I've been here a few times over the last couple years and it's okay.. this time we got here right before 2pm and they were only serving their late night menu. You have to order everything at the bar. We got a burger ($10 - doesn't include fries), Wings ($7), fries ($5), fish taco ($6 - only one). We got a number for our table but when the food came around the bartender put down the wrong number so there was some confusion. Once we finally got our food, It was hit or miss. I thought the burger was good - Lots of cheese and a creamy sauce. Wings were mushy (boyfriend compares to oatmeal, but his daughter crushed them). Fries were classic bar fries and were satisfying. Go here for cocktails, pass on the food and if it's busy don't expect the best service. read more

I hate to give this place a one star, but I feel like I have no choice! I grew up in Ballard and after seeing this place pop up, I thought it would be awesome to help bring nightlife to Ballard. However, it was terrible. :( Besides taking an hour to get into the establishment, I saw others being let in without a wrist band, while I patiently waited for a wrist band to go in. Furthermore, the young gentlemen working the front door felt the need to push me after a simple misunderstanding. I felt completely disrespected especially after asking for the manager and being told I'd have to wait all night to talk to him. Unfortunate, but I still hope that Ballard can continue to improve its nightlife as it has been! read more

The outdoor area makes you want to love this place. The sad part is they do not do anything good. The food was terrible and cold. We ordered fish tacos and they were soggy and cold. The worst part about out visit was the staff. They would not take out order. We had to chase down three different people before one would take our order after 15 min. Save your time and money. Go to a different place that has edible food and not terrible service. read more

Fantastic hidden gem! I love the space, the service is friendly and personal, the food is good, the beer is local, the atmosphere is great! It reminds me of some of my fav bars in Amsterdam and Budapest (both cities I've called home that have great bar scenes making use of former industrial spaces and outside gardens). Same here: I love that PR highlights Ballard's industrial heritage while offering a distinct Seattle-vibe. It's also kid friendly, while having enough space to not bother the other clientele. (Haha, at least I hope so!) I don't have kids myself, but we took my nephews here, sitting in the corner (near a bright colored kids table) and the 2 and 3 year olds climbed on the giant anchors, smelled the garden flowers, played with beanbags and play dough... Great vibes all around! Looking forward to come back - with or without the kids! PLEASE DON'T LET THE LOW REVIEWS FOOL YOU. THIS PLACE IS FANTASTIC! read more

Here are my Facebook posts about this place. They will give you an idea why the five stars: 07/08/2016: "Could there be a better place than this?" 07/13/2016: "It's always a nice day at Pono Ranch." 08/18/2016: "Pono Ranch is the best. Wait, have I already said that? Probably." There is nothing I don't like about this place. One of their sandwich boards was broken, so I fixed it. Now I feel even more invested. I have read (and heard) the hits on service, but I have never experienced it. Perhaps the staffing is adjusted to the crowd. When there aren't many customers, a couple of staff members have a lot of area to cover, since this place is huge, so in that case, I just order from the bartender. I know where he hides out. Behind the bar. But last night it was hopping and service was fantastic. Look, if you don't like the industrial aesthetic, the resort vibe, or the marine references (all wonderfully combined), I get it. Go somewhere else. read more

As a local, I had the pleasure of watching a desolate lot turn into a promising establishment. There was so much potential for a new, urban oasis on the outskirts of industrial Ballard; however, the vision became blurred as opening day neared. I met the owner and selected staff, and after a brief discussion, it was no surprise to find that employee morale was low. The "visionary," as he was mockingly referred to, had more interest in leering at my girlfriend than discussing his business. Uncomfortable as that encounter may have been, I later came back to give the juice bar a try. Let me just say that my garbage disposal has regurgitated more appetizing bile than what I was served. The horror did not end there though. The gluten-free baked goods, apart from being astronomically expensive, tasted stale and seemed to have absorbed the aroma of coffee and despair. I don't blame the overworked baristas for this unpleasant experience though, as it seems like the entire kitchen is severely mismanaged. I hope this place gets bought out, because there are some truly redeeming qualities: the patio is spacious, and the woodwork is phenomenal. And after looking at the brunch menu, I won't even return to give dining room a try; the bizarre entrées looked unsuitable for anyone with a human stomach. My advice: if you're going to get your culinary inspiration from a 4 year-old, stick with Play-Doh spaghetti, and leave the "Breakfast Ravioli" out. I'll check back this summer to see if the proprietor has left this place in the hands of someone more capable of running a restaurant. read more

