wall» dinner! Monte Cristo’s are awesome and French dip actually has enough meat you can actually see it! Dated décor, but friend staff!

REALLY not happy with my experience on St. Patrick’s Day! Parking was to be expected even at 5:00 pm, no parking. I had to park around the corner and walk down the hill. The front of the menu listed their St. Patrick’s day Specials. The usual, Corned Beef and Cabbage, Irish Stew and drink specials. My fiancé and I looked over the menu and we were torn between a couple different entrees but ultimately chose the Corned Beef and Cabbage because that’s what you do, right? For starters, my meal was cold. The meat was dry and the veggies were over cooked. I didn’t think sending it back would have made a difference. They were busy and the service was good.
The worst thing was when the bill came. It was really higher than expected. After looking more closely, I discovered they were charging $ 14.50 + tax for one of the worst meals I’ve ever had! I say «discovered «because the prices for the food specials weren’t even listed on the menu. I brought this to the bartenders attention, but what could she do other than relay the information to the manager.
It’s really too bad because my fiancé had never been and was looking forward to trying their breakfast. Probably will never go back. I should’ve gone to my favorite bar, Tabs in Kenmore, but I was meeting up with friends at Shays. I heard Tabs served really good Corned Beef and Cabbage for $ 10 and Irish Stew for $ 6. I know where I’m NOT going next year!

My husband and I are starting to grow seriously attached to this place. It was a slow start. We were wary. It doesn’t look good but it is full of friendly people and character. We came because we can walk from our house. We keep coming back because it’s comfortable and easy going. The food is pretty good. Love the chicken fried steak. Robert Irvine would have a field day redecorating but it is always pretty busy so I guess he won’t be called. Wish they had better beer on tap. They have Redhook ESB in bottles so… OK then.

You need to eat here. We are here in Seattle for family activities and decided to go out for breakfast. We like trying out family diners and so we stopped in at Shays.
Ambiance four star
It is straight out of the 1970s. The décor is well worn and mostly serviceable. It is decorated for fall and gives a home style feel.
Food 4 star
We ordered 3 meals.
Belgium waffle and bacon.
New York steak and eggs. Great steak and cooked the way I like it.
Scrambled eggs toast and hash browns.
Cleanliness 0 star
This is where they need help. The floor is so sticky your feet make a sound when you pry them from the floor. The table was sticky and the chairs. It would be good to close down for two days and do a complete cleaning, paint inside and out, replace the carpet, and get the loud desert refrigerator repaired or removed.

So far this is my favorite place for a Monte Cristo. I’ve tried other restaurants… the Baranof not bad at all. Charlies served something not very good, and the joint was smelly, filthy (including bathrooms), and dark and spooky. I guess that is what they call «gourmet» on Capitol Hill. The only thing about Shay’s is the fries are a little greasy… Baranof has better fries and tartar sauce. I will continue to try other restaurants for their Monte Cristo, but after trying several places, this is the best, with nice egg batter on the Cristo.

I freaking love this place!
To be more specific. I love the bar. At breakfast. The food is fine… I mean, you can eat it and all. But the drinks are great! I asked the bartender for «some coffee with booze in it». She brought out this drink that made my toes curl. It tasted just like… ANOTHER ONE!
It isn’t fancy, but if you want to day drink — with people who do it professionally — it may be the place for you.

On my quest for the perfect Monty Cristo sandwich, I convinced my family to stop here. Now, nobody loves a dive restaurant more than I do, and I can usually forgive a bit of the atmosphere, but when we walked in, the ceiling was BLACK — not just a little black, but a good portion of it was black. I don’t think they cleaned it since smoking was outlawed in restaurants. The lady who seated us looked exactly like my grandma, which instantly endeared her to me. But, she was only seating us while our real waitress was on a smoke break. How do I know she was on a smoke break? Because I could totally smell it on her. I wondered if she even bothered to wash her hands before serving us.
My son went to the bathroom to wash his hands, and upon return said, «mom, don’t ever make me go in there again. It’s the scarier than a Honey Bucket.» That’s a great way to win friends and influence people — scare small children with your horror story bathroom. Still, I was willing to be open-​minded. After all, they serve Monty Cristo, right?
I ordered my beloved sandwich, and my son ordered meatloaf with mashed potatoes and gravy. My husband ordered fish and chips — he loved his food — after all, what can one do to ruin fried stuff, right? My Monty Cristo came, and it was pretty small — they promised a triple decker sandwich, and it was NOT triple decker. But, that didn’t bother me. What did bother me was the fact they used artificial cheese, the sandwich was slimy, and it tasted like plastic. I’m tellin ya, if this was my first Monty Cristo experience, I would never have eaten another.
My son wanted me to mention that his mashed potatoes were terrible — he said he didn’t know what they made them with, but they didn’t taste like any potatoes he’d ever had. he also said his meatloaf was «icky.»
We are never going to eat here again!

I never would have came here unless my friends wanted to. We went on a Friday night for $ 11.99 prime rib. You get a very large prime rib and sides for a very reasonable price. It was actually pretty good for the price.
I also liked the ambiance of the place. It reminded me of the old diners I would go to with my grandparents. Not a place I would visit all the time, but I wouldn’t say no if someone wanted to go.
I looked into the bar and it didn’t look that impressive. Our beer options were Bud Light or Alaskan Amber. But there are other places for me to go for good drink.
Now I want some prime rib…
Zipzap Zubidy Bop!

I can’t belive I have been driving by and dismissing this place for decades! Decades, people! First of all, their breakfasts are wonderful. My crab cake benedict came with crab cakes instead of English muffin. So perfect, as I am not a huge fan of bread or bread-​like substanes. The crab cakes were very tasty, but what really blew me away was the Hollandaise sauce! So rich, yet with just the right amount of tartness from the lemon juice. The regular eggs benedict were also a hit.
Friday nights they offer an 8oz prime rib for $ 11.99, which includes soup or salad, rice, and veggies. I ordered the 8 oz portion but received something much bigger, probably 10 oz. It was delicious! Served with a side of au jus AND horseradish. So yummy. For your starch, you can choose between baked potato, mashed potatoes and gravy, french fries, or rice pilaf. I highly recommend the mashed potatoes and gravy. I opted for the clam chowder to start and it was terrific.
The décor is definitely dated and the bar in the back is full of career alcoholics, but just come for the food!

Fun little karaōke place! You can get food until about 10pm, but pretty much everything they’ve got is breakfast foods.
Really like the karaōke stage, but they don’t have a huge selection & most of the karaōke songs that I sing, they didn’t have.
Patrons are very friendly and talkative. Bar staff were nice & helpful.