The 5 stars come from the fact that The Leary Traveler is in my neighborhood, and offers both a great bar atmosphere and amazing food. Â I had previously only visited the Leary for brunch but walked in tonight for some quick food and a Mariners game. Â The best normal pub atmosphere you could want in your own neighborhood. I will be back Leary Traveler!
Review Source:Been to the Traveler many times for over a year it is always enjoyable. Â
Pom Frittes are awesome, great beer selection, Â I always get good service from the weekend staff
the Irish Interloper is my favorite. Â The Trappist salad is good too.
I have a dog and she is welcome so they get my business.
This is one of my current fave weekday spots. They've got this magically delish caramelized onion gruyere sammie that makes me moan when I eat it. It's a nifty twist on French Onion Soup that's irresistible. I highly recommend you enjoy it with their perfect house salad, a sassy little baby lettuce number all lightly dressed up in malt vinagarette, cranberry Wensleydale cheese, and candied walnuts. Â You will miss this salad when it's gone from your plate.
In addition to that tasty morsel there's an array of nicely done pub food you won't regret ordering. Â The Lamb Gyro, Â Steak Frites, and The Nabob (cauliflower curry) are all quite good. Â The standout, however is the Irish Interloper - the most righteous rueben sandwich on offer in this town.
I should also mention that the service I've received there has always been great, friendly, and she always remembers my order - very much appreciated.
My only wishes? Maybe one more red wine by the glass on the menu, please? Otherwise, I'm always happy after a meal at the Traveler.
Just  moved to Seattle and my wife and I made The Traveler our first restaurant outing.
We were there on a saturday afternoon right before the final 4 started and the place was almost full. Had some poutine and the Muffaletta, both were delicious, though as someone who has spent time in montreal and lived in Halifax for two years this was NOT that poutine, but delicious nonetheless. Â The Muffalletta was huge, it was my lunch and dinner.
The best part though, is obviously the atmosphere. There were 5 dogs in the place at the time, just hanging out. I've never been in a bar that allows dogs, having two of my own (who would not do so well there, ha) it was awesome to see. Waitress was great, even though she was alone in a full house, quick, nice, and recommended we not get so many fries, ha.
Also the board games are great. Had just enough time to beat my wife in a few games of chess.
Bloody Mary's were great, so good that wife drank most of mine and then forget her purse. Of course the waitress noticed the purse and put it behind the bar for us.
Great experience, will be back, maybe with one of the dogs.
I like it here because I like board games.
Had some sliders & awesome yam fries.
drank a billion beers.
Played some scrabble, some yahtzee, some cribbage.
well, cribbage for a hot minute. Sailors play some weird games.
I also appreciate that the Bartender/ Manager gives off the vibe that it's his place.
There is a charming sense of ownership behind his service & it comes off as love for the bar & concept.
You can bring your dog here too- dawg.
Next time I'm playing Boggle & Battleship.
I am sad to say the LT is becoming a bit of a let-down. The food, still deelish. The atmosphere, a-okay. But the service... egh. To be fair, it's one particular server we've been unlucky enough to get both times... so perhaps it doesn't deserve an entire star lost, but at least half. Hopefully mgmt can kick it up a notch.
Review Source:We discovered the Leary Traveler tonight and were totally impressed. Â For those of you bored with a typical,charming neightborhood bar, Â you may not be so bored here. Â The creative bar staff has crafted an excellent cocktail selection. Â If you tell the bar staff your favorite drink they will likely find a way to concoct an impressive, creative Leary Traveler version for you. Â Â My partner enjoyed two great cocktails. Â I enjoyed 2 great draft beers that were different and delicious. Â
The food menu is equally inventive. Â There is typical fare such as sliders but done differently. Â Intead of Pork Sliders they featured "Dork" sliders which have Pork and Duck which turned out to be a great combo. Â My partner went with the lamb Sheppards Pie which did not resemble any other Sheppards pie I've ever had. Â The sauce was delicious and mixed well with the creamy potatos and savory lamb. Â A huge step up on Sheppards pie at most Irish joints I've been to in Seattle.
