Balcony Barber Shop

Worst cut ever. Asked for a light trim as I had doubts, should have trusted my instincts. Will take a while for it grow back to something I can get a real hair stylist to fix.
If you have a kid that does not car how they look, this cheap place is for you.

Donny is a top notch guy and fabulous barber. Best hair cut I’ve ever had and I’m 58. The two guys ahead of me had great haircuts as well so by the time I hit the chair I was completely at ease.

Great price, cool atmosphere and laid back barber. My son was ready for a real barber and this guy is great for kids and moms.

Not a fan of barbers who cut hair, then gels it, and then asks what you think.
Especially when I see something I would like fixed. I asked him to fix. He followed by insulting me and failed to fix it adequately.
Maybe I am picky about haircuts. Maybe it’s the thick poofy Asian hair, but I do not plan to come back.
One perk — it’s cheap.

Very unprofessional. Made me feel very unwelcome. I walked out

This little gem is on the lower level of Pike Place Market (go past Rachel [the pig]) and down the stairs. Then you gradually descend a bit more until you see this little barbershop on the right.
A brief backgrounder: I’d been trying unsuccessfully to get the boys into the Roosevelt but those guys never, ever pick up their phone line anymore and their voicemail is constantly full. Yet you can never drop in. So we have been «between barbers» for a while after our last bungled hack job at some janky place near the Whole Foods on NE 65^th St. (It’s bad when mom has to pick up the kitchen scissors and de-​bowl-​ify a kid’s hair. And as for the other kid, I thought I was going to have to buy Rogaine to hasten the regrowth of the sideburns that the stylist completely mowed all the way off).
So we were in need of hair triage when we happened upon Donny’s joint serendipitously. Lucky timing, too-​not just because there was a $ 10 special in effect, but also because more people filed in shortly after our arrival. There are a lot of oddities and relics in the tiny, well-​trodden shop, and a pretty amusing haircut menu from the beatnik era should you find yourself stuck at the moment of selecting a style. «LONG HAIR,» it advises, «IS IN!» Except someone has taken a Sharpie to that, correcting it to «short.» We may never know where the truth lies.
Donny’s a personable guy and put up with my maternal photos and blather. He’s chopped hair in plenty of other places, including a few years in NYC. He did a great job with my boys, especially considering they both have totally different hair, demeanors, and preferences. That he deftly delivered what both of them wanted (effortlessly and quickly) speaks to his range and adaptability, and overall he’s just got a really good eye.
We also had the additional pleasure of an afternoon at the market, which is one of Seattle’s simplest yet sweetest indulgences. The lower market, smelling like waxed wood, salt, incense and the residual aromas from Market Spice above it, has charm of its own. The sun was just beginning its descent as we wrapped up, and the light blazed up golden through the windows in the shop across the corridor as my boys headed out feeling like new men. Thanks, Donny! We’ll be back.

He had a $ 10 economy special on a Saturday. He was very fast and did a great job.

The last few times I have gone to Seattle, I make it a point to stop by Pike Market and get my haircut from this place. It conviniently located and can still get my shopping done.

In a nutshell: I recommend the Balcony Barber Shop — I got a great haircut at a cheap price in a really cool space.
if you want more deets, read on.
THE CUT:
I got my hair cut by the owner, who did a really great job. She’s been cutting hair for 30 years. and her experience really showed.
I am used to haircutters rushing to get you out of the chair as fast as possible, but she said that whenever she is cutting someone’s hair for the first time, she likes to take her time, and learn about each person’s unique needs. As someone cursed with not one, not two, but THREE cowlicks, I’ve gotten a lot of bad haircuts over the years. and the time she spent was one of the major reasons why I was able to walk out of there with something I liked.
THE PRICE:
$ 16.
THE SPACE:
It’s in the market, tucked away on the mezzanine (or «balcony»), right across the hall from «Ventures» the new non-​profit boutique that just opened up.
Yeah, it’s tiny, with only two barber chairs… and yeah, I admit that it felt a little odd at first to have folks glancing in as they wandered past on their way to the Down Under. (Maybe they were stopping because they thought I was a display promoting some weird End of Summer Sale on Shaggy-​Haired White Guys.)
That said, it’s a really cool space which, according to the owner, has been a barber shop for almost a century. Forget places that dress themselves up as «vintage» and «retro». this is the real deal. It’s got original barbershop posters from the 50s and 60s on the walls, which feature hilarious illustrated haircut «menus» so that customers of the era could order them by name. «Hey man… I don’t have a lot of bread, but I need a groovy cut that chicks will dig, but isn’t so far out that I’ll get hassled by The Man. That dude in the top row is outta sight… give me the ‘ConservoMod’.»
The Bottom Line: Good Cut, Cheap Price, Cool Space.