The Valley — Restaurant in Tacoma

So I’m a stagehand. I often work weird hours and last night I saw a pit bull on the side of the road by the Tacoma Dome as I was coming home at three am. I posted a picture on Facebook and got some messages by today. Apparently there was a car crash last night where this dog ran out of the wreckage. His name is Boogie. When i got up about an hour ago I decided to help find him. My search ended when I was incredibly demoralized by stopping to ask the folks at The Valley if they had seen this dog. I pulled up and parked in the lot alongside the business but left my car idling (i can keep my keys in my pocket), someone was passing by on the sidewalk so I just paused at the entrance for a second to make sure he didn’t get into my car. The bartender shook her head at me before i even said a word and when I turned to walk in, a patron shoved my chest back to the door. I said “woah, I have my ID I’m just trying to help someone find a dog.” the patron said it didn’t matter because the bartender said no. i said that i didn’t do anything and i don’t understand why im receiving this treatment for just asking a question. the patron just kept asserting that they didn’t want me there. I was shocked and stayed in the doorway trying to reason with them about what had happened in my story. They didn’t care and just told me not to...

It's a dive bar, in honestly the best way I can say that.

I absolutely love a great dive bar, they feel cozy, people are happy to be there, and honestly I've had some of the best food in my life at a dive bar. This place holds true to that standard.

The place is fairly clean, I'll start with that. My only observation is they could get a handle on the fruit flies.

Other than that, my ciders were cold, the staff was friendly and approachable, a good selection of drafts and bottles are available, and although there's not a huge liquor selection displayed, they definitely have something that will whet your palate.

The food is absolutely top notch. Fish and chip Fridays is when I happened upon this place, and they were pretty phenomenal, with the fries resembling Checkers, but only if it were a long lost brother that slapped the checkers fries in the face and took the throne. The fish was perfectly cooked, crispy and delicious. I'm not a fan of Cole slaw, but I've had better seasoned marinated cabbage.

I've already told my friends about this place, but if your aren't afraid of a well loved atmosphere, stop by and give them a shot. You won't regret it if it's your jam.

Live music was surprisingly good for the space, which isn't perfect for acoustics, but the speakers were pretty well balanced...

OMGosh, yes. I'm super-excited to find this place because I take the train out of town from the Tacoma station quite a bit. Food is quick to arrive, service is generally good, and it's within easy walking distance from the station, so this makes for the perfect stop for me before I get on the train.

Last time I was there, just before Thanksgiving, I ordered the Turkey Bacon Pesto. I asked if they could hold the cheese and pesto (not a fan of cheese) and do mayo instead and they happily obliged. This was a seriously delish sandwich with the flavors of the garlic butter-toasted sourdough hoagie blending perfectly with the tender turkey, crisp bacon, and juicy tomato. Pretty amazing.

They have a good selection of beers and mixed drinks also.

My only complaint (hence four stars instead of five) is that I felt a bit rushed the last time I was there. I had some time to kill before my train and probably would have ordered another shot and/or beer, but the bartender asked more than once if I was ready to go yet. Even so, The Valley is definitely on my list of places to return for a seriously...