The ambience is great for a neighborhood place in Ballard. Â Exposed brick walls, Â TV's to watch games if you want, Â board games to play games, Â dog's welcome which is always fun, Â and most importantly genuinely friendly and professsional service makes returning soon a no-brainer. Â
A great evening. Â Thanks Leary Traveler!
This is my favorite place to get a bite and a drink in the neighborhood. Â They have an excellent selection of beer and wine, and I've never been let down by anything I've ordered here. Â Some of my usuals are the steak frites, the grilled French onion sandwich (sort of like French onion soup that you can eat with your hands!), and the mini burgers. Â I'm one of those people that finds skipping the standby and trying something new can be nerve-wracking and often disappointing, but last night I gambled and won when I ordered the beer braised chicken leg for the first time. Â No offense to the foods I normally order here, but I think I'm going to be relying heavily on the braised chicken for a long, long time to come. Â The skin outside was crispy, the meat inside juicy, and the bed of mash and gravy that accompanied it was savory, comfort food perfection.
I would totally give this place a full five stars, but I feel obligated to take one star off because the service can be extremely inattentive.  If it happened only occasionally, it wouldn't be a big deal and they could keep all their stars, but  it seems like ignoring tables is part of the job description.  I realize this place can get a little busy at times, but no one should have to wait fifteen minutes to get a "hello" much less be asked to order.  Tracking down servers or giving up and going to the bar doesn't make for a relaxing dining/drinking experience.
The Leary boasts a small but diverse menu that isn't tied to classic pub fare. The ambience is also a classic pub environment with both bar and waitress/table seating. Street parking nearby was easy.
Food was of good quality, well presented and promptly delivered. Service was friendly and appropriately attentive. I would definitely go back again. But...
I came looking forward to the 'Full English' Breakfast, but was disappointed to find it not very English at all - American bacon, American sausage and sliced tomatoes weren't the authentic experience I was hoping for. The food was in no way bad, but I could have driven a lot less far to get a Full American breakfast.
My appetizer food choice was also disappointing. The Cone of Belgian Frites was well-cooked and came with tasty aoii, but the potatoes were frozen instead of fresh cut, making for a not-very-Belgian experience.
Overall, a pleasant pub environment but inauthentic food that leaves me a lot less excited than I was when I read the menu.
I really like Leary Travel for a few reasons
1) They let dogs in
2)Their food is really good (albeit small portions). My friend even ordered the mussels which I think speaks well of a place because seafood has to be pretty fresh in order to not make you sick.
3) They are quintessential Ballard hipster but also off the beaten track. Does that make them MORE hipster? Hmmm...TBD
Great beer selection, cozy little place. Apparently you can bring dogs, because everyone did! Service was a little slow, Friday night and only one waitress.
Yam frites are to die for. Mini burgers with prosciutto were pretty decent.
The reason we went was for the Mussels. We got Provencal, and like other reviews, they are VERY spicy. Not enough broth or bread (maybe a dish that is wider and lower would help.) They also didn't taste the freshest. My favorite mussels are from Madison, WI of all places! These were just OK.
Nice place and we will be back! We'd like to try brunch, and they have board games.
This is what a nice neighborhood pub should be like! I came here for lunch one day with Johnny W (see his review for more details) and Butter and I loved it--even though Ballard's way out of my way, I'll definitely be back one day.
1 star for good food: Even though it was lunchtime, they let me order the open-faced sandwich off the brunch menu. My sunny-side-up eggs were done just right and the bacon was perfectly crispy. We also ordered a cone of yam fries, which were delicious, especially when dipped in the aioli. Although the menu gives you a choice between 4 aiolis, we asked for a sampler of all of them and they gladly complied (extra charge of $2).
1 star for good drinks: they might not be the most creative drinks in town but the cocktails were just $8 and they pour 'em strong. For all your beer people, they have a very, very extensive selection and they even offer a nifty little "passport" program where you get a mock passport to keep track of all the different cocktails/beers you've had. Once you've filled up your passport (which takes months), you get a Leary Traveler prize!
1 star for good atmosphere: the Leary Traveler had a cozy wooden interior that felt pub-like without having a bunch of random bar crap with horrible puns hanging from the walls/ceilings (in fact, they actually had beautiful artwork hanging off the walls).
