This place is exactly what you'd expect it to be from seeing the exterior: an old school dive bar where the average customer is 50+ years old. Not your cup of tea? Totally understandable. But, if you like a bar where the bartenders know all the regulars names, the pours are heavy, the drinks are cheap, and the game is always on, this is a solid spot. Would I bring a date here, or a group who is looking to knock back a few and then go dancing? For sure not. Would I show up with a buddy, have 5-10 drinks, watch a game, play some pool, and then somehow make my way home? You bet. And that's the beauty of it. read more

A classic dive, a little cramped and dingy, pull-tabby, dim and funky and old - the way I like it. Parking sitch is good but limited. Service? You may have to flag them down, but they get it done. Food is quick order snacks, like a corn dog, pretzels, tots. There's a burger truck, and only on Friday, I believe. Haven't caught them yet, but I hear they're decent. Full bar of the usual suspects. Decent taps and cold glasses A nice working-class Shoreline joint. Feeling divey? Come and kick back, watch a game, shoot some pool or play darts. Not a place for foofy drinks and high-maintenance yuppies, so keep it loose and casual. read more

They leave the door open and allow people to smoke right outside. This results in the bar smelling like smoke. I've stopped going because of this. read more

Favorite little dive bar! Drinks are priced just right, bartender always doing a great job behind the bar. Taper your expectations and you'll have a great time. read more

Dive bar in the true sense of the word. I liked the vintage look from the outside which is what drew me inside. It is a neighborhood watering hole for regulars. Visitors are welcome, but don't sit in a regular's seat. Straight up bar drinks and drafts. Our bartender was very nice, and she was being very vigilant with the sanitizing to meet COVID standards. I like the place, and I would hang out with the sole purpose of the main reason for the place, to drink. read more

North City Tavern - a neon sign for a lounge and grill - Bars Near Me - Shoreline, Washington

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Talk about a dive bar!!! This place has to be as old as Father Time himself!! It has to be one of the oldest bars still (barely) standing in the shoreline area if not THE oldest!! But what a great place!! Ya gotta scrappy bunch here and it's always a good time on a Friday or Saturday night!! read more

Great service, cheap drinks relaxing environment. People who frequent are fun to be around so you always feel welcomed. I highly recommend it for a casual getaway read more

This place is a dive, which can be fun. But not this place. Snobbish bartenders which big attitudes. Becoming unbearable to even sit down. Beer prices are way out of line. Might as well go across the street to Peking lounge. read more

This bar totally serves the North End on the weekend. Friday night was so busy with karaoke that there was no room to sit! I Like no room. I loved the atmosphere, and want to spend my $$. But during the rest of the week the bartenders want to close early and serve everyone else. Good luck!! read more

North City Tavern - people sitting at the bar - Bars Near Me - Shoreline, Washington

The stretch of 15th Ave NE north of Northlake Mall has a pretty nice string of neighborhood bars, from Boud's Pinehurst to the Caroline to North City Tavern. North City Tavern/Lounge has been around since at least 1945, perhaps since Prohibition, and occupies the oldest commercial property in the area (started 1929). Inside it has all the basics of a neighborhood dive -- woody interiors, yellowing old beer promotion lights, and yellowing old regular patrons. read more

North City Tavern - a neon sign for a lounge - Bars Near Me - Shoreline, Washington

Most of the reviews of this place are pretty negative & sadly they are right. This establishment is a Dive & most of my friends know I love Dives & boy do I make most Dive bars a LOT of money. I buy only premium call liquors as opposed to a lot of customers who only buy PBR's or the cheapest liquor you can get and I also usually get the munchies, so I end up buying food as well. But within a short period of time this place definitely lost my patronage. First the bathroom door handle was absolutely nasty & sticky! God knows what's gone down in that bathroom. Also there was only one stall so you sometimes have to wait a long time to use the facilities. The patrons are super sketch. I tried some of the food, when it came out it was so hot that it burnt my mouth & it also tasted like cardboard. Then my friend kept mentioning how cold it was. Once my drinks started wearing off I realized she was right, here it was mid-November and they had opened the door that we were sitting right next too. Freezing cold! There was no where to sit in the bar that was not next to an open door. I knew I wouldn't last more than a few minutes if I was freezing cold, so I went and closed the door. Within 30 seconds, the bartender had opened the door again, once again freezing us to death and you could tell she couldn't have cared less. 2 minutes later we had closed out our tab and moved on to a new bar. I can't even count anymore how many hundreds of bars I've been to in my life, especially as an Elite Yelper, but this joint sucks & I certainly won't be back! Good luck to you if you take your chances here. read more

Sometimes you need that class dive bar experience and this joint delivers - ornery bartender, jukebox with lots of 90s hits, pool, darts, regulars, etc. read more

