The Runaway

I went over there over the weekend, intrigued by their "2 person shared cocktail" that they advertise. This cocktail is $28, served in a large glass with cute straws. Immediately, though, after the first sip, we could tell that there was either no alcohol in this drink, or perhaps 1oz mixed in. I understand that it is a draft cocktail, but it is impossible to blame for the lack of alcohol as I work somewhere that also has cocktails on draft that you can definitely taste. A similar, fruity drink, but after 1/2 a drink, you get the sense of alcohol in your system, at least for me. I noticed on the chalkboard, their other draft cocktails like their margarita says "Corazon Tequila" but I noticed the Strawberry Lemonade cocktail did not say which liquor, we assumed vodka. I asked the bartender what was in the drink, she described a delicious strawberry puree, and fresh lemonade, and a "Basil Vodka." She was both excited to describe the drink, but also seemed not confident that she know what was in it. She proceeded to go look for the vodka bottle, but could not find one in the bar, but would this not be their "house" vodka? Knowing now that they don't even have the bottle of liquor that they say is in this drink, I am assuming they made the drink without it. For $28 + 5% automatic service charge they add to every bill for "increasing costs" instead of changing their menu prices, and tip, this drink was almost $40 and I walked out of the bar with confidence of not having any alcohol that evening. It is a bit disappointing to know that if anything, I paid $30+ for a single shot of vodka (who knows what kind if they one they normally use they didn't even have) in a shared, 2 person advertised drink. But now I know! Order your drinks that are made from scratch every time so you know what you are getting:) I hope this review can help someone.

Love this place. A calm from the storm of Cap Hill. Zac was great. Helped me decide on a drink when I was indecisive.

It was kinda strange. I met 4 strangers across the street at another bar. They were all out of towners. We came here to check out another bar. Two of the people had just met and were making out at the booth, then the bar, so they were kicked out. I'm not used to this kind of experience. I'm double their age, but it was strange to see the bartender and bouncer ask them to leave. I guess they were drunk, and this isn't that kind of bar. Lol. We didn't stay long enough to experience what the vibe of this bar would be all about. It just seemed funny for a bar to expect their customers not to act as if they were drinking. Come here for a drink if you're a normal behaving drinker. Maybe not if you're looking to pick someone up or for a party feeling atmosphere. It was a nice and clean establishment. I'm not sure what else to say.

Just be aware, this bar is controlled by bullies in gear. Extremely rude security men including the hostess. The owner must know these guys are turning the bar in to a hostile environment. Lot of my friends have similar opinion on this.

This bar is great for drinks with friends! There is great music playing and anime on the tvs playing. My husband was very happy to see one of his favorite anime playing at the bar. The drinks here are very delicious 😋 definitely recommend coming to this bar

even TSA will let you through with eyedrops. this is the runaway lol. be for real. all bartenders are AMAZING, don’t get me wrong. security is weird. this is not fort knox. be for real.

I witnessed a lot of aggressive bouncers working here. A few including a tall bulky fellow and an old short Security person at the gate, they seem to be quite rude just like mentioned in the comments section. Saw them heckle one middle aged man. Scary experience just being there.

Cool bar next to Neumos and Barbosa with great booze, music and a very friendly staff. Happy hour is great and I love how you can order BokaBok from the bar.

Drinks - I had the berry vodka lemonade. It was pretty good but nothing outstanding. A little small but good and more reasonable in price than similar drinks on the hill. They had several beers available on draft and boozy slushies. If you want food, Bok a Bok is next door and will deliver over to you. Service - I think there were one or two bartenders running the whole place. I was served right away despite how busy they are. Ambiance - We came for the trivia, and it was fun! It's a punk bar semi-dive feel. The only downside is the lack of AC, which isn't surprising on Cap Hill. Try to sit near the front for some breeze. Overall pretty solid for what it is. We will likely come back for trivia and it's a cool little bar.

*Based solely on my experience with the bouncer the night I went. After giving my ID a thorough look, the bouncer tells me it's fake and confiscates it, despite my insistence that it's very much real. I had to spend the next 45 minutes calling SPD and my friends to either run my ID or to bring my passport from my apartment because I wasn't planning on leaving without my license. The bouncer came back outside later and handed me back my ID and compared mine to a fake he had on hand. He didn't apologize for taking my ID, and he didn't even let me into the bar in the end anyway. All he said was to get a new fucking ID because mine looks fake. Like, I'm sorry? I don't control how the government manufactures my license. Thanks for ruining my night.

The bartenders are great. Motown Mondays are the best! You should definitely check it out.

