I've never been roller skating. I thought going to southgate roller rink for my first time would be a magical experience. Words cannot express how underwhelmed I am by this poor excuse of a venue. What can I say? The customer service was less than optimal and their bartender was incredibly rude. If that wasn't enough, it's hotter than a sauna in there. How am I supposed to enjoy a night if the bartender ignores my plea's to purchase water as she continues a nonchalant conversation and snaps at me to wait in line. I wouldn't need to beg for water if it wasn't absurdly hot. Get a better staff and an AC. I would not recommend to anyone nor will I ever be back. read more

I cant say enough positive things about the experience I had here. I had a private party for my staff here and everyone had a blast. The staff went out of their way to take care of us -beyond expectations. The place was clean and the price was more than reasonable. Every special request we made was gladly granted by everyone that worked there. Most of us hadn't skated in years but everyone made us feel comfortable and I highly recommend. read more

I love this place! This will be my family's go to spot for the winter. What more fabulous way to spend a rainy day then with great music, great service and stay dry!? First, I want to say that this place has the BEST selection of music at a roller rink I have ever seen! Heck, not even just for a rink, but for a business in general. There isn't a song I requested they didn't have! And the selection they played was amazing. I was grooving and moving the entire time, didn't want to stop! The Service here is amazing, everyone has such a great attitude and made me feel welcome and my needs met. The facility was clean and comfortable. That says a lot for a place that gets a lot of traffic from kids! I can barely pick up after my one! :) I would recommend this rink to anyone who is looking for a great time! My Family will be coming back here as often was we can! read more

What could I possibly say about the most cool skate rink on the planet. You should already be coming here if you live in the Seattle area. Don't fret, skate. read more

We had my daughter's 9th birthday party there last weekend and it was great. By far the easiest party I've ever thrown. I think my favorite part was that all of the parents skated, too! I knew the kids would, but I didn't expect the parents to want to, and they did! The place was really clean, the staff was outstanding - really friendly and professional, and so NICE! I would recommend it to anyone, and have been talking them up since the party. read more

This place easily garners 4 stars for me because of the amount of fun I have coming here. It isn't the most up to date facilities but don't well want something nostalgic when we head to places like these? Plenty of seating, a bar, and a dj who will actually play your requests make this a solid choice to take your friends for an active out of the ordinary Saturday. I have only gone during adult skate but it is a great time. I recommend wearing something real light that you can really move in and some socks that can protect you from any rubbing the skates can induce. I find the rates here super affordable ($7 including skate rental) and you can always find parking! The bar is a little over price but nothing offensive. Kiss your woes and worries goodbye and plan a skate date! read more

Fun! Why aren't there more roller rinks around? I've been there a couple of times, both on weekends. It was fun, but you really have to watch out for the unsteady kids who come out of nowhere and fall down in front of you. I would really like to go during one of the nights when it's adults only, but since those are during the week, I'm unlikely to make it. The music is hit or miss...there's some good old-school 80's music, but also a lot of crap that the 13 year old girls request. Would love it if they served alcohol! read more

Wow - what a great job they did on this rink. Love the roller rink and to have a nicely remodeled one all clean and shiny is super. Beautiful floors! Real skating floor. Love what they did. This is going to be a great asset to the south end. read more

Went to the adult-skate last night for a friend's birthday party and had a great time. The price is right, the wood rink is beautiful, and everything about it evokes nostalgia (sans skanky carpet and hordes of kids, which is a-ok). Good music (could have used more crowd-pleaser dance-y tunes but otherwise good selection). Go with a group as there are no lockers. Will definitely be back and am excited to check out skateeroke and pride skate. read more

I went to an adult skate here last night. I didn't much care for the music (loud, hip-hop) and it was a bit crowded. Someone was clearly smoking weed inside the rink and I didn't much enjoy being hot boxed. I had a small issue with a group of men, as well. One was skating backwards without looking and knocked me over, causing a badly scraped knee and a hole in my clothing. He and his friends wanted to chat at the end of the night, and told me all about how I don't know how to skate. I'm by no means a new skater, but that's beside the point because I just came to have fun...This wouldn't reflect poorly on the rink otherwise (jerks are everywhere), but I think that they were employees since they thanked me for coming in as I went to leave. read more

This was the perfect outline for gen X parents who grew up on roller skate parties and the kids of those parents. We all had a blast during the Sunday afternoon family skate. The place even looks pretty good - I really like the art on the walls. read more

I'm updating my original review of 4 stars to 5 stars because we've gone several times and have had an excellent time. There is no water fountain but quite often they have water with Dixie cups out. The snack bar isn't quite as good (did I just say good??) as Skate King but who cares? They play great music and have added more seating. Yay! read more

Great space with fantastic admission rates and an awesome DJ. I'm totally going back for more!

