The Balmar - Seattle

NIce ambiance. Nice lounge with a good selection of microbrews. Gets kind of loud towards the late hours, but can still have a conversation. Worth trying.

When I think back to the first time I went to BalMar, my thoughts were of a quieter, more upscale, nice place. But when we walked in, it felt different. I’m not implying that Bal-Mar is a run-down dive bar or anything like that, but for some reason I was picturing white tablecloths. Instead we got a nice place, kind of narrow but deep. On the right when you walk in is a seating area with some dark wood high tables and chairs that make conversation easier. The bar stretches along the right wall to the back. On the left, there is a staircase leading to a second floor bar area (it was reserved for a private party on this night), and under the staircase are some couches and chairs for a more intimate setting.

If you want hand crafted cocktails this is the place. Some of the best bartenders in town. John Joey rock. Love the dark sultry lighting too.

Nice date place!. Excellent seared ahi tuna and good drinks.Downtairs has nice atmosphere, what with exposed brick, lighting and all. Upstairs pool area though feels like a classier college see-and-be-seen bar.Overall, a worthy destination.

Good drinks food... but SLOOOWWW service!. We were there on a Sat. night during happy hour, and a few parties had reserved the space upstairs. Every time that we got excited about our food finally arriving, the server would turn and go upstairs! With our tummies growling, this got really old after a long wait. The drinks are fabulous! And after we finally got our food, the food was good.<br/ <br/ I've talked to other people and they all have said how horrible the service is there, and the priority seems to be on the people who have reserved space with them. It you have a lot of time, try it out, certainly for the drinks alone.