Rudy’s Barbershop

Was going to try Rudy’s for the first time today. Did a little research by reading Unilocal reviews and decided to book an appointment online with Stephanie.
Registered on their website and booked an appointment. Showed up right on time and was told Stephanie does not take requests online.
So why give people the impression that they are making a reservation when you have a website that allows you to make appointments for the particular people who work there?
I was told that maybe she could get to me in 45 minutes or so. I was already a bit wary about reading other peoples reviews, on Unilocal,about having to wait for their cut after making appointments. No thank you to a poorly ran business, I’ll go elsewhere!

Rudy’s is a chain of haircut places that is enjoying great success. From its start in Seattle, it now has several locations here, as well as more in Portland and NYC. The business model makes a lot of sense: have a hip, exciting space where people can get their hair done, but at prices that are more in line with the dowdy, suburban, ‘family’ chains like Great Clips and Fantastic Sam’s (are they even still around? I needed a haircut, and being a guy with a really basic, short hairstyle, I couldn’t justify the $ 80+ bill I was paying at my trendy downtown salon, so I decided to give Rudy’s a try.
THE ROSES: Fun space. located in a former garage, Rudy’s/West Seattle has a funky industrial look, with it’s concrete floors and such. At first I was a little concerned about the staff. They were all young and looked like ‘hipsters’, with plenty of tattoos, piercings, and funky sartorial stylings. But they only look like hipsters. All the staff members I interacted with were delightful to this middle-​aged, ‘blazer-​and-​khakis’ kind of guy! They were welcoming, gracious, and had none of that ‘too-​cool-​for-​you’ attitude you normally see in establishments like this (see my review for Uptown Espresso). My stylist was very pleasant, and was careful to ask many questions about how I wanted my hair cut. She was gentle and very competent, and was careful not to have to water too hot or cold when she washed my hair. Another big plus is the prices. At $ 32 for a short hair cut, this is a really excellent value for what you’re getting.
THE THORNS: Parking is pretty tight in the small lot; don’t try to get your Hummer in here. If there’s no parking, you might have a tough time finding street parking close by. The music in the shop is a bit on the loud side.
Rudy’s also doesn’t make appointments. You show up and wait for a chair. They do offer an online sign in where you can request a time, and I guess you go to the front of the line before any random walk-​in traffic. I can see how this can be a problem if you’re on a tight schedule. I came in about 3pm, and had no wait at all. Your results may vary.
So what about the haircut? Well, after getting home and looking more in the mirror, I’m not sure about it yet. I think I’ll wait and see how it looks after I wash and style it tomorrow. It’s important to add this isn’t the stylists fault. She asked all the right questions, and offered to put ‘product’ in my hair at the end. I don’t think I gave very good input, because to be brutally honest with you, I don’t give my hair a lot of thought. I definitely reserve the right to upgrade this review with future visits.
THE VERDICT: It’s not hard to see just what the ‘secret sauce’ is in Rudy’s success: create the kind of ambiance that you’d normally expect in a trendy, über-​expensive downtown salon, but deliver competent haircuts at a price that is easy on the family budget. Combine this with a really pleasant staff who makes you feel welcome whether you’re a 20something hipster with the skinny jeans, tats, piercings, and all the other accouterments that make you look as special and unique as every other hipster, or a graying middle-​aged fuddyduddy who’s old enough to be their dad (or grandfather!).
Best of all, you don’t need a tattoo and a piercing to get a haircut here; they’ll treat you great whoever you are!
All in all, Rudy’s works for me, and may work really well for you too. I say ‘check ‘em out’!

I had recently moved to West Seattle last year and have been searching for a barber shop as good as the one I’d been going to in SF for the last 24 years. After several hits and misses I finally happened on Rudy’s and couldn’t be more satisfied. I added my name to the wait list, online and only had a 10 min wait. Of course it was a slow day, but still, it was very convenient. I got a great cut and am sure I’ll be a regular customer from now on.

