Pine Lake Ale House — Restaurant in Sammamish

Update in response to Barbara's review: Entitled? Many people in Sammamish have multi million dollar lakefront homes. Me? I was merely asking them to not have the BYU game on 3 of their 5 TVs when the Gonzaga game was also on. Geez!

Being from Sammamish, my family and I have been coming to the Ale House for many, many years, even after I moved off the hill. It is a classic neighborhood bar and grill. They have a big menu of really good food, especially burgers, sandwiches, and fish n chips. They have a large rotating beer selection, though maybe sometimes too IPA-loaded. This is the ultimate place to gather before or after local high school or youth sports games. The service is usually fantastic even during peak business with a friendly hard working staff.

Unfortunately during our most recent visit we had a rare and a first negative experience here. It was during March Madness during a Gonzaga game when they had the game only on one smaller TV on the opposite end of the room from the bar area. 3 of their 5 TVs were on a different game (BYU vs Wisconsin), including both TVs at the bar. When we asked to turn one of the bar TVs to the Gonzaga game, the owner was not accommodating and uncooperative, claiming people at the bar were watching the other game on BOTH TVs even though you can see either TV from anywhere at the bar so it would have been really easy to change one of those bar TVs. His customer service and attitude were both lacking in this situation, especially with us being such longtime customers. We hurried to finish our meals so we could go watch the Zags game at home.

In time, we will definitely return here and I will raise my rating back up, because I won't let this one bad experience deter me from coming to an otherwise great neighborhood restaurant and beer taproom with the rest of the staff...

I came here a couple of times because the beer menu looked good.

First visit was good, bartender was nice, cheerful, attentive, place was nice and clean.

Second visit was very different. Same bartender, another lady bartending, and owner was working there.

The vibe was VERY different. Everybody seemed robotic and going by the book. Nobody was smiling or seemed even slightly happy.

Ordered a beer, first bartender helped me, it was below the beer line, so I asked her to please top me up. She gave a few quick pulls of the tap. Very pleasant about it.

Next beer was also poured low. This time it was the owner. I asked him to please top me up. He refused and said no, I need foam to smell the aroma, and I will be getting free beer.

I'm a 15+ year homebrewer, and I have some professional brewing experience. You do NOT need foam to smell the aroma. That is a lie bartenders tell customers. More foam = less beer, more profit. I didn't say that, but either he was lying, or he doesn't know.

He walked off without saying another word.

The owner couldn't give me a couple extra splashes for overpriced beer, but instead, lectured me.

Will...

Last night we had the pleasure of having a March Madness date night. Of course, we went to the Ale House, as we always enjoy the hospitality of this great neighborhood hangout. Watching sports there is one of our favorite things to do. For years, during March Madness, we have watched staff bend over backwards to be equitable when it comes to a fair distribution of games on their various TVs. Last night was a perfect example of the tightrope walk staff must do during this time of year. We watched entitled diners berate the owner for not having their games of choice on 3 of the 5 TVs throughout a packed restaurant and bar. There was no respect for the fact that other diners were already watching games on those TVs. We applaud management for the calm manner in which they handled the situation, kept it from spilling over to the notice of other customers and kept the viewing experience fair for everyone. We would expect nothing less from management and staff and love that the Ale House is part of...