Reservoir Bar & Grill

One of the worst experiences of my 6 years living in the US. I came into this bar to grab a beer to make time (have a dinner nearby, but I was too early). The bartender asked me for my passport or driving license. I only carried my national ID (from Peru), but he didn't accept it. He also asked me to leave the place. Discrimination in all its glory.. No suprise the Rez is full of white old dudes.

We put like $20 in the jukebox and it kept skipping our songs 😞👎🏼 Cool crowd but as for drink prices $$, NOT dive bar prices 😑😑

Awesome local-style bar with a basic drinks service and a BBQ grill open for patrons to use in lieu of having no food service. Great outdoor seating area, lots of space and the bartender was super legit. While the bar itself says "hometown bar", the people inside were very welcoming and inviting to new-comers. Definitely recommend. Sports on TV.

Usee to go in here 1997-03. Was a different place then but always enjoyed it. Burgers and chicken meals are great here.

Came and played the Sunday 9 ball tournament had a great time made some new friends!! Free Pool Sunday’s and drink prices were decently priced!!

Exactly what we were lookin’ for on a Friday afternoon! Bar tender is super awesome. Definitely will be back!

I had the pleasure of going here last night with my neighbors. We hadn’t found our local watering hole since moving here about a year ago. Well, last night we fixed that problem! The Reservoir is probably the coolest neighborhood bar around. When you walk in, you walk into a huge room with pool tables, a tall wood bar, good music, and friendly staff. We got our drinks and headed out back to the patio area. There was a grassy area, a shed with a very large tv in it, a covered smoking area and picnic tables under a separate covered area. We met the owner who was such a nice lady. We learned that they’d just reopened after a series of setbacks that took 5 months to fix! She was very proud of being able to take care of her employees during that time and I really admired that about her. You could really tell how deeply she loves her bar that’s been in her family since 1991. Haven’t gone into the Reservoir? CHANGE THAT AND GO!!! You’re gonna have a blast.

This is a terrific dive with a great patio and friendly regs. Do *not* order food.

At last check about a couple weeks ago, this place has "closed for repairs" and a reopening date is undetermined at this time. I patronized this dive (approximately described) a few years back. Wouldn't recommend the food. There's a reason it's all fried. The exterior is inviting with a decent neon "Rez" sign showing you the way, but the interior is bleak. There's divey & then there's dumpy. A little investment and they could bring back it's former divey glory. I hope the closure means that's happening.

I love a good dive bar, and The Rez has been on my Yelp bookmarks for at least a year (if not more). Every time I've driven past their Roosevelt location I've noticed the prominent "Happy Hour" sign out front, so when a friend recently suggested meeting up in the area I eagerly chose The Rez. I gotta say, it wasn't all it was cracked up to be. A good dive bar is usually pretty ugly on the inside, and The Rez didn't disappoint. After all, outdated seating, wood paneling, and poorly-placed TV's can all contribute to making a dive bar what it is. But usually this stuff still gives a place personality. Not at The Rez - it felt like the smoky backroom of an old 1970's Elk's Lodge than a classic Seattle dive. I was also less than impressed with "Happy Hour" - there were no food specials and I don't think our drinks were discounted at all. It was $30 to get out of there after a beer, a cocktail, and two appies. On the plus side, the service was pretty friendly (bar service only) and there was plenty of street parking to be found. Next time I'm in a dive bar mood in the big city, though, I'll probably go elsewhere.

Nice little dive bar. Cool little back yard. Good beer. Worth a look if you like dive bars! Only one person working when I went but service was solid.

WOW!!! What an incredible remodeling job they did on this place! The new floor, new bar, refinished standup bar all look GREAT!! and I love the beer garden, so refreshing!! Looks all brand new! Some same great dive bar love and peopl!

Went here for a beer after seeing a movie near Northgate. Had driven by countless times over the 20 years we have lived in the neighborhood. Was initially thinking we might get something to eat too as we were getting a little hungry. But fairly limited menu of fried bar food didn't appeal to either of us. Some other day maybe but not today. Clean divey with a full size shuffleboard table, dart boards, Golden Tee & South Park Pinball machine. Didn't go out to back outdoor seating area but nice that they have it. Pull tabs also available and had we stayed longer hubby probably would have bought some. Would like small tabletop menus available so you don't have to crane your neck to see the menu board hanging in the kitchen area.

Cheap beer. Great people watching. $1 bags of chips. Would be 5 stars if the TVs were bigger, but I'm not complaining. The beer is cheap and plentiful and I've met some really interesting people here. Drop in and enjoy the dive! Edit: for the record - I've never seen any Nazis or "Heaters" here so don't be afraid!

