Green Lake Alehouse

Nice restaurant with good service and great food. I’d recommend this place to my friends for sure

Love the fish tacos, brunch, prices and location. Probably the better place eat in Green Lake. Great location.

Went here to watch a football game. Asked the server if the game volume could be put on. The response: «Oh sorry, we’ve had several customers ask about this but upper management says no.» Um… tell upper management that customers will leave because they came here to watch football, not listen to Jimmy Eat World. So that’s what we did, we left. The one appetizer we had was delicious. The drinks were quite overpriced. The service was slow (not very crowded at the time). If you’re just looking for brunch, this place is probably a good bet. But if you’re going to watch a sporting event (which is what this place suggests) go to a real sports bar. Don’t be fooled by the 20+ TVs. Jimmy Eat World trumps sports.

Service was fine, but food left a lot to be desired. On entry the restaurant was ²⁄₃ empty but because our second party of two had not arrived we were invited to sit at the bar and wait rather than sit down at any of the three booths that were open. The chili was a vast plate of rice, stringy beef, salad all served together. The quantity was enough for two the quality not good enough for one. A friend had chicken wings which were fat and dry and based only of the sauce they were bathed in. Big fat onion rings completed the commercial food.

I’ve been here twice for happy hour. And twice I’ve been charged for full-​priced food chosen off the happy hour menu. No fun. Not gonna try for a third time, although I’m pretty sure I’ve already paid for a 3^rd meal by now, so I’m counting as I tried eating here three times.
My fault for not checking the bill until I was in the parking garage…

After reading some of the reviews I felt it my duty to comment on the horrible staff.
We walked in last night and stood at the hostess stand waiting to be seated. The bartender saw us and said nothing. One of the waitress glanced at us and promptly looked away when I caught her eye. We stood there for nearly 5 minutes without being acknowledged or having anyone say we’ll be right with you. Needless to say we felt if we were treated this poorly waiting for a table we were not going to waste our money there.
I live in the neighborhood and was hoping for another dining option within walking distance but this was an epic failure. The former Bluewater also had terrible service. It’s a shame nothing has changed.

Been here a couple times. Food was okay, but the most recent visit I got food poisoning. Not sure from what, but I was sick for two days and recovered for another two. Loved the staff, but I don’t think I will be frequenting there anymore.

The worst service and food I have ever had from any Jak’s establishment! I felt like I was at the Bluewater. I sat at the bar, with a menu, for a drink and a half while the bartender just stood around and chatted with co-​workers. I had to ask him if I could order food… My steak was way over done and I was never asked if my food was ok. The only reason for two stars is the lovely people sitting next to me! That bartender has no place behind the bar at a neighborhood «ale house».

GLA is run by the guys who do Jak’s and a couple other spots. They took over for Bluwater, so I guess I was really hoping for something a lot more exciting and vibrant. I can walk here from my house, so having a good casual dining place that is kid-​friendly with great food would be a dream come true.
GLA has promise. Service isn’t great– if I have to stare daggers at you to even get greeted, not to mention seated, I am really wary about an actually difficult job like serving the food and taking the order.
We should have vetted the place before bringing friends, but I think they are much less picky than I am. They did seem to enjoy their buffalo chicken salad and Italian sandwich.
We all split the November special (poutine tots!). It was amazing, and I’m fairly certain our guests hadn’t had it before. They were satisfied customers, and although we have had it in a lot of places, it was definitely memorable.
I really liked my huge buffalo chicken salad. I had enough left for a snack later (with chicken, even!) It would be nice if the ratio of toppings to green lettuce were better, but overall I would eat it again. It may just be that I haven’t been forced to stare at the same boring menu for years and years on end without any change at all (I won’t be missing the last restaurant in this space), but I was excited to see the varied offerings here. I also am glad they seem to be doing monthly specials. It keeps the neighborhood joint an option when you are hoping to stay close to home but want something a little different, too.

I am a little town as I write this review. First, the food was TO DIE FOR. I got their Santa Fe Chicken sandwich, and it was very tasty. It had a good mix of flavors and spice. I added their 3 Chili Silly sauce, which added both flavor and heat. If you like hot sauces, get the 3 Chili Silly sauce! It is well worth it!
The downside was the service. My daughter ordered the JaK burger with no cheese — and they brought it out with cheese (had to go back). My wife first ordered the gyro, but it had cinnamon in it. (Really, who adds cinnamon to a gyro?!) My wife has a very severe cinnamon allergy, so THAT went back. She ordered a JaK burger with cheese, medium well. She got a burger without cheese and medium to medium rare.
We did get comped for the gyro and our drinks, but the service wasn’t exceptional. I am willing to try it again to see if the service improves.

Meh. Mushy fish on the fish tacos. Not much flavor. Way too much mayo on the cole slaw that substituted for the cabbage on a proper fish taco.
The husband man also rated the lamb gyro as a definite Meh.
Tables are way too high for the seats. My face was a mere 3 inches from my food. Left with sore shoulders from propping myself up.
There’s so much good food in Seattle. Come here for the beer, fries and plentiful TVs playing sportsball shows.

