Joe’s Bar and Grill

Great bar downtown. An excellent menu, affordable prices and friendly fun staff. Cant ask for more.

Nefarious activity? Check
Pull tabs on the floor? Check
Cash Only? Absolutely
Dirty Bathrooms? You guessed it
Amazingly Random and Wonderful Jukebox? Boom!
Free Beer Backs with Every Shot? Naturally
Hands down the best bar in Seattle when you just need a drink, a TV, and some good people watching. You cannot beat Joe’s. No way no how.

I’ve been to neighborhood bars that were hole in the walls and the food was good but most importantly the PEOPLE working there were fun but respectful… this is NOT that place. After being cursed out by the bartender (who was a raging lunatic) for asking to use the bathroom and then cursed out again for only having a credit card I will never be back. There are far too many other places to spend my money and you don’t have to be treated like an animal and called everything BUT a child of God for simply asking to use the bathroom. Disgraceful! I was raised that you get more with sugar than shit … This placed served nothing but shit and if that’s what you’re into, go for it!

Terrifying. Cash only. I love it. A shot and beer back is $ 4.75. I’m pretty sure I’ve seen patrons cash their paychecks here. Dirty crowd, most people are cut off by 7 pm… I’m literally creating a Unilocal count just to write this review. Bring hand sanitizer.

Go see LuLu, she rocks. Cheap drinks and good people. Get the peanut special, best peanuts in Seattle.

I’d give this place fucking 10 stars if I could. Sketchy as fuck, dingy as all hell and cheap as shit! So tired of the over polished bullshit bars in Seattle. This place shows what a real bar should be. If I lived in the neighborhood, I’d be here daily.

This bar is wonderfully shady. It’s got that stabby sort of vibe you can’t find just anywhere anymore. If you order a shot they will give you a free beer back. What an amenity! There are always some characters in here and you’re guaranteed some quality people watching. Juke box is good. Reminds me of some of my old favorite back home in Minneapolis. I feel right at home.

Joe’s is our go to place before Seahawks& Mariners games. It doesn’t get any better — strong drinks, lively crowds, hookers & pimps, bums! It is great to watch the never– do-​wells getting cut off and tossed out — such great fun. And to boot — it is only a block from Uwajimaya so you can get great Asian food…

I don’t know weather to give this place 1 or 5 stars. No matter how much you’ve had to drink, you are NOT the drunkest person in this bar. It is the definition of seedy. Drinking the beers on tap? Don’t know the last time those were cleaned. I’ll stick to something from the bottle. But if your willing to be adventurous, you WILL leave here with a good story. Can be a lot of fun for the right person, but people from Bellevue should stay away.

You go here for:
–Cheap and STONG Drinks
–People watch (and you will see some crazies)
. lol Thats it.
This place is not for just anyone. There are creepers rolling around and someone will eventually talk to you about something! Its not the cleanest place, nor the best smelling. They do have pull tabs all over the floor and i have only been here twice. But i did enjoy the fact that i got my monies worth with the drink i got.
DO NOT:
Bring a first date here
Bring anyone who gets scared of «certain people»
The lady bartender was nice (and pretty) and always checked on my and my group.
I would recommend only coming here for a drink or two before you head out to the town. I will be coming back to this place for a good strong drink if Im ever in the area.

Perfect Dive Bar in a Great Location.
Nothing trendy here folks.
Just a dive bar that’s been here forever.
You’ll notice the ancient wood bar and wood refrigerators, so you know it’s old school.
The bartenders are all pretty friendly, and know how to run a tight ship. They get plenty of street drunks as well as locals who have been coming for years, so they maintain order while still getting everyone the elixirs they need.
On game days it’s going to be insane here.
But on a typical evening, sans game, it’s a nice pit stop across from the King Street station for a cold drink and some people watching.
Not trendy at all. 4 stars.

Just a straight bum-​convention and it isn’t uncommon to walk in and it smells like puke or piss. But… the drinks are stiff, cheap, very nice bartenders, fast and I have won good $ playing pull tabs. I come here often sadly enough. It is the only place I know that at 7 am there is ALREADY a group of people getting buzzed up already in there

This place is not worth reviewing.

Worst bar I have ever been to. Bar tenders were rude and judgmental. The bathroom was disgusting and dirty. Drinks were overpriced. I will never return and hope readers do not give business and their hard earned money to this establishment.