Thank you Southgate Roller Rink for doing such a great job with my daughter's 9th birthday party. We rented the back room during open skate on a Saturday afternoon. This birthday package is so worth it. You get pizza, soda, water and ice cream all included. The room was set up when we arrived. We did not have to do anything. The kids got to skate, each lunch and have ice cream and cupcakes all within the two hour rental. We had one staff person hosting for us. The adults could buy alcohol at the bar. We are so lucky we have this gem in the neighborhood! read more

This review is for private rink rental. I rented the rink out for my office's annual holiday party this year. I hate writing bad reviews but I just want other people to be aware of what they are getting themselves into. Pros: - Inexpensive - Fun retro feel Cons: - Communication!! - Bar - Arcade More details: Communication: Emails, phone calls went days without being answered. It took over a week just to get someone on the phone to try to book the party. Details about the rental itself where not obvious or well communicated. There was no formal rental agreement or list of rules/polices. I found out 1.5 weeks before our party that my vendors would only be allowed in 5 minutes before the rental time to set up. When I expressed that this seemed really unusual, I was told that I should have asked my guests to arrive 15-30mins after the rental start time. Since this was never communicated to me, invitations had already been sent with the start time. So the food was set up while everyone stood around and watched. They were able to make arrangements for the photobooth to be set up ahead of time in the bar area, but this was after basically begging. I was told that "skate-a-roke" would be an option, but wasn't given any additional information about this when I booked. When I asked specifically for more details closer to the party date, I was told I would have to contract with a specific DJ, and given the late notice he was not available. This party was planned MONTHS in advance, if I had been given the DJs information originally I could have booked him in plenty of time. The bar: Adequate selection of beer and cider. Would have been nice if they had some other alternatives for non-beer drinkers such as wine. The bar ran out of soda, so my guests were advised to get soda from the vending machine (defeats the point of an open bar). The bar closed 30 mins before the end of my 2 hour rental. That meant that when people got done skating and were thirsty couldn't get water except, again, from the vending machine. This policy was never communicated to me during the planning. When I asked them to stay open, I was told "we don't do that". When I asked why I wasn't aware of this policy beforehand, Clayton (the manager) said "I can't tell people everything or I'd be on the phone forever." I would have brought in non-alcoholic beverages for my guests if I'd known the difficulties we would encounter. The "arcade": 2 pinball machines towards the back and maybe 5 machines towards the front and a photobooth. I was told they had a full arcade (hmm) and all the machines were coin operated so I brought quarters for my guests to use. However, the photobooth only took dollars or credit cards, so I had to change some of the quarters back to dollar bills so people could use them. In general, I was just made to feel like any request I made or question I asked was a huge inconvenience for them. As someone who has planned multiple events before, this behavior is not the norm. All and all I think people had fun because we are an easy going group of people who like to socialize outside of work. If I could do it over again I would choose a different venue. read more

This place is a lot of fun! They seem to always have some fun theme going on either weekly or monthly. Not the fanciest place, but a cheap and fun place to skate! read more

Awesome, awesome fun! Adult nights Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday with a bar in the back. I've been three weeks in a row, and it's been a blast every time. Great for parties, dates, and honestly, if you're a single guy/girl on the prowl, you're bound to meet someone adventurous and hot here. read more

We were planning on booking this for a birthday party. We ended up not having the party for personal reasons, but all of the conversations we had with the owners were incredibly positive and they really went above and beyond to help us. read more

Went here last night for a change of pace from my normal rink. It was ok, though I probably won't be going back - it just isn't good enough for me to make the hour trip on a regular basis. Pros: Everything is new and they keep it nice and clean - there was no new dirt on my bearings when I got home. The music was enjoyable. The snack bar was affordable. They actually have some skates available for purchase instead of having to order them like my local rink does. Cons: The skate floor is SMALL. I mean really small. I would say that it's even smaller than the inner "derby" area at my local rink. The floor is also uneven in a few places, which is really annoying. The barrier walls are made of fairly flimsy wood instead of the cinderblock walls most rinks have. I'm afraid that if someone has a really bad fall and falls into the wall that the whole wall might give way. There wasn't a water fountain. There are no lockers. The seating area for the snack bar is small, and the seats are rickety. When they turn out the lights (which they do more than half the time) it is way too dark. read more

