Went here when my sister and brother in law were in town.  Free pool on  Thursdays and cheap pitchers of PBR.  Fun atmosphere, nice jutebox and friendly bar tenders.'
Bonus sideshow when one of the local winos went into a drunken tirade and was yelling incoherently at the bar tender. Â I find that kind of think funny in a pathetic kind of way. Â
anyway. Â This place is a good time.
I've had good experiences here in the past, but last night a group of 5 of us were asked to leave by a bartender (dude named Courtney) right after ordering our first round because we "didn't tip enough". Needless to say, we finished the drinks fast and headed to the much more friendly atmosphere at Al's in Wallingford where we felt inclined to tip plenty!
Review Source:If you're looking for good food or ambience----DON'T GO THERE! Â I had the bad luck of having food and drinks there. Â Their specialty that they're so proud of was their burgers. Â They need to rethink. I order a bacon blue cheese burger. Â The burger came out charbroiled, looking somewhat similar to a cow chip. Â It was approximately a 1/16" of an inch thick with a piece of bacon that had seen better days. This was food I wouldn't feed my dog.
I ordered a martini which ended up costing $9 with a $2 surcharge (showing up as  $2 beer) because it was a martini.  Trust me -- this place is FILTHY, ripped carpeting that looked like several people over the years had puked on it -- and it smelled like it.  The ladies room had broken toilets, graffiti'd walls.....just disgusting.
By the way, they're also playing shenanigans with the bill....I didn't get an itemized bill until I insisted on it. Â
AGAIN, Â I CAN'T STRESS IT ENOUGH -- DON'T GET THERE.
Feeling a bit stressed out at work and needing to get away, my coworker and I "yelped" for some options in the Ballard/Fremont area. Â Drinking was not the first thing on our minds (hehe :)), but we ended up at the Ballard Grill & Ale House since their HH did begin at 11am--although geographically in Frallard (between Fremont & Ballard). Â You may not expect much from the looks of the outside, but fear none, inside awaits an adventure! Â
I wasn't surprised that we were the ONLY customers inside on a Friday afternoon at 1:00pm, but I was surprised at how clean, friendly, and fun this place was! Â My coworker and I ordered some HH food (burgers and onion rings), a couple of brewskies, and played a round of pool. Â SUPER FUN and for only $10 each. Â
I'd be curious to see how this place fills up on nights and weekends, but I imagine that it would still be pretty fun as long as it's not too busy. Â BUT, great place for a mid-day pick me up!
One of my favorites in Seattle. Truly great low-cost burgers and a raft of great microbrews. What a tasty line up on tap! Specializing in the great local made brews and very diverse selections. Tons of pool tables, Â myriads of pull tabs for casual gambling while you sip. Very friendly, but lots of space and you can sit alone, also with your brew, no problem. So, so Seattle! Ah, love it (in small doses).
They  have never seen a tourist here, and if you get here, you are not going to be one, local or not. Add it to your stops for a rainy  Seattle afternoon. Has it's own "microclimate", and great music , crisp sounds.
I went twice and had wildly divergent experiences. My first venture was fantastic. Bartender was friendly and drinks were a nice price. My last experience was lackluster, I think I'll stick to dive bars with more consistency. I mean, why would I want to be overcharged in a place that lacks ambiance? I could patronize better watering holes for that...
Review Source:Like the Goldie's in Wallingford, this is a good place to grab some brews, place some Buck Hunter, and work on your mad pool skills. Free pool M and Th. How cool is that? Divey and chill and casual. Just like you'd expect.
Tip: make sure the bartender knows how to make your cocktail. My bf ordered a few dead Nazis and was presented with goldschlager in the mix rather than jager. To make matters worse, he noticed her reaching for the goldschlager and when he questioned her, she snapped back, "I know what I'm doing."
No reason to go here at all without Tazz and Fred and the rest of the wonderful staff. Visit Tazz next door, serving up classy cajun cocktails at Le Bon Ton Roule, and last I saw, Fred could be spotted in the kitchen at Zadya Buddy's on Sundays and Mondays at least. Not sure what happened to the rest of the gang but I'm pretty sure I'll never be back here without them.
It absolutely pains me to write this update as once upon a time (see my previous review), this place was practically my home away from home. But without the staff, it's just another rinky-dink dive bar, albeit one with more games and pool tables than many.
This is a decent place to watch the game. Â It doesn't look like much from the outside, and frankly it you can judge this book by it's cover.