Excellent karaoke and jello shots for 1$. Cool bartenders, crazy conversation, and a very self-aware ambience. Only suggestion is a Trivia Night. Very nice parking! read more

Yes, it's a little dive bar. Generous pours, very inexpensive. I didn't find the employees overly friendly, but that was ok. There are pull tabs and plenty of TV's. I didn't order any foods or visit the restroom, so no comment on those. The parking lot is small and tight, so be careful if you have a larger car. read more

One of a disappearing breed of neighborhood taverns where no one is trying to be someone they're not.....unless its Karoke night! Generous drinks, two pool tables and a small kitchen with a small menu. Go sing a favorite song and get the bartender to sing with you. She's got a great voice! read more

This is a dive bar in every sense of the word if you're just going somewhere to hang out with a group of friends I do recommend this dive it doesn't get overly crowded in there and if you like to people watch people sing karaoke while they're drunk this is the spot for you you should go and check it out sometime read more

Fun first Wednesday of the month. Good people. Amazing talent come sing your heart out - jazzz baby!

This was a cool little dive spot. Definitely for the locals. Some folks were friendly and some were strange but it was an overall good experience. They had a decent selection of draft beer. If dive isn't your scene this won't be for you though. read more

If you're looking for a decent bar with alright service, don't come here. 1 star is a overstatement. Check out jerseys

DO NOT GO THERE! Me my husband and friend went there for my husband's 21st birthday and they 86 us. The bartender lied to us saying that we put something in are drink just to get us out of the bar and we were not in there for more then 10 minutes. We even tipped well imediately after receiving our drinks and couldn't have been more courteous. Getting looked at crossways by half the people there didn't help either. Our belief is they don't want to make good on a birthday drink. (That's drink, singular) read more

Fun friendly environment. Lived in the neighborhood for three years before we went in. I thought it was a scary old peoples bar full of drunks driving by that was the vibe I got. When I went in I was shocked to find a wide options of liquor and beer pool tables and karaoke. Friendly people of all ages we will definitely be back. I didn't try the food so that will be my next trip. read more

North City Tavern - a pool table in a pub - Bars Near Me - Shoreline, Washington

I got charged 27 bucks for 2 longanitas and a widmer. How did that happen? I didn't notice it til later but 9 bucks a beer?! No thanks! Make sure you check your recipe ya when you go here. Don't be me. Me and my company will not be returning. read more

I absolutely love this bar. But then, I love old beat up places with character. The staff there are sweet and kind and I've had nothing but great service from them. I love the vibe and I love the people that hang out in there. It's a real slice. If you're looking for a great neighborhood bar, this is your place. I'm so glad I live up here in North city now and I'm so glad I found my new hang out. read more

My friend and I came here the other day, because I live in the neighborhood and have always wanted to try this place out. The bartender was really snotty to us. Additionally, after we got our drinks, she couldn't run our cards because their card machine was busted. Luckily, my friend had cash. I'll never go back. It wasn't a nice experience. read more

this fancy little spot has won a place in my hert. i am so happy to write a review of little north city butt bar it is ~cute~ and fun! they have a jukebox and i plaid 2 green day songs and 1 blink 182 song back 2 back on it. there was also a punk and his girlfriend who i could tell from looking at were excited to be there. the bar tender was a lady and she made really good drinks esp. beer. i drank 4 rainier beers and i was crunk. (i had drank other things before attending North City Tavern!) the pool tables were interesting... to say the least. im bad at pool but you know how it goes. practice makes perfect. i did not play pool tho cuz i was too happy. there was a very neat poster for red hook beer whi ch i hate but which had a very cool poster. picture it: ur own local neighborhood bar complete with pool tables. if you are thinking of this magickal place where "everybody knows ur name" u are prbly thinking of North City Butt Bar. a special place where i think everyone was happy. HIGHLY RECCOMENDED FOR PUNKS WITH NOT MUCH MONEY cus it was cheap also the jukebox. unfortunately my favorite song "take me home tonight" by eddy money was not on the jukebox but i picked a quiet song instead so i could sing over the quite music the lyrics to Take Me Home Tonight. go here and do ur thing. get faded and play pool i promise u a night to remember. shout out to carly and ed my loung lizard homies this review is for U! That's the word and THanks For Reacing! -Derek t. read more

The Staff can Make or Break a Business. I am too saddened the way i was treated. After a couple decades of attendance and such a horrific experience. Its all good. Im sure these new staffers will move on Im sure the owners will hire more reliable ones. I am sure the owners have experienced a little less in their pocket books: less customers, more thefts by these staff, and worse; less smiles. read more

Expensive shitty beers. Mostly lame customer service. Patrons smoking in the bar. Waste of time and money.

