Well, it's a dive bar! Very dark and moody with a cool fire place and pool tables in the back. You go to the bar and have to wait to order, no table service. It was oddly charming since I rarely go to dive bars so felt like this was all a little novel. I ordered a tequila soda and didn't really like it. I didn't specify what kind of tequila, so figure it was just the house stuff and that was why it wasn't to my liking. The guy was cool about it and said he could make me a new drink or add some pineapple juice to give it more flavor. They do not have food, but if you are nice they might give you a cup of cashews from the nut bar. We went for karaoke and it was great vibes. Fun songs, welcoming environment, cool set up. I don't always feel comfortable doing karaoke in public with a bunch of randos but felt good up there singing one of my favorite songs. People were all cheering and having a great time. Def a fun community here. read more

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We loved our visit here. We happened to stumble upon this spot while exploring the area, and although they're more on the divey side, we thoroughly enjoyed catching a game and enjoying some drinks by the fireside. Don't expect service, they're pretty no-frills so it's get your drink and vibe type of place. I will say other patrons and some staff were much more friendly than I was ready for. This place is definitely run down, a little old, and stinky, but that's what's charming about this little bar, they're not pretentious or try-hards here, despite the area they're in. We were sad to learn that they don't sell any food, just drinks, pool, games, and vibes. read more

Red Onion Tavern - Love the fireplace, such cozy vibes here - Bars Near Me - Seattle, Washington

Ok this is lot a place for the food or even the beers. It's about a time warp back to the 1970s. It's the kind of place where you belly up to the bar and then take your drink to one of the booths and spend the time enjoying what life was like 40 years ago. It's a pretty dark spot with dark leatherette and a nice bar in the back. The nicest spots are the booths by the window. There really isn't service, you need to get to the bar and order your beverages but that only adds to the charm. read more

Safe friendly dive bar. They pour drinks heavy. They happily make pizzas till close. I wish every bartender brushed their teeth at this establishment. read more

Red onion tavern I have special fondness for the Red Onion. I was recruited by a supervisor, to be on his staff from my original job. It was a more complicated hire, due to his unorthodox hiring process. However, I appreciated his support and went on to work 11 years at this job. One practice he loved, was lunch breaks. So he would take me here, despite the long drive, during lunch. We worked about a half hour away in Bellevue. So, he as my supervisor would allot at least 1.5 hours for lunch. No complaints from me. So we were gone for a significant amount of time. Had to be a regular here to get great service. Only one bartender and server in one. We quickly became regulars. Kind attentive service. Loved ordering the sandwiches here. The sandwiches were meat, cheese and a variety of mustard and mayonnaise. Of course, red onions too. These came with potato chips, pickles and tender rye bread. My boss loved plenty of beer with his food, so this added to the lunch experience. I remember a pool table and playing pool after lunch. There was only one bartender, which we quickly grew familiar with. It was almost like being at a friend's house: homemade sandwiches, cold beer and a relaxing atmosphere. A unique afternoon lunch. As you leave, nice views of Madison Park. Great memories of being here. read more

I absolutely love the red onion! My favorite local watering hole with amazing karaoke every Saturday. Super awesome staff and really good local crew that hangs there. read more

Where do I even start? This place is an absolute fun palace. If you ever come in here, ask Erik Pfeiffer to make you the best cocktail in the house. You'll get the best shotten beer of your life. Would give 6 stars if that was an option read more

Red Onion Tavern - Bars Near Me - Seattle, Washington

Poor management. Unwillingly to change disappointing cleanliness. Not a place I'd recommend. Really rooting for them to pull it around! read more

Cozy bar with a fireplace. It was pretty crowded when we went and karaoke was about to start so we didn't stay long but the beer is cheap and it's a nice woodsy dive bar feel. read more

Stopped in for a quick drink, but unfortunately the experience was disappointing. The bartender was rude and refused to serve us, which was surprising. As a business owner myself, I understand how challenging it can be to run a place and I rarely leave negative reviews--but I've never been treated so poorly. We ended up leaving without ordering and went to a bar down the street instead, where we had excellent drinks and delicious food. read more

Fire the jerks, all of them. Drunk and yelling all the time, abusive and incompetent. I live very close by and decided to give the onion another shot after a bad experience years ago. Same scene, abusive manager and disgusting bathrooms. Staff obviously drunk. How does this place still have a license??? read more