Love this bar, but I WILL NOT GO ! , when a certain male bartender is working , he was digging in his booty crack behind the bar, when my father in law said what are you digging for ? He gave a fowl look , and then minutes later after taking a drink of beer , the bartender rushes to tell my father in law to put his mask on , my father in law then walked outside to have a cigarette out front and then comes back in to join the other 5 members of our party and did not receive no other warning nor did the other 5 people receive a warning ! After we played one game the bartender tells us to leave because he is tired of telling us to mask up , and let me remind you my father in law had one warning and us other five had none , and at the point of making us all leave we were all following mask protocol correctly. He needs a new job at a library because we were great paying customers and he lost a lot of money for this great business! Also lost out on a great tip! He should have washed his butt his problem not mine, but I will never have his service again.

Great, local dive bar! Robin is So great @ the bar! Back patio is lovely. Nice, chill vibes. Pool lovers welcome! Have fun, chill and enjoy!

I like that half the people that vote, and talk about this place in a negative manor, talk about how they wanted to go to a "dive bar" yet complain about the things that make a dive bar a dive bar. Get over yourselves and go back to Applebee's. Cheap beer, shitty service, and "shady" people are what makes a dive bar a dive bar.

Robyn is a great joy to be around and takes her job seriously. We have decided to continue to come back and enjoy her service. Thanks to you, Robyn!+

I now understand why there were only 4 people there on a Saturday night. Terrible service. Felt uncomfortable and I welcomed the whole time. The bartender was very rude and yelled at us in a quiet bar (no music, 4 patrons not including my party) for spilling a little beer accidentally. She didn't even give us something we could clean it with, just yelled. Luckily one of their 4 patrons was nice and gave us a towel. There were also racist and transphobic remarks made. My party left after 1 drink. Overall, a terrible and uncomfortable experience.

I love a good dive bar, and the Rez definitely has some of those attributes! Like most dive bars, don't expect stellar service, and that's ok, it adds to the ambiance. They are not there to wait on you, it doesn't matter what you expect when you walk into the door. They also have an amazing outdoor set up, with plenty of seating so you can come with all your friends and family. Plus, they have a huge TV outside, so you can catch the UW or Seahawks game with cheap beer on hand. So why the 3 stars? They're beer selection is minimal (like only 5 beers) and they tend to be of the domestic variety (examples: PBR, Rainier, etc.). Don't get me wrong, I love a good, cheap beer on a hot summer day, but sometimes I would also like more variety. Also, the regulars tend to keep to themselves, although they definitely glare at the newcomers. While it didn't bother me, it totally affected our groups ability to relax. If you like a dive bar, and like a legit dive bar, not the kind that are really cool but have a dive-like je ne sais quoi, then I recommend you check it out. While this will not be my hang-out place, it doesn't mean it couldn't be yours.

The Res is so good. So so so good. Pull tabs. Strong drinks. Cheap pitchers. Fantastic bar staff. Middle-aged lushes who tell you racist jokes. Middle-aged lushes who invite you on fishing trips and get your brother high in their Scion. Middle-aged lushes who touch your hair in the bathroom and say they love it. The back patio that makes you feel like you're just at someone's house. Middle-aged lushes who holler at you for letting the back patio's heater timer run out. Shuffleboard. I sort of disagree with the "dive" designation because I never feel in danger of an imminent stabbing or brawl or what-have-you. This place is just a neighborhood bar that happens to be dingy in the best way possible.

When I first started coming here I wasn't really a yelp user. That I haven't written a review is surprising. Benefits of coming to the Res include: shuffleboard pool (free pool on Sundays for a tournament) heated outside patio area with a giant tv for watching the Hawks/Huskies absurdly friendly clientele pulltabs strong ass drinks salty bartenders who dislike your liver/sass pretty solid bus access to and from DT/Capitol Hill The Res has always been a place I've felt comfortable; if I lived closer I'd probably spend my waking hours there growing more wildery by the day until POOF I'd become a 65 yr dockworker with terrible back pains and great stories.

Went to the Reservoir Tavern today after work with a small group of people. I was excited to go a dive bar and became more excited when I saw a shuffle board. Unfortunately, the bartender was extremely unfriendly and made our group feel like we were annoying her by trying to order. She took a couple orders of food and after a few other guests came in told us she wasn't making anymore. I was one of the three people in our group who was "lucky" enough to get an order in but I felt extremely uncomfortable eating in front of my friends who were only able to buy bags of chips. There are way better dive bars out there with bartenders who are friendly and will even man up and make food when it's ordered! Shocking, right? Needless to say this place doesn't deserve your money.