On my first visit, the service was slow, but my boyfriend and I managed to get drinks and food out on the patio on a sunny Sunday afternoon. The women at the table next to me left because they couldn't get the attention of a server to get drinks and got tired of waiting. The hostess seemed flustered and the servers seemed to be trying to get to everyone, but they just kept saying how slammed they were. The second visit was for a going away party. I physically went to Pono Ranch to reserve the area nearly a month prior to the party. I was told the area had a $500 minimum. With that many people, I knew we'd be fine. I was told by the owner, Jon, that we would have the tiki bar area, with a dedicated server and bartender and they could do wristbands for our party. Then two days later, someone (Devon, I think) who worked at Pono Ranch called to confirm. He apparently no longer works there, but he told me the same thing. I gave them a credit card to hold the reservation and confirmed the details. We had a $500 minimum and would do wristbands and a taco bar for the guests. A week prior to our reservation, I received a call from Grace, who took over Devon's job and proceeded to confirm the same details we'd gone over before because neither Jon nor Devon had written anything down. She told me there was a $500 minimum and confirmed the taco bar. She said something about the taco bar not being included in the minimum, but that she had to talk to Jon and she would get back to me. 4 days prior to the reservation, I called to ask if we could have cupcakes delivered. I was told that we could bring cupcakes and decorations. Jon then informed me that the $500 minimum wasn't a minimum but was actually a rental fee. So we got a space to drink for $500? I said no, that wasn't what we agreed but he insisted that he "wouldn't have said that, because that's not how we do it anymore". He told me he was going to get back to me. A few hours later, he called and said they were going to do some kind of special drink, that each guest would get one during the event and I could come in a little early and figure out what kind we wanted. I said to cancel the taco bar, that people could order food off the menu if they liked. He said he didn't want us "overloading the kitchen with orders from 50 people". I let him know it was doubtful we all be ordering food at the exact same time. He suggested putting up a taco bar that the guests could pay for themselves. I said I wasn't going to order food on their behalf and expect them to pay for it, whether they ate it or not. He said he didn't care who paid for it. Stuck because we didn't have any other location with such short notice, we settled it and Friday came around. I got to the pono ranch a little early to taste the drink and was informed they'd again changed the plan. This time they wanted a list of the guests, so they could hand out wristbands and then remove them when that guest got their 1 drink...a beer, a glass of wine or a well drink. We were shown an area in the bar that had not been roped, reserved or cordoned off with no server or bartender around. The only bartenders working were inside the bar. Already not a good sign. Several servers worked hard to accommodate the party and they were very friendly, but it was difficult to know who was supposed to be helping us. Then in the middle of the party (and in front of guests) Grace came up and said, "is it okay that we charge the $500 to your card now?" and asked for the card, which I had given them weeks before, but apparently no one keeps records at the Pono Ranch. So she charged my card for $548...another surprise. Apparently tax and tip weren't included in the rental fee. Here I am, signing a $550 bill and trying to tip for whomever is serving, no bartender and no dedicated server...in the middle of the party in front of my guests. It cost me $150 (taxes and tip) more than I planned. If we'd had we had a few more days, we'd have moved the party to someplace else in town. It's bad enough to have to pay a rental fee just for the privilege of sitting and drinking at a bar...but to make things worse, we didn't even get what we'd paid for. The food was mediocre, the drinks were weak and while the staff was nice, the disorganization was unacceptable especially since they knew we were coming. With the 500 charge and tip, it came to about $19 a drink. To top it off, they started to seat a group of people at a table in our "reserved" area. The only bonus was that my guests enjoyed themselves. As far as being concerned the place would be overwhelmed? There was a birthday party nearby and one large table of people having drinks...the place was dead. Finally, when I went to close out our drink tab (cause that was a separate tab, remember), they pulled out a stack of credit cards, started shuffling them and said "stop me when you see yours". Is this a game of card roulette? Clearly privacy isn't a concern of theirs. read more

We got super lit at Pono Ranch. Beer is always cold, cornhole was on point. The bathrooms were hygienic..#lovedthat...and the manmosas were to die for, YAS KWEEN. The service was great and the bartenders know how to carry a good conversation #beardown. read more