If I could give 0 stars I would. I have been going to this establishment for years, but will encourage my friends and family to never give this place a dollar of business ever again. The "owner" confronted me and some of my friends getting out of an Uber with cups full of water and went completely crazy on us on the sidewalk in front of the Onion. Not even heading towards the door of his restaurant he decided to scream at my wife and one of her friends how pissed he was about these cups. With no backing whatsoever, he said we are not welcome in his establishment, even though we were proceeding down the street to McGilvra's, a much better bar. The guy reeked of booze and told us he did not need our business. Completely fine with that forever. read more

There is a place for every type of bar and I appreciate a good dive, but the atmosphere here was a bit too dingy for me and the faint but lingering smell of cigarettes nearly 20 years after the indoor smoking ban left me feeling like I needed to take a shower. All of this may have been overlooked in light of the comfy seats by the gas fireplace (where you can still see cigarette ash and match sticks mixed into the sand... wait; do they still let ppl smoke in here...?) but the service we received was also less than adequate. We walked in and asked if they had any wines (it was cold and a red sounded good) and were scoffed at and he just said, "yes." and stared at us. My friend thought to ask if they had a list, and he did slide us one. I chose the Cab (14 Hands) and my companion chose to order a cocktail instead. A Tito's Moscow mule, which we were told he couldn't do except with some ginger ale - which we said was totally fine. He proceeded to make a vodka on the rocks with a splash of ginger ale, which was comically strong. No offers of a menu, the bartender just wanted to get back to his conversation with his pals at the bar that we had so rudely interrupted. We sat for a while and talked, played a couple songs on the digital juke box from my phone, and sipped our drinks. I could not wait to leave and get some fresh air - it was so oppressively dank. My friend didn't want to go here in the first place and I should have listened to his instinct. I can see the Red Onion being a great spot for karaoke or boys night, but mostly empty on this rainy, cold afternoon it was not what we were looking for. read more

Red Onion Tavern - Wine by the fire - Bars Near Me - Seattle, Washington

My daughter and 5 friends, all in their mid-twenties went to the Red Onion on August 23. Two of the 6 (both women) ended up in the hospital, unable to walk on their own or speak coherently and threw up within 5 minutes of receiving a drink directly from the hands of the bartender named Howie. One of the woman had just gotten off work and the glass of red wine was her only alcoholic beverage consumed all evening. Luckily these women had good friends ready to step in and help them get medical attention. Please use extreme caution if you choose to go to the Red Onion. read more

This is the first yelp review I've made but I feel compelled to share how awful my experience was here. I've never been treated so horribly by a service worker in my life. The bartender (I believe his name is Jon - tall, white guy) was extremely rude and condescending. I walked in with a group of about 15 around 9p on a Friday night. We walked up to the bar to order drinks and he told us to back up and go to another bar. The place was relatively quiet with not many people and we weren't being loud/obnoxious either. Later on I went up to order another drink and Jon was taking orders from people around me but wouldn't even acknowledge me. I waited for him to come up to me and he kept serving other people who had come up to the bar after me. Finally I asked if I could order a drink and he said in a very snappy tone "Can't you see I'm busy?? I can only do one thing at a time." I told him I've been waiting and he's helped all these people who've come up to the bar after me. He kept arguing and I told him I wasn't trying to be an asshole and that I was being patient and he said "you ARE being an asshole!!". If someone (unprovoked) is going to talk to customers in such a rude way after giving them shitty service they should not be working in the service industry. Especially after reading all these other 1 star reviews on this guy, Red Onion Tavern seriously needs to reconsider their employees. Unbelievable! read more

I honestly never ever Yelp a business but tonight was just ridiculous Great Karaoke & awesome host ! Good Location but there's one bartender that seems mentally unwell, rude & personally unhappy. Tonight I witnessed him throw napkins at a table of girls, swear at multiple customers & completely overreact to the simplest questions, like dude shouldn't be in customer service if he doesn't want to work with people, period! the Karaoke host even came up to our group to ask if things were ok & even apologized to our group after he witnessed interactions between us & the bartender where he completely overreacted the other bartender was awesome & I feel sorry he has a dickhead as a co-worker It's also so worrisome that this dude is so unwell he may eventually hurt someone. Oh & he's gave away so many beers I'm not sure how the tavern can make profit! read more

DO NOT GO HERE. I haven't made a Yelp review in years but this one felt warranted, after the Bartender (50s white man) decided to make extremely rude comments to my friend as we walked in. He took my friend's ID and began to try to question him, asking what his zip code is (it was an older address) and then continued to make rude, personal comments. "Why you touching your face" "you're so disgusting" "you should remember your zip code, that's what a functioning adult should know" How is this bartender even allowed to work anymore after I've seen other comments about his behavior? He got extremely unpeeled and flustered when I called him out on it. The fact that management allows this rude bartender to work here after repeated complaints should be telling of this establishment as a whole. Jon is a POS! read more

First of all there is NO food to be had there. They have peanuts behind the counter. The tall male bartender is by far the worst bartender I have ever seen, and is rude. I really cannot say there is 1 thing I would ever go back there for. read more

Great no frills place for mixed drinks. The fireplace during winter adds some character.