One of the most well-worn bars I've ever been to. But, hey, they don't give a crap, neither do I, so why should you? Pull up a threadbare bar stool, have a schooner of PBR and watch the Mariners on their old, old TV.

A friend's grandfather went to UW years and years ago. He informs us that "The Res" was their destination of choice back then because, at 85th and Roosevelt, it was juuuuust outside the city limits and therefore not subject to municipal regulations on alcohol sales. Now the city has grown and expanded, but the bar is probably just about the same. And that's part of it's charm. This place is a very low key dive and is sort of a DMZ in the urban bar conflict: one where truly every kind of patron happily coexists, from PBR-swilling hipsters to blue-collar retirees. The strong and reasonably-priced drinks probably help that feeling along... The bar features shuffleboard, a few video games, and a jukebox with an eclectic selection. The staff is outstandingly friendly, as are most of the regular patrons. Don't expect much in the way of decor, but do expect a relaxed place to have a beer.

The Res is top notch and the reasons are thus: -chill atmosphere (ed hardy shirts need not apply) -shuffle board (full length, not bumper) -couple o pool tables -friendly customers and bar staff -big patio/backyard -cheap pitchers and drinks Go there now.

Not much more you could ask for in a neighbourhood bar. Friendly staff (if you deserve it and sometimes even if you dont), strong and cheap drinks, shuffle board, golden tee, pinball, 2 pool tables, bar food, a backyard with a heated butt hut and a grill that is open to customer use. Don't be ruffled if you get the eyeball when you go for the first time. Just about everyone knows eachother, so newcomers may get oggled. Some even claim to like it.

This was a great surprise! My fiancé and I were walking home from dinner when we spotted this little gem. It looked like the kind of place you could toss a few back with no judgment so we went in to check it out. They have a couple of pool tables, a shuffleboard table and it was not very crowded for a Friday night. Definitely a local bar with cheep beer ($2.50 draft) and friendl people. Sometimes a little too friendly (sharing life stories unsolicited). But that just makes for the adventure. Like I said, cold beer, friendly people, and some fun games. What's not to love?

Stopped in after a dip at Magnuson Beach.... lemme tell you something, I LOVE DIVE BARS!!! Had a couple pints, for CHEAP!!! Played some ol school shuffleboard with some ghetto ass fools which was a blast, typical dive bar crowd, typical dive bar atmosphere... Must go back for more...

There is a reason why Reservoir is followed by the word "tavern." It is exactly that. It's dark, dirty, cheap, and full of strange, dodgy looking characters... and that's why it's great! While sipping on an extremely cheap glass of beer you can play shuffleboard or arcade games, pick what the tavern will be listening to from the jukebox (great selection of artists) in the corner, challenge one of the dodgy regulars to a game of pool, or just sit and chat with friends. Someone even brought in a pizza from outside the tavern. I would definitely return here for the amusement, cheap drinks, and shuffleboard. I'd never played shuffleboard before I came here, but thought the game was a lot of fun.

Dive bars are an unappreciated art. If the owner tries too hard, the place appears pretentious and uninviting. If the owner does nothing more than prop the door open, the bar will never develop. This is why I tend to look at bars like the Reservoir as a successful achievement of reaching the fulcrum of hole-in-the-wall perfection, rather than as an actual hole in the wall. Cheap booze, great environment that convinces you to sit around and drink yourself silly, plus lots of stuff to do. Hell, if the standard game of bar pool has you bored, they even have a shuffleboard layout to play. Not surprisingly, there was a line to use it. All in all, this place is exactly what I want in a watering hole. I wish I lived closer.

First off ---- This is a total dive bar! ... but as far as dive goes, this is the best! I discovered this place randomly on a date by searching bar in GPS, and sure glad I found it! ... You can play some free shuffleboard, or .50 cent pool. They have a huge TV for sports viewing, and a totally great staff bartending there. The best part is the strong drinks, and cheap prices. They have rum and cokes for $3... and they are about a 90-10 split of rum to coke in a near pint glass.. LOVE IT! .. makes for a cheap and super fun night. I haven't built up the courage to try any food, but I'm not much a bar food kind of guy, so I cannot speak for the food. But if you like a friendly place with all sorts of people there... free shuffleboard, cheap pool, good priced drinks that are strong enough to lift an elephant.. then try the reservoir and have a good time!

I was not super impressed with the basic decor and average divey-ness of this bar, but I still give it a high score because the local crowd was very friendly, and one of them even bought me a round. The back door patio was nice. The centerpiece of the bar are the pool tables and shuffleboard. Overall, it has some nice feature, even if it doesn't have the character and charm that normally I look for.

