Great amount of Pull tabs! They have wall games too! Plus a pool table. Everyone pretty much knows each other and are very friendly to new people. Neighborhood bar! read more

Back Door Pub - Dive Bars Near Me - Seattle, Washington

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Good dive bar. Cheap liquor. Lots of locals. Good pool table. Some sketch but not too creepy. read more

Nothing like a good ol' Neighborhood bar where the drinks are flowing, prices hit the wallet nicely, and where the pretty ladies equally love back-door'n nights. read more

There is no food here except chips... The service was great... This is an old school dive bar.... People under 30 would not understand... I like it, the prices are good, great conversation with other patrons, I will definitely try this one again read more

It's a great dive. Perfect vibes. I dunno if they have food, but a cool place to hang out, bartenders are all great.

The Back Door Pub is so far from being against the LGBT+ community. The owner, staff, and clients alike have zero issues with anybody. This is a light-hearted, fun place to party and hang out with friends. I'm sorry if anyone felt offended or singled out while patronizing our bar and felt the need to bash us on social media. But please stop by and form your own opinion. read more

THE BDP! It's pretty much the best. Lakecity neighborhood bar all the way. Thank you for being a great dive bar. read more

Everyone is treated equally here. The previous post where someone said this owner is homophobic is so not true. John has treated two Spirits and the LGBT+ community with respect. I enjoy coming and they treat me as family. read more

Really great place, love Taylor the bartender, she is super nice and makes great drinks. Her dog is awesome, makes a great vibe. Very comforting and inviting place, it is far from being against any communities, everyone is treated nice and equally. As a minority I feel welcomed and safe, love the diversity here. Thank you! read more

This place is perfect for what it is-a neighborhood dive bar. The clientele is pretty diverse from what I've seen. There are pool tables and pull tabs. I got a lesson in pull tabs from the awesome bartender here. Speaking of bartenders, that lady makes one heck of a stiff drink. A+, for sure. It's a great place to grab a drink after work. read more

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THE lake city dive bar. This is everything you want your bar to be when you are tired of chains and $22 a cocktail craft bars.

Great bartenders, generous pours, fun people. Drama goes down from time to time but that's just part of the fun. This is a great dive through and through. read more

Despite the awesome company, this bar was a dud. One of my friends fell off the bar stool. Another went behind the bar to answer the phone when the bartender disappeared. Otherwise, completely unmemorable. read more

Come here often. I love the atmosphere and decor. Not usually crowded. Bar tenders are attentive. Creative variety of original cocktails but a little heavy on the bitters. I like the aphroteasiac drink. They do have happy hour and are open late. Food is classic bar food, but good variety, fair price. Great place to take someone visiting Seattle or good for a date. read more

The bartenders are fantastic. No matter what night you go out they are all amazing. I've even brought awkward dates here!

Hey, now! This place I think deserves a little better than what its got. Sure, it's a dive. Yes, it has those regulars. Hell, if I care if they want to talk to me. Never encountered the "lick" move, but I wouldn't put it past some dude or dudette there. I live within a stumbling distance from there and is often the place that I go to have a last one before hitting the sack or the floor, whichever comes first. Done with the sarcasm. The bartenders recoginze me and my friends who go in there once every 2 weeks or so. I'll run into them every once in awhile outside of the 'door with a "Hello." We've been there for the entire bar gets a free drink for sh**s and giggles. Whats not to love about an old "Cheers" crowd? ...I guess here their cheer may have escaped them a few years ago. Whatever, beer is delicious. read more

The Back Door Pub is certainly not a bar for everyone. I never shy away from visiting places that I clearly don't belong to so I was all for going in. I had encouraged my fellow to go with me and he was even skeptical. Apparently they have a baseball team called The Back Door Violators. If that doesn't make you think twice about entering, I don't know what will. This bar is on Lake City Way and all the times I've driven past it, it looks like its seen better days and has been improved upon to disguise the past. Funny thing is I never saw anyone hanging out in front. Reason number two not to go in? One night after dinner my dude, his sister, and her husband with two of their friends in tow decided to brave the uncharted waters that is the Back Door Pub. On a Tuesday night a few regulars were in attendance. One spirited regular talked loudly about something and the lone bartender acknowledged him by nodding. There was music playing. The interior was much cleaner than I thought it would be with great beer mirrors, red carpet, and wood paneled walls. A dog was walking around the premises. The bartender has clearly been working there for years and knew how to handle unknowns. She was quick to see our IDs, hand us beers, and then ignore us the rest of our time there. As we sat I observed the surroundings a bit more and saw a menu on the side of the bar that was limited but had hot dogs. The signal our time at Back Door Pub needed to come to an end was when the owner of the wandering dog (which I am still not entirely sure it was) kept talking to us in a frantic way. Our silent treatment went unnoticed. I never knew a person could talk so much when there was no reaction by the people that are being talked to. You won't fear for your life here but you may find yourself in the midst of a one sided conversation. read more

