Monday 30th of May 2011 06:24:28 PM

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The Old Town Alehouse in the historic section of Ballard Avenue Historic District in downtown Ballard (one of Seattle’s neighborhoods, and a separate town until 1907). They’ve done a nice job of updating the space while still emphasizing the historic character of the building. The front wall is all windows, including a few panes left of the original glass. The space inside consists of a fairly large room with unpainted brick walls and a warm, worn wood floor. A long wooden bar with tall dark wooden stools runs along the left side of the room and the space to the right is filled with tables and chairs. The ceiling is high and supports a few fans to circulate the air. Behind the bar are several classic old wooden cabinets that certainly look old enough to be contemporary for the period of the building.

The atmosphere is somewhat trendy, and it was almost all a younger crowd on our visit. However we felt welcome and it seemed to us that this must be a well-loved place. The beer selection is quite respectable with at least 14 taps, including a draft craft cider, a Chimay, a Lindemans, and the rest all dedicated to craft beers. Service was a bit slow tat first; it took them some time to notice us, even though we sat at the bar and there were empty seats around us, but once we got their attention, the servers were friendly and seemed to know something about beer.

We didn’t try the food but it looked like good quality. We saw fish and chips and an attractive sandwich/salad combination, and the specials posted were a cobb salad, a sausage platter, and a meatball torpedo (whatever that is!).

Kids are allowed in the dining area. There is only street parking (and this can be a challenge to find).

Tuesday 27th of November 2007 06:44:14 PM

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This person needs 3 or more reviews on the site for their scores to start counting.

Wonderful neighborhood bar - not as hip as King's Hardware or Hatties Hat down the street, but the beer offered is solid across the board. They offer sandwiches, salads and other munchies as well.

As far as the beer, it's Belgian in focus, but there are a wide variety of local brews on tap. A lot of American Ales and a few rotating. From what I remember, Lindeman's and Hoegaarden's on tap, in addition to Boundary Bay, Manny's, and a few others on tap. There are probably 10-12 taps and I can't guess the number of bottles, maybe 20? It's not a clearinghouse, but everything is high quality and the servers are very knowledgeable.