I am absolutely baffled by the bad reviews. We have been waiting for a place in the north Greenlake area to pop up that was affordable and tasty and it finally has happened.
Eaten here multiple times and had great experiences. Staff is nice, prompt service, good food.
The green chile pork is fantastic. And you can get it on the nachos which is delicious. Nice beer selection with a few shifting taps, but don’t expect brewpub style breadth/​turnover.
The chicken strips buffalo style tend to be too greasy for some reason but the buffalo chicken salad and wings do not suffer a similar fate.
Brunch was also good.
They have offered us takeout containers multiple times (and I’m not sure what the good other options are around without a car ride) so I don’t know what the 1 star review complaining about this was talking about.

We were visiting Seattle for the weekend from Cali. Found this place on Unilocal and since it was walking distance from Greenlake Park, we headed over to catch the football game and have a couple drinks. The bartender said he couldn’t serve us because we had vertical IDs?! I’m sorry, that’s something I cannot control. California gives out vertical IDs.
Anyways, left a sour taste in my mouth.

Great food but poor service. Waitress checked in with us once to take the order and once to take away our plates… 4 servers in the back chatting away…
On the bright side their burgers are juicy, bacon is crunchy and will be back just for the burgers!
I hope their service improves next time I visit!

Honestly, in this price range, this really is about as good as you are going to get in Green Lake. I can’t think of a single place in the area that has this much selection at this quality. I’m reading a lot of reviews on here, and quite frankly, I’m shocked at the 1 Star Ratings (I’m assuming some desperate competitors). The food was delicious. I’ve been a couple times now, and have had the burgers, which are fresh, and you can taste the quality of beef (I consider myself to be a beef connoisseur). It was cooked to order (medium rare). The Gumbo reminded me of a tradition New Orleans style gumbo — w/​huge chunks of okra (truly delicious, and plenty of kick).
How does one go to a restaurant, buy $ 3 tots, and then complain about the flavor? They are tots! Add any more spice and you have those nasty Mexi-​Fries from Taco Time. I thought they were perfectly crispy on the outside and not greasy in the middle.
Speaking of Tacos, you have to try their El 42 Ahi Tacos (if you like Ahi) — So refreshing after hanging out at the park all day.
Lastly, the atmosphere is great! There isn’t a bad seat in the house if you want to catch the game. Most importantly, you don’t walk in and feel the typical ‘Seattle Freeze’ from the staff. I plan on taking the kids in for brunch and the Seahawks on Sunday morning.

Stopped in for a burger and beer. Was really excited cause i am a fan of Jak’s grill. I have to agree with the earlier reviews on the burger — it sucked. Very bland, the bacon was cooked and probably reheated so was rock hard. Also had a side of the gumbo — very average.
Aside from the food, they had these ridiculous rules about sitting on only certain tables to get happy hour pricing. The menu says that no doggy bags are allowed ! Other than a cheap buffer this is the only place I have seen this rule — annoying — but their food was sub-​par anyway wouldnt want a doggie bag.
This is such a great location, I was really hoping for a place that can churn out good food — oh well !
With other options around I dont think i will be back.

We were hopeful that this would be a good place once we heard that it is related to Jak’s Grill. Unfortunately, it seems to be a distant relative. I’m giving them the benefit of the doubt with a 3 star rating, since they just opened.
Service: 2.5 stars
First things first, we were seated promptly, then were ignored for 25 minutes. No one came to say hi… No one brought us water… the hostess walked by our table a few times and said nothing… You get the picture. We finally asked someone if we had a server, and found out our server had walked by our table at least a half dozen times. Again, I chalk this up to them being new. Btw, our server was nice.
Food: 2.5 stars
Both the Clam chowder and Caesar salad were quite tasty. It was the entrees that failed. For example, I ordered a bacon cheeseburger and it came cold. You know when you can see the cheese had at one time been melted and then had time to re-​harden? The bacon was cold too.
Quotes from our group are:
«Better than bland»
«Decent, which is better than ok»
«It’s alright, but I wouldn’t bring out of town guests here»
The beer selection seemed pretty good, but we didn’t have the opportunity to check it out due to the wait.
I hope they get better as it would be nice to have a go to place in the area, but probably won’t try again for awhile.

First, the service was fine. The place is a bit loud. We were sat in the back, so a little noise bounced around. We had a loud talker table nearby.
Why wife had the steak salad. It had little flavor, probably needed more blue cheese and a tad more dressing. The steak was chewy.
I had the fish and chips. The fish was dry…
This is a new place. The menu is not particularly creative, so the basics will carry the day. Food needs work. If I am going to drop $ 70 on dinner, it better meet $ 70 worth of food.

Went for the first time at Greenlake Ale house and found it to be a refreshing change from the old Bluewater Bistro.
Everyone was very attentive and it was a full house. The food was your usual pub fare and the brew list had a good number of local brews.
I was expecting that with the name of Alehouse that they would have their own brew, but alas this wasn’t the case. Which is why I docked one star.
The furniture and layout has not changed much, so it’s still feels like the old bistro, which may or may not be your thing.

Great service! Family friendly. anager took back the hot plates my kid’s grilled cheese came on so they wouldn’t get burned. Open, lots of windows, cozy booths. Enjoy