The Noble Fir

Used to be a regular. Spendy but delicious beer. Owners are awesome. Sadly they’re not here and the current staff is inattentive, rude, and down right awful.
Rick, Ellen, please get people as good as the old staff. Best wishes to you two.

Beer is great, the ambience is great, however if I ask for balsamic with my bread and oil, don’t look at me like I’m a idiot and say «umm no, we aren’t a restaurant» ok guy I just ordered bread and cheese, why wouldn’t you have balsamic!

Over priced beer and drinks but with a nice atmosphere. Two years ago the place was great but now, when you have to pay 7 dollars for a pint of local suds, it is a shame. Perhaps their pricing shifts is the way of Ballard’s future

I love this place! One of my favorite places in Ballard. They are super knowledgeable about all things beer, wine & cider. No hard alcohol as far as I know. But if you aren’t sure what to order, ask them and they’ll give you an awesome recommendation! They’re all super nice and outgoing there. They serve only cheese, meats and some other cold tapas like pickled vegetables and things like that. We always go there and get the 5 cheese and snack on that with our beer & wine. Love the idea of just simple cheese and meat plates with good beer, good wine and good cider. I’d recommend trying it out if you’re not looking to eat a full meal but want something to go along with a drink. Love this place!

We heard of this place from Anthony Bourdain Seattle layover and was hooked on trying that pâté he talked about…
Choose your own charcuterie board only place. You can pick up to 7 (probably more if you asked). We picked 5: Wild boar salami, chicken liver pâté, spicy landjeager with a triple crème cheese… They give you jelly, 2 different mustards, and a chutney thing. It was good, they should have pork liver pâté on their list too.
Not sure if their cured meats are always rotating/​changing but it’ll be cool if they did that.

Perfect place to have wines! We ordered a bottle of chardonnay and it was very good. The ambience of the place is nice, specially the booths and the books section. Everything at this place adds up for a perfect Friday evening to have wine.

Great place for cider week in Seattle — they generally have a ton of features rotating out during that time.
I’ve only really come here as an in between stop for a drink or two with friends but have always been impressed with the staff and it generally has a decent crowd no matter the time.
The beer selection is solid.

Awesome service. Great selection of beer and cider. Meat and cheese plate perfect for apps. Cool vibe & some great people
Around.

Lovely place! This is such a nice bar. Excellent tap selections ranging from $ 6 – 13 or so but everything I’ve had here is so tasty. Staff is very attentive and friendly. The atmosphere is casual and nice– good lighting and music is loud enough but not blaring. Tables are super clean. I haven’t had any of their bites to eat but I will next time!

If you read through the reviews, you’ll see most of the negative ones relate to attitude from the servers.
Indeed, that’s the case with me too. I’ve been to Noble Fir at least a half dozen times now, and it was one of my favorite quiet places to grab a beer in Ballard.
My last experience here has me thinking twice about that. There’s just too many good places to patronize around here to tolerate being made unwelcome.

This is my kind of place. It’s quite busy on a weekend evening, but friends and I were able to snag a booth and split a couple bottles of wine. The wines are reasonably priced and we enjoyed both. We also got a sample of different cheeses and meats which went perfectly with the wine. The recommendations the waiter made for cheeses were great, especially the Manchego and the triple creamed brie.

Stopped in for a drink last night and felt like this place was just what I wanted for a drink and some conversation. Friendly staff, tasty drinks with a large beer and cider selection and mellow enough to be able to hear the person I was with. Would definitely go back.

If you are in the mood for drinks while you wait for your table at the Walrus and the Carpenter, or you just want a good meal (from all appearances), then you should make it a point to visit The Noble Fir and enjoy that wall of windows showcasing Ballard’s rustic beauty.
This review is for the bar experience only; no food on this trip as the Walrus had our brains pre-​occupied. I am happy to report that the bar is great! It’s comfortable with great bartenders willing to make or pour any drink to your heart’s desire. Prices are typical for Seattle, nothing special, but there is something about the atmosphere that makes it just that much better than similar places in the area.
The next time I visit this place, and there will be a next time, it won’t be on a Walrus Walk, rather it will be to enjoy the food, more drink and great atmosphere.

