Belltown Billiards

Sad this is closed, was the best place in town for 2000 – 2010. Always saw pro athletes shooting pool, great staff, great DJ, always a good time. One of the few places in Belltown that didn’t have fights breakout every hour.

Super chill, casual place. They have one main bar, a bunch of pool tables, and then a small dance floor. You’ll have a good time with good company.

Came here after work on a Friday night with some work friends. They have great hours for happy hour (4:30−8:00) and we were taking advantage of it. During happy hour it’s $ 5/​hr for pool and their drink specials are Jack and Ginger for $ 5 and the Bar Margarita for $ 5. Everything was fine until we got our check.
We had only ordered things on the happy hour menu but had two drinks listed at $ 6. When we inquired about it, the bartender said it was $ 6 for the whiskey gingers we had ordered. We asked why they weren’t $ 5 for happy hour and he said it was because we didn’t say JACK and ginger. After inquiring about the whiskey, they used their cheap well so he charged us $ 6 for bottom shelf whiskey and refused to change the price because we didn’t say the name Jack.
We gave up arguing and just asked to ring out. The bartender came back with the check and two 1 dollar bills saying «Here I took these out of the tips so you can have your lousy two dollars!» Needless to say, I don’t think he go the point that it wasn’t about the $ 2. He lost out on a great tip and any chance at repeat customers.
Our time there was decent and I wanted to like it, but after being treated like that neither myself or anyone at my office will be going back.

We came here during happy hour after we visited 2 bars before. so we were feeling pretty good and HUNGRY. They have a $ 5 ANY personal pizza during happy hour. I would get the one with the most meat, more bang for your buck.
Besides the awesome deal, it was pretty dead in there for a friday at 6pm. Place was kindve dirty, and some of the lights above the pool tables did not work.
Still a good place to meet up with friends before going to dinner or something.

This place gets mixed reviews from many, and this is (I believe) because it’s really aimed at a specific clientele. If you’re looking for a high-​end place with flawless character, this is not your place. If you’re out looking for a chill place to kick back, have a drink, shoot some pool, and enjoy the dark, low-​key atmosphere; you’ve hit the jackpot. It can be busy, and it’s generally dead during the week in the daytime, but they’re open! :)
The bartenders are great, they aren’t afraid to rotate the music selection, and the service is quick. Five stars for a billiard room!

Without going into extensive detail, I’m a professional 30 something, who came here one night after a friend’s grad school graduation dinner. She ended up braking her ankle on the unsafe and overcrowded dance floor after stepping on another’s foot (and has the doctors bill to prove it). Crying on a nearby step, an aggressive bouncer grabbed her and picked her up by her arm like she was a child. He thought she was crying because she was drunk. The bouncer was unconcerned and insensitive and after a few words with the man as we were dragged (errr… Escorted) out the back door, the Billiards employee ended up throwing punches at our group of 3 in the alley. One bald white man (who claimed his name was Travis) bashed my head into a brick wall. The police were called by a few people but when they showed, Billiards told the story that two of us had started throwing punches inside.
I’ve never fought anyone in my life. I have a terrible knot in my stomach from visiting here and will never go back. In fact, it’s turned me off this part of Belltown altogether. Stay away from Belltown Billiards, for safety sake. It’s just another late night club with violence and shady roided out employees.
UPDATE: I do have pictures of the bouncers actively being restrained after throwing punches to my head and others. Unilocal removed these from their site on 06÷17÷14, a full 5 years after they were posted. I still live 6 blocks from Belltown Billiards. I continue to believe that this is not a safe or enjoyable place to hang out and a poor business to patronize. In fact, I would go as far as to say that, of every night out I have had in my entire life, in a hundred different cities, over 10 years, Belltown Billiards was the single worst experience I have ever had. Life is short. Avoid this place. If you are visiting from outside the area, I am happy to personally recommend 10 other alternatives for your night out.

Meh.
Went at about 11:30 on a Saturday night and it wasn’t very live. Dance floor was pretty empty, bar was pretty quick. The young women weren’t what I would call top notch. They try with the couches and all that but it comes off kinda tacky to me. It is really spacious in there though.
Wouldn’t be my first or second choice next time I’m in Belltown.

Thursday’s is ladies night so it’s free all night I believe. Well, I think ladies are free before 11PM on the weekends too – when they play dance music (hip hop, rap, pop, etc). I think this place is up and coming and starting to attract more people, which is nice. I love the diversity.
Drinks are fairly cheap and fairly priced. I have had GREAT bartenders here. There are pool tables for you to play pool, a fairly big dance floor, two sides of a bar (although the main one makes better drinks), and a lounge area to chill.
I’m giving his place a 4 star because every time I’ve been here, I’ve had great service from the bartenders on several occasions. The dance floor, could use some lively body activity. But I think it’s a great chill spot, or a great dance spot when it’s packed (more so on the weekends).
Just beware of the dirty girls that come here & do inappropriate things at the bar LOL or the other dirty girls that crash the bathroom. Otherwise, have fun, and enjoy their cheap drinks!

