Owl’n Thistle Irish Pub

Great little spot in Post Alley! Good pregame bar for Sounders, M’s, and Seahawks games! Also a good place to grab lunch and a beer on a weekday! Nice selection of beers on tap.

We loved this place. Fish n chips were great and their tartar sauce recipe to die for. The hubby had Shepherds pie and loved it. Did I mention the hand cut fries. Im in heaven. Heather was our server. Ask for her!

Basement bar with ho-​hum Irish food and a drinking man’s bar feel.

Stopped in during a short trip to Seattle looking for a comfortable place to eat alone, have a few beers, and watch an NBA finals game. Sort of a divey place with mediocre service, but the fish-​n-​chips were decent, the beer selection just fair, and the vibe just fine. Got out of there with a generous and good tasting fish-​n-​chips, 3 beers, and a side salad for around $ 35 — not bad at all. Seemed like a good place to hang out on a weekday — the happy hour specials (which I just missed) looked like a great deal, and they had plenty of TV’s and some pool tables and dart boards.

I like this place pretty well for what it is– a kind of dive-​y, low key place with dim lighting to catch a cheap beer. Their prices are pretty good, the selection is decent and the service is genuine.

Only have stopped in for happy hour specials after work, fish and chips for $ 5.25 is a great deal! And a must try for the price. place is dark and in an alley, but good enough for a quick drink and food, recommend trying.

Badass place near the ferry. We were trying to find a place close-​by and stumbled into here. Good amount of people, speedy service, live music. It was a great atmosphere. Beer $ 6. Will go again.

Yuck, just yuck. Anyone who lives or works in the area knows this place is a gross tourist trap. It’s dark, musty and smells like mildew. The service is as depressing as the carpet and the food is frozen reheated garbage.
Avoid! Right next door is the bar Frolik upstairs in the Motif hotel which is a much better option for food and drinks. If you want something more casual and «pub» like, you’re better off at the Yard House, or even the Tap House. Frankly I would go anywhere before I would go here.

It’s an irish bar.
They serve bar food — happy hour is decent.
They do have a nice selection of out-​of-​the-​ordinary lagers, ales and IPAs

One of my favorite bars for downtown happy hour!
Things to love: cheap drinks, cheap HH food options (thay are also tasty), really long happy hour (who doesn’t love HH from 3 to 7?) that happens everyday (including Sundays!).
Things to improve: service (reason for 4 stars instrad of 5). The wait staff is always pretty slow and doesn’t come around very often. Addtionally, more than once, I’ve had random things end up on my bill that I never ordered.
I will be back though.
:)

Great spot for happy hour! food and drinks. has a TV, pool tables, bar and lounge (for under 21)

We were looking for a kinda small not so upper class bar and this place was perfect. Great drinks, great space and excellent bartender! If I’m ever back in Seattle I’m going here again.

Dark, dark, dark. Happy hour is a great value, but the bar itself is a disappointment. Poor lighting and just gives off a really dingy vibe overall. That said, the happy hour is a great value and if you’re looking for a spot to watch a football (soccer) game, this seems to be quite the popular spot. Despite the great happy hour, I’m pretty sure Owl’n Thistle won’t be one of my regular happy hour spots.

My boyfriend and I stopped in to watch the Arsenal game on our way from the airport before checking into our hotel. I felt annoying going anywhere with luggage, but the bartender/​waitress was so friendly and accommodating and suggested a place we could rearrange the chairs in order to see the tv since the bar was full. We ended up in a booth with a very saggy seat and a sticky table, but an unobstructed view of the game near another nice fan.
Good beer selection, cheap (especially coming from NY), pool table, and food. Nice and dark, too!
It’s true that this bar is in fact quite smelly, carpeted, and dilapidated, but so what! It’s a bar! We actually checked the reviews before going to the Owl and chose it over Fado based on the fact that it was «dark and smells like old books and wood.»
Basically, an unpretentious place with a lot of character and great atmosphere that I will visit again. I would recommend to those looking to avoid the typical squeaky, cheesy vibe.