What you see is not always what you get.* *=What I saw was 1 foosball table, 1 pool table, overpriced beer. What I got was a lot of stares from the regulars and a big fat bellyache from the Rainier. What was I thinking? 2 stars? Hey, they serve beer. read more

I'm so a back door type of gal. I'll tell you straight up. If you do not like dive bars, you are not going to like it here. There's no hipster, cool dark wood bars and french films playing on projectors. There are no ice bars or DJ's. Absent are scantily clad college girls and dudebros. Sorry to disappoint anyone that thought somewhere called the Back Door Pub was going to be anything but a true dive, and it's a damn good dive at that. It's a neighborhood bar whose clientele are a little rough around the edges. For the most part everyone seems to get along just fine. I've never felt unsafe here, and I've always gotten good service from the bartenders. Drinks are reasonable. And because of this bar, I have a story about a lovely lady who scribbled a raven on my arm in sharpie and drew a portrait of me on paper as a gift. They play old music mixed with Top 40. Patsy Cline followed by Jay Z. There's a pool table. They show Football. It's nothing fancy at all, and it's quintessential Lake City, a very mixed crowd on weeknights. I'm not ashamed to say I know I'll be back there for some rounds in the near future. read more

Ho boy. Talk about a mixed bag. Loved the bartender, dug the location and felt ok about the crowd. We only came here for one drink, but left with a good memory. We won't be regulars but I can see us visiting again! I can't think of a better place in the area to get a stiff drink, heavy hand on those pours! read more

Five stars if you like dive bars, and I do. Racially and culturally diverse customer base with great bartenders and stiff drinks. I want nothing more in a dive bar. read more

Ah this place is gettin' a bad rap. If you like places like the Knarr and the Monkey Pub, the Back Door will suit ya just fine. There's a decent crowd of regulars here, and definitely some characters that wander through from the seedier parts of Lake City. The owner plays in a fun band (The Garage Band) that plays here once a month or so, and they tend to cover 80's and 90's songs - maybe the 70's too. Pool is free on Sundays, and there are some decent players here. Usually the table isn't too hard to get on to. Definitely the service varies dramatically by bartender. At the moment, Desmond and Tara are the ones you want working. when you're there. read more

This place is great. Exactly what a true dive bar is. Cheap drinks and an almost retro feel that tells you it was in its prime in the 70s. The people in earlier reviews are probably looking for new age "hip" and ironical "dive bars". This isn't one of those, it's a true dive. Looking around I see no shady characters that other people warned of. Definitely an older crowd. I live in the area and confidently say I'll be back. read more

Back Door Pub - Back Door Pub, pool table and bar - Dive Bars Near Me - Seattle, Washington

It's a small, semi-sketchy dive bar. Apparently, (after reading other reviews) the regulars try to lick newbies. Who's to say that wasn't a welcome lick? Let's be open to other cultures people. read more

The place is small, but it sure has character! No one tried to lick me. In fact, the regulars were quite welcoming. I thought the prices were great! Especially when you tasted their drinks! Worth every penny of my Skyy & Cran...only $4.50! There is also this only bartender...he works weekends and he's just fun! He dances around the bar! He's so fun to watch! I had a great time there and plan on going back. I hear they sometimes have a live band and they don't charge a cover charge. read more

Sorry guys , if you had food it would be 5 . Tara and Chad are the heart and soul of this dive bar . Tara is warm and sweet as honey and Chad is the funniest bartender of all time . pool , darts , foosball , live. Music some nights and magic box that plays your picks if you feed money . Good drinks at good prices , just no food . read more

Back Door Pub - Chad the bartender and happy costumer - Dive Bars Near Me - Seattle, Washington

Came here on a date planning to spend alot of money and were treated unfairly. we were the only colored people there and the atmosphere was clearly tense with our presence, but we still tipped 25% however,but, I will never spend my hard earned money here again and i promise theres multiple surrounding bars that are more welcoming and accepting to others, i advice u spend your money else where read more

Despite wondering what type of bar this was precisely, I decided to give the Back Door Pub a whirl since it's in my neighborhood. I called up a pal and we went to grab a pint after work on a Wednesday night. Like a lot of the Lake City business core, the place automatically has this air of disrepair and upon entering the Back Door Pub there is nothing that'll disabuse you of that notion. Overall inside seems pleasant enough with enough of a dive vibe to be cool but not so much as to drive me away. At one end of the bar you've got the career pulltab players looking for their big break. Behind them there is a pool table where practitioners of the barroom arts are honing their skills. All around there are people watching sports highlights on the TV that is perched near the front door of the Back Door Pub. Overall, not a bad little neighborhood bar. So why 2 stars? Well, on a Wednesday night, I shouldn't have to wait 10 minutes to get a pint of beer from the bar. What happened is that the career pulltab types actually won...not just once...but twice while I was standing at the bar waiting to get a beer. This required the lone bartender to fill out some paperwork staple the winning tab to a receipt and a few other things and then take care of the backlog of folks wanting beers which all in all took about 10 minutes til I was sitting down with beer in hand. read more

That's real good bar for drink .I been there 2 times and I'm lucky about the I saw the good band when I go there first time.