Ignorant staff.
I was hanging out at a friends place in Belltown this afternoon. They have a table in their building, but no chalk. No wanting to drive to Lynnwood, I figured that I’d head over here. I spend some money there on the weekends. I’ve brought a few groups of coworkers through. I’m sure they’d sell me or give me a piece of chalk. At wholesale, they’re made 10 cents a piece.
The response of the stubby little goateed bartender. «No, we don’t have chalk here.» Not we don’t have any to spare or I can sell it to you or it’s against policy.
Sure A-​hole, I bet you don’t have any beer or drinks there either. I’ll skip over this place next time. Contrast this with my experience at my Mercedes dealer. They gave me a part that costs $ 15 and had someone slap the bulb in there for me. They’re smart enough to know what builds loyalty. Sadly, the staff here are too stupid to know or too indifferent to care about anything like that.
Good BB, you just earned a one star review and someone who’ll actively turn people away from your club.

Don your «suburban ass seeker» uniform (jeans, dress shoes, stripy shirt!) and head on over to belltown billiards on a friday night. It’s everything you ever dreamed of in a club! You get:
–Women who dress slutty when they shouldn’t, I mean seriously, party clothes look good on a skinny 21 year old, not on you!
–S***bags who spill beer on you
–Ear-​bleeding loud music
–1AM last call (seriously!?)
–Whoo girls
–Women who use pool tables to pose for «sexy» photos (see bullet point 1)
–Microsofties who try to fit in with the above crowd

Note: This review is just for the «Billiards» part of Belltown Billiards.
Although it’s in Belltown, if you can get there before 9 you can avoid all the douche-​bags and have a good night of pool, or so I thought. However tonight, when we were the first group playing pool in the bar, I was told that «Candy» (or whatever) would be our waitress, and we could only play at the two tables in the back, as the rest were reserved. Candy never showed, so I ordered my food and drinks at the bar. Candy eventually showed about an hour later to say that we had to move two tables down (?) because, the table we had was reserved. Not even one hour later after that, Candy re-​appeared to say that our current table was reserved, and we had to give up the pool table — the bartender confirmed when we closed out that we weren’t actually kicked out, just couldn’t play pool, at 9PM on Friday night.
I’ve played pool for 20yrs, and while I arguably deserve what I got for going to Belltown Billiards for some friendly games of pool, I have never experienced getting kicked out of a pool hall on a Friday night due to a reservation. I like Temple Billiards, and while it’s a pain in the a$$ to get the bus out to Pioneer Sq, I guess that’s where I have to go for now on.
PS: On the pool side, there’s adequate chalk but no powder. The tables aren’t completely level but decent, while the sticks are pretty bad — bring your own for a money game.
John

I went here Friday night for a birthday party.
The problem was the service. We had one waitress assigned to our group. She took my credit card and told me that I can only order from her-​the bartenders have no access to my tab. Ok.
First beer came out just fine.
She came around again and I asked for another beer.
And waited and waited and waited.
I went up to the bar and asked for my beer. Oh sorry, I’ll bring it right out.
I waited and waited and waited.
Went back to the bar to ask again, this time I told her to close my tab. She said she would bring the beer and tab right out. I said I would wait right where I was.
Crappy ass service will never make a repeat customer out of me.
You guys suck.

I’ve been here many times before and it’s always fun. Last night, I had a group reservation for two tables and food.
Summary:
Fun place to go with friends, great happy hour prices, good drinks and food, well-​maintained equipment, okay music and overall a normal place to enjoy a night out.
BUT…I’ll break it down for ya:
RESERVATIONS
Reserving was effortless and the coordinator was very responsive. The occasion was my boyfriend’s birthday and Belltown Billiards definitely made it special. They placed us next to the lounge so that our large group will be comfortable. The spot was great because it wasn’t a high traffic area, it’s close to the bar and there is plenty of seating with good views of the TV projector.
SERVICE
We had our own hostess and the wait staff was prompt in keeping our plates and garbage cleared off. They even brought us boxes towards the end of the night for our left over pizza. We didn’t have to pester them, which is nice.
FOOD
The food was much better than other pool halls I’ve been to. The staff did a perfect job of timing the dishes and we were never too hungry or without something to entertain our mouths. The bruscetta appetizer platter was amazingly good. The bread wasn’t overly crispy or hard, but does fall apart if you aren’t careful. Unexpectedly, their ceasar salad was the best I’ve ever had. The Parmesan was finely grated, the salad was tossed with the perfect amount of dressing, the lettuce was fresh and they added a hint of basil that made my taste buds very happy. We had a variety of 5 pizzas and they were okay. But I must say that the one with the caramelized onion was out of this world!
DRINKS
Drinks were very even. Not too stiff, not too weak. The bartender was very friendly and what my friends would consider a mixologist because she did an amazing job.
EQUIPMENT
The pool tables are fabric, but well maintained. I’ve been to other pool halls where the tables weren’t level or the fabric (or felt) was rippled, but not here! Pool sticks were in good condition too.
BATHROOMS
Facilities were well kept and the attendant in there was very nice. The lack of lighting in the bathroom stalls was a little annoying and kinda odd.
MUSIC
Not the kind of music I prefer, but I also don’t mind Top 40. They occasionally played some good old jams that had everyone smiling and laughing. They DJ was really good, no train-​wrecks and was good at beat mapping.
CROWD
There was a mix of people there. In the beginning of the night the middle-​aged crowd was around, but then at 10pm I noticed college students, hip-​hop kids, rocker chicks and even some geeks. Everyone seemed to be having fun and it was nice that there weren’t any aggressive creeps. There were a couple overly drunk hot-​messes and a few roid-​ragers, but you’ll find that every place you go. It only made for good laughs, conversation and people watching. I was not annoyed by any attitudes, which is nice.
TEMPERATURE
This was the only negative. I removed a star because it was too intensely hot! I’m normally the kind that loves heat, but this wasn’t pleasant. It was quite uncomfortably stuffy and the place wasn’t as packed as I’ve seen it before. They definitely need some fans for circulation!

