I'm sorry to be writing this long review and wish I didn't have to. However I witnessed RACIAL PREJUDICE by the management and staff of this bar last night and I can't just sit by and not mention my experience. I see that many other reviewers have had bad experiences with staff here also. The Crocodile was hosting a personal event for a local company on evening of Tuesday the 6th. First off, the management seemed to just overlook the IMMENSE amount of under age drinking going on in the bar. This is something I normally would not care about. However, while there was UNDER AGED DRINKING going on through out the predominantly white bar, and the bartender and management had to have been overlooking or ignoring this as I will explain later. They ONLY kicked out and targetd one man, one of the few black men in the bar that tried to give a sip of alcohol to a 20 year old minor. Yes IT'S TRUE IT'S ILLEGAL to give alcohol to a minor and he should not have done this!! Yes when the bartended see's this IT'S THEIR JOB to kick him out!! Yes IT WAS A MISTAKE and he understood and very respectfully left when they asked!! I AM NOT belittling what he did in the situation! However, my question is that when there was SO MUCH underage drinking going on in the bar that everyone could see... Why was he the only one management saw? Why didn't they notice any of the other under age drinking going on?? ..... If their excuse is that they didn't see anyone else give alcohol to a minor and he was the ONLY ONE they saw, they are either LYING, STUPID OR DIDN'T CARE. The underage drinking was BLATANTLY OBVIOUS, all us guests could completely see it going on!! So this brings me to the question of... Why did they overlook all the under age drinking by their guests except for when one of the FEW black men in the bar does it ?? This question is at the root of the problem and truly came off to MANY of the people who saw the situation go down as RACIAL PREJUDICE. This is why this post is being made. People that witnessed this felt that he was being unfairly targeted, and that the situation was not dealt with properly. he was AGGRESSIVELY forced out of the bar (which was completely unnecessary because he was being COMPLETELY cooperating and respectful ... And yet they still treated him like a THREAT) Instead of just kicking him out with an x on his wrist, they called over the OVERLY AGGRESSIVE Bouncers just to make him feel THREATENED, SCARED, AND ISOLATED. All they had to do was ask him to leave, But before They did that they made a huge scene and one staff member in particular exposed his prejudice with some cruel and unnecessary comments and actions. With his behaviors, even though he tried mask it, it's hard to deny his RACIAL PREJUDICE after his performance last night. I wish I remembered his name because he painted himself in a very negative light... It's very sad because I don't want the actions of this one manager to reflect on the the entire company, however it's hard to not feel this way. Because of the demeanor of the management that was running the bar the night of Tuesday the 6th, Many of my friends and I will never come back to The Crocodile. After watching the obvious racial prejudice going on in this predominantly white bar, we truly think that management should feel ashamed for their embarrassing behaviors last night. I specifically made an anonymous yelp for this post. I wish I didn't have to, but I'm afraid of being harassed by the management after seeing their behaviors last night. These are not the kind of people I want to EVER SURROUND MYSELF WITH. read more

Call it whatever you want to call it but to me, this is anything but The Crocodile. I've had many fun nights at the old Crocodile and loved the unique atmosphere of the classic indie rock club but this version of it seems a little, um too nice or something. It's not what I'm expecting at a live rock venue. The bathrooms are spotless, there is the high end pizzarea where the old "cafe" was located. The thing is, the old croc was 100% seattle - this place seems 100% LA or San Francisco. I must say despite the lack on character of this place, the setup is designed well. There is that upper mezzanine level which gives you a birds eye view of the stage and the sound system is decent. So far, the bands they have are booking are somewhat inline with the way I remember the croc as seattles best indie rock club but they also have started booking hip hop djs on weekends and this venue is still in belltown so i'm giving them a year and i wouldn't be surprised if it turned into a full blown hip hop club and if that happens - seattle, the way i've always thought of it is offically dead to me. read more

I will definitely be back to the Crocodile the next time I'm looking for some good live music (which is at least 1-2x/month). The bar is good with friendly bartenders, the layout of the place is also good for viewing. All I can say is that it can definitely get crowded, but then again if you don't like crowds, then live music probably isn't for you. My buddy said the drinks were not super strong (but where are they these days? Seriously, I want to know). I just had beer so can't speak to the mixed drinks. I can tell you that the pizza is much better than most places in the city. As with other live music joints, for me it mostly comes down to how in to the music I am and the rest is not as important. That said, if everything else but the music sucks then I wouldn't be back...that's not something you have to worry about here. Great venue. read more

Worst experience of our entire lives. After spending hundreds of dollars for an evening out in Seattle, all we got was a nightmare of an experience. The inside of the musical area smells like urine and fuel. Car exhaust leaks in from outside and I don't think the place has seen soap in a decade. I think the staff are all high on fumes to do little more than bitch and moan that people are there at all. I've never met more entitled people. I'm not even sure they know how to do their "jobs" and if they do, they certainly didn't show it that night. After my bad experience, I checked yelp. I see that people get drugged here as well and have to be taken to the hospital. This place is a dump of dumps. I'd recommend walking down the nearby alley if you want the same bad experience because it's cheaper and smells better than this place. read more