Not only was the bartender the rudest bartender I've ever encountered, he was the rudest human being I've ever encountered. Red Onion needs to seriously consider who they want to represent their establishment. I've been going there since the early 90s. I will never set foot in that place again and will be sure to let anyone that will listen that they shouldn't either. The owners of the Red Onion should be ashamed of themselves for employing such a jackass! read more

Maybe the worst bartender experience I've ever had. Pretty sure the guy was hammered while serving drinks. Idk how else to explain it

I worked for an agency many years ago. A lovely and neurotic man took a liking to me. He worked for the state and through his connections, I was newly hired. he wanted to work with me. I gladly accepted.At my new job, he was my supervisor. He loved to take me out to lunch and particularly here. So this has been about 40 years ago, but I still come here for the experience. I loved the prior version of the Fed Onion, but still enjoy the present configuration. You walk in and feel welcomed. First, kindly but restrained staff. Their posture is like, we are not particularly happy to see you, but we will still serve you. I don't mind this. I believe part of this attitude stems from serving unreasonable customers. They try to reign in any difficulties right from the start, so they do not escalate. Fine with me, I'm an easy customer to serve. I like the seating.Great window seats, where you could see outside traffic. Now they no longer offer food, but I have to reminisce of the prior offerings.Food wise it was good. , They had these wonderful sandwiches, with fresh bread. They offered a great hamburger too. We drank plenty of beer. Fast forward to today. No food now, sadly. I have so many great memories of sitting here, drinking beer and feeling wasted with my lovely friend. Sharing good food, beer and special times creates a unique lasting memory. One lasting memory, is their name Red Onion. Both the sandwiches and hamburgers came with one of my favorite condiments, red onion. There is a special experience in bread, meat, cheese, red onion and beer. Enough to draw me back here many years later. even with only beer. There is a special experience coming to Madison park. Love the many specialty shops here. And what better place to come and relish the atmosphere of the Red Onion. read more

Cheap drinks, great staff, and chill environment to play billiards or hang out with friends etc.

The R.O. is a fantastic neighborhood spot. Pancake breakfast for morning Seahawks game. Fun locals, cheap drinks, great fireplace and a much needed unpretentious Madison Beach hidden gem. read more

Red Onion Tavern - Seahawks! - Bars Near Me - Seattle, Washington

Their French dip and chili is very good. I add cheese and get the horseradish on the side because it is super intense almost like wasabi. Great prices on food and drinks. Only downfall is Sometimes the service isn't that great and you have to go up to the bar if you need anything. read more

Red Onion Tavern - French dip with side chili! - Bars Near Me - Seattle, Washington

This is the dirtiest restaurant I have ever been. The floors are filthy, as is the seating which is ripped. The kitchen looks filthy. Dust is pilled up on everything. read more

Amazing bartenders, classic bar, great music, I can't stay away!, I had the Rainier on draft and it was fucking outstanding

Had the absolute worst experience ever here last night. This is my neighborhood bar and I have never had a problem here with any of the bartenders, but last night there was a new staff member behind the bar who was absolutely black out drunk and berating every man in the bar. He personally screamed at and embarrassed my husband, and my friends husband and was refusing to serve even though we were completely sober. It was honestly such a disgusting experience and I hope we never have to see that bartender again. read more

Love the low key atmosphere and karaoke on Friday nights. Great spot in heart of Madison Park.

