Galway Arms

Galway Arms, you will forever and always have my heart and be my favorite bar. nicest bartenders, best music, and always a great time to hang out whether it’s packed out for a show or there’s only a few bodies in there on a random weeknight. cheap drinks and loud music are all I need to make me happy anyway, and Galway delivers. hell yeah!

Let me start by saying THIS PLACE IS FUCKING AWESOME. The drinks are fair priced, the bar tenders are super nice and literally everyone I met here was ridiculously friendly. I left my purse, cell phone, wallet on the table by accident and went for a smoke to come back in and find that no one had touched or bothered my belongings. A very nice couple bought the people I was talking to and myself a round of drinks. Overall this place is a very awesome and neighborly punk bar to hang out in that welcomes anyone, even a new kid in town such as myself.

Burt Reynolds is on the wall asking you to have his baby. I feel like that characterizes the bar better than anything else could.
Best music venue in the neighborhood, and it’s a hard choice between this and APM for best bar. APM gives you a bit more bang for you buck in terms of drinks, but fuck, I will pay a modicum more for a drink if that means I can do so without any god damn UW students infecting the place.
When it comes to punk bars, however, Galway is the best in the city, hands down. As if to prove to me just how important a venue’s atmosphere and regular clientele are, I saw a friend’s show here and considered it one of the most fun I’ve been to in a year, whereas the same band’s show at the Tiger Lounge was utterly painful.

I didn’t feel quite rocker — y enough to hang out at the Galway, but it was an alright visit.
Most of the customers sat at the bar and talked amongst themselves (and with the bartender). The wooden benches were kind of interesting, kind of not comfortable. Lots of black was worn in this bar. Lots of pierced faces.
The bartender never deserted the bar, so I had to do all my beer and food ordering at the bar. I saw only a bar bites menu so I was sad I couldn’t get a salad like I wanted, but the tater tots sounded like they would be satisfying and easy to eat (aka– not messy).
The tots were good, but as I was eating them I realized that NOBODY else at the bar was having food. I wonder how the cook entertains him (or her) self on such nights…

I love you Galway! Mmm cheap booze, dollar beer night, tasty tots and pinball! The remodel looks amazing. Props to Jenny on the door art. Swan is my unofficial psycologist. Yes, I enjoy the Galway.
Stay trashy Galway…

reminds me of a place that i used to work at… only smaller. if i was a seattlite, this would be one of my prime watering holes. they have friendly staff and customers… decent booze prices… pin ball.
went here for the first time the other night-​forgot ID, DAMN! went back the next night… wallet and ID in tow… check. Had some drinks, lost at pinball (twice), chit-​chatted with friends and patrons… it felt comfortable like i was already a regular. i even joked with the bar tender (who would be WAY cooler if he a rat tail)
good times.

I definitely did NOT fit in at the Galway. However, I was pleasantly surprised by the crowd — A rowdy collection of musicians and groupies all out for a fun night of birthday celebration.
The bartender (the cute, tatted guy) recommended one of the best beers I’ve ever tasted, and I left quite satisfied.
I don’t know if I’ll return, but it would be a disservice not to note the good service and REAL people. Definitely worth checking out if you’re in the U-​District for a night and don’t feel like putting up with UW jock jammers.

Third stop on the Ave Crawl. Great chill place. My friend and I split a Jagerbomb. I know it sounds lame — but with 10 bars on our list we had to pace ourselves. The bartender was very accommodating when our large group busted in around 8pm. He even split the Jagerbomb into two glasses for us.
I had previously been here on my 21^st (wow I feel old) after the Irish Emmigrant kicked me out for my expired ID. Since then I have always had a soft spot for Galway Arms.

Excellent yet simple bar food — good, strong drinks — loud music, friendly local crowd– I love this place!