I’m rating this for exactly what it is — an old neighborhood bar that would be considered a dive bar by most! So if you put all the dive bars side by side, this one stands proudly in the top rankings!
We were attending the Food Truck Rodeo and this was the only bar we could find in the vicinity to come in out of the rain for a bit and grab a cocktail or two. Well, you definitely don’t need two — one free-​poured cocktail at Joe’s is good! Hubby didn’t really want to go in but relented when no other bar was found! The place was packed! Not with locals or sleezey people or drug addicts or tweekers or bikers — it was packed with Sounders fans! That threw the whole «scary» right out the window!
Yes, the locals are there as well and add great flavor to the place. They were all very friendly and welcoming, dancing and laughing with each other and anybody else that wanted to join in! We ended up coming back after finishing up with the food trucks and had the time of our life! We met some genuine people that liked to laugh and have fun. We saw a staff that cares about it’s customers and it’s establishment. They had no problem escorting unwelcome guests to the door or not allowing them in.
All that good stuff being said, no, I wouldn’t go alone! Not even with a couple gal pals! I’ll definitely go again with hubby by my side AND those gal pals!

This place is right across from the Amtrak train /​Bolt Bus Station. I spied it on the way in and stopped on the way out. SCARY, I mean I love dive bars and all, but this is the kind of place you may want to run from, not just walk.
Sure the drinks are strong and it’s a cash only place, I just wasn’t too sure about it. If you are brave and want to at least say you had the experience, go for it. I wouldn’t go late at night or anything. Went in during the day but had a quick one and left. Probably wouldn’t go again. Not much of a food selection or anything. Enter at own risk!

Joe’s is not for pansies. The regulars are total characters, the staff can get a little sassy and the bathrooms will ruin your night.
These, however, are known as acceptable risks for the reward of a true dive bar.
I like a place that shows the wear and tear of being enjoyed. Joe’s does… for sure. They sell food, mostly fried. You can buy pull tabs there.
If you like to get down with pimps drifters, check it out for sure.
Decent beers.

I’m not sure what to say other than this is definitively a dive bar. Highfalutin folk need not apply. Bring your woes and soak them deep in the cleansing power of Corona and Mannys. Grab a pull tab and make a wish. You’re just entered a dimensional shift where it’s OK. Every ting’s gonna be alright. So, be yourself, grab another pork rind and swing back another PBR.

If you’re looking for a dive bar, Joe’s is your place. Grunge and grime? Check. Woodwork and cabinetry that clearly wasn’t done by a professional carpentery? Check. Painted copies of beer and booze artwork that looks like it was created by some homeless guy? Check. Homeless guys? Double-​check.
Another reviewer commented that «once you are inside, you will be just as welcome as that homeless person that just stumbled through to use the bathroom.» Actually, once you are inside, you will be much more welcome as that homeless person that just stumbled through to use the bathroom, because the restrooms are for patrons only and the bartender is going to kick your sorry ass out of there if you’re only coming in to ‘use the facilities.’ The hand-​written sign above the cash register indicates that Joes Bar and Grill is a cash-​only establishment, so bring cash if you want to enhance your welcomeness.
The bartender was excellent. She needed to be part cop, part referee and part den mother to keep the rather sketchy-​looking group of patrons in line and in good humor, and she excelled at that. It probably didn’t hurt anything that she was probably dealing with a bunch of guys who didn’t have many cute females to flirt with, but I’m going to chalk it up to skill anyway.
The beers were decent. There was eight or nine taps, including three micros, but Joe’s is not a place you’d seek out because you love great beer. The booze was marginal. I didn’t recognize the brands they pour for well drinks. Cutty Sark is a top-​shelf Scotch at Joe’s if that tells you anything. The pool table looked OK but I didn’t check it out too closely.
The special of the day was BBQ ribs and potato salad for $ 7.50. The price sounds good, but I have no idea what it looks or tastes like.

You know that one dive bar that you’re either too afraid to go in to or you figure it could get shut down any day by the health department? Yeah, that’s Joe’s Bar and Grill… and I say that with as much fondness as I possibly can.
There’s something about this place that makes it as friendly and charming as it is run down and creepy. When you walk in, all the regulars skeptically look at you like you just walked in to the front door of their home. Fortunately, they just as quickly turn back to their drinks and whatever conversations they might be having.
If you want a good, stiff drink, then this is the place to be. You’ll also find a couple TV’s and lots of seating whether at the bar or in a booth. Enter Joe’s at your own risk, but realize that once you are inside, you will be just as welcome as that homeless person that just stumbled through to use the bathroom.