We were looking for a place to eat for lunch on the fourth of July and the Rez was the only place open in the neighborhood. The cheeseburgers, fries, and onion rings were all pretty good and not expensive. Even relatively empty during the day it has the ambience of a dive bar- not unpleasant but pretty dark. The bartender/grill person/server was pleasant and welcoming.

Lousy place. The regulars are old and crotchety so you know it is a dive bar. That's great. Where it really falls down is the staff and management. They tend to be fairly rude fairly consistently. Tried it a few times, won't be going back. And I live fairly close. And I'm lazy.

I've given this place a couple of tries. It's not my cup of tea, but a buddy who loves dives loves this spot, and my dad goes here every time he's in town. I'm a fan of dive bars, but that needs to be coupled with something like a great beer selection or bar tenders who don't get annoyed when I ask what kind of IPA she means when she just says "IPA." To each their own, i suppose.

I seem to be here more often than not. If you were looking for a "cute little bar" with "neat decor" and "cheeky drinks", please look elsewhere. You will be sorely disappointed, and every grizzled veteran of the Reservoir Tavern is going to enjoy your clear dismay upon entering this delicious, dive bar. Fifty cent pool, an impressively large television, shuffleboard and a major outdoor area (plastered with posters and ads for cheap, horrible beer) are only the obvious offerings of the Reservoir. The drinks make you twitch, and the prices are ridiculously low. Warning: If you are looking to play pool, steer clear of Sundays - that's tournament day. Any other day, throw your name up on the board to battle a regular. We're usually pretty tossed and friendly.

Ohhhhh Yes. I love this bar. I love how it smells funky, I love how sometimes the seats are squeaky, I love how the shuffleboard scoreboard has been broken since I started coming here almost 15 years ago, I love how cranky and lovable the bartenders are, I love how cheap the drinks are, I love how everybody who's anybody in this place knows everybody else and will buy you a drink JUST FOR BEING THERE, I love their electronic jukebox, I love the french fries, I love that I can take my drink out into the back yard and smoke at the same time, I love that the covered smoking area has a heater, I love that I can bring my own meat in the summer and BBQ it for free on their propane grill, I love that I can go at any time of day and see someone I know, I love that the regulars are REGULARS (like 10+years), I love the random mix of people that find their way into this place, I love that one time when my mom moved here from Chicago she stopped in to use the restroom at this place and was hilariously shocked to find out that I hang out there on a regular basis, I love everything about this place except people who want to come into my wonderfully sticky/smelly/cranky/sometimes silent bar and talk crap. Lemme tell you this - pretentious douchebags need not apply. I don't wanna see you while I'm trying to have fun here with my friends, and I'll probably skip your top 40 songs on the jukebox, so feel free to move along to somewhere where its loud, the drinks cost twice as much and you will never have as interesting a conversation.

OH my goodness... The Reservoir is a seriously amazing dive bar. Shuffleboard, pool, a great sound system that blasts all kindsa stuff, even Bieber. Cheap, strong drinks. Friendly bar staff. I was kinda reluctant to come here for the longest time because of its "dive" status, but I got over that 2 seconds after walking through the door.

Pretty fun dive bar, I don't play pool but if you do they have it. Good strong drinks and a nice patio area.

This is honestly not my kind of bar, but it's a great bar for those who enjoy a sports bar with a few nice pool tables, strong decently priced drinks, and AMAZING fries. They have a shuffleboard table which is tons of fun, but the people in the bar were not the most friendly group of people; especially on the sunday evening pool tourny nights. That said, i'm not the pool player or sports bar type so my not fitting in is likely a good thing.

I like myself a good dive bar, and I had high hopes for the Rez when I recently moved into the neighborhood, but my one visit there was a bit of a disappointment. Some dive bars give you a good vibe when you walk in, others don't, and for whatever reason this one just didn't do it for me. On the dive bar scale of trashy to douchey hipster, I'd say this is more of your trashy dive than your douchey hipster dive, so maybe I'm more of a douchey hipster than I thought I was. I dunno. If you like divey spots, you should probably pop in and see whether or not it's your kind of place.

This place is the textbook definition of a dive bar, it feels a little sketchy on the inside, has a couple pool tables, arcade games, and dart boards, my kind of place :) What makes this place awesome is cheap pitchers and shuffle board! If shuffleboard is all you play when you're in retirement, then I can't wait to retire! So basically, the only reason why I would even think to come back to this place, is for shuffleboard. But don't get your hopes up too high, it's tabletop shuffleboard, so no giant stick to play with.