A small, dirty, Irish punk rock pub. If that is what you are looking for you will find it at Galway Arms, minus any Irish beer. The clientele look and sound like a cross from characters in Trainspotting and Mad Max. At one point in the evening the surly Bar keep turned the music off and yelled at the patrons «we are out of PBR now so stop ordering it!», this was not met with much approval, and I left before an uprising of angry Irish punkers ensued.

So I came to Galway Arms to see my friends band, ECF play on 8 – 28, paid the 5 bucks, got my hand marked and went in. First off, the stage was very small, and was right as you walked in the door pretty much. I could not hear any vocals, it sounded like muffled noises and yelling, so thats for sure something that could be fixed.
My friend ordered a Long Island, I wished I hadn’t even had one taste, not good. I had a lemon drop shot and a Bay Breeze, both good. Now the bathrooms, they could have been a lot cleaner. There were no paper towels or any soap. Can you say gross? They were not clearly «boys» or «girls», or anything.
All in all, I will probably not be coming back unless some friends talk me into it. Some pretty cool people in there, didn’t really talk to many expect my friends though.

Come to this bar to drink! After 4 PM that is…
If you are hungry, the burgers are priced like Burger King and taste like a $ 15 bistro burger. I recommend the Blue cheese with BACON!!!
The chicken strips are the best seller.
I drink Whiskey here and usually have a good conversation with someone. It is appropriate to know how much you can handle before you start. If you do you will have a great time. The regulars are surprisingly chill.
The TV is on mute (Closed Captions) and Will (behind the bar) dj’s the tunes. My favorite way to watch TV.
Bring a dog inside if well behaved. You’ll need smokes for the patio. If you share you’ll need a whole pack. The walk-​by beggers have a network.
The beer poors cold but if you like it real cold ask for a chilled glass.

You have to be in a certain mood for this kind of place – a mood I’m only in once a decade. It’s gritty. The patrons are all regulars. The music is Metallica-​ish. The drinks are cheap and the pours are generous. The bar dog is friendly. The ambiance is «hole in the wall.» Don’t let the name or theme fool you, this place doesn’t remotely resemble a classic irish/​british public house – for that, cross the street to Irish Emigrant.

My new favorite bar. It reminds me of my watering holes in San Jose.
The bartender is quick and heavy-​handed with the good stuff.
Don’t go ordering a martini or girl drink though, they will definitely scoff at you.
This is a dive-​pub. If you don’t like leaky ceilings come on a day when it’s not raining.

Used to be one of my favorite bars on the ave, great happy hour, great clientel, friendly staff.
Seems to have gone from a neighborhood irish pub to a hard rock pub not that that is bad, but kind of kills the über-​friendly vibe.

Nice staff, friendly people. I don’t drink beer, but I hear it’s cheap. Even the fancy-​vodka cocktails are cheap. Everyone I know that hangs out here is pretty cool and they swear up and down by it.
I’ve been here several times and the only thing that bothers me is the bathroom smell that sometimes haunts the entire bar… then again I just have a hyper-​sensitive nose.

I ended a perfect night here, playing pinball while a punk storm erupted in the other room. It was, in truth, the first decent punk rock I have seen since I was able to legally drink.
The night began auspiciously, with a fight spilling outside cartoon-​style while we finished pizza slices from up the street. The people inside were friendly, not aggro… good times all around.
Food on return visits (sans bands): good. Cheap happy hour food specials: chicken fingers and fries for $ 3…bad for you but good for fixing the hungries.
Pinball: ST: TNG, TZ, CFTBL

In my younger years (20’s) I was a one to three times a week regular at the Galway Arms, and I can honestly say that in the hundreds of times I’ve walked through their door — I never once had a bad time.
The stories I could tell. .. and the stories I’ve forgotten because I was too intoxicated to remember. .. priceless.

No frat/​sorority folk here.
Just punk rock and cheap beer!

This is a nice pub with very tasty curry fries and good fish and chips. Friendly, chatty atmosphere from the bartenders and other patrons. The lighting in here has always been very dim when I’ve come in, which bothers me just a bit.