This place is great! We just had our daughter's 4th birthday there. The birthday package is a great deal, and has all you need. You just have to bring your own cake, which totally makes sense. The staff was very nice and patient, even when we spent 15 minutes untangling some balloons at the very end. The party coordinator was very patient and easily answered any questions we had. The kids had a great time, and so did all of the adults! I would recommend Southgate any time. Fun for everyone and well worth the price of admission. I will be taking my kids back for sure! read more

I went to 80s night on a Wednesday and had a ball! Will definitely be back.

This place is glorious! I don't really understand the bad reviews here, as a skating rink seems like a pretty straight forward business. If you don't like getting hot try an activity with no physical exertion. If you don't like crowds don't go to where people gather for a fun time. They list what type of music to expect on their website and the dj takes requests. I've heard everything from rap to country in the same night. All the employees are super nice; I've even shown up too early for adult skate and they sent my friends and I to a bar down the street with some drink tickets for all of us to occupy our time until it was our chance to skate. All in all it's been a great experience each time I've gone. Put some skates on and have fun! read more

After driving across the city to the skating rink both my child and I really needed a bathroom. We asked to enter before a large birthday party was checked in and expected to return to the counter to pay and get tickets for our skates but were blocked from entering by two employees (shoulder to shoulder body guard style) who reportedly had to count people. Nobody had entered yet and we couldnt skate without tickets so there was no reason to prevent us from using the restrooms. Three employees remained argumentative with me while they checked an entire birthday party in and I did my potty dance. I then had to pay before they let me pass. What if I were there for food and video games only? Shouldn't I have had access to the business facilities once the doors were open to the public? In my opinion, yes. Not going back. read more

The venue was pretty run down and dirty. I Could not belive how hot it got in there, was hard to skate for more than 10 mins at a time.

Went skating there for the first time in 30 years and had a wonderful time. I plan on going back frequently. The staff were all nice and friendly, and also very quick to notice any possible issue or problem. The music was a thorough mix from the 70s to recent, and not played too loud. They appear to have just added a bunch of seating along the outside of one side of the rink. It was very clean (including the bathrooms) and the floor (both in the rink and outside) was great. I was there after it had been 85 during the day and even without air-conditioning they did a pretty good job of keeping the place cool by opening all the windows. I was there on a Saturday night and it appeared to be a very family friendly place. It was a good mix of parents with younger kids, teens with their friends and adults there just to have fun for themselves. There were some games and races but they left most of the night just for people to skate and have fun. An update from having spent a year going to the rink on a regular basis - when they say they are the friendliest rink in town, they mean it! Everyone who works there is awesome and so many of the people who come are wonderful. It is heaven on Earth!I can't give it enough stars. read more

Terrible experience! FIrst, they would not let me wear my own roller skates (even though I have worn them before). Then they would not let my daughter take her nalgeen water bottle inside. Even though the bottle was clear and it was quite obviously water. They insisted that if we wanted water we would need to purchase it inside for $1.50. I asked to speak to the owner and he said the same thing. I told him that I did not buy plastic disposable water bottles, as they are bad for the planet. He said that I would have to fill up her water bottle in the bathroom sink (yuck!) because they did not yet have a drinking fountain. Very very bad customer service--I will not be back. read more

Pretty decent skating rink in White Center, although not a location I would frequent after dark. The rink is small enough to keep a close eye on your littles. Price of admission includes skate rental. Can't remember if there were any lockers to stow belongings, but we ended up shoving our things under a bench. Limited on site parking. Not sure if there is an off-site lot. read more

Very friendly and helpful staff, good compact rink, good rental skates, bar and old school music. Exactly what you want for a skate

This is a great way for the family to get some exercise and fun on a wet day. It's affordable entertainment, staffed by nice people.