I've debated for a little while whether or not to post this review. I feel that I would be doing the female community if I didn't. I've never felt as disgusted and taken advantage of as I did by young bartender Howie. I would highly recommend this establishment take a look at the people they have on their payroll. As much fun as it is to get free drinks what's not fun is being drunk to the point of almost losing consciousness off of 2 drinks. I will NEVER go back to this establishment and would implore any female going to this business to reconsider and put your safety first. read more

Honestly the rudest bartender I've ever encountered. I'm so sad for the RO-we used to have so much fun there but the service was beyond awful. read more

We came in here to cool off from the Seattle heat. BEST. BLOODY. MARY. EVER. It was a Tuscan charcuterie board, an artisan salad, and a crisp cool cut orgy all in one drink. Wow. The service was just as great. Fun times. You won't regret coming to this place. read more

Red Onion Tavern - BLOODY MARY WOWZA - Bars Near Me - Seattle, Washington

This bar reminds me of the corner bars I grew up around in Chicago. However, the bartenders are actually welcoming instead of surly. The drinks are priced to keep you around for a few too. The crowd was upbeat, open to talking to new folks and having a good time. If you are in Madison Park enjoying the beach, you should stop by the Onion for a drink! read more

I have never felt the need to review a business but tonight crossed a line. I have been going to the Red Onion for a long time. Tonight, I visited with my mom and a group of friends. I had been looking forward to tonight for a long time and had been telling my friends and my mom about this bar for awhile. Unfortunately, the tall bar tender with the brown hair ruined each and every one of our nights. My mom ordered a single beer on her tab and when she later went up to close out, she was handed a bill for much more than what she had ordered. My mom tried to clarify her bill by asking what else she had been charged for and the tall bartender replied with "there's other drinks on there and we don't know where they came from." When he offered to rerun her card, my mom said that it was no problem and that she could just pay for the tab as is. My mom then paid and tried to get her card back. The bartender asked if my mom was going to tip more and then proceeded to make a large scene by asking her to leave, saying "bye" and "if you aren't smart enough to figure out your tab then you can go." When I went up to close out my tab, the tall bartender proceeded to talk about my mom in a degrading way to me, and scream at people from across the bar. It genuinely seemed as though he was on drugs and/or highly intoxicated, maybe mentally unwell. A very disappointing way to end my last time at the bar I've had so many memories in. Genuinely don't understand the decision to bring this man onto the team. I love the Red Onion and the bartenders have always been friends. Not high assholes that do meditation and karate exercises behind the bar. read more

My friends and husband went to this bar about 2-3 weeks ago, we are from Queen Anne/ Green Lake area. We are all very busy people and we were happy we finally got out of the working routine. What spoiled our night was the bartender as he ( a tall guy) was very rude and to be honest racist or high or both. As soon as we arrived there he started to pick on me and talked to me like I was a long friend and I ignored him. After few beers, I tried to do the same and he basically kicked us out of the bar basically saying we were drunk and told us don't come back. We did not say or do anything wrong. All of us (6) could not believe that and he was even selling beer to a couple of white guys who couldn't even stand up properly while he was being highly disrespectful to us. Love the bar but we will probably never come back because Red Onion should pay attention of who they hire. This is not Texas! read more

Bartender with the flat brim needs a trip to the back alley for a serious ass kicking. He's lucky my wife was with me or he would've been taught a serious lesson in respect. I ordered a beer and he slammed it on the bar causing it to spill over, mouthed some passive aggressive bullsh*t which I asked him to repeat and then he walked out of the bar to go be a weirdo. He then returned and acted like an ass towards me and several patrons around me that had zero to do with whatever imaginary problem he had with me. If you own this establishment, you should be aware that this guy is a liability to your continued operation. Might be a good idea to coach him up or let him go. read more

Red Onion has gone downhill. Go to the Attic, better bar and much more vibrant environment.

They just don't make 'em like the Onion anymore. A true dive in the middle of tony Madison Park, it gives me great joy to see this joint holding on and not being replaced by another Starbucks or gastropub. It also gives me great joy to see all the yuppies clutching their pearls over the existence of this place. Dark, divey, but not dirty, free pool, cheap drinks, karaoke every other Friday, the occasional beer pong game... the Onion has all the hallmarks of a stalwart dive, including occasionally-gruff bartenders and old regulars. I'm far from a regular, but I've always had good service here - just act like a human, don't be pretentious or entitled and you'll be just fine. It gets quite crowded on karaoke nights but the KJ is great and it's tons of fun. My only wish is that they cared about their food offerings a bit more, but that's not their priority here and that's fine. A hot dog will sate those drunken munchies well enough. Keep being you, Onion, and never change. read more

Chill atmosphere, and really friendly staff. We got lots of good recommendations for things to do in Seattle from the bar tender and other patrons. Plus there's pool! We had an excellent time. read more

Red Onion Tavern - Pool table - Bars Near Me - Seattle, Washington

First and foremost, I've been going to the red onion for a while now and I can honestly say that this is the best experience I've ever experienced at a bar. The bartender Howye is one of the best and will definitely take care of you. He has been the bartender nearly every time I've been there and I can't thank my friend enough. read more