1 star for good people: the bartender was great about walking us through the menu and just chatting with us. He also made an effort to make the space accessible. I got there about 10 minutes before Johnny only to find that there was a big step to get up through the front door and all the tables were waist-height. I guess I looked pretty crestfallen because I went outside to wait for Johnny and discuss other options when the bartender came out and explained that although Johnny and I wouldn't be able to sit on the deck (accessible only by stairs) where they had normal-height tables, he could get in through the back door and they could move one of the tables/chairs from the deck into the restaurant. Awesome!
And, of course, 1 star for allowing well-behaved dogs to actually enter the pub. Butter had a great time sitting in my lap, soaking up the sun. What a lazy bum.
This one's a bit of a toughy. As far as restaurants and bars go, I'd give The Traveler a 3.5 - but as a pub, I think they deserve a solid 4, for above-average pub food, drinks, and service.
Chris T and I dropped by for a late lunch (and early drinks) today, ordering an egg and bacon open face sandwich off the weekend brunch menu, the sweet potato fries with all four dips (garlic, chipotle, pesto, and curry), a Perfect Seattle (bourbon and Chartreuse) for myself, and an Irish Coffee for her. While the fries themselves were fairly standard, and made slightly more unique with the flavored dips, the sandwich was pretty tasty, served with thick slices of much-better-than-average bacon. And both of our cocktails were good, strong drinks that were topped off to the rim.
With only one other gal in the pub, working on her laptop (brilliant idea, working from a pub instead of a coffee shop!), we still received great, attentive service, with the bartender checking up on us fairly often, and even chatting with us at the beginning to talk about their passport/frequent customer program (if you drink ALL of their beers and cocktails, you get a custom hat the first time around; a jacket, second time around; and third time around, you get to attend their holiday party where all drinks are on them).
And despite what the business info on here says, The Traveler actually IS wheelchair accessible, but only through the back entrance. The tables inside are standard bar table height, and thus too high for someone sitting down, but they very willingly brought in one of the normal height tables from the outside deck for us to use. So, extra points for the awesome out-of-their way service, as well as letting us order off the weekend-only brunch menu (anything that didn't contain hollandaise sauce, anyway).
A Bar for Foodies! Real drinks! With a real Chef in the kitchen! No High School drop out deep frying previous frozen potato strips from Sysco box here :)
I came here for CHEF Shane's Beer Dinner: a 5 course dinner paired with 5 of Elysian's beers. Everything was made so well, that you forget for a moment that you're not at a fine dining establishment and have you be snapped back to reality that you are at the most bitchin' neighborhood bar in not one, but TWO towns...Frellard ;) (that would be Ballard/Fremont for those who don't know the lingo.)
I guess this is what you would call "Gastropub!". Good price point, Friendly service, knowledgeable staff.
The Traveler is a great neighborhood pub. Â They've got a small but good selection of beers on tap and a number of Belgians by the bottle. Â Sadly they were out of the IPA I wanted, so I had the much less hoppy "Red Chair NWPA" from Deschutes. Â It was good, but not so good they should be allowed to invent this new "NWPA" moniker.
There were some tasty-sounding things on the menu, which had a European bistro-ish feel to it. Â That is, except for the poutine. Â C'mon! Â Poutine is nasty and it's not French, its Quebecois, so it's totally out of place. Â Ugh, I feel like I'm gaining weight just thinking about it. Â Still, the sweet potato fries were a big hit at our table (of course they came with mayo--I mean aioli).
Sadly happy hour ends at 6pm. Â My nonprofit workin' friend who doesn't get off until after 6 turned on the waterworks for our bartender/server, who was at least nice enough to put a little more G in her T. Â The service was great and the atmosphere was nice and laid back (they even had some board games). Â I'm sure my yelp gal pals and I will be back--but pretty please extend your happy hour to 7!