For some reason we’ve never been to this pub before, we’ve heard a lot about it although not in recent years and Saturday night we learned why.
Being Saturday night in Seattle we thought the place would be packed but it was only us, another couple and a drunk guy alone in a booth.
We got a couple of beers and some fish and chips. The tartar for the fish was excellent, the rest was just ok. The staff was nice.
Atmosphere was non existent, there was no live Irish music as they used to have, the place looked outdated, dingy, in need of repair and life.
Hopefully it’ll get the repairs and updates it needs.

Good for a pint or two if you’re in the area. It’s down an alley and a little tough to spot, but they have signs that lead the way. The food I had was standard fare, but it did not have too much of a Celtic feel to it. I went during afternoon hours and it wasn’t too noisy a place, which is a big plus in my book.

Standing at the waitress station for over five minutes, 2 waitresses made eye contact and looked away while they stood at the bar and talked with patrons and staff. This was a first chance to sample this eatery and you failed.

I love this place, I come all the time for lunch. However, my parents were in from out of town and I wanted to take them someplace that I love in Seattle. Bad choice. The service was awful. My mother asked for water. She got a lukewarm glass of tap water in a plastic glass that had been sitting out for hours. She was greeted with distain and outrage when she asked for ice because the water was room temperature. When we asked for ice the server was at best angry. She took our order with a sneer. I love the food here but I will never bring any one else here.

Food was gross. Server was not attentive to our table at all. Happy hour prices were good, but the burger was ridiculously overcooked and the patty was paperthin, and somehow they managed to burn the fries.
Not coming back.

I came here for the owl and I like Irish pubs. However the food was mostly US pub fare. I don’t remember what entrée I had, but the Irish brown bread was good — hearty, flavorful, and moist.
I wouldn’t come back for food, but this spot was charming. Hidden in an alley, dim interior, rustic looking bricks… I’d go for some beers.

The rubbish waiter insulted me as soon as I walked in. Said I had a lot of nerve wearing my T-​shirt in there (Union Jack). I asked why and he replied, «you have to ask.» He isn’t even Irish. Guess Brits aren’t welcome here.
So I took a piss in their filthy urinal that doesn’t flush and walked out. The soap and paper towel dispensers were broken in the men’s room, which was full of gang graffiti. This place is a dump! Will spend my money elsewhere. Cheers mate!

Waiter insulted me as soon as I walked in. Said I had a lot of nerve wearing my T-​shirt in there (Union Jack). I asked why and he replied, «you have to ask.» He isn’t even Irish. Guess Brits aren’t welcome here.
So I took a piss in their filthy urinal that doesn’t flush and walked out. Soap and. Paper towel dispenser are broken in the men’s room is full of gang graffiti. This place is a dump. Will spend my money elsewhere. Cheers mate!

Living in Seattle you get used to the high priced bars with a pretentious crowd but sometimes you just want a good Irish Pub Dive bar. The Owl & Thistle is this hidden gem in Post Alley.
The first thing I love about it is the location. It’s a little tucked away from everything else which makes it seem like a secret. The atmosphere is really laid back as well. The inside is very dark and smells like old books and wood. All types of people can be found here so don’t worry that you won’t fit in. Last night there was a group singing Journey at the top of their lungs at the pool table while another table in the bar was screaming at their team on the humongous TV.
This place has affordable prices even when it’s not the every day 3 – 7 happy hour menu. Happy Hour is really great here as well. You can get some decent bar food for under 5 dollars (I recommend the spinach artichoke dip.) They also have 4 dollar craft beer drafts and 3 dollar Bud/​bud light. Wells are 4 bucks.
This place does fill up, especially right before a Sounders match but the Bartenders and wait staff are usually very attentive and friendly. So if you are looking for a cool Irish Pub and want to save a little money check out the Owl & Thistle.

We went after a Sounders game but arrived when the place was still completely empty, waitress was rude and when we asked about spinach dip we ordered after fish and chips and sliders arrived and got a nasty response. We tried ordering more food and drinks but waitress ignored us or constantly told she needed to get paper and pen and would disappear for 20 minutes. We had 3 people sit with us maybe 15 minutes before we asked for the bill that only ordered one beer, but then made us a party of 8 and she automatically charged us with 18% gratuity which she did not deserve when we only had 3 people order food and everyone else ordered happy hour beers.