Love this pub. Cheap drinks, friendly staff and an all around good vibe. Karaoke is fun, bingo on Wednesday's!! Had a homey feel which is what I look for in a place! read more

My first vist to the NCT was mellow. On my second visit, the bartender remembered my name. On my third visit, I sang karaoke and recieved a standing ovation. On my fourth, a nice fellow bought me several Jagerbombs... I haven't been back for a while, but when I go, Ill look forward to a memorable experience. read more

Everything you want in a dive bar. Cheap stiff drinks and a rural feel. I love this place!!

A dive bar but a fabulous one! Brenda is the best! Always fast and always chatty--remembers your drink even if it has been 6 months! It is great for people watching too! read more

I really like this place this bar!. I had only stopped by for a quick drink, and perhaps if you are snobbish, uppity type of girl, this would be to much for you. I happen to be a 39 yr old open-minded, independant type of person. I have not only stopped and had a drink, I played bingo, sang kareokee, and have made many friends here. Those creepy types, I think, have been on the boats out in Alaska for ever, and many have really good paying jobs..Yes, there might be a one odd person there, but I sure get looked after when I now go. Get to know the bartender's they are great. Try the pulltabs and the jello shots...yummmm... read more

We used to go here once or so a week, but only when Angela was working because she treated us so well unlike some of the other bartenders. But apparently Angela is no longer at the bar and now there is nothings that attracts us to it. The prices are average, their drinks aren't that great and the company is lacking. Sad they lost the only person that we cared for. read more

I have never written a review before so that should say something alone... I have been coming to this bar for a long time. Usually it's just me and a guy friend and we have spent a lot of money here all together. We usually have Kim as our bartender and she is great, she knows us and makes sure we are taken care of! Tonight my girlfriend and I were here and I wanted to smoke so she followed me outside beer in hand and set the empty bottle on an outside table. Over an hour later our bartender comes up and asks us to leave because of having the beer outside. We had no idea that we had done anything wrong she tells us there's a sign on the wall, on our way out we finally see the sign among like five others on the wall hand written explaining no drinks outside. So yes we made a mistake but there was no warning. We had good intentions and we're not causing any disruptions just simply reconnecting after years of being apart. It was a special night for us until that point... I understand that there are laws etc but at least give a warning we would have complied happily... Had they just told us it was not allowed I'm sure we would have spent at least another fifty dollars because we talked about buying top shelf shots. But whatever. We felt totally singled out and I can assure you I won't be back...... read more

I've lived in or near Shoreline for ten years, and we found this place to be inexpensive and friendly. Now, when we have guests in town or just want to go to a dive bar this is it. The owners are pretty cool people, and I just always have a nice time. read more

There are many better bars out there but this is a place to drink, that's cheap compared to most other places. I was really bummed because there is still a sign outside that mentions "..and grill" and I was hungry and like me some bar food. But they have no grill, just frozen stuff which I ordered some taquitos which took like 20 minutes and, ya not bad for frozen taquitos you can get from your grocery store. -I like the physical space, my kind of lots of wood homey, pool table. - Waitress was pretty and my service was good but she frequently disappeared and other customers were rather frustrated...but they never said it to her when she came back...did I mention she was pretty. - Thing that annoyed me the most was I was there on a Monday night...so Monday night football (they have good TVs) and the place was rather empty...at one point me and 5 other dudes spaced about...and it was dead silent and really strange. so I asked if we could turn up the volume and the waitress said she was not allowed to because the owner wanted maximum money from the juke box...so unless someone put money in the machine it was silent. Someone should sell them / explain how other bars have it where the audio automatically switches when the juke box is on...or they at least can have a TV in the corner with the volume up a bit. could see going here if I lived in the area because its  cheap and good to have a place you can walk to but no reason otherwise. read more

This was the first bar I went to when moving to the north city, but this bar took along time to even get the bar tender attention to even get a drink and the other customer just starred at me and my boyfrien. Sorry so now if we want a drink we go down town for a local brew and to hang out with friends. read more

This place is what it is. it's a dive. They make just about any drink at a pretty reasonable price. Brenda is friendly and doesn't get rattled. However, Rachel is another story. When I asked her fair questions she got unnecessarily defensive over something pretty trivial. I get the impression that the owner is very absentee and doesn't care how well his bartender treat their customers. Why do I say that? I say that because I tried to make a complaint and the bartender is the one who passes along complaints to the owner. That is like a fox guarding the hen house. The patrons are mostly friendly. However, if you want to make a complaint against a bartender, then make your compliant when the other bartender is there. If not, then use registered mail. read more

An oldie but a goodie. Bartenders know what they're doing and don't mess around. Come here for some bs'n and laughs NOT for a umbrella drink... read more

Cheap drinks, friendly bartenders, no frills. Don't come here expecting something nice / fancy and you'll be all set.