I'll keep this short. Girlfriend ordered a breakfast burrito, took a few bites, bit down on something hard and spit out a heavy duty staple. No joke, the kind you put in a staple gun. How dangerous is that? Entirely unacceptable. Our order was appropriately credited. We were provided with the managers phone number. Left a message, but have not heard back. Very disappointing...and scary. UPDATE: Manager called back the next day and apologized with an explanation. Identified the source of the staple as coming from the packaging of one of the ingredients. He assured me that procedures would be put in place to make sure this never happens again--I really hope so. read more

Wow - where to begin? I went there yesterday with my wife, and another couple. Each of us had issues with our orders, which took forever to take, and longer to arrive. Water took over 10 minutes to arrive, 3 for a table of 4. The 4th took another 10. The margaritas were weak, lame, and seemingly not made from the same ingredients from drink to drink. I was told some tasted like cucumber. Who the hell puts cucumber in a standard issue margarita? As to my drink, it was a weak Jack and Coke, which was my third choice consolation "prize", as they didn't have Jim Beam, nor the ability to make a hurricane. As to food, my overpriced burger was covered in the thinnest slice of what the menu claimed was cheese, and the accompanying fries were sub-Dicks in quality. The fried cheese was OK. The house made potato chips were...uhhhh....can something be both burnt and under cooked? They were ridiculously greasy, and chewy. Sorry, but in the rest of the potato chip universe, chips are crisp. Both salad orders eventually arrived, after the burgers, but before the appetizers (which came last), and both were wrong, as was one of the burgers. I should also mention that we saw something like four different servers at our table, each more clueless than the next. At least one was definitely high. He took the other couple's order, then started to walk away without even looking in our direction - TWICE! Several of these folks apologized for things being a joke, and one even said he hoped we'd come back when, "we get our shit together." Meanwhile, the big guy that appeared to be the big cheese there spent our time there just shooting the breeze with his buddies. Also, as I pointed out to one of our random servers, if you go with a name like Pono Ranch, it might be a good idea to offer AT LEAST ONE ISLAND RELATED FRICKIN' DRINK OR FOOD ITEM! The patio, as many have mentioned, makes for a very attractive lure. The one star is for the patio, as it's the only good thing about this place. Sadly, incompetent service, mediocre, overpriced food, and a deceptive name add up to a place I won't return to unless they get new, competent owners and employees, a menu overhaul, and a bartender with a clue. Seriously - we felt like we were on hidden camera for a pending episode of, "Bar Rescue." We left after having at least 2 drinks each less than we planned to on such a gorgeous day, paid our check that was as incorrect as everything else we ordered, and despite it being a pretty negative experience on every end except the atmosphere and our dining partners, we left a 20% tip, pretty much out of habit. When my wife and I first got there, we liked the atmosphere so much that we were thinking of returning for breakfast, as we're always looking for different nearby breakfast spots. Needless to say, that didn't happen. read more

When this place opened a year or so ago, my husband and I were super excited about it: awesome atmosphere, good beer, fantastic patio. But every time we visited, we experienced the WORST service- we were often completely ignored when sitting outside, but admonished when we went inside for our drinks. Ok, we thought...they just opened. Maybe they need some time to figure things out. Now, more than a year later, there are signs up about checking in with the hostess before sitting outside. Alright, I thought, maybe they figured it all out. NOPE. I put my name down for a table of four and was told there would be a 20 min wait. Reasonable, and anyway my husband and his coworkers needed a few minutes to arrive anyway. I grabbed a beer and waited inside. I was seated at a long table faster than expected, and then COMPLETELY IGNORED for the next hour and a half, while watching the party at the other end of the table be served by no less than 4 different staff members. I tried flagging down servers. I tried making eye contact. I tried waving. My husband tried. Our friends tried. NOTHING. In fact, even if I managed to catch a server's eye, they would intentionally look away. Ridiculous. By far the worst service I've ever received. Never again. read more

Well just had the worst experience possible and I didn't even get service. My boyfriend and I walked into the restaurant around 730 pm and I immediately went to the restroom. Right away I noticed the floor was covered in something , after a few moments I realized there was PUKE all over entry of the bathrooms, all over the floor of the women's bathroom, and all over the door. I immediately excited and entered the men's room to wash my hands and shoes. After using the restroom and exiting, I immediately walked into an employee who realized the puke scene, I mentioned to her I had just encountered it and was going to approach staff. I THOUGHT THIS STAFF MEMBER was going to clean up the mess but instead she alerted 3 other employees and for over 10 minutes no one cleaned up the puke and NO ONE provided my boyfriend and I with service. Now at this time the smell of the puke was taking over the restaurant and yet none of the employees DID ANYTHING. DISGUSTING. read more