They do have games however, and boy do I like to play games while I drink beer. Â Their Pop-a-shot is decent (compared to some I have seen). Â They could stand to have a few new balls thrown in there and the score reset though. They have big buck and skeeball too which are also classics.
They have some pool tables too but I haven't had a chance to try those out yet.
4B's used to be my favorite go-to for almost any night when I wanted to get together with friends, play some darts, or meet up before dinner. Â I have recommended and brought nearly every one I know here. However, it's gone swiftly down hill in the last year. Whoever the new(ish) owners are, they have done a great job destroying the mellow, everybody-knows-your-name vibe from this place.
They have systematically fired the staff in the last year, one after another. With the final firing of their head bartender last month, I'm done. The only reason we all came was because of the staff (in particular, Tazz, the head bartender) and I will not be back & will make sure everyone knows why I won't be.
News flash: the specials they post are not the specials they offer, went in on a Tuesday, my boyfriend ordered the fat tire special ($3) written two places in the bar and we were charged $4.75 and told 'sorry, guess they didn't take the sign down' that's messed up. And $4.75 for beer at a dive bar? Really?
Review Source:Here's the deal. The bar advertised a 3 dollar special for Fat Tire today. The only reason that I purchased Fat Tire was because of said special. When my girlfriend closed out her tab, she was charged 4.75 per beer. They did not honor their 3 dollar special, because they said it was no longer valid, regardless of their advertising! All we wanted for them to do was honor the special price. Is that so difficult? Isn't it their fault? Apparently not. I promptly got the managers information and personally erased the falsely advertised special from the chalkboard.
If you want to drink here, ask about the specials before you order. Don't trust their chalkboard, or their banner signs....
I live for dive bars- especially those I can stumble home from...
but this place sucks.
It has all the right components of a good dive bar (many pool tables, darts, "A Boy Named Sue" on the jukebox, etc.)
But, the compounding beer-soaked-moldy-carpet-stench and the new bitchy bartender lady have crushed any urge I would have to ever return.
(By the way- what happened to Taz? I haven't seen him lately, and he was one of the few reasons I would frequent this hell-hole. Now- he seems to have been replaced with some girl who is too wrapped up in her own self-loathing to actually get me a much-needed and well-deserved drink.)
So, not enough going here to keep me coming back...which sucks. I wish this review was better, for my own selfish needs.
So basically the only reason I come here is for the Pop-a-Shot. I am going to beat the record some day.
This place is a total dive sports bar. They have a great beer selection on tap. What does really suck here is the service. The 2 woman bartenders that I've ran across here are completely awful. They are so rude, I wanna tell them to screw off. But I don't because I wanna play pop-a-shot. The dude bartenders on the other hand are the exact opposite, so I don't understand whats going on with the women. Straight tudes that need to go! Do they not realize they are in the SERVICE industry.
The outside is scarier than the inside, the bathrooms are gross, the pop a shot balls are bald and flat, the Skeet ball is a total waste of money. Buck hunter is always a win, and the pool tables are ok. Â Yet I still come back just to try and get close to that record.
The 4Bs (no I don't know why it's called this) is a classic dive bar.
Not in the sense that it's a great place to get in a fight, just that it's a more mellow basic bar. The decor is a little faded and dirty, the uniforms are apparently t-shirts and jeans and the prices are cheap.
You've got your basic hoops game, electronic darts and a surprising number of pool tables. There's also the extra joy of pull tabs behind the bar.
Beer is cheap although I probably wouldn't try any sort of spirits other than a shot. I decided to stick with Rolling Rock while my companion went with a martini. There were some odd floaters in the martini and it was sort of pungent. Reminded me of the times when we'd have drinks at a bar back in Cleveland that came in dirty glasses and smelled faintly of gasoline.
Yeah, those were good times and yeah this is that kind of place.
I've gone here a few times for friends' birthdays and I think it's just OK - nothing special. It's your basic bar: sports on TV, pool tables, darts, jukebox, video games. One plus is they do have a large number of pool tables for the size of the place. The bartenders are friendly and pour stiff drinks. The one thing that distinguishes this bar from others just like it is they have pear cider on tap, and that is most excellent.
Review Source:Ah the 4 B's. I was first introduced to this place back in August as the starting point for a buddy's birthday and we ended up closing the place out that night. I've since been back 5 or 6 times since and I've gotta say that I really enjoy this place for what it is. This bar is definitely not for everyone, but if you have a set of friends that love a quality dive atmosphere with some great games and beers then this place is definitely worth checking out. I've also done a date here (definitely NOT a first date spot) and it made for a really fun no-pressure night out for both of us.