The Traveler is cozy and warm, and it kind of felt like I was in a nice little pub somewhere in the snow-covered mountains of Alaska (though, maybe that's my imagination on the treadmill). The waiter/bartender was fantastic--just a nice, down-home kinda boy; I actually felt like we could be friends. And everyone is right about the sweet potato fries: They're to die for, especially with the garlic aioli. My friend really liked the beer, and I would actually like to go back to try the beer, since I had a cocktail last night.
In general, I wasn't excited about the dinner menu. Though brunch looked enticing, and you won't have to pull my arm to go back to try out those late a.m. offerings! Last night, I had the smoked salmon salad, but I wasn't crazy about it. I think that's because I didn't realize I what I was ordering (don't ask), and I'm not a fan of smoked salmon. I imagine if you love smoked salmon, you would have loved this salad. Maybe you should go to the Traveler and order it--with the sweet potato fries--and find out for yourself!
Thanks Yelp for leading me to The Leary Traveler! I was looking for a dog friendly place to have dinner and drinks with a friend over the summer. After driving the wrong way on Leary (my bad) we finally found this cute little bar. First off, my friend decided it wouldn't work for the doggy, so she stayed in the car. But there were one or two other canines hangin out in there.
As mentioned in other reviews, the service was a bit slow due to the low number of staff. But the guys were nice and we weren't in a hurry anyways. The food was good but not that cheap for a bar. And the menu is small, which can be a problem for a picky eater like me. I went for a daily special, the Lamb Sandwich ($10). It was very good, had lots of feta and a cucumber dressing, and they were nice about removing onions or something I didn't want. My friend had the Belgian Beer Braised Chicken ($12). It looked and smelled delicious, especially the mashed potatoes the chicken is served on. She cleaned her plate so I'd say we both enjoyed dinner. Next time I'd like to try the frites or sweet potato fries, they looked real good. As for beer, I was pleased to see New Castle on the menu and had me a few of those. When my BF joined us later he was happy to see Manny's on the menu.
May main complaints would be the seating and acoustics. The high stools were kinda uncomfortable and it was actually hard to get up/down for a shorty like me. And it was real loud in there. The floor is cement, so they need a rug or drapes or something to dampen the noise! Aside from that, this was good beer and good food in a friendly neighborhood bar and I wouldn't mind going to The Leary Traveler again.
The Traveler is located a few blocks away from my boyfriend's house and is hands down our favorite bar in Seattle. It's never *too* loud or *too* crowded so there is always a place to sit and actually have a conversation. We usually end up there for one "last beer" before heading home..............but it's also a great place to meet up with friends on a chill night.
Their beer selection rocks and the food is great........the sliders are a-mazing. Â My boyfriend is a huge fan of super dark beers (um, no thanks) and I think he's tried pretty much everything on their menu at least once. I'm a fan of good old Mexican beer and noticed that it was missing off the menu when they first opened. I mentioned my love for said beer to Scott (the owner) and within a couple of weeks he'd added Dos Equis to their beer menu. If that's not excellent customer service....then I don't know what is!
The Traveler is exactly what a neighborhood bar should be...........the beer is good, the food is delicious and all the bartenders know your name.
Yep, it's pretty much our version of "Cheers" but with better beer.
We meant to come here to try the happy hour (4-6, deals on beer and wine) but we accidentally went to Brouwers and got drunk instead. We needed a next stop and felt like a bit of a walk so we decided to head here.
At first I was thinking 3 stars because I really wasn't titillated by the draft list. I like a good beer and while they had some good breweries up there they had (IMHO) poor choices from most of them. HOWEVER, the pilsner that I let the bartender pick out for me came in a fancy fancy glass which did enough titillating to make up for the lackluster selection. Also he flirted inappropriately with all of us which is always entertaining.
What finally sealed the deal on the 4 stars for me was the grilled cheese and onion sandwich. HUGE, with a mushroom sauce for dipping and a delicious side salad - in other words, a fabulous buy for $8.
Traveler, I agree to be a new regular, at least for the summer months when I'm willing to walk over.
I must have come on an off night. So many great reviews can't be wrong! But for now I have to give three stars and hope for more the second time around.....
Highlight: The food! Oh man, the mussels provencale and the frites with the pesto aioli were amazingly good. Great selection of local and international beers, too.