Amazing courtyard! Too complex to explain, so many wonderful things. Let's just say it looks like a Ballard version of STOMP! Can't wait for the summertime, this place promises to be quite the patio. read more

The drinks were mediocre, and they came out pretty quick. The patio was pretty. The music was a bit loud. The food was the worst part. My 13 year old daughter ordered the carnitas, which were bland and not spicy like it said it would be on the menu. My husband ordered nachos. Not enough toppings!(it had one hard piece of potato on it).Although my 4 year old daughter enjoyed the Mac and cheese, I didn't like my food. I ordered the chili, and the beef was so chewy I couldn't eat it. The service was okay. One waitress asked if everything was okay (as she was giving water to the table next to us) and before I told her about the chili, I told her she can help the table first. After the waitress was done with the table she was helping she just walked passed us and completely ignored us. Tip - don't come here! P.S. It felt like the twilight zone. read more

0/5. Terrible. Unless you enjoy waiting 45+ min in an empty restaurant to receive a couple of fried eggs with pace salsa on top. We were trying to determine whether they had to make a run to Fred Meyer while we waited. This place has a lot of potential but it is squandered by poor management, training, and quality of food. Pono Ranch doesn't know what it wants to be. It's a late night music venue, it's a walk up coffee shop, it's a steak house, it's a bar, it serves shots in the morning, it's the LONGEST HAPPY HOUR IN BALLARD because we can't get anyone to come here! The huevos rancheros was an abomination. The worst huevos rancheros I have ever had. My girlfriend eats $3.95 huevos at her work cafeteria that are far superior to this $12 skimpy "dish" that eventually showed up. The sauce was very similar to pace salsa (oh look a shard of green pepper!), the masa cake was tough, and the fried bananas were three TINY slices of Chiquita banana from fred meyer that had been (unsuccessfully) tossed in a pan and fried. The black beans was an unseasoned lump from the bottom of a can. Dear Lord, this was one of the worst things I have ever eaten out. At one point, one of the cooks came out into the dining room, looked inquisitively at the menu, took it back into the kitchen with him, and then brought it back out a few moments before our food arrived. The cooks are clearly untrained, the menu disjointed and poorly conceived, the management absent, the service terribly slow, and the food was awful. Our waitress was nice! The coffee was good and she did keep our glasses full, but she also went into the kitchen and shot the breeze with the cooks that really needed to focus on cooking. Please God don't go here, at least for breakfast, unless "breakfast ravioli" and Jameson sound satisfying. I am usually very easy to please, but I walked out of Pono Ranch absolutely enraged by how terrible my breakfast was. Save yourself and go down the street to the Hi-Life or Senor Moose and let this ranch die a just death. read more

Just awful service. Extremely slow. It wasn't due to lack of staff, just slow slow service. Cool little spot on a sunny day but don't do it. So not worth the wait. read more

They have a great patio area which was perfect for our group on a sunny day in seattle. The waitress came over and when I asked if they had a drink menu she said " no they are in the process of changing it but we can make just about anything" - um...ok... I asked her what she would recommend and she said a Blackberry Mojito - perfect right up my alley - "ill take one" She brought it back and I thought it was great, not too sweet. So my friend orders one and she brings it out and it is completely different. Turns out I had a blackberry margarita and he has the mojito. I didn't mind actually because I liked mine better just thought it was weird that she recommended it to me but whatever. I decided to order some food and got the fish tacos - they were TERRIBLE. The fish was fried and they came in a bland flour tortilla and there was NO sauce on them or avocado just lime. I choked them down. I dont know if the waitress was new or what but it took 30 minutes for my friend to get a diet coke, We all ordered drinks from the bar and those came out before his coke - since when does that ever happen? There were times when she would just disappear too - we needed silverware and napkins to eat our food and had to ask twice. AND we tried to get food and drinks in before happy hour ended but she was no where to be found! And apparently the computer "shut off HH prices at 6pm" according to her. To cap off this whole experience, we split the bill and wrote exactly who had what on the back and the card number. The waitress charged me for an extra drink when I only had 2. And then everyone else's were completely mixed up. So she goes back to fix it and we leave. Sure enough we all see on our credit card TWO CHARGES one for the correct amount and another for the incorrect amount. We call the restaurant and they eventually got it fixed but this was just a horrible experience. I am sorry but we should have been comped on our tab for such poor service. If you want more info I was here with Kevin O. And you can read his review on here as well. read more