The games really make this place come together: a skee-ball, 5-6 pool tables, 2 well calibrated buck hunter machines, 2 modern golden tee machines, a late era pinball machine, and the best pop-a-shot i've seen in a bar. Pool is free on Monday & Thursday nights. The bar also has weekly pool tournaments with 5$ buy ins which I have yet to check out, but it sounded pretty fun.
The staff is very nice and is generally quick to getting you a refill on your drinks. I rarely see a line up at the bar as the waitress that is usually there does an awesome job keeping everyone happy.
The food is decent enough for the environment. I've gotten a club sandwich here which was a great base for a night of drinking, pool, and skee-ball. I've also split the nachos and people have said that the burgers were decent as well. I wouldn't go here to eat, but if you get hungry or you're running late the food does the trick and isn't gross.
Worth checking out if you're looking for a fun night out without having to squeeze through crowds of people. I've yet to come here on the weekend, but this is an A+ weeknight spot.
You know this sports bar:
Mariners on the TV.
Soundgarden on the jukebox.
Strong drinks.
Pool tables and video games.
Dirty bathrooms.
A bunch of dudes wearing cargos and backwards baseball caps.
A few gals wearing overly tight, low-cut shirts.
Everything a 23-year-old 5th-year-senior could ask for on a Saturday night.
I've been here a hundred times, but I also forget about it when it comes to reviews.
What can you say about the 4 B's?
Would I recommend it? I don't know, how do you feel about dubious decor and sometimes clientele?
It does have a ton of pool tables, which is great, but use caution - at this corner or that, you may be in conflict with another table, someone's drink or any number of other random hazards.
The drinks are good, plan to leave with a few less brain cells.
The food is greasy and again, could be considered dubious by the faint of heart, but it's always tasted good to me.
Going to the 4 B's is kind of a test of strength, but I always have a good time.
It's a great place to go when you have a large group of people who will be arriving and leaving whenever, and don't necessarily all need to sit at the same table.
Went out here with a bunch of friends for my boyfriend's birthday celebration and we had a BLAST. Â Everything was top notch from the friendly service (our waitress was great!) to the super strong drinks. Â The pear cider was fantastic and the food was above average for bar food. Â Portions were gigantic!
We played lots of billiards, tons of songs on the jukebox, and had an all-around great time. Â We were pretty wild and rambunctious, but they put up with our craziness, which was much appreciated. Â
This place is dubbed the "4 Bs," but I've still yet to figure out what it stands for. Â We call it the Ballard Bar & Billiards, but that's only 3 Bs....??
This is the place to play pool unless you want to fight over tables and pay mad money to rent by the hour while wearing your popped collar. Â If you want that, go to Bell town billiards or Jillian's. This place is sort of a dive. Â I never have a problem getting a table because they have like 8 and always end up playing pool with some interesting people, plus they have Golden Tee as an added bonus.
Staff is pretty cool and I think the food is decent.
Apparently this place is called "The 4 B's". I was not hip enough to know that until last night. My friend and I ended up here after a debate over what to do with our night. It was within walking distance of his house therefore it won out above all else.
Ballard Grill & Ale House is a bar for blue collar folks. It has a slight wannabe sports bar feel but mainly its a place to get cheap beer after a day spent working at the Locks. There are plenty of pool tables, darts, a modern jukebox, Golden Tee, Addams Family pinball machine (my personal favorite), and a safari shoot out game.
On a Sunday night it was empty, just the way I like my bars. No wait for any of the games or for a drink.
Food is served here but I have yet to try it. I have no doubt the menu is filled with greasy deep fried foods. The way it should be at a bar like this.
Ballard Grill & Ale House is a simple bar for simple folks. No need to impress anybody here. Come as you are, have a cheap drink, and play a cheap game of pool.
P.S. There is free pool Monday and Thursdays.
I used to go here with my friend Joel after a hard day touring the thrift shops of the Aurora Ave corridor, play 70's glam rock on the juke, and get my ass kicked at pool. Â We had something different from the menu every time and it always hit the spot. Â That was over a year ago, when they had the divey laminated cafeteria menus in fine print, about 30 different burger combinations, and some great fish-n-chips.