Stopped by on a Saturday. I didn’t know they had changed to online booking, so I had to wait awhile. I wasn’t really sure what I wanted, just something different. Jessie totally came through-​talking through ideas and helping me figure something out. Super excited about the results and will be back.

I have had several simple short haircuts from Rudys with a different Stylist each time. The haircut is great however it is the wait that is bothersome. They have an online appointment system that reserves you a spot however each time I have gone my reservation does not hold. I have to wait on average about 45 mins till someone can cut my hair. Over a great place to get your haircut however don’t make any plans around your appt time

Based on the mixed reviews I was a bit nervous, but I’m glad I have Rudy’s a chance. Alex did a great job trimming my short pixie-​ish hair. She listened to what I wanted, and was very specific about what she was going to do with my cut. I also noticed that she (and all of the other stylists) really take their time and communicate with the client to make sure you get exactly what you want. I’m subtracting a star because I did have to wait about 40 minutes, but again, they take their time with clients so that explains the wait (and the price is worth it). Next time I’ll call ahead since that seems to speed things up. Great coffee next door, too!

Shittiest haircut I’ve had in years. Let’s rehash:
I walk into Rudy’s (I’ve got longish hair for a guy but not out of the ordinary) and the lady at the front desk says «hello.» I ask how long the wait is and she says «no wait» and says (forgot his name) «this dude» will see you now. I’m thinking «cool, that was fast.» I sit down in chair and haircut dude asks what I want. I say ½ inch off all the way around and ¾ off in back at the bottom to tighten it up. Haircut dude looks at me and literally says «so you’re asking for a scissor cut huh…» and that’s the instant I knew I was fucked. I take notice of the 2 electric clippers at his station and no scissors to be seen until he finds them under a towel and two magazines and then proceeds to examine them like he had just found a long lost trinket of some sort. Next –haircut dude proceeds to bust out a water bottle and sprays my hair down (while I see other people getting a nice wash in a bowl from other stylists) so I look like a wet dog. Then the nightmare really begins. I watch as haircut dude starts on my left side and cuts about ¹⁄₈^th inch off. As he fumbles his way around my scalp I notice as he starts coming around from the back right side the ¹⁄₈^th inch has some-​fucking-​how morphed into about a full inch. Perfect. By the time he got to the front it was a complete shit show. He hit the bangs (I should say fucked them up) and then says «done-​sies.» And all I could think was «get me the fuck out of here now!» He didn’t double check anything — didn’t run through any areas again to make sure they were even or layered correctly or anything — pure garbage cut. (In case you haven’t figured it out, the not too bright lady in front sent a guy with long hair to a barber).
Anyway — I make my escape from Edward scissor hands and get up to the front desk and as how much and the lady said «$ 33» or some bullshit around that price. I thought «fuck I’ll just pay and get out.» Then — this same lady says «how’d you like our barber in training? We have both barbers and beauticians.» I almost blew a gasket.
If it would have been just a shitty cut I would have gone back to try a different person who actually knew what scissors were and how to use them. But the lady up front sealed the deal.
Garbage. Never again.

Amazing work done by Vanessa had my roots touched up, highlights put in and a trim for 90.00. The color is a beautiful violet red with subtle magenta highlights. looks absolutely amazing and my hair is in awesome condition. Won’t let anyone else do it. Cool atmosphere, reasonably priced with friendly employees.

The haircut I get is very simple. A buzz, #3 guard/​blade, blade preferred. Perhaps because of it’s simplicity, some barbers/​hair cutting technicians don’t give this cut the attention to detail it requires. Many times, scissor and trimmer work of my own has been required when I get home — I’m looking at you Great Clips…
No so at Rudy’s!
Stopped in here for a badly needed trim up before going on vacation. Bit of a wait but that’s fine, it was a sunny day and, as the’ye location is in what looks like an old service station, they have garage doors on the front which were rolled up and letting in a nice breeze. A few magazine articles later I was in the chair.
I wish I could remember the name of the lady that cut my hair, she was apparently about to move to Southern California, but she clearly cares about her craft and gave me one of the best haircuts I’ve had in a long time.
Will return!

