I love this place. Great place to hang out late night. They've got the best happy hour menu in Seattle. The spicy habanero prawns and the shrimp quesidalla are the best. Plenty of tables so it's... More

I love this place. Great place to hang out late night. They've got the best happy hour menu in Seattle. The spicy habanero prawns and the shrimp quesidalla are the best. Plenty of tables so it's easy to get a table even on weekend nights. Also, they always play good music. The service is generally but the servers can be a little inattentive when it's busy. Pros: Habanero Prawns
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I've only been to the Matador twice, but my husband's and my experience there has been completely different than a number of their reviews. Both times we've said during dinner how great their... More

I've only been to the Matador twice, but my husband's and my experience there has been completely different than a number of their reviews. Both times we've said during dinner how great their service is - and it really has been...as nice as Crow, imho, and I love Crow. I can't vouch for the mixed drinks, my husband drinks Bacardis and Cokes which are pretty tough to screw up and I have the Dos Equis Amber on tap with two limes which is hard to screw up too. The comments on their food being so-so I definitely don't agree with.....both times I had veggie enchiladas and they were delicious. Especially the Enchiladas Picante....mmm...yum! So I guess I'd say to go and try it once for yourself and see what you think. Pros: Really nice waittresses, great enchiladas, Dos Equis on tap Cons: A bit crowded at Happy Hour, but not too too crowded
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This place is a treat to eat in on a summer evening. Great amber chandeliers, outside seating, wrought iron decor. The food is good (not terrific). But, it's a real social hot spot.

This place is a treat to eat in on a summer evening. Great amber chandeliers, outside seating, wrought iron decor. The food is good (not terrific). But, it's a real social hot spot.
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Although the Matador has a hip, cool, antique, Mexican feel to it, the ambiance can't make up for the fact that the bartenders make some of the worst drinks in town. Specialty drinks like Mojitos... More

Although the Matador has a hip, cool, antique, Mexican feel to it, the ambiance can't make up for the fact that the bartenders make some of the worst drinks in town. Specialty drinks like Mojitos are OK, but any standard bar drinks are less than satisfactory. I consider a Margarita a standard bar drink, and you can usually judge a bartender by the margarita he/she mixes (especially in a Latin-vibed place). The margaritas my friends and I had were the most watered down, tasteless, and boring we have ever drunk. One guy in my party even sent his back- only to receive the same thing. They were like watery limeade! Oh, and when he did this, the waitress got a little lippy with him. He said, "I'm pretty sure there is barely any tequila in this." She replied, "I'm pretty much sure there is." Kinda snotty especially to a man who was probably about 40 years older than she was. We also had some typical drinks like rum and cokes, and bourbon presses, which had absolutely no effervesence- all the guns must have been broken. We kind of experimented through the night with different drinks and they all pretty much sucked, even the mojitos seemed watery. The appetizers were so so, but what is a happy hour without happy hour drinks? The only thing "Happy Hour" is the food. There are no "Happy Hour" drink deals. Don't bother fighting the crowds. Go get a good margarita at the Chupacabra on Phinny Ridge!! Pros: Pretty waitresses, cool ambiance Cons: Crappy drinks, snotty waitresses, cougerish
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This place has an excellent happy hour - Whole friggin' plate of nachos for $4? Pork tacos for $4? Hello? Awesome. They have a bunch of stuff in the $4 to $5 price range for happy hour specials.... More

This place has an excellent happy hour - Whole friggin' plate of nachos for $4? Pork tacos for $4? Hello? Awesome. They have a bunch of stuff in the $4 to $5 price range for happy hour specials. Their margaritas are good too. Pros: happy hour, drinks Cons: can be ridiculously busy
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I've had drinks at the Matador several times and have always enjoyed the atmosphere and margaritas. Tonight however, my boyfriend and I decided to try some of the food and we were pretty... More

I've had drinks at the Matador several times and have always enjoyed the atmosphere and margaritas. Tonight however, my boyfriend and I decided to try some of the food and we were pretty disappointed. I ordered three of the happy hour items: a salad, soup, and the blackened fish taco. A lot of inconsistency in these items, but I suppose you can't expect a whole lot from $5 plates. The soup was very bland but ok, the salad was super spicy(with big chunks of jalapeno peppers) which I wasn't expecting, and the Blackened Fish in the tacos was so overly salted that I could barely eat a second bite - not appetizing at all and I usually really enjoy blackened fish. My boyfriend's red chile enchiladas were ok, except for the fairly large bone that he came across inside one of the enchiladas (luckily he didn't choke on it). We mentioned to our very friendly server Erin that she should inform the kitchen to be more careful - and she did apologize. Overall I'd say it is still a fun place for drinks, but we won't be back for an actual meal. Pros: drinks and atmosphere Cons: food
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I saw several reviews regarding bad service at the Matador, so I decided to write about my good experience there. We went on a Sat night around 9:00 and got seating within 15 minutes. The service... More

I saw several reviews regarding bad service at the Matador, so I decided to write about my good experience there. We went on a Sat night around 9:00 and got seating within 15 minutes. The service was not the best, but we had no complaints either. Our drinks were brought within 5 minutes and appetizers within 15 minutes. The food was also very good. I highly recommend the vegetarian enchiladas... very flavorful and tasty. As the bar got crowded, the drinks were coming a little slower but our waitress apologized for it. Overall, it was a good experience and I wish we had more of such places in Seattle. Pros: Food, drinks Cons: Parking... it is rough during weekends
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Great location right in the center of Ballard. Happy hour is definitely worth a visit with phenomenal food deals. A fun younger crowd during happy hour and a local bar ambiance in the evening.

Great location right in the center of Ballard. Happy hour is definitely worth a visit with phenomenal food deals. A fun younger crowd during happy hour and a local bar ambiance in the evening.
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I went to this bar with a group of six people who often frequent local bars with me, and we have never been so disappointed and put off by a place like we were in the Matador. The waitresses were SO... More

I went to this bar with a group of six people who often frequent local bars with me, and we have never been so disappointed and put off by a place like we were in the Matador. The waitresses were SO miserable, and could not bring themselves to even force a half grin when faced with KINDNESS. We waited patiently for a table in a small, cramped corner, and every waitress who walked by would rudely yell at my friends, such as "Get the hell out of our way!" Literally. Great business, guys! Bartenders - three of them, and each one said they'd be right back to get me a drink, and all three of them failed to remember me as they were too occupied serving the mixture of cougars and half-lidded burnt out frat boys littering the bar. Finally, my friend receives his order of nachos and asks politely for extra napkins, to which the miserable waitress told us to deal. Seriously? It was like the twilight zone. This is coming from a book nerd and a crop of corporate nobodies, it's not like we were wildly and trashing the place. I would not recommend this bar to anyone, unless of course you enjoy being slapped in the face with blatant rudeness. Pros: Location Cons: Service in all aspects. Crowd - nauseatingly hollow. Uncomfortable, big wait time, no space to mingle
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I haven't been recently, but it sounds like the service has gone downhill. It wasn't really that great when I'd been before but I have to say that their happy hour menu was really, really, really... More

I haven't been recently, but it sounds like the service has gone downhill. It wasn't really that great when I'd been before but I have to say that their happy hour menu was really, really, really good! And cheap! My favorite were the shrimp tacos, they are so good!
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