Really wanted to karaoke. It's my friends 21st. His id happened to expire that day and they refused service. Horrible service. I love giving 5 stars but this is an all time low. The bouncer was really mean. I know the law and this goes above that. Let's be real let me know in the comments if I'm in the wrong. I'm not btw. Bar was lame and nobody in there anyways. Eat horse. -Dogdaysreviews

The drinks are decent here, and the space is cool enough, but the service is very up-and-down and more often than not it's downright poor and unprofessional. The last time I was there I was celebrating a friend's birthday, just her and I. After paying for a few rounds of drinks and tipping the bartender much more than he deserved (by his service and attitude), I proceeded to strike up a conversation and explain that we wanted to stay but we weren't getting service despite it being a relatively slow night with 3 staff behind the bar (taking shots no less), and that I wished I could've tipped even better. This was early in the night (before 10pm iirc?) and we were looking for a place to relax and unwind, but it was much too hard to get a drink despite only 2 other people at the bar. I meant it as constructively as possible (I worked on and off in the industry for many years) and was very delicate, but I immediately triggered the (rude) bartender who basically had a panic attack and freaked out for a reason that is still a mystery to me. He was totally incoherent and belligerent (maybe because he was drinking on the job?). He then frantically grabbed our last round of fresh drinks away and offered to pay for our drinks/tab if we would leave. I made him repeat and confirm that he would be paying for our tab, and he said no problem. Fast forward, the charge still showed up on my card. I tried to get in contact with the manager/owner, no dice yet. My bank has refused my claim to have the charge reversed and now I am out of my hard-earned money. I know many bars and bartenders feel so entitled these days to do the least without having the ability to offer basic and professional service, but that's no excuse to essentially steal money from people, for no reason no less. The bartender knew he had no legitimate reason to force us to leave, so that is why he had to ask us. And then the bartender had the audacity to text his little buddy bouncer at a bar a few doors down and they refused us entry no longer than 2 minutes later. Unprofessional and highly unnecessary to say the least, especially since we never reciprocated the disrespect he showed us. It's a shame, because I've spent plenty of money at this bar and was a loyal customer. Never going back, it's way too unprofessional and shady. Trust me, unless you enjoy being served by impolite "adults" with the emotionally stunted bandwidth of a squirrel YOUR MONEY IS BETTER SPENT ELSEWHERE. P.S: if you do somehow end up in this sad excuse for a bar, it is probably a good idea to stay away from the bartender with a Jheri curl mullet that avoids all eye contact and usually wears a sleeveless shirt. He is unprofessional, ungrateful, inept and, I suspect, a bit unhinged.

Got in when I was 18 with a super not real id (spd come for me) get denied when I was 21. Also overpriced and not fun at all. Just sit down and talk bar with obnoxious and loud music. Would never recommend.

It's feels like a 60s themed bar? So lots of jimmy hendrix and the Beatles. I got the nonalcoholic musty lady and my friend got the blind melon. Both good!

Review based solely on Trivia night* Got here at about 6:15pm. Just the right time for the Tuesday Trivia night at 7:00pm. Around 6:40pm you wont really find an empty booth. We ordered a glass of wine, a lager, dirty tater tots, 8 fried wings, and a bugogli taco. Came out to $18 before tip! HH until 7pm! The service seemed typical for a dive bar. Got our food order and drinks swiftly. Food comes from Bok Bok next door. You order at the bar and it must alert the workers at Bok Bok, where they come and match the food to your table number. Everything went fine. I can see why they have low ratings. As the night got busier, the workers behind the bar were getting more flustered and the customer service starts declining. However, for Trivia night, it worked out fine. The Trivia was hosted on the main floor (not downstairs like the older reviews). Because of how crowded it gets on a Tuesday night, I probably wouldn't come here on the weekend.

I loved and will mourn Moe Bar like all of the rest of us. There, now that that's out of the way... Runaway might be yet another place that draws bros out the way flames do to moths (and both bros and moths are equally disgusting), but let's focus on the positive. Staff is the same, which is fabulous. Steele and Andrew are great bartenders who understand that it isn't just slinging drinks, but good convo and rapport that makes or breaks a place. They do lots of fun trivia on Tuesdays, and the facelift the bar got is pretty nice. Daily HH! $1 Polaroids!

Went there on my birthday. My friends told the bouncer it was, he looked at me and asked how many drinks I had I was honest and said four (over the course of 4 hours). He then proceeded to let us all know we couldn't come in, I've never had that happen

Went during happy hour yesterday for some cheap drinks and grub. Very quiet and nice atmosphere. Decent drink happy hour prices but they partner with their neighbor vendor Bok A Bok for Korean fried chicken, and they have great prices! Food and drinks were delicious. Definitely worth checking out their weekday happy hour for a cheeky pint and fried chicken to boot.