A work friend and I are from out of town and we stopped in for a game of pool. And I say goddamn they pour a good pint of Guinness! Good crowd too. Gwenyth Says:
My goodness my Guinness! Bartender is awesome and very handsome, he just gets me.

J.P. Hennessey. Great reason to venture out and listen to live music. The management here is pretty solid. Do not expect to come in and ask for foofie drinks. You’ll get a good Irish glare and you’ll get a good drink as well. But not a foofie one. All in all, an a-​ok place to come chill out and have a few drinks with friends.

We happened on this pub for lunch after The Seattle Underground tour. The waitress was very friendly and prompt, even taking the time to chat with us about tourist must-​sees. Our food was a good sized portion, even my daughters pulled pork sliders from the Happy Hour menu. The Irish brown bread was moist. Prices were on the lower side of the nice restaurants in the area. Definitely would go back if we lived in the area

Tucked away within the hidden alleyways of Pioneer Square, which can make for a scary run if you’re a female, along, at night. I’m usually not into divey bars so this place didn’t make high marks for me. I came here with a bunch of girlfriend to check out the live music which lived up to some of the hype. Folks there were mostly of the 40+ bunch so it isn’t as rowdy. I didn’t order any drinks, but if I had too I would just opt for beer. Don’t expect the cocktails to be of high standards other than rum and coke.
The place is pretty dated, most of the chairs looked like they were reclaimed from another bar, old tvs, and there was carpet on the floor. Adding to that, there was also the constant smell of being in a musty basement cira 1997.

Great happy hour prices! The fish and chips were great… For the price, I half expected the frozen, non-​fish concoction you generally find… The fish tasted like nice, crispy fish and the fries were great.
Pulled pork sliders were very sweet– delicious but sweet. The cole slaw offset the taste. And the cole slaw was also great!
If I lived here, I would return. As a tourist, the prices were more than appealing. Ended up spending 25 dollars for 4 alcoholic drinks and two entrees (not including tip).
Also, cute and attentive server (looked like a fellow mixed chick).She was extremely sweet and pleasant!

A great place to just enjoy the food and music. I was a little surprised to be carded… as two younger guys were waived in… but hey, that is the vCard only thing I can complain about. My waitress was awesome. Made great recommendations.

Blep.
I may have caught them on a bad day, but from my initial experience, I don’t really have the motivation to try it again.
It smelled peculiar inside. I can only describe it as a lukewarm food smell and people’s bodies. We sat in the area with the pull-​down projector screen and was immediately helped (throughout the night, so that was great.)
Once I opened the menu, I was excited to see colcannon (spelled ‘colecannon’ on their menu; my spidey senses went off and I should have listened.)
I make colcannon at home; during cold weather, it’s the kind of food that makes you feel like you can drive a wagon train in the middle of winter cross-​country. It’s cabbage, potatoes, cream and BUTTER. Lots of butter. Here, the cabbage was SOURED (I’m thinking on purpose, but I can’t tell). Soured cabbage in colcannon? It was seriously not good. The top had a small cheddar cheese ‘lid’ because the potatoes weren’t hot enough to keep the cheese in a melted state by the time it got to my table. The potatoes themselves were fine, but the cabbage…
Another had the Shepherd’s pie and even with gravy on the side, it wasn’t good eats. The thick-​cut Irish Bread was cold from the fridge and moist (very good). I did have to ask for butter since it didn’t come with it.
Nice service, but if that’s the hallmark of the pub, then I’ll have to pass.

Anytime I need some great Irish food or east coast friends are in town, this my go-​to place. I know some like Fado and some like Kells, but this is the real Irish bar for Seattle. Best made half and halfs, best poured Guinness pints, and the best Irish beef stew in the northwest. Not to mention the homemade soda bread is absolutely amazing!
Also a great place to watch Seahawks or Sounders games, or just to kick off your weekend (or midweek morning pub crawl). Plus the owner is a huge fan of the Red Sox and both patriots and Seahawks; what’s not to like?