Yikes...I decided to give Pono Ranch a whirl despite bad Yelp reviews because it was a sunny day in Seattle and I was desperately craving coveted outdoor seating. Their menu is a little strange...they basically only serve breakfast (aside from a burger or fish tacos). Even though it was 6PM, I ordered the "ponos rancheros", which is basically huevos rancheros, but with cream cheese. It was absolutely pathetic. The menu promised two over medium eggs. What I got instead might have been over easy eggs at one point...about 10 minutes before the final apparent cooking time, which resulted in more like a cracked hard boiled egg. Tough. Cooked solid through. Not even remotely close to runny. Boooo. The beans were dry and clearly microwaved out of a can. The dish was also very small...about half the size of a normal serving. I honestly wish I would have gone to Denny's instead, and I would NEVER say something like that. At $12, I felt completely duped. Not only that, the service was painfully slow, despite hardly anyone being there. The outdoor area is admittedly super cool. I would definitely want to hang out there on a hot summer day. Maybe they have a corkage fee and I can skip the wait and food all-together??? read more

Outside area is great and the only reason to come. Food is mediocre and service is lacking. When you are at the bar 5 minutes before the end of happy hour they will ignore you until happy hour is over and they can charge full price. read more

One big fat star for the space. And that's it. There is a deep, dark chasm of difference between the outdoor seating and the food. It's sad. I love sitting there, I was looking forward to a sweet new oasis to hang out in Ballard this summer, but I cannot eat or even drink there! Looking at the menu reminds me of Bennigans in the early 90's and then you get the food. The cheese sticks looked innocent enough but good god seriously?! Served on a waxy piece of some unknown green leaf? Really? The marinara sauce they come with is not marinara. Or even sauce. The cheese was, kind of melted? Ummmm, yeah. I didn't a think anyone did this anymore, especially not in Seattle. Please please please make the food better so I can hang out there! It's so pretty, so unique...make good food!! read more

The fish tacos are awesome and the outdoor seating and patio is by far the best I've been to in Seattle.

Oh no no no nooooo. The food... I don't even want to think about it. Who on earth came up with this menu? Nothing sounded good, not the food selection or the boring cocktails. I ordered the fish tacos without closely reading the details. There's some kind of sweet, thick, sticky, coconut sauce all over them. Tasted even worse than it sounds. Service was fine, but there were only four or five tables filled. We were drawn in by the lovely outdoor setup as we rode by on our bikes. It really is a great looking place. Too bad they don't seem to know a damn thing about food or drink. read more

Would be 5 stars if the breakfast burrito I paid $6.50 for wasn't laughably small. Seriously, I actually laughed when I took it out of the bag and then I said "is this a joke?". It wasn't a joke, it was just that small. That being said, if it wasn't the size of a taquito I would have given it more stars. read more

Why do so many places with good concepts, locations and ideas fall short on the execution?? This place has plenty of seating, bags to play. But the feel is that of a cheap all-inclusive Cancun pool. I'm surprised they don't give you wrist bands as you come in. Staff is generally useless. If you must get a beer, do a quick in and out, but don't make a whole day of it. read more

My family and I came for brunch....never again. We waited for our server to bring the food way too long...the omelette was raw inside; the poached eggs for the benedict were overcooked and the hollandaise sauce was so salty it hurt our mouths. And, if that wasn't enough the coffee tasted old. We should have read the yelp reviews before deciding to come here. First time here, last time here. read more

Not sure why i keep coming back here. 1st time we had raw chicken wings. 2nd time horrible service. 3rd time was good because it was brunch and we were 1 of 2 tables there. This last time we were all wrongly charged and overcharged after spelling it all out for them on the receipt. Won't be back this time. read more

