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King's Hardware (Ballard)

5225 Ballard Ave NW
Seattle, WA (206) 782-0027
(206) 782-0027
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This faux-Western joint, brother to Capitol Hill's beloved Linda's Tavern, is a good place to share a pitcher, but be warned that it's almost always crowded. When you get hungry, a menu of specialty burgers awaits, including the After School Special, topped with peanut butter and bacon (!). Also: skee-ball and a humongous patio.
Categories: Bar, Restaurant

Restaurant Details

Bar Details

The Stranger's Reviews of King's Hardware

 
 

Average Rating:
  • 2.76000/5 Stars.
Reviews/Comments (26) RSS

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26

Smoking?

I actually used to kind of like this place until I was sitting in the covered outdoor area and someone lit a cigarette. Myself and the group I was with approached the waitress about the issue, only to be told that people are allowed to smoke out there after 10pm or so, when the kitchen is closed. Well, considering that the outside area is still technically apart of the bar itself, I don't believe there is an exception to the "25 foot rule." I do remember a law being passed preventing these smoking self righteous a**holes from polluting the lungs of the non-smoking.
Posted by LuvBallard on October 14, 2010 at 5:31 PM · Report
25

The Capitol Hill experience for Suburban Bros and Overly Tan Hos

This place is alright if you meander in during a weekday's happy hour. But, your typical clientele here are the Popped Collar douche and the Why-Are-You-Wearing-Nothing-In-This-Weather weekend warrior secretary-type.

Staff is typically...ok...until they start having to deal with the folks who pack this place & pay the bills; this results in an immediate beefing up of unfriendliness and hostility. You might even get ignored at the bar for close to 15 min.

Bottom line, avoid like the plague during the weekends. Weeknights, have a beer, don't have a burger; better property than the Hill, so the Linda's menu gets a few dollars tacked on.
Posted by UberAlles on September 26, 2010 at 8:25 PM · Report
24 Comment Pulled (Duplicate) Comment Policy
23

Peanut Butter 4 Ever

I love King's - and I've never even played skee ball there. I love their burgers, especially the After School Special. It makes you think about all the burgers you've had in your life that didn't have peanut butter on them, and how much time you've wasted. The drinks are big and strong and the waitstaff has always been friendly to me.
Posted by hillside_hoyden on October 11, 2008 at 5:56 PM · Report
22

Skee Ball above all

Can't comment on the food, but this is a bar that satisfies my husband's beer cravings & my margarita cravings perfectly. Skee ball is about the most fun you could have (at a beer joint). I've had such a good time every time I've gone here.
Posted by Nicole on September 12, 2008 at 6:46 PM · Report
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18

A great bar for Drinking...what a concept

Seriously...I am not looking to go to a bar and have 18 kinds of martinis...I want a good selection of beer and some stiff drinks...Kings has both. When I am getting food in a bar it is so I wont be hungry not for some sort of cullinary epiphany. These guys make awesome burgers--check. The tenders sling a massive quantity of drinks in fast and efficient fashion. This is a place to listen to good tunes and have some drinks with friends and the back bar is the best kept secret in town on a sunny (okay its Seattle any dry day will do). My fave spot in Ballard
Posted by Hollywood on May 28, 2008 at 1:02 AM · Report
17

definitely worth going to

I've taken a lot of friends to King's, and we all love it. The burgers are great (the sliders are damn tasty) while the selection of beers on tap affords a great variety. Sure, this place picks up a lot of business on weekend nights, but other times it's not impossible to get a crowd seated -- we got 10 friends seated together last night along the bench seating. I can't speak for everybody, but I'll say I've always enjoyed it.
Posted by Ronan on May 23, 2008 at 11:59 AM · Report
16

Sucks

Sorry but Kings sucks. I do like playing Skee Ball but beside that this place has got nothing. The food is bad and the staff is horribly unfriendly. I don't know how many times I have been shoulder checked by their staff while I was playing skee ball. Is is a requirement not to smile or shower if you work at King's? Geez!
Posted by Ballard Girl on May 6, 2008 at 10:27 AM · Report
15 Comment Pulled
14

DON'T WASTE YOUR MONEY

The only thing they do here are burgers, too bad it sucks! Bad albert's a short stoll down the street go there. The food is way better.
Posted by n/a on February 19, 2008 at 9:32 PM · Report
13

Oh the Nostalgia

Walking into King's reminds me of an old favorite bar I use to frequent in my days of living in rural Missouri; The knick-knacks, the stuffed animal heads, the old wood and brick. Oh those were the days. For many a year I searched for a place that held such reminders of my youth in just that sort of form and function. King's brings it all back, a la in a contrived sort of sense. But hey, its the big city, its not rural MO, lots of things are contrived. That's the beauty of the big city right? You can pretend to enjoy the nostalgia of an old country bar without having to put up with rednecks and blue collar drunks. Instead King's offers an entirely different caliber of person. You know what I'm speaking of if you've been around. It makes this Missouri boy kinda miss those old drunks and rednecks. I don't frequent King's too much anymore. I'd say its nice for a sit on a Sunday afternoon, or one of those other less frequented hours when many of us find ourselves at work. Finally I'll add I'm glad King's is there, its nice to see that kind of place when you're on a stroll through Ballard. I like a good walk.
Posted by 514 on December 2, 2007 at 10:00 PM · Report
12