Two trips, three barber, zero successful haircuts. I thought my first attempt was a fluke. I arrived both times with specific instructions and a realistic picture of the cut I wanted. The second visit Rudy himself started my cut. He asked another barber to finish because he messed it up so bad. I wasn’t asking for a complicated style it’s a straightforward faded side undercut. Pretty much what you would expect anybody on «Madmen» to wear. I’m not going back and I will not recommend this place to anybody.

I had a great experience as a first time customer of Rudy’s. Getting a seat was very quick/​convenient and Crystal gave me a cut that was exactly what I was looking for. The cut also included a shampoo /​rinse and the store carries all high end hair products. The price was reasonable at $ 32 vs comparable barbershops. I’ll be back!

So I saw this cool-​looking new barber shop close by. I thought I’d give it a try. My girlfriend and I stopped by and we’re told it’d be a 10-​minute wait. Nice. There were, it appeared, about seven stylists working. Thirty minutes later, I hadn’t been called. Several stylists seemed to be unoccupied walking about the shop, in and out of the back room. Another had finished her haircut with a customer twenty minutes before and had been deeply engaged in a conversation with the customer since then, which is cool and everything, except maybe when you have customers waiting right in front of you. We hang on another twenty minutes. I’m done flipping through magazines. The stylist and the customer are still talking. Other stylists are still flitting about the shop. Frustrated, we leave. As we’re walking out, we see what looks like another three stylists on a smoke break of some sort huddled together at a picnic table just outside the shop. Overall, an aggravating experience.

Amazing! Great staff, great prices! Clean! Will continue to go back… Pick up some of their fantastic products while you’re there too! You won’t regret it!

Great haircuts but they need to get a clue about how to quote a wait time. I just called today and they say ‘1 hour wait’.
Me — «Ok, put me down for 1.5 hours from now» …nobody can be that precise so I give them some lead time.
I get there at exactly 1.5 hours later, to be told ‘yeah…we had a lot more call already at this time. It’s gonna be about another 30 minutes…‘
So u quote one hour and it turns out to be two hours wait? You are 100% that off on your estimate?

Just had one of the worst haircuts in a long while. Can’t remember the girls name. She has a family guys tattoo on her arm and a sour look on her face. Anyways, when finished, most hair stylists hand you a mirror and spin you around to see the results. She didn’t. Got home to see a spot close to my ear that was taken down way to close and very visible. She also didn’t do a great job blending in the sides. (no fade whatsoever) Hope you don’t feel like you did me a favor by only charging me $ 15 for this terrible job. Hate to put people on blast, but when you’re in this profession, you better know what you’re doing. I won’t be returning, ever!

I’ve been going to Rudy’s barbershop since 2009, when I moved to Bellevue.
My favorite barber is Stephanie and when she moved from the Bellevue shop to West Seattle, I followed. She’s super friendly, listens to what you want, funny, down-​to-​Earth and very sincere.
The shop itself looks neatly organized area and well run. Here’s plenty of parking space; or if you’re a bus rider, it’s a block away from the C Line bus stop.

Great and easy accessible location, friendly staff, ample free parking. Walls are still pretty bare but I’m sure that will come with time. I’m glad it’s staffed with tried and true hair stylists from other neighborhood Rudy’s! I followed my stylist all over town and are super excited she settled here because it is a convenient location for me :)

The franchise is new to West Seattle, but their amazing reputation certainly follows them. My family has gotten their hair cut many times with amazing results every time, but this was my first time visiting Rudy’s. I can be a bit picky when it comes to hair, but I figured if they can do amazing jobs cutting my 6 and 9 year olds hair they could do well with mine. Today they exceeded my expectations. My stylist, Chelsea, was a dream. She took what I asked for and made it work for my skin tone and lifestyle. It is beyond perfect. She was communicative and listened to what I wanted while also giving her opinion. I love the way they do business here, best place for a cut and color in Seattle, hands down. Love this place and will definitely be my go to as long as I’m in Seattle. Thanks for making my day amazing, Chelsea, and Rudy’s barbershop! Will definitely be recommending you to everyone I know!