Bad Albert’s Tap & Grill

My partner and I recently stumbled into Bad Albert’s for the first time. We took an instant liking to the place. The service and overall vibe were friendly. A really great jazz quartet (Bill Chism) played Beatles, some standards, and a couple of Xmas tunes (’tis the season). The food was very good and reasonably priced. (I had wings and the soup of the day. My partner had a burger.) Most of all, we were pleasantly surprised by the warm clientèle. (A nice break from the hipsters, techies, and frat guys who seem to have colonized the rest of Ballard.).

Great food, bad service!
I’ve come here 4 times now and 3 out 4 times Ive received disappointing service. Sadly the disappointing times have all been with the same server. I watched her one night go over the hot wings selection with one customer and when I ordered the hot wings plate the very next day she never offered me sauce choices and made the decision her self. She never refilled my drink either of the times I came, and did not give me back my change when I paid with cash. Also, the first night of me coming to this restaurant she did not check on my table or give me a tab forcing me to go to the bar and asking to be checked out. The food however is great and inexpensively priced! Their Dock St. Junior is really tasty and half off during happy hour. But, even though their food is of high quality, with this poor of service I don’t think I will come back. She did not make me feel welcomed or valued as a customer.
*would like to add on every visit the bar was not packed

Ok so I’ve been to Bad Albert’s twice now. Once for brunch and once for late night Karaōke and I will say I’m a fan. Bad Albert’s has won me over for numerous reasons:
#1: Good food. You wouldn’t think it to look at it, but this classic bar has some delicious menu options and even though I have only had the eggs benny, it was a pretty darn good plate of food. Now if you are expecting fine dining food, don’t come here, but if you are looking for some good filling grub, this is your spot (also the price is right!).
#2: Great service. Both times I’ve come here (2 for 2!) the server/​bartender has been on point. Even though they are the only person working the entire bar/​restaurant, they never forgot an order, and were always on it with drinks. Also the drinks were strong which is what makes a «divey» bar so endearing, so kudos to the bartender for knowing how to pour.
#3. It’s a dive bar. But not. Its some weird hybrid between pub and dive bar. I never feel gross but I don’t exactly feel like it has the pub vibe. Some people might not like that, but I dig it. Also karaōke! on a Friday! Who would have thought?
Bottom Line: cheap, strong drinks, in the heart of ballard with awesome service, what;s not to like?

The FDA just released a statement that bacon and other processed meats are carcinogenic. Bad Albert’s is the place where I gladly will eat all the bacon on-​site so that no one else has to suffer. We were pointed in their direction after inquiring where to find an open kitchen post 1AM on a Saturday (Big Night Badge achieved!) Unilocal supplied us with a 50%OFF Appetizer upon Check-​In, and we scarfed down some delectable fish tacos. In addition I enjoyed a super tasty bacon and egg scramble. It’s pretty dark in there so I just relied on my tastebuds to tell me at 1:30am that what I was eating was indeed delicious. This also looks like a great sports bar with a line up of wide HD screens up top. Thanks Bad Albert for a great way to end the night, and apparently, to everything else.

Great food with awesome friendly service the appetizer and main course were equally great I highly recommend this place

We had quick food and some good beer in Bad Albert’s. Service was good, atmosphere was good, food was very good. Wold be really good to watch sports, plenty of good seating, very good for catching up with friends.

Babe Albert’s is great for Sunday football. They have a great happy hour menu. The bartender gave us amazing service.

We stopped in here while we were on a wait for a restaurant near by. Their beer was selection was great, and the people were friendly. Not only the waitstaff, which was attentive, but the general folk that were in the bar were talkative and kind. There was a wide range of people. We ordered the hot wings, and they were awesome. Not spicy, but had a great bbq flavor.

Had the worst experience here the other night, I was treated with such disrespect I was shocked. I will never go back here. I felt so offended from the waitstaff, the food was average. No one deserves the treatment j saw during my dining.

So Unilocal had a 50% off coupon for appetizers and they said they dont work with Unilocal ever. So keep that in mind, it’s not much money but good to know anw.

We arrived around 10:30 on a Friday night and it was DEAD. It had like three couples singing karaōke and that’s it. I was skeptical of how good the place could be…10:30 on a Friday night and it was that empty? Something must be wrong…
We ordered drinks-​and they were strong which was great. I didn’t want to order food because of how dive-​y the place was. My friends ordered food. It came out and was AMAZING. Like hand cut fresh fries. We then ordered food. DELICIOUS. I take back my earlier judgement.
I didn’t want to use a dive bar bathroom, so I abstained from breaking the seal. Eventually the time came for me to pee so I had to. Guys, the BATHROOM is like the fanciest bathroom in Ballard. Single occupancy, super clean, one of those sinks that is just a glass bowl. SUPER FANCY. I would come back just to pee in that bathroom. And for the french fries.
I will be back with a full bladder and a thirst for a strong pour.

Great Service, Great Sports Watching!
This place is a hidden GEM. Most locals dig it. It’s not pretentious as a lot of places in Ballard are becoming. They treat you great when you come in to BA’s. If you want a burger and a beer, there might not be a better place in Ballard. They have great TV’s for watching sports, and the burgers are really tasty. Go to BA’s!

This is one of my favorite spots to get breakfast in Seattle! I usually get one of their delicious eggs Benedicts and a spicy bloody Maria (bloody Mary with tequila) it’s laid back joint with some great servers. I bet it’s a lot of fun at night as well.

Two words: FRENCH TOAST!
The best you’ll ever have. Good service, friendly servers, and involved bar owner (s).

Disappointed with the ignorance of staff…
My roommate and I tried to grab some lunch here on a Saturday afternoon. Both of us are well over age and from Montana, the waitress/​bartender refused to serve us a cocktail bc she wasn’t comfortable with our IDs. She said she didn’t know enough about them so she went to check with the owner of the restaurant, who left it to her discretion.
Long story short, don’t waste your time grabbing a beer here if you don’t have a WA ID.

I’ve been a long time fan of Bad Albert’s in Ballard and am so excited that they’re back and doing well (they shut down momentarily and tried to reopen under a new name «Tailgaters», which was horrible). Today I went there with my girlfriend and uncle to catch the Seahawks game. We were there for quite a few hours and I must note that the customer service by all the staff was excellent, even when it got busy for the game (all the seats and tables were taken, people were even standing for the game). Some bars don’t have very good customer service when they’re that busy, but Bad Albert’s had it perfect. I had the French toast (with a side of bacon) and a bloody mary (ok, more like 4). Everything was phenomenal. They have 12 TVs and had 3 different games on, most of them were set on the Seahawks game (of course) and they had the sound on (which is an absolute MUST). If you’re looking for a great place with excellent customer service to watch a game, I recommend Bad Albert’s to anyone.

Disappointed after reading reviews.
The wings were OK but not even close to Kings Hardware. The fried Oysters were over cooked.
All in all not a very satisfying experience for $ 30 plus tip

Great food and customer service. The burgers are definitely worth the price. Good environment and friendly staff.

This is a great sports bar on the street where you can find any type of bar!
They have a great staff & specials!
I can’t wait for my next stop in to catch a game as long as I’m not at one!

Caution: Unilocal «deal» has not gained approval from this company so they do not honor the 10% off.
Came here for some wings! They were very delicious! Had the house hot sauce and it was the perfect amount of tangy spicyness on them. The wings were huge and not dry at all. The breading on each wing was nice and crispy not soggy at all.
We also had ordered the crawfish. The chipotle sauce is good but the crawfish tails were small and somewhat flavorless