This bar is the only good thing about living in Maple Leaf. Divey in the most awesome way, great fried food, fairly cheap drinks, genuinely friendly bartenders and accommodating to us evil, lecherous cigarette smokers.

It's full of locals, people of all ages, regulars, and alcoholics. It's part dive bar (and it does that really well), part sports bar, and part neighborhood hangout. Don't expect to be lavished with luxuries such as acceptance of credit cards, padded seating, or working doors on the bathroom stalls, but expect to find friendly patrons and a complete lack of pretension. "The Res" is much more like a bar you'd find in Enumclaw than Seattle. Amenities include two pool tables, big screen TV, a couple of video games, and a sometimes heated smoking deck in the back. The crowd shifts noticeably younger after about 10PM.

I love the Reservoir. I've definitely been here more than I'd like to admit, but I keep coming back. Walking distance from the house, cheap drinks, good service. Pete and Tracey are badass bartenders, the jukebox selection has something for everybody, and there's often a pool table open. Sure, the dartboards have seen better days, yes, the shuffleboard scoreboard is broken. But its a dive bar, and I love it to death.

Parents and their friends would play shuffleboard there back in the 60's and I started late 70's. Used to be a great dive bar. Still would be if they had staff that had one ounce of personality or class. Daytime lady is beyond rude. She turns her back on customers and keeps busy doing nothing. Will not, or could not converse with me on numerous occasions so I've stopped going back. As far as the food?? LOL. Wouldn't eat if it was free. And that's if you could even get her to accomplish that.

I drive from west seattle to the res about once a month to hang out with my friend. Been coming here for about 5 years now and I wont stop unless I move or they kick me out. :) It isn't the most clean place but that's what I like about it... it's a casual dive bar where everyone knows everyone but after you come here often enough it's home away from home. You can't be stuck up or a snob to come to this place. Everyone else is welcome as long as you like to play pool, shuffle board, and order cheap strong drinks...

I was a beertender here 25 years ago and decided to drop in with my 21-year-old daughter to show her where her mom used to work. It was early afternoon and the place was empty. I tried to chat with the bartender, who had absolutely nothing to do, I thought she might be interested in "back in the day" Nope, not even a little bit. I did want to address a couple reviews I saw here. Bars always have bar time which is general 15 minutes earlier than real time. The reason is if you are caught with alcohol out after 2 its a ticket. Matter a fact I nearly got a ticket for just having a couple patrons in the bar just a couple minutes after 2am letting them finish a game of pool. I explained to the inspector I didn't like going to my car alone at that hour and he said well maybe one person after 2am. Sheesh and this is no joke. So please don't throw shade on the bartender.

Golden tee is the best. Lots of friendly regulars, great behind the bar staff.

This place is actually ok . Nice and laid back neighborhood bar .

Great bar with fun people, shuffle board, pool & a digital jukebox... Oh yeah & $7 pbr pitchers, yeeeeehaw!

The service here has really declined since they hired a new bartender. We went in Friday afternoon and ordered--or tried to order--a burger and fries. She said she wasn't cooking hamburgers because she was too busy. There were about ten of us in there. She said she'd cook fries, but for anything else, she has take-out menus from other restaurants and we were welcome to order from them. We've been coming here for years, and this is a first. She is unfriendly, too. Please hire someone pleasant who can cook our burgers! We would hate to leave The Rez for another bar, but we need food with our beer!

The bartender is a bitter old woman frying fish with 2 inch grey roots. The bars mostly occupied by bitter locals complaining about people who have died (i swear every time I go there someone's talking about someone who died). There's a lot of troll like women (large over the age 45 unemployed) who will be rude to you for no reason. It's clicky like high school. No thanks go to pinehurst down the street. Way better vibe.

Am awesome local dive. Stiff drinks and a backyard area where u can hang out and smoke. Love this place :)

My favorite local hangout. Cheap as heck & the ladies working the bar are great. If you get the french fries they coat them in the fried chicken batter before they put them in the fryer. So deliciously bad for you. And as a bonus they have a nice smoking patio out back you can bring your drink with. Fun times.

If you like dive bars (and I like dive bars) this is the place for you. Not faux dive bars for sorrority girls out living dangerously, just bars that have been doing the same thing for 60+ years, this is the happening spot. Pull tabs, check. Shuffleboard table, check. Barbeque out back to cook up your own food, check. Strong drinks, check. Completely utilitarian interior, time tested to keep you drinking, check. Romantic (you know who you are), surprisingly, check. What more do you need? I'm going there tomorrow. I'm gonna grill my own steaks. I might just bring a kiddie pool to plop down in their backyard and make a day of it.