The Northlake Tavern & Pizza House

04/20/09

Bad Pizza, Good Atmosphere

by rocky078 at Citysearch

I'm not a big pizza fan to begin with, but you don't need to be a pizza connoisseur to instantly realize this pizza is all wrong. The crust is the real problem with this pizza-it tastes frozen and reminds me of the pizza dough my mom used to make us as kids back in the 80's. That wouldn't be too suprising, considering the menus & decor look like they haven't changed since the 80's either. Judging by the somewhat obese nature of most of the patrons, I'd say the amount (not quality) of toppings is the real draw here. Having said all that, It would still be a good place to go watch a game and have a few beers. The service was excellent and the place has an overall good vibe.

• Pros: good atmosphere, good service
• Cons: pizza is horrible

03/20/09

Northlake Pizza - best in town

by jim5car at Citysearch

Ok, it's a pretty unique pizza experience, you love it or you hate it. If you like a BIG taste-explosion pizza loaded with toppings, a couple slices fill you up with leftovers for breakfast, relaxed tavern atmosphere, good location, the Northlake is for you. If you're worried you'll get sauce on your hands, prefer New York toast waxed with tomato paste, frozen pizza, or Chuck E Cheese atmosphere you'll be disappointed. I've been eating there for 20 years plus and it's always better than good. Sometimes it's quiet, sometimes it's hopping, hey, it's a tavern not a tea house. I usually don't care for olives but we always order the combination, including sausage and ground olives, which is a perfect balance. So if you want to try a Seattle institution come on down, if you're not adventuresome you'd better stick to Dennys.

• Pros: great pizza, atmosphere
• Cons: occasionally noisy - hey, it's a tavern...

01/02/08

Disgusting!

by corsican at Citysearch

This pizza is nasty! The ?fresh? ingredients include slabs of tomatoes that are green in the middle and mealy on the outside. Do not use tomatoes in the winter or substitute with Sun-dried tomatoes. The crust, if you can call it that; is tasteless and obviously not made on site?no Hobart mixer in that kitchen?and has the qualities of frozen pizza dough you get for a $5 pizza from Fred Meyer. To top it off, their ?antipasto? platter was drenched with cheap Sysco Italian dressing and was supposed to have ?fresh roasted vegetables?; instead it had more of those nasty mealy tomatoes. I don?t know why everyone raves about this place; the only appeal is the amount of toppings (which make the ?dough? soggy) caters to the glutinous American appetite.

12/27/07

Never again

by chazam at Citysearch

Not too sure why people are all about this place. Simply, the ingredients are cheap and the pizza is expensive. Just under $30 dollars for a medium sized pizza/gut bomb.

12/11/07

Damn tasty pizza, if you can tolerate other (minor) problems

by adt at Citysearch

Yep. The pizza is seriously tasty. I like all pizza, and when I'm in the mood for a big, hearty pizza with lots of fresh veggies and cheese, this is the one and only in Seattle. However, I can sympathize with other reviewers' complaints of bad service. Tonight I got my pizza to-go, and they screwed up my order pretty bad. Granted, I had made a special request, but I didn't think it was too complex (no olives on one half and no mushrooms on one half). So I had to wait while they re-made it, which would have been OK, I suppose, if I wasn't also getting occasional dirty looks from the cashier. Also, while the Northlake's claim to fame is the generous toppings, make no assumption that this means you won't pay extra for those extra toppings. But! Those toppings are delicious. Also, when I finally got the pizza home, it was kind of a mess inside the box. I attribute this to the cooks' rushing to get my pizza ready quickly since I was waiting, and thus had to take it with a grain of salt.

Overall, the pizza's great, and the server working the floor seemed to be really friendly. The girl at the bar was a little snotty (maybe she was having a bum night), but what can ya do? Plus, there is a great selection of beers, a dive-bar atmosphere (which I don't particularly mind), and the wonderful original David Horsey murals. Go for the pizza and stay for the murals!

• Pros: Excellent pizza, original murals by David Horsey
• Cons: A little over-priced, but I'll still go there!