People change

And now I am sober. I'm afraid I had a snootful when I wrote the review below slugged "Doesn't suck, but almost," and like a pathetic manchild who yells at his girlfriend when he's soused, I feel I was too harsh on King's. I stand by most of what I said, but I'd like to declare that the people who freuquent the place are no more poseurish than me. God knows. Also, the sweet potato fries are quite tasty. But I still think you should go to Linda's, or, better still, to a genuine dive that was not assembled by the numbers -- something Ballard still has in abundance, at least for now. Thank you.
Posted by Falco The Contrite on September 27, 2007 at 4:17 PM · Report
11

Doesn't suck, but almost

I love Linda's. I have a soft spot for it thanks to the numerous drunken evenings I spent there as a young, carefree man in the gay 90s. But you can't mass produce a vibe, as King's "Hardware" (hyuk hyuk!) demonstrates. King's decor, as others have pointed out, is far too contrived, and the place is usually overcrowded with poseurs afraid of Hattie's Hat. Burgers are delicious some nights, utter shit others -- zero consistency. Servers and barkeeps suffer under the misaken belief that surly and aloof = cool . There are better places to drink and eat in Ballard -- right on Ballard Ave in fact. On the other hand, Rudy's is connected to King's , and though that chain jumped the shark long ago (why can't we turn down the fucking music?), it's still a fine haircut at a fine price. I look forward to shotgunning a couple Oly stubbies at King's and starggering over for a nice dye job at Rudy's.
Posted by Falco Kornblatt on September 26, 2007 at 11:47 PM · Report
10

barf burgers

their burgers are some of the worst in town. i'd eat at jack in the box or dicks before this place. way expensive, frozen patties, frozen french fries. snotty staff.
Posted by burger queen on September 26, 2007 at 4:08 PM · Report
9

Kick Ass!

Great burgers, skee-ball, & great selection of beers!
Posted by scott on September 4, 2007 at 6:53 PM · Report
8

overrated

This place is always packed on weekends -- usually with Ballard faux-hipsters and the Ballard High class of 0-something that never left town. The burgers are hit-or-miss, the skee-ball is ok...but the whole place seems totally contrived. It's especially noticeable next to all the places that HAVE been there for decades. The deck is nice, too, but why would I pay $2 to drink a can of Rainier outside?
Posted by joykiller on July 24, 2007 at 6:19 PM · Report
7

SkeeBall Does Not a Destination Make

The proprietor of Linda’s has a formula that seems to work well for her, and that is to take unassuming storefronts and turn them into indie hipster hangouts that overcharges for drinks and under delivers on food. It’s obvious at first glance that this is not the dive bar you are looking for. King’s Hardware looks as if someone found some deer heads at a garage sale, artfully gouged the names into the tables, and put the scuff marks on the floor. In short, it’s a manufactured place as fake as Fuddrucker’s or Red Robin, calculated to seem like it’s been there for years. This extends to the cooler behind the bar with cans of Olympia and Rainier cracked by the bartender and served to you, just like you were at a dive bar that couldn’t be sussed to put a tap system in. The burgers at King’s are bragged about in the same way cowboys with staggeringly huge belt buckles brag about their bling. Yet when I had their signature burger, it was mediocre at best. The place brags about its peanut butter bacon burger, but in all honesty an odd (yet tasty) combination does not a destination burger make. But if you’re looking for indie-rock hipster eyecandy to distract you from a potentially horrible date, pick King’s, and pray nobody sees you punch Michael Jackson’s “Bad” into the jukebox while you rip a few skeeball games in the back.
Posted by zymyrgy on July 20, 2007 at 9:02 PM · Report
6

Skee-Ball & Beers = Good Times

I didn't order food but the beers were good. How can you not love a place with skee-ball for 25 cents a game!? PETA people should maybe avoid this place with the dead animals hung from the walls. And the jukebox had some good tunes. Plus, it's got an outside patio. I'd go back.
Posted by Ms. Sizzle on July 17, 2007 at 3:24 PM · Report
5

Best Onion Rings, For Real!

OK, I love onion rings but King's has the best I've ever had. Ever. I'm serious. You must have them. Oh, and the sliders during happy hour (3 mini burgers for $3???) are a big hit for the cheapskates. Gotta love that. I'm partial tho.
Posted by hayleyrae on July 10, 2007 at 1:53 PM · Report
4

Great local bar

Okay, if, like the below reviewer, you have a problem with "very noisy fairly to very drunk people" then don't go here. If you're like me, though, and enjoy a convival atmosphere when downing pints, then King's is for you. Good drinks, good beer, good burgers (really, they are good - homemade fries too), lovely assortment of taxidermy, and a fantastic deck.
Posted by Huelsdonk on July 9, 2007 at 1:52 PM · Report
3

Meh mostly.

although I was excited to see Kings open I have already gotten over the place. Mainly its the attitude of the staff and the mediocre burgers. If you're heading over there for the beer and the burger is second on the list, then grab some friends and have a good time.
Posted by Balludite on July 3, 2007 at 8:20 PM · Report
2

rejected

My burger's bun was stale and un-toasted. It disintegrated into a weird mush around my otherwise tasty burger. You fail.
Posted by dirge on June 5, 2007 at 12:36 PM · Report
1

Just OK

The place itself was a little too tightly packed and all over the place to make you feel very comfortable. It was also fairly full with very noisy fairly to very drunk people. The burger was ok. Nothing special. So I can't see a reason for heading back there. There are too many better options within a stones throw. Hattie's Hat, Fat Alberts for similar food.
Posted by Charles on May 23, 2007 at 7:11 AM · Report

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