I'm so glad that they survived the pandemic and I love coming in here to get a beer. It's a divey, rock and roll bar. Basically, it's everything it should be.

One of the bars that charges 2X for every drink, for no reason. Decor is pretty decent, music is kinda fine. But everything costs 1.5 to 2 times here, for whatever reason! Very dirty and poorly maintained.

I wish I could give this place zero stars but alas, Yelp is nicer than I am. If a bartender slammed a drink down in front of you to intentionally show his annoyance that he didn't like that you were typing on your phone while standing at the bar, would you tip him? It's Halloween, it's crowded, you're probably trying to coordinate connecting with an additional friend, it's totally normal. As a paying customer, isn't it your private right to text whenever the hell you want, outside of operating a moving vehicle. You didn't ignore the human serving drinks behind the bar, you treated them with respect, you didn't snap your fingers or clap at them to get their attention, you were simply multitasking. Along with the bill for this first drink ordered, the bartender even had the audacity to write "impatient" on your receipt. Would you tip them after being treated so rudely? Probably not. I wouldn't have. My friend didn't either. In response to her non-tip, she was then black-balled from ordering any more drinks the entire night from any of the other servers or bartenders. She would have left all-together, but tickets were already purchased for a show at Neumos. Even the security guard harassed her because she thought my friend had gotten a drink after all and was carrying it. (Please note, she was not at all intoxicated and that first drink had been her only drink.) Now, many of us, including myself have worked for restaurants, bars, cafes, etc and have had to deal with some real class A pills as customers. I can only imagine a few small circumstances where I would have to completely deny service to an individual because of their behavior... and in no way, shape, or form was my friend being anywhere near rude enough to fall into this category. She wasn't even being rude at all! This one bar tender was clearly annoyed at something else and taking it out on her. I don't know, maybe he was mad he had to work that night, maybe he was hungover, maybe he just got into it with his SO. I have no idea. But dude, you're working in the service industry. Grow up and be a professional or get a different job if you can't deal with working a crowded shift on a holiday. I also dare to ask, if my friend was a man multi-tasking on their phone, would you think to call them rude or impatient? Or is it always just the woman who gets marked as B****? #furiousfriend

This 4 star review is strictly for their insanely cheap happy hour. 4:00 - 7:00pm and 11pm - Close, Daily! The customer service is hit or miss but who cares.. you're getting $5 well shot and pbr. Wings are 50 cents each. Tacos for $2. I don't feel the need to say more. If you're not convinced by that? idk If you don't appreciate good cheap bar eats in the middle of the hill then you can pay for a $15 parsnip cocktail across the street k byeeee. RIP Moe Bar, miss you still.

I love the bartenders here. They really get to know you and make great drinks. And they also will happily sell you concert tickets for upcoming shows and talk about bands

On the suggestion..(aka pushing of a friend) we went here for Triva night since we are all stranger things geeks. 1st thoughts place was kinda cool, nice vibe reminds me of places back in Boston. The security guy was cool and funny, a little odd when he asked to look in the girls bags. But he explained why, so cool beans. The bar staff although busy seemed nice. Drinks were KICK ASS heavy. The trivia was wicked cool, had a blast. Here is where things went downhill. There was a dude at the bar with face tattoos who was heckling the Trivia hosts, then I saw him pull out a huge bag of pot right at the bar. I know you can smoke weed in Seattle, but to have it on the bar? Seemed like the bar staff knew him and allowed it. OK i guess.. Later found out that he was the night DeeJay. When I asked for a song I was told "Dude this is my show and we are only playing local rap bands so step back" Not sure if he was rude cause I wasnt a townie or something. So we finished our drinks and left. Advice - Go to Trivia night its a blast, Ladies dont put anything in your purse you dont want security to see. Then leave right after the show. Management - Hire people who are not going to be high or drunk or do drugs at your bar.

Weird place. Bartender doesn't seem to care and very slow. House cocktails was mediocre. Meh!

Maybe I came in on a bad day, but it wasn't overly busy for a Friday. The only good thing about the bar were the security guards, I was trying to figure out how to order food, I was told there was an app to scan a bar code, but even the website didn't have any indication of how to order food. And since I was alone, and needed a bathroom, I asked the security guard for directions. She was nice and told me exact directions. But when I got back, my drink was gone. The bartender was "ehh" but I was irritated because it was more than half full still. If I could've gotten his attention to watch my drink, I would've done that but I could barely get him to take the time to tell me exactly how to order food. So I just left. I'll never go back. Hope others have a better experience. Friendly bartenders my a**

Trash. I hate it here. The bartenders are hella fucking rude and they don't give a fuck about customer service. I've went here 4 different times and had terrible experiences. Fuck them.