Lowlight: The service. No one ever came! I hadn't read on yelp that the bartender was also the server so we kind of just sat around waiting for the cute girl behind the bar to walk over to us and take our order but she didn't so much as look at us. We never even got water. So we got sick of waiting and walked up to the bar and ordered straight from the owner who took our order like it was second nature. I'm still genuinely confused - are there waiters/waitresses here?
Another lowlight: The noise! Holy crap, this place gets loud. I realize it's a small space, but the acoustics are ridiculous. I would never come on a Friday night again. Oh, and that was before the pub-crawl of college kids rolled through and the volume was kicked up a notch. My throat hurt the next day from yelling into my friend's ear.
I can totally see this as a fun, chill place to go grab a beer and some grub on a weekday and I'd love to give their bloody mary bar a shot, but I definitely won't go again on a Friday or Saturday night - at least not if I want to be able to hold a conversation.
Still, after all these months (okay, 7 to be exact), I've got nothing by big, big love for The Traveler.
Far, far above average, delicious pub food.
Fabulous friendly staff; so pleasant and polite.
Frites in a cone with 4 aiolis to choose from.
Delicious beers on draft and a decent wine list.
Plus, Scott is so cool; dude kicks ass. This place is so great it remains in our regular rotation. Every neighborhood should be so lucky to have such a great watering hole. I'm thrilled that Ballard has The Traveler.
In the December snowstorm, my wife and I wanted to try the new restaurant in the neighborhood. We were happy to have this new place in our area and walked the five or so blocks with the wind in our face and snow on our toes.
Opening the door we were hit with a wall of guitar blast. Oh goody, teen age rock. When I was in high school, I loved listening to high-decibel rock (back when it was good). O.k. for the 20-something set, I guess, but I don't want to have to shout to get my conversation across the table. We walked back out into the cold. Fortunately, The Jolly Roger is not far away.
I would have to say that if The Traveler geared their sound system to my taste, they would probably lose business, I just wish they'd turn it way, way down - or better yet off..
We found ourselves wanting to try a new place in hopes that we might find a new favorite place to go and I think we have!!!!
The "Frites" are thicker and a bit more flavorful than normal french fries and their aiolis are great. Â My girlfriend got the steak frites and loved it. Â I had a really yummy creamy butternut squash soup (MY favorite!) and a yummy grilled cheese. Â My girlfriend was also in love because they have Newcastle by the bottle and their beer prices are good. Â We went during Happy Hour so a giant basket of Frites was only 3 bucks. Â Between the frites from the appetizer order and the ones that came with my girl's steak frites, we had a giant order of frites and half my sandwich to bring home. Â
We talked to the bartender, Scott, who may have been the owner. Â He sorta sounded like it and took great pride in the place. Â We are interested to try the Bloody Mary bar and the Sunday brunch is also in our future plans. Â
We will definitely be going back and the 35 dollars (42 with tip) for a giant basket of Frites, steak frites, my soup/sandwich and 2 beers. Â I call that a good night!
We ventured out in the snow for white elephant gifts and grub on the snowiest night of the year. Â Goodwill was closed at 5pm (wussies!) Â but the Leary Traveler was open. Â One outta two ain't bad!
They don't have a ton of options beverage wise, but they have the best options! Â Like Guinness and Belgian specialties, as well as local seasonal micros. Â And good wines, only about six reds by the glass, two whites, and two bubblies (thank you for including the bubbly!). Â
The food was perfect cold weather grub - including lots of free range organic grass fed beef options, an organic greens salad with smoked salmon, and two kinds of fries, plus a vegan option that I almost ordered. Â The Belgian style fries were so good, and you get to choose from 4 kinds of aioli. Â The Traveler focuses on organic and quality!
The decent sized place is clean and fairly spare, and I like it. Â Only drawback is the space is a little "live", meaning sound reverberates around and gets louder since there are no soft surfaces to absorb it. Â But who cares, pass the fries!
I know I enjoy a bar or restaurant if I return to it twice in one month.
I know I really like a bar or restaurant if I return to it twice in one week.
What does that mean if I found myself at the Traveler twice in less than 24 hours? Love?