First of all I am blown away how anyone else could give this place a bad rating. I guess if you are unable to relax and enjoy the "margaritaville meets the north" setting, this place is not for you. But, if you want to ditch the country club and come hang out with the cool relaxed yard, this is it! This is the best "hidden treasure" in Ballard. I don't even know how to explain this joint, Indoor/ outdoor oasis. Every server, every bartender, management, chef was completely amazing. I mentioned to the manager how good my dinner was and within minutes the chef came out to our seat to thank us for coming in. He was upbeat and engaged in a pleasant conversation. He mentioned that they used organic meats and vegetables and the soups were homemade. We had the clam chowder, definitely a "outside the box" recipe. The BLT was a big hit too. , Bacon was thick and present in every bite. The band was playing, but it wasn't so loud that you couldn't hear the person that you're with talking. I love the how they put a funky twist in the way this place is decorated. We sat at a big "tree in a box" that had a counter built around it. There was a waterfall with water coming out of a old heavy equipment "bucket" that is just genius. Most of the seating is outside, but you are shaded with sailboat sails that can be adjusted with a pulley system. So cool, so much fun. Oh, and there is a fire pit to hang out by that is a must see! read more

So came here with a large group. Which I understand could take longer then normal. But this was extreme. So we sat down and they gave us a table that wasn't big enough for everyone. Which like I said I understand we are a big party.. But couldn't you have tried just a little more. There was tall tables behind us and bar stools that no one was using and NO STAFF even think to offer to help us move chairs. Also even though there is a beautiful patio for everyone to sit out on there was like maybe two waiter/waitress for the entire place. Then we ordered our food. Guy wouldn't let us do separate tabs. By 8:15 everyone's order was in. By 9:30 pm... People still haven't gotten there food. Seriously one by one plate came out. So first group of food came at 9... Yet the last plate wasn't even there by 9:30? Are you kidding me? If we would have waited for everyone to get there food it would have been iced cold. I ordered the Mac and cheese. I didn't realize that I ordered pasta soup with cheese just dumped on top. Like don't get me wrong. Cheese is great. But when I order Mac and cheese I was expecting a sauce not a soup with cheese thrown on top. Would be an amazing place to enjoy during the summer time but between the terrible service and soup macaroni. I will not be coming back unless it's for a single drink. Which I would suggest you order at the bar not wait for the terrible customer service for the "seating" area The discount did help... But still. Very frustrating read more

Rudest waiter I've ever had. He reprimanded one of our friends for forgetting part of his order after he had moved on to another person. He came back 15 minutes after we ordered and told us 2 items were out and seemed annoyed when we re-ordered other things. Our drinks took 30 min and the food he brought was wrong. At the end, the customer name on our checks was insulting and obviously entered by him. The patio space is the only reason to come. read more

Please, please, please, Pono Ranch, get it together and make this a five star place! The space is amazing - I was awed when I walked through the gate and had visions of warm summer evenings sitting here with friends. Inside was ok and I'm glad there is an inside because it was a tad cool last night. Seats were comfortable enough as was the decor. Then came the food... Not much that caught my eye on the appetizer menu. Pretty standard, greasy, fatty fare. Decided to go with the veggie stir fry while my dining partner went with a burger, which he said was cooked perfectly. I was happy for him, but my vegetables were overcooked, mushy and way too salty. Then the music. I don't want to criticize an artist because I have admiration for anyone who has the guts to get up in front of a crowd. And this person's guitar playing definitely had merit. But the back-up was a laptop with music pumped through and the song choices were bland. With the incredible talent in this area, both in music and cooking, this place needs to step it up in order to warrant the space. I hope it does. Get some help and make this happen! read more

Really poor service. Ended up leaving before ordering. Won't go back which is too bad because the patio was great.

Love the outdoor seating options at Pono Ranch. Unfortunately, the service is terrible. We had a waitress who told us immediately that she was on her first day. She seemed to forget a lot - we asked for a condiment caddy but never received one. Each step of the dining process took longer than it should. After waiting 10+ minutes for the check we went up to the bar to checkout at which point we were able to see what was causing the chaos. The waitress' manager was asking her to do task after task while she was trying to ring up out bill. She repeatedly said she was working on a customer request but he didn't stop. THEN when she was trying to figure out the register to charge our cards, she asked him for help and he said he didn't have time to help her!! Baffling. This poor waitress was on her first day and was given no assistance from her manager and I'm sure was left with no option but to disappoint customers. We had a BLT - which was great! I would order it again. We also had Beecher's Cheese Curds, Nachos and Fries. The fries were good, though served a little cooler than our party would have liked. The Nachos were essentially chips with a little melted cheese and a TON of what seemed to be jarred salsa - way too much. Leaving the chips soggy. The cheese curds were too large and had a strange texture. We weren't fans. read more

May return for music and a beer, but not for the food. Nice outdoor atmosphere and protection from the Seattle elements. As simple as a few Hawaiian dishes would be, it's too bad there are not more options than huli huli chicken. With a name like Pono Ranch it would seem a good fit. read more