Came here for a trivia night and boy they were not prepared at all for the rush they were receiving. You'd think they is why it affected their service nope because I had arrived before the rush and there was only one bartender who only assisted on one side of the bar and made sure he ignored everyone else on the other side and after waiting patiently to grab his attention had to literally yell to get attention and service because waving hands and flailing around didn't help... and after all of that he took my money and still didn't get my drink! The only plus is at least you can bring in your own food since you'll probably next to never be able to order from the bar.

Bartender snapped my real driver's license in half after bending it in an excessive and negligent manner. They then refused to compensate me to replace my license after their illegal destruction of state property.

Umumumumum what to say, it's a fun bar with a good late evening atmosphere and not too long of a wait for your drink. Our group enjoyed the night here

Super friendly door guy and bartenders. Bomb drinks! Such a good vibe here. Came in before neumos opened for a show we were going to and we're happy with the spontaneous decision. We're excited to try new fun places in Seattle, especially this area which was poppin and lots of friendly people on the street. It's nice when the guy at the door is welcoming and not just pretending to be a guard dog

Okay updating because I've been back since! They held a Marvel Cinematic Universe Trivia night and I straight up could not resist. For the actual trivia, the questions were better in that they weren't nonsensical. Some were very difficult, but that's a good thing. Much better! There was one question that had two actual answers so that caused a bit of confusion, but overall much better. For the service, it was great during happy hour! Food came out fast from Bok a Bok (Delicious), and the bartender was a bit faster than in the past. Once trivia started though, it wasn't much better. There were two bartenders, but the feedback from my friends who had never been before was the same: the bartenders are borderline passive aggressive with their inattention. One friend waited in one spot for about 10 minutes and then switched spots to go down by the end where the bartender had been talking to people and serving exclusively from there. When he got down there, the bartender switched to serving where my friend had just come from and then after serving people who had just arrived they finally came back to serve my friend. Granted I am not a bartender and don't know the best practices, but I would think that you either serve from everywhere and keep a sort of mental tab on who has been waiting the longest, or just serve from one place and have people line up. The general attitude still leaves much to be desired, but it's no longer so bad that I will stay away from here when they have trivia I want to play! I vote for more comic book themed trivia! :)

Cool spot! Love the ambiance of the place. Nice, fun decor with some cool photographs. Huge plus that you can bring food in with you from other establishments, and it seems they've partnered with Paseo's next door for Paseo fans. I think I may have came on an opening night since a photographer was on site and a DJ too (not sure if Runaway plans to have a DJ moving forward?). The DJ played what friends called "Spanish Elevator music" - I'd say that sums it up. Definitely dull but with the right company, you won't notice.

The Runaway is soooo...refreshing! I never could have imagined that Moe Bar could turn in to this. The booth seating is genius and the decor reminds us Capitol Hill vets of the fabulousness of the old Hill and shows we attended. Photos of Gash highlight the walls and it's great to see him. It's nice to see that Moe Bar has been refurbished and refreshing to see that parts of it haven't changed. Andy King is a genius behind the Bar and is a true gem, don't let him get away.

Needed to kill time before a show. They gave me my drink quickly and then gave my sister her drink for free since the slushie machine hasn't quite "slushed" the drink. It's a cuteite dive bar and has a lot of character. I would come back for sure!

Super rude staff!! Last call and not even 10min later the stupid staff (long/medium haired brunette with dark brown hair and a stupid hat) starts saying that she's given us enough warning (which wtf does that even mean, if your own bartender just served us) that we have to start chugging or she will *literally* take the drink out of our hand. Not worth it!!!! Spend your money elsewhere where they appreciate your patronage.

This place sucks. Avoid at all cost. The workers are really rude. And the drinks are not worth the mistreatment. The last-call lady is the worst person alive.

Good service, great vibes. you order food through bok bok. OMG that chicken is fire! will be back. nice little exclusive place just get there early!

Rude staff. We were looking for a nice spot but not part of the Neumo's crowd. Quinn's across the street is a better spot.