Lagunitas on tap. Delicious sweet potato fries. Awesome staff.
"Yeah, I could see that wasn't going to work," the other guy said with more tolerance than sympathy.
"Well, but it was called, like, the Seattle Something-or-Other! It looked really good but I couldn't exactly say a name like that aloud, now could I?"
"But if you're going to point at the menu, you have to leave your finger there long enough they can see what you're pointing at!"
Ah, well. Second time around I pointed in a prolonged and definite fashion, and ended up with a something in a martini glass. Something composed of bourbon and Cointreau that was, to my happy surprise, bitter and not sweet.
Usually, I drink beer. But it was an evening for a drink compounding a fillip of novelty with some good solid substance, and this unnamed drink (I have unnamed it!) did that. It sustained me through a thoroughgoing dismissal of skateboarders and their purported self-attributed cool, and a sketchier dismissal of hypothetical fat guys in Redmond eating their hypothetical third plates of nachos in front of their hypothetical TVs, and a prolonged spell of self-adulation. (Mine was not the self thus adulated, though I did come in for some incidental praise, as a degree of aesthetic balance seemed to be desired.)
It was an entertaining diatribe, but the drink was yet better.
Love love love! Â Came back again last night, and I must say, what a wonderful time I had.
The bartenders are very friendly and quick... anytime my drink was almost low, there they were! Â The chicken pot pie looked pretty good, but didn't get it - maybe next time - and it was only $6.00 for the special.
The cocktails are unique and delicious. Â I will be back.
I know this place just opened 2 or 3 days ago, but would it have killed them to wipe the sawdust off the martini glasses?
the boy and i ordered cocktails off the signature menu, and were a bit dismayed to see the bartendress looking up the recipes on her cheat sheet. Â again, granted, the place is new, but please - if you've got a drink that's special and all yours, ya gotta memorize how to make it.
the drinks were tasty, though.  but i have a  few nits to pick with the menu:
- julep is spelled wrong. Â
- the moscow mandarin is incorrect. Â it's a variation of the moscow mule, which is vodka (the moscow) tempered with ginger and lime (the mule). Â so a moscow mule made with mandarin vodka would then be a mandarin mule. Â
- the "frites" are really just plain ol' french fries served in a cone.
- why, oh why, must the only vegetarian menu item of any substance be eggplant? Â (note, this complaint is constant to pretty much every restaurant, everywhere)
i couldn't tell if the place is trying to appeal to the neighborhood crowd, or the shinyshirts that want to be hip but don't want to go all the way to belltown; Â it wasn't very friendly or conducive to conversation (music was WAAAAAY too loud for early evening. Â puh-lease), so i'm guessing the latter. Â
there were a lot of guys in flip-flops hanging around.
You know the saying "good things come to those that wait?", well then The Traveler is one of this places. As they were building the place we both couldn't wait to for them to finally open. So lucky for us we got our wish!!! And believe me we weren't let down.
We scored ourselves a great little table by the door. And were amazed by how many people were there even though it was only the second day they were open. The first thing we always do is get a drink and I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw that they had Snoqualmie Falls Wildcat IPA on tap. Thank the beer gods for their great selection of tap beers(they even have two Belgium beers on tap as well)!!!!
Service was great and the owner even came over to greet us and to talk about his menu/beer selection. Have to say we both were impressed by the quality of your food and service. Oh and their sweet potato fries were amazing!!! So Leary Traveler I can't wait to come back!!
Heard about this place from the Seattle Homebrew list and decided to check it out. Â I was not disappointed. Â The beer selection is what I would expect from a homebrew pal. Â The beers I knew I loved and the ones I didn't were fantastic. Â Obviously a keen tongue for beer.
The menu looked great but I didn't try anything on it. Â Atmosphere was great...the place was jumping and it hadn't even opened yet. Â Bartenders were on the ball serving drinks which was great considering it was quite crowded.
I wouldn't say this place is kid friendly as the only seating is on stools but I didn't get the bring your kid vibe anyway.
Bonus points for the eco-freindly toliets. Â Push left for pee-pee and if you really need a flush use the left.
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