What a great place to have fun! Weekends I take my Grand daughter for session, and it is perfect! Staff is very accommodating for families! We have a blast every time we go! Adult nights are fun too, and there is a bar in the back! We have rented out the rink for private parties for a birthday and a family reunion! What a wonderful place for family fun! read more

This place is just the best. The staff is friendly and accommodating! I have been able to skate with my niece during session, and everyone is just so nice. The building is clean and the skating surface is great too. Southgate is a nice place to have your birthday party as well, Its a great place for fun for all ages. If your looking for a good time, I highly recommend coming here! read more

Not perfect, but love it all the same. Nice staff. There's adult skating where you can have a beer and skate to the 80's, or sing with karaoke on skates. Only complaint is I wish there were more and longer sessions for kids. But over all love this place. read more

Love it! Safe, friendly & fun place to take kids! Employees are great! Wonderful place for the community's kids & families!

The hubby and I went to adult night this past Saturday for the first time and I'm happy to report that we'll be coming back again! Great vibe, Great price, felt safe, music volume was PERFECT! Downsides - The rink feels a bit small and there weren't any lockers. Otherwise, awesome! read more

Great location. Snack bar understaffed. Wanted a corn dog for the kid. Waited ten minutes for staff to assist -- it was open hours -- then she said the fryer was broken or they didn't have one so she heated one up in the microwave from a frozen Costco box or something and charged me like $3. I though these places made all their money on concessions but not that day. read more

I love to roller skate, so when Southgate opened just up the road from me, I insisted the whole family go! All of us (ages 6-46) had a blast and will definitely make this a regular weekend outing. The facility was very clean, the staff super nice, the rental skates brand new, music was great to skate to, and very old school... just the way I like it. read more

We came here for my friends birthday and had a great time (most) of the employees were nice there was just one employee that was not very friendly it made me very upset because I asked her multiple times to give my friend a birthday shout out and she continued to not do it when we finally had 10min left of our time there I went one last time to ask her and she yelled at me! All I was trying to do was make my friends 20th birthday special for her! It just felt impersonal and rude. Also the seating was kind of out of control and messy. Other than that we made great fun out of the day but I wish they were a little better at customer service. read more

This place is so awesome! Great for kids too! It's affordable for what it is. It's only 6.50 per person with a free skate rental. If you have a pair of your own skates they allow them in but you just have to get them checked at the front desk. The also play kid friendly music and you can request songs for them to play. They also do a speed skate and a race part of the session. My favorite part is that there aren't any walkers to rent for unsure skaters because you can run into people with those walkers and that's not fun when you get hit by an unsure skater. Trust me I know from experience. If you do want a bigger floor and live closer to federal way I would recommend pattisons. It costs a couple dollars more though and you have to pay for a skate rental. The employees there are really polite and nice there too. I highly recommend taking the family there or just going by yourself or with a friend for a really good time. read more

I like this place, but have a couple of complaints. I have been to the afternoon family skates, which are fun, and I would recommend that for everyone. But, I decided to try the teen night with my child under 10 years old because it says on their website all ages welcome, but it was a mistake! We get there at about 7:20 and there is a line. Between 7:20 and 7:30 when they opened the doors, I had like 30 kids cut in front of us all meeting their friends of course. I wish they would open the doors like 15 minutes early so people can atleast start getting their skates - we didn't actually get to start skating until nearly 8PM. Also, I had tried calling the place earlier in the day (several times) to see if the teen skate was really all ages appropriate, but no one answered. I tried calling on another day recently, during business hours, several times, and no one answered then either. Also, some of the kids and teens were really rude, one 6 or 7 year old cursed at my kid and hit her on the shoulder - it's just kind of wild with kids/teens and very few adults. They had a police officer there supervising - that pretty much sums it up. So we left the teen skate, I talked with the staff about it, and they were very nice. We'll probably come back again for a family skate, but avoid the Friday night skate unless you are a teen - all ages are not really welcome (they should change that on the website). read more

Now that they have been open for about 9 months, they have really gotten things going. Josh and Erin are incredibly knowledgable about skating and skates in general. He has been an nationally ranked Artistic Skater (which is like figure skating for roller skates) and has competed all around the world. My daughter needed some advice about skates and they were very helpful. They have added extra seating along the wall for watching the skaters, which was a wonderful addition. They have a mural that is new and pretty cool sculptures made by a local artist out of some of the skates that were left over from when this was a rink long ago. They host a "Derby Skate" every Sunday night, which is open to all, and is essentially an Open Skate session where nobody tells you that you are going too fast. Recently they have added "Pride Night" once a month as an addition to their schedule for the LGBT community, which I think is pretty great too. read more