The most frustrating disgusting experience I have ever witnessed. Never again! No communication band starts at 10:00 doors open at 8:00 WTF. Tickets said 8:00 not 10:00. They didn't communicate that at all. They hired a DJ last minute since they didn't have a cover band. My husband went to speak to management to find out why nothing was being communicate. A bouncer comes out shoves my husband really hard, assaulted WTF. The manager responds to her employee immediately that it was uncalled for! Husband calls 911. Police show up knows he is under control but apparently they have the right to assault you there. We agreed to leave. They really suck, need to communicate better, poor establishment anyway, venue SUCKS. Couldn't hear the singer at all. Don't go they just want your drink money. Fuck you!!! read more

We went to the Crocodile Cafe after church Sat. night expecting Via Tribunali but apparently Crocodile bought them out... so the pizza has now changed. My buddy almost cried when he heard this and to be honest I was a bit nervous. Dive bar food? Extremely low expectations. Talk about kicking a man while he is down... to add to the chaos their dish washer was broken so I was served red wine in a plastic cup... that was a first. While there was a lot of issues worthy of complaint I had their pizza and it was extremely good! A little more Americanized than Via Tribunali. Still, the large oversized booths and good pizza will have me coming back. Crocodile Cafe has lost the luster that Via Tribunali brings to the table. Especially when it comes to the ambiance and chill jams. read more

The Crocodile is HIGHLY overrated. The music that comes through is subpar and most of the bands probably should go back to their garage and practice. The drinks are overpriced and small. The sound quality is terrible and oh my god is it hot. The staff are definitely the worst part of this place. The staff is unfriendly and aloof. The female bartenders are bitchy, and will ignore you and refuse to make eyecontact. The security staff consists of overweight coked out washups that use excessive force and are rude and pushy. Not to mention The Crocodile is so mismanaged they haven't gotten a good band in since they reopened. Over all I would save my time and go to a Showbox. The bathrooms are clean at least. read more

The Crocodile is hands down one of the best music venues in Seattle! I went to a show there last night, and the experience was incredible. The vibe was great and the staff was awesome. The team was welcoming, organized, and attentive. Whether it was answering questions, or just being friendly and professional, they nailed it. The venue itself has a great layout that ensures you can see the performance perfectly no matter where you are. Plus, the drinks were reasonably priced and served quickly--rare for a busy concert venue. If you're a fan of live music and great energy, The Crocodile should be at the top of your list. Can't wait to come back for another show! read more

Cool live music venue! I've been lucky enough to see several artists perform here, and its got a great setup for intimate shows...energy just circulates throughout the room, and even if you're in the back of the room, you're still no more than about 50 feet from the stage which is awesome! I hate Belltown, but this is one place that I will make the drive for. Just discovered their food and I have to say, their HH deals are killer--more than worth it! read more

First time at the Crocodile last night, for happy hour and !!! (chk, chk, chk) show. $5 pizza's for happy hour is a great bargain and the homemade dough, thin crust style was delicious. We sat at the bar and service was friendly and fast. The concert area was nice and !!! performed great. Sound is nice and the small venue makes for an intimate experience. I will return for some happy hours and shows. read more

we will never go here again. worst security in all of seattle. the "big" bouncer is a real piece of, um, work. he thinks he is the kingpin of belltown! he is a liar and a theif!! he is trying to turn all his minions into bullies like him. i bet he took this job because he failed the spd psychological evaluation test, too bad, he would have made a good bad cop. the crocodile is dead to me. read more

Attended a show on Saturday night, 7/9/22. My group was very surprised to see old racist cartoons being shown on the TV in the bar. Appeared to have included stuff from the "Censored Eleven," a group of Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies episodes banned by United Artists back in the 60s. Hey The Crocodile, were you going for some kind of white hipster irony thing? Wasn't a good look. read more

My friend was let in but don't worry he was drunker then I. But because I was a women I was denied into the bar. This is actually the first time I've deny into a bar cause of sexism thank you I now know so much more and I'm okay that my guy friend barfed on your floor cause u know girls "girls r the only ones that do that" read more

This place gets a lot of great bands coming through. It's awesome to see a small venue pay tribute to their past with the photography and after seeing their walls, I don't know why more don't. The sound has been good at the shows I've been to and we've had some good drink specials beforehand. read more

Over heard the bar manager at the back downstairs bar spewing RACIST comments to customers. She sounded quite drunk. I was shocked to hear such things. An older woman should honestly check her white privilege and show some maturity. I'd rather take my business else where. O out of 5 stars read more

Horrible Place. The Bartender with the hippy beard is a jerk, kicked us out for no other reason than to push his hate for life onto us. Dont ever, ever think of going to this place to see a show or you could get booted and lose your beer, money and chance for a good time. read more

Saw to many great shows here to even hardly remember. Great place to play a show too, the Crocodile and the Tractor, hands down the best. Sunset is good too. I think the Crocodile is opening back up soon, so that will be good. The food was decent too. read more

Terrible sound. Terrible creepy staff. Predatory to minors. Even hired minors. Never let me interview and honestly the sound at Choir Boy was so bad I've never come back? As far as I know. Their old door guy Sean SA'd me in 2020 or 2021? read more

An environment that welcomes and makes you you feel important. The harmonized menu is very high quality. Classic and creative. The downside is the price, well above average. Worth the experience. read more