74th St Ale House

04/14/10

Excellent food, excellent drink

by fringey at Citysearch

The 74th St. Ale House is my favorite neighborhood restaurant. The food is excellent, they have a great beer selection and the service is always friendly.

This is one of the only places in town that you can get Hard Cider on tap (the other seattle ale houses also have cider on tap) and they also offer a good selection of local and import beers with a seasonal rotating tap.

The food here is always excellent. It's well-prepared and made with fresh, high-quality ingredients. The chicken sandwich is the best in seattle, the burger is great and so is the reuben. The pasta salad side they offer is very yummy and I prefer to the sides at the other Seattle Ale houses. They also offer a homemade soup of the day which is always fabulous. The specials are delicious and varied and often have asian or mediteranean influences. My favorites are the greek kretopita and lamb curry.

The space has a very pub-like feel and it is comfortable and clean, even when they are packed which they often are around dinner time especially on the weekends. There is not really any space to wait so if you come at that time be prepared to stand in the doorway or just outside for a few minutes. While the waiters and bartenders are always friendly, when the kitchen is busy the food service is sometimes a little slow.

• Pros: Blackthorn Cider, beer selection, delicious and varied menu
• Cons: Busy during peak hours, occasionally slow service

04/03/10

Foodie loves her neighborhood Ale House!

by Joy Moxley , Citysearch Contributor at Citysearch

Who would have thought that an Ale House would be so....foodiecentric? Yes, that is me, making up my own word because every other fabulous adjective has been used to describe 74th Street Ale House.

From the street, it looks like a plain, "pub", nothing fancy, that many people might not give a second glance. Which, to the locals in "the know", is probably just fine since it means more room for them.

However, take one step into the Ale House and you are greeted with warm smiles from behind the bar and boisterous laughter through out the room as people catch up with their family and friends.

The beer selection is fare, with local, hand crafted ales at attention to quench your thirst and take your worries away. If you are a "Bud" man, this isn't the place for you, however they will server you a Miller Light in a bottle if you prefer. But I strongly suggest grabbing a Manny's, Boundary Bay or Hales Ale to go along with your fresh Ale House fare.

Did you know that they are the first Gastropub in Seattle? Starting in 1991, the owners took the Tavern state-of-mind to a whole new level with fresh-from-the- grill food. Never microwaving or frying - just using fresh, local ingredients in each dish.

My favorite would have to be the Mediterranean plate. Very simple, yes, but heaven when these ingredients are paired together: red pepper/garlic hummus, grilled pita bread and cucumber, tomato, olive and onion salad. My mouth is watering already!

I can go on for days bragging about the food at 74th Street Ale House, but since there isn't enough time I will leave you with this: they have been voted Best Ale House Fare by Seattle Magazine, and have the best Red Reuben sandwich and chicken sandwich in town.

• Pros: Great happy hour, food, beer, wine
• Cons: Seems to be understaffed on busy nights

01/05/09

No Need to Crawl with this Pub

by pcraigdaniels at Citysearch

This is a classic pub. If you're sitting at the bar on a cold and dreary day, drinking

a hoppy IPA and eating the juicy chicken sandwich, there is really no reason to leave.

The Hill Top Ale House is equally as good.

04/09/08

Love the local place but the manager is #$@%

by Bergmantw at Citysearch

Love the local place but the manager or the man that has been there for years is a #@$#@. Lat night he cam out of the bar and yelled at the three of us about F-y about the tip? How can the owners of this pub have him there and it is not the first time. Get ride of that problem and the bar is nice.

• Pros: pub and good beer
• Cons: manager

03/04/08

I'm definitely a repeat customer, but...

by whynoteatout at Citysearch

The one problem I always have here is service. I know it's busy, the staff while shoot nasty looks at anyone who walks in the door on those nights!

That said, the food is consistently great and the chef designs creative and tasty soups, which I have even been known to order on a hot summer day because they're so tempting. Great specials sheet (although they run out quite often), and good brews. Annoying when customers sit at a table for hours on a busy night though.

• Pros: The food
• Cons: Completely inconsistent service