Went on a Saturday night with 4 others. The menu looked interesting and the outside space was great, but too cold the night we were there to enjoy it. So we stayed inside and made the mistake of ordering dinner. Tasteless fish tacos, with doughy flour tortillas.....veggie stir fry swimming in oil (2 tablespoons at the bottom of the bowl), uninspired chicken salad, also swimming in dressing and a burger.....thank god the fries were good! I gave two stars for potential, the space is pretty cool, but seriously if you are going to have a menu like that you better get some one who knows how to cook! And, in todays micro-brew environment in Seattle you probably should not serve beer in a can! Hope they get it together here cause the place has a cool feel and the staff was nice and trying hard to overcome the bad food coming out of the kitchen. read more

Ray: It was Josh's Birthday the night we decided to hit the Pono Ranch in Ballard (my treat, of course). Pono Ranch has an interesting exterior. We were right up on it before we actually saw it, but there is was plain as day! And that huge patio, boasting live music on weekends, was a very comfortable place to sit, which is exactly where we were seated in a lovely shaded area with perfect outdoor temperatures. The wait staff was very attentive and did not let us sit very long before checking with us for our drink orders. Our waitress was very pretty with blond - no wait - blue highlights in her hair. We had a couple of beers in front of us in no-time and were ready to order. The Classic Ranch Burger was my selection, along with fries (instead of a salad). The food arrived in (I would guess) less than 10 minutes and the presentation was fantastic! Even the fries looked like they had been plated with artful consideration. The burger was huge, so I cut it down the middle to make it a little easier to approach. Now, I can't say for sure how they prep those burger patties, but mine tasted like it has bread crumbs in the recipe. I don't mind bread crumbs in ground beef - as long as it's a meat loaf - but not a burger. I like my burgers to taste like (and have the consistency of) beef. The Classic Ranch seemed to me to have the consistency and taste of meat loaf. I didn't really care for that very much and wouldn't order it again for that reason. Maybe I am all wrong on that, but I couldn't help the impression I had - so I apologize if I'm wrong, but still wouldn't order it again, though it was good enough. Overall, I had a very nice time. Perfect weather, even better company, in a beautiful restaurant eating a pretty good meal. We enjoyed a couple of beers and had our usual great conversation. Very nice indeed. I am going with four stars for Pono Ranch. Nice job folks! Josh: When we went to Pono Ranch, I knew virtually nothing about the place. I noticed it as I rode past it on the Burke-Gilman trail on my way out to the Ballard farmer's market. I did a very cursory look-up just to be sure they had a menu with viable dinner options that weren't fifty dollars a plate. I glanced at the menu and it met my criteria, so there we went. I was kind of surprised when we arrived, I guess I was expecting something a little more dive-y. Pono has an absolutely awesome out door seating area. There is a very handsome stage set to the back of the patio, would be a great spot to catch some live music. We were seated out on the patio and given ice water. The server came over shortly and took our drink orders and gave us the menus to peruse while the beer was being fetched. The menu looked pretty good, definitely had 3 or 4 dishes I had my eye on, but decided to order the fish and chips. The wait was relatively short, the evening was cooling down, everything felt in balance. And it stayed that way. The fish was fairly thoughtfully stacked just so onto the plate next to and atop the fries, with tarter sauce and a lemon wedge on the side, fairly standard. The fish had a nice crispy breading to it, the fries were decent, but tasted like they were probably frozen not long before they were on my plate. Over all I liked Pono. I asked about an open mic night and was told they don't do one at this point. It is this reviewers opinion that a place with a stage like Pono has really ought to have an open mic night, maybe something just through the summer. It's good for the community, and you'd probably pack the house on an ordinarily slower weekday evening. 4 stars. read more

The Huli huli chicken is awesome! Also guacamole tapas was fantastic!!! Love the outdoor area... cool fireplace

This place has a great set up but the service is so bad it's non-existent. What was even more frustrating was when I went inside it use the restroom, there was no one sitting inside and the bartenders were just chillin. Hey guys, maybe help out your waitstaff who was so in the weeds that I'll never go back. read more