This is a normal person's dive bar. Some clientele might seem sketchy, but they're just drunk. If the regulars stare you down it's probably the deer in the headlights look on your face when you notice you aren't in your usual brobar/hipster pub/college chick drinking hole. I love dive bars. I love drinking without being judged or annoyed. So this place is pretty great for a Tuesday night after a long workday when you just want to chill out. A pool table and foosball are good bets for making friends (and cordial enemies who always best you at either game). If you've ever thought you were better than other people around you, don't come here. None of us want your beauty and perfection and super duper awesomness ruining our beers and friendly conversation. Bartenders here are exceptionally nice and handle rowdys and jerks really well. Only three stars since there is not really any food. read more

This dive bar is a staple of lake city. Cheap beer, stiff drinks and the staff is superfriendly or supercute AND superfriendly!! read more

Back Door Pub - people sitting at the bar - Dive Bars Near Me - Seattle, Washington

If the smell of urine and smelly bums is what you're after, this is the place. I gave it 2 stars as they tend to pour some of the stiffest drinks in town. Granted, it's very difficult to want to come back from the local patrons ranging from gang banger types to what appear to be people making their living in alternative ways. I'm not saying I would employ any of the people there, just most of them are unemployable and appear to have plenty of money. I definitely don't want to stick around long enough to find out. If you want shady, grungy, smelly dive bar, this is the place for you. No bathing required prior to coming here. read more

I love dive bars with a passion -- for a girl with a penchant for sexy black dresses and stilettos, put that red lipstick and brown eyeliner on! Throw on a black leather jacket and hit the town! This one serves Miller Highlife in a bottle for just $2! What more could a Seattleite want? TGIF!!! Let's play pool! read more

A great little neighborhood bar. The ownership is kind and caring and the staff is more than friendly. Been coming here for years and would recommend stopping in sometime for a good stiff drink... read more

Great bartender, this one lady has been a bartender for half of her life and she knows how to make a Manhattan. It is delicious. But we only come here for 1 drink since there isn't a kitchen, no food. 1 pool table which is always occupied. We just stop by for 1 drink and leave since this place isn't our type of place. read more

This is a dive. Staff is friendly. Full bar with a beer garden outside for the smokers. Pool, Foosball, and darts. Not a great place but does the job when you need to get a few drinks and relax. Most of the locals are... interesting to say the least. I've met a few now and they seem to be friendly and up for a good time. Go in with a good attitude and you should have a pretty good time here. read more

A SHOT AND A BEER IS $6.50 ALWAYS.... EVEN SATURDAY NIGHT! No food but, it is likely you don't want to eat here. Cheapest shot and beer I know of... Refreshing in the city home to $7 Pints and $10 shots. read more

Your experience ultimately depends upon who is serving the drinks--quality varies--but overall the place smells horrible, they keep it frigid in the winter due to a miserly owner I'm sure, and they over-serve like crazy. Apparently they can't recognize when someone is just absolutely shitfaced. Sure, some people are normally obnoxious and strange, but there is a huge difference between that and utterly wrecked. That could make it a potentially unpleasant experience if the wrong person isn't cut off in time and decides to feel sociable. Often enough to be annoying, bartenders like to jabberjaw or otherwise do paperwork while you're waiting to be served. The clientele is mostly regulars, alot of whom are "older folks", and yes you will be sized up if you are new, but quietly and not in a hostile way. They just want to make sure the already shady vibe they've given the place isn't going to be expanded upon by some up n coming new dealer in town. Oh, and the only time an attractive woman can be seen near there is when she is walking by outside..... read more

I was in about three weeks ago and I'm new to the Lake City area I stopped in at the The Back Door Pub not knowing anybody and Danielle was the bartender she instantly made me an awesome drink and introduce me to the locals and made me feel like I was at home. I so look forward to going back to that local bar making it totally my own and seeing Danielle my first friend in this area. This will be the first place I stop at when I'm back from California. read more

Last blue collar bar in Lake City. Regular people and a super-fun co-ed softball team.