Last week I got a culture shock. Â Tri-fold Denny's style menus. Â No peanut butter & pickle burger. Â Electronic jukebox? Â I has a sad.
On the upside: Â the bacon & blue cheese burger was still great, the onion rings still gave me heart burn (as all good rings should), and the same 2 dudes with dirty hair and trucker hats with real grease on them were still at the bar. Â Glad to see not everything has been so-called "improved".
I hope they're not trying to draw the uppity-er patronage over to our beloved dark side. Â Because seriously, if I wanted to hang out with people who enjoy paying $6 for a pint and eating hummus instead of nachos, then I'd just walk across the street to Hale's. Â Or shoot myself. Â Tough call there.
I'm very repentant that I didn't check this place out sooner. Â
Yes, a dive. Â But a damn good one, which is my favorite kind of place. Â My drinks were strong and reasonably priced. Â The fries were great. Â Service was friendly, to the point that my bar tender was sharing bits of European chocolate bars with me that another patron had given him for Christmas. Â Ha! Â Now that's good people.
I left drunk, happy, and definitely planning to go again.
Dive bar.
This is where the ugly power-drinkiers and custodians of modern pharmacology come to drink. The burgers were pretty good though.
I think this is the winter drinking spot for the fishing fleet when they are docked in port, as everyone looked like one of the surly deckhands from "Deadliest Catch".
this used to be one of my staples from WAY back in the day... back when we used to call it the Four B's. Â Can't remember for the life of me why we called it that, but we just did.
What did the Four B's stand for? Â Ballard, beer, burgers and booze? Boogers, burgers, booze and barf? Â Burgers, bottles, blow and Ballard?!?! Â Buxom beauties, blackouts and booze!??!?! Â Damn it... now that's bugging the eff'ing hell out of me.
Oh the hell with it... this place would have been 4 stars if they hadn't a ditched the awesome jukebox a while back. Â Now they have one of them dang fangled download it and play it first things... ASS. Â
Regardless, this past Friday I stopped in there for the first time a long while and the drinks were strong as ever, the bartender was a little uglier and the wait staff just as surly.
Friday night we were looking for a place that had reasonable bar food, pinball, and pool. Â Simple, no? Â Well everyone vetoed all the usual haunts (the list is long) and we ended up at my house. Â I get the feeling that next time we're going here so I don't end up with a sink full of glasses and no beer.
Nice bartender. Â Decent selection of beers, and they pour strong drinks. As Mel says, "SKRONG." Â Pleasantly, the vibe was happy, not overly boozy or hipsterish. Â
Two pinball machines. Â Six or so pool tables. Â Couple of those plastic dart machines. Â Two networked Golden Tee 2008 machines that were in heavy rotation. Â
Ample parking is always a plus.
Being that I live right behind the bar this place is awesome. Always $2 pints of PBR, free pool and $3 pint Fat Tire Tuesday, and a fake plastic fireplace. Who needs more in a bar?!
Really, it's a great place to have a drink with friends on a weeknight. Eclectic crowd on weekends, but a great starting point for a night out in Ballard or Fremont.
From the outside, I thought we were walking into a total biker bar hole in the wall. But once inside, it was a plethora of pool tables, video game machines, pinball, jukebox... and of course tables and chairs.
This would be a totally cool place to chill with your friends. It's pretty divey, which is cool if you're into that sort of thing.
Negative two stars because there was a stupid drunk chick who kept trying to steal our beers and pitchers. I almost got in my first fight that night.... but anyway, the fact there was a stupid drunk chick isn't the Bar's fault. What pissed me off is that I told the bouncer about the first time she did it, and he went over and talked to her for about 10 seconds. The second time she did it and I told him, he did the same thing. I would have thrown the bitch out.
Also, why no toilet seat covers? Come on!
Anyway, it is all right.
Shit son, this here be a dive! But damn do they pour one hell of a strong drink. STRONG
tons of pool tables, electronic dart boards, jukebox with some random bands-Ween, and bathrooms you'll want to hover in.
I still go there though, cause like Snoop Dogg says: Laaaiiid back
indeed Snoop my man...indeed.
we used to call this place the ballard a** house, but thats not really fair. Â its a dive bar, but one of those dive bars that don't have scensters ironcially enjoying it. Â
there are sports on the tvs, people playing pool, and poor lonely souls playing video poker all night long.
its an unpretentious and slightly depressing place to go when you don't want to deal with the "new seattle" upscale scene that is slowly taking over the city.
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