This was my gf and I last stop on a long day to help celebrate a BDay for a friend. This place was packed on Saturday night with people either playing pool or dancing. There were only 8 pool tables so get there early if you hope to snag one otherwise you might have a long wait.
This place is kind of small considering all the things they have happening. Also they don’t have much seating at all to accommodate if you need a rest. The dance floor isn’t very large and you don’t have much room to get your groove on.
Their drinks are pretty strong as they give you a good amount of liquor to give you a buzz plus they have a decent beer selection either bottled or draft. The DJ’s play a good mix of music from 80’s hits, contemporary and hip-​hop. I wouldn’t mind coming here to try what they offer for HH.

I’m wondering if they read the reviews about the «strong drinks» and decided to overcompensate, because when I was there Saturday (St. Patrick’s Day!) I had the weakest drinks of my life.
Friend and I order some kamikaze shots. We both had the same bewildered expression on our faces after knocking back pure lime juice. We were wondering if the bartender forgot the vodka somehow when another friend said her red bull and vodka was pure red bull. Friends kept trying other cocktails and bartenders, but I wised up and switched to beer. Especially on St. Patty’s Day, I don’t want to pay Belltown money for a Salt Lake City drink.

3.5 stars
Belltown Billiards seems a little sketch, I know. A lot of my friends think this place is kind of lame, but they don’t charge cover for ladies and I usually manage to have a decent time here. It’s bigger– there’s pool tables, a dance floor and SEATING! I usually meet an ok-​crowd and the line isn’t too long.
Honestly, it’s never a first choice. You don’t have to be on a guest list of anything, so we usually come here when the night hasn’t been so hot earlier and we are trying to salvage it. Hey, it does the trick!

It smells like man pee and stale beer in here.
Other than that, the staff is really nice, but umm… I can only stand being in a place that offends my olfactory senses for so long.
In other news, I thought my cocktail tasted a bit like motor oil. Or what I imagine motor oil to taste like. Sad panda. :(
Sorry BB, maybe you can impress me another time.

I felt a little uneasy about Belltown Billiards before I came here as a +1 to my friend’s work holiday event. I had a weird feeling about the vibe and it just did not seem like my type of place. It might not be on other days, but the week night that we went was actually pretty fun.
There were pool tables that had been prepaid, so we could shoot as much pool as we wanted. Most of my friend’s coworkers were not into pool (apparently, since hardly anyone came over to play on them!), so we basically had a table to ourselves during the time that we were there.
We had a package that included bruschetta, caesar salad, and a wide variety of pizzas. I ate a LOT of the bruschetta because our pizza did not come out until a long time after the hors d’oeuvres of bruschetta. When the pizza did come out, the first kind was… tomato with mozzarella and basil… which was exactly what the bruschetta had. I was not happy at all. I ate one because I was looking for some more substantial food, but these toppings were not impressive in the slightest or even really tasty at that point.
Luckily, the caesar salad came out and I chomped on that for a while. Eventually some other pizzas came out, the first being a mushroom, olive and artichoke, which I did not try. I did try, however, the goat cheese and caramelized onion with cream sauce and it was SO GOOD. I wish that pizza had been brought out sooner so I hadn’t stuffed myself on bruschetta and salad beforehand!
Overall, I had a fine time. The food was decent (that one pizza was phenomenal) and we could pretty much play unlimited pool. I don’t know if I would go out of my way to come back here, but I would come if my friends wanted to go.

Music: 3
Setting: 2
People: 2
Drinks/​Prices: 3
This place is an utter hole, not in a good way.
The dance floor is like a tiny spot in the corner. The pool areas take up most of the space. The bar is in the way and makes walking anywhere a pain.
Prices are not so good that you’d actually want to go there for drinking. There’s no cover, possibly the only plus for this place.

Went here for my sister-in-law’s party this past weekend and it was okay. Bartenders on point, drinks decent, waitresses nice, DJ sucked, but hey, can’t be perfect!
Luckily we got out of the area before there was yet another shooting.