This is a classy bar, I really like it for a chill catch up with friend kind of place. Ballard is not a place I recommend if you want to get trashed and «party» Ballard is full of nice bars where you can sit down and have drinks and the Noble Fir is one of them. They have Ciders and beers on tap and a good layout. The place is not very big and when I went it was pretty casual and not too loud.

Loved exploring Ballard this weekend! Nice bar with good munchies and drinks. Picked three items from the menu: gouda, roasted red peppers, and olives (bread was included with the plate of munchies).

Good beer selection, and the wait staff is pretty laid back and fun. It gets crazy busy in here, so grab a seat early.
A current draft offering is the Mole (like chocolate and chile) stout. Seriously tasty, but can get a little heavy after a while. Definitely not a beer you could or would want to drink all night.
They have a sweet section of travel books to look through, which I found really unique. Grab a book, grab a beer, and plot out your next adventure!
I don’t know what’s good on the food menu, but I plan to find out ASAP.

A cozy and polished joint for beer, wine, and charcuterie.
What I liked about it:
Nice atmosphere: simultaneously classy and laid back. They have a cool little library in the back with a couple of benches too. Respectable beer list compiled of local microbrews. Friendly service.
What could have been better:
Bastille was full and I was craving a whiskey sour. This place was a little less busy than some surrounding places, but found out it was beer and wine only. I guess if that’s what you’re looking for then that’s perfect.
The in between:
I can’t speak to the food. I love a good meat and cheese plate. I definitely think there is something cool about this bar, while simultaneously I’m not surprised it wasn’t as busy as surrounding establishments.

I have had nothing but great experiences here. Aside from the always great rotating selection of beers and ciders, the service I have received here has never been short of excellent!
No need to be a beer snob to feel comfortable here; ask the the bartender for a recommendation, tell them what kinds of beers/​flavors you already enjoy, and they are always more than happy to help you find the right beer for you — and they’re almost always spot on. On many occasions, the bartender has given me a small sample of various beers before ordering a full sized one, even without asking. They seem very passionate and knowledgable about everything they serve and are excited to share it with you. I feel like they genuinely want you to order something you will enjoy and go above and beyond to help you do so. Truly fantastic service.
The beer selection is always changing but is well-​curated. There’s always a great variety of flavors and the selection ranges from local to imported beers.
The atmosphere is cozy and inviting, but don’t even try to come here on a friday or saturday night — you’ll be waiting for a seat for a while. The décor is sort of Northwest themed, which is not really my thing, but it’s not overdone so I don’t quite mind.
Overall, the beer is excellent and the service is some of the best you’ll find.

This is one of my favorite types of places, and of course one that I have to be sad about, as I live hundreds of miles away from it.
BEER SELECTION.
An awesome combo of local brews and a few out of states, huge variety of flavors, and the guys there know their stuff — go ahead, ask for a recommendation, you won’t be disappointed. We were both extremely pleased with the pumpkin stout and porter they had on menu (although they could stock less IPAs and more dark beers, I think!).
CHARCUTERIE PLATE.
It’s nice to see a place that
a) offers a nice selection of meats and cheese, both local and imported
b) has generous serving sizes
c) only serves the freshest quality of everything
Seriously, we were feeling pretty food-​ed out after a weekend of adventuring in Seattle, and getting their charcuterie plate was the perfect meal of simple, high quality eats.
ENVIRONMENT.
On weekends the farmers market is right outside, indoors you have a fun little library full of travel books, and there’s ample seating — a fun place to relax and enjoy a lazy Sunday.
Definitely looking forward to returning in the future!

This place is «so Ballard» and by that I mean they have a great beer selection combined with a hip, unique atmosphere. After work one evening, I met up with friends for a drink who suggested The Noble Fir. I ordered myself a delicious IPA off of their extensive selection of IPAs, though the waiter was confused when I asked him if they had a session IPA. Kind of weird for someone who’s supposed to be working at a place with a massive beer selection. don’t you think?
Though I didn’t have the opportunity to try their food, it didn’t seem too tantalizing to me. Just a small selection of meat and cheese boards (yawn). I recommend sticking to the beer and cider here — there’s something for everyone!