Food: 3 stars Service: 1 star We came here with my friends for a trivia night yesterday and grabbed some food at the bar. I ordered the chicken wings (which were only 50 cents each on happy hour) with some sauces. Wings were nice and crispy and sauces were okay. We got our food pretty quickly and the server who dropped off our food was great and really polite. The bartender who was working was probably the rudest person I have ever met. We all went up to order and she angrily scolded us for doing separate orders. So then I assumed she wanted us all on one tab so we made one order -- but then she gave us separate checks anyway. I am guessing she wanted to put in one order with the kitchen or something, which is fine. But how can you assume we know this process if this is our first time here? And I have never at ANY OTHER BAR IN SEATTLE been scolded for having separate orders. I feel that you can explain the situation nicely and people will understand and adjust. No need to be mean. Finally, she gave my friend's credit card away, so now he has to deal with cancelling his credit card. Things to improve: 1. Hire more people during busy times 2. Hire nicer people I can't say the food was good enough that I would subject myself to such poor service again.

One of the rudest services I have ever been met with. Our group came in because we were guided by Bok o Bok to sit in the bar area. Immediately the bartender lady yelled at us, took our drinks, and said she would hold them because they aren't allowed in the bar area. Then she proceeded to dump our drinks without giving us a chance to finish them/leave and take our bottled drinks with us. The menu states that happy hour is daily but when we tried to order from the menu the lady said there was no happy hour.

Last night was a complete hunt after a complaint being expressed due to unacceptable service. Have never been treated worse in a bar ever before. Not enough with dealing with a bearded bartender who would demand immediate attention by clients having a conversation or attending their phones, talking disrespectfully and impertinent, we had to deal with a mob. Denial for serving and even trying to get someone kicked out of a bar without any justification. It was ridiculous!! I don't know where these guys learn how to treat customers or any principles of customer service but this place needs new staff or will shut down!! I for sure won't spend a penny there anymore.

Rad spot for happy hour went last night! They had 50cent wings, boozy slushees and super kind staff! Andy served me a mean coors light. Definitely making this a weekly stop!

So they did a minor interior update to Moe, but like others said, they ditched friendliness for attitude. Came in on a Friday afternoon; only 4 others inside. The bartender was aloof, unfriendly, shite. The Happy Hour well bourboun tastes like fuckin' piss. No reason to come here

The experience here is hit or miss. Pro: they have happy hour bok a bok. $10 bowl of shame instead of $15. $5 dirty tots instead of $8. $.50 wings. Sweet deals Con: every time we order bok a bok from the runaway it's cold... but I've never had cold food when I actually get it from bok a bok The staff is either pretty attentive and nice or the complete opposite. Who knows what you'll get when you go. The alcohol selection is pretty average, with pretty average prices. During HH their cocktails are like $8. They also have a good slushy that has rotating flavors. Warning: there's more alcohol in there than you think Cool atmosphere though. Plenty of seating

I went here to play trivia, everyone failed to mention that the trivia was downstairs. The place smelled weird, everyone that worked there was rude and to top it off I was starving and their kitchen was "down". This place should be called "The Rundown Bar". I would not attend again.

Lena Dunham looking manager with the mustache was rude. Everyone else was so personable and provided stellar service!!!

Went here for trivia and do not recommend It. It's way too loud and the trivia announcers fail to get the staff to be quiet. Also, their food is mediocre. Got their cheese burger and It was dry and cold. But the worst part is their staff. They only had one bar tender who was so overwhelmed that he was rude and not very helpful. Also, their bouncer was very snarky and rude as well. Not going back here.

Monday is the day to go. Great drink specials, funny staff, and great sandwiches. If you like dive/rock and roll bars, you'll dig this place.

All the bartenders are great and the food is awesome. Great happy hour specials everyday

I visited this dive bar with coworkers, the beer selection was meh compared to Seattle standards. We ordered the "bowl of Shame" with high expectations and it was also just kind of meh. Not good, not bad, just meh. The bartender was a sweetheart, the guy at the door harassed my coworker for not having her ID even though it was dead empty on a Monday night and we'd reserved part of the place for our company.

The staff here are fun. There's plenty of seating for some day drinking and on most nights and I really enjoy how warm and inviting it feels every time I'm here to hang out with friends.

Awesome bar attached to a rad venue. Amazing happy hour and really great deals on booze. A local hang with an open atmosphere for hangs, pre and post shows, or any day of the week. Highly recommend!

We had the best night at Runaway! We wandered over after a show at Neumo's and sat at the bar. Blair and Abbie were our bartenders and SO fun! Such an awesome respite in the middle of the circus that is Capitol Hill.

Was in town on vacation this past week and stopped by here with a friend. Ended up coming back a few more nights during my trip. Really good vibes and very friendly staff!

Love coming here for happy hour! All the bartenders are always accommodating and play great music! Great place to not only stop in for a drink during the day but love coming here after the shows are done.