On a gorgeous evening this looked to be a great location and atmosphere. And when you walk in, it does look great. Plenty of outdoor seating. That's where the good vibes end. After finding a table and waiting for a bit, we were abruptly told that all outdoor service was cancelled because they were crowded, so we had to order at the bar and then someone would bring it out to us. After waiting forever at the bar to order. Bartender is very frioendly, but was the only one working. And after waiting quite a bit longer for our food, which was cold and consisted primarily of breakfast items for dinner. The Service was abysmal and you even get snapped at if you dare to ask for silverware. Until they figure out how to get their sh&* together and get a better menu, don't bother with this place. read more

I have driven by Pono many times, I decided to give it a look today being a nice sunny afternoon. There was still some seating available. It took us a few minutes to find the hostess station and a couple more to get their attention. Once the hostess spotted us and our financial potential she was courteous and fast to seat us. We ordered a beersand a happy hour pork tacos. We asked our waitress why everyone was ordering shots, "is there a happy hour shot deal or something?" She looked at us like we were speaking chinese and eventually said she has no idea how much shots are. Really? There was no drink menu or beer menu but the girl did know the names of the beers on tap. The food menu is quite limited and boring by Seattle standards. The pork happy hour tacos were very good! And I have eaten allot of tacos. The problem is that it took a long time to see the food, maybe 20 minutes, but worse is the beer came after the food! 25 minutes for warm beer?! I went through the swinging doors marked "Banōs" to find two rather filthy unserviced porta pottis. I'm glad I stand when I pee is all I can say. The patio floor is littered with beer spills and grease stains. I compliment the design, the tarps, shelters, nautical decor, stone tile, all very nice. I think the owners had a good idea that is being poorly executed. At least from the opinion of an older dude. This place could still be fun if you're under 30, drunk and it's too dark to see the grime. Message to the owners is please service the bathrooms and clean the patio, a hose and Dawn dishsoap will do. When the weekend is forcasted in the 70s or 80s staff everyone. I might visit again in February if it's still going and see how she runs, but since it's only May and already dirty and understaffed I think I'll skip the summer. Great location and concept. Could use more indoor seating for consistent seating in varying weather. Indoors smelled like dirty fryer grease. Maybe some better ventilation indoors? I know it's easy to say in a yelp review. I'm not facing a big Seattle lease and challenging summer staffing problems, but as an experienced Seattleite since 1968 I've seen better. Allot better. Check out Drunky's BBQ down the street for a true farm patio with animals both live and smoked. read more

WOW. What a let down. My friend and I had been wanting to check this place out because it looked pretty cool and friendly from the outside and the available menu items on their web site looked very tasty. Au contraire. As soon as we arrived it was one negative experience after another until we finally gave up and walked out. Here's the gist of our visit: Strike 1) We arrived at 9:15 on a Sunday morning (their web site stated they open at 9). The "open" sign was on but the gates (where you walk in) were still closed. We almost left but decided to park and take a look. Two employees started opening the gates as we got out. We said "we thought you weren't open". No response. No acknowledgment. No "sorry we're running a little late this morning". Nada. I'm assuming they were hungover and cranky. Suck it up people. Don't go out late if you can't handle a hangover with grace the next morning. This is a business (with a heck of a lot of competition no less) . . . treat it like one. Strike 2) There was no indoor seating and the waitress pretty much yelled it at us as she walked away. Fine, we didn't mind sitting outside, it wasn't raining after all. BUT the outdoor seating was wet from the rain the night before and had not been wiped down. There were table umbrellas that could've been placed over the tables the night before to keep them dry but that was not done. So we had to find paper towels to wipe them down. No assistance from the cranky help. I didn't mind this much, but after the rude service we'd already experienced, it was just another annoyance. Strike 3) All but two of their breakfast choices on the sign where you order from were TAPED OVER with masking tape! Keepin' it classy PONO. So we went with one of the two available choices, the breakfast burritos. I ordered an Americano and my friend ordered one of their fancy $8 juices. I had to restate my order a couple of times because she was distracted and didn't hear my the first time. Strike 4) The waitress rang us up and the total was $34. I immediately thought that was high for what the prices stated on the board. It turns out that they were charging us $9.95 per burrito when the price was clearly stated as $6.50 on the board. REALLY??? Is that how you run a business? When we pointed it out, she didn't seem to care or apologize for the obvious error on the price. She just restated the total. At that point we had had it so we told her to cancel our order, turned around and walked out. I so wanted this place to be my new favorite spot. No go. If I could give it zero stars, I would. I'd like to think we caught them on a bad day and give them a second chance, but there's just too many other great choices in the area. Sorry PONO, you're a NO-NO in my book. read more