The food was very tasty - the service not so great this time. We arrived about 1/2 hour before closing due to ferry traffic and the staff didn't seem all that interested in making sure we were served well. Took a long time to get our food, and dessert took even longer - so long in fact we missed the last ferry home and had to drive all the way to Edmonds to catch a ferry. We always like the food and the views but wish the service was better.
Review Source:My favorite place for mussels, hands down. I recomend the green curry ones for sure. I refuse to get anything else.
The service is usually fantastic, only on one occasion I was just slightly dissappointed with it. The waitress seemed to be confused about the specials so one of my companions was a little misled on their order. Other than that, I really enjoy this place.
This was the second time we've been to Front Street - the first was Sept '11 (thanks FourSquare!) when the baby was 5 mos old. Â Second time around, yesterday, we had a 2 year old and man, is the experience a bit different. Â Aside from jabbering in the bathroom that most people could hear (thankfully, the place wasn't that busy at 3:00PM), she had just come from a 5 mile hike, was exhausted and all she wanted was milk. Â Now while we don't condone the use of electronic devices in entertaining children, when forced a rough hand in public, you do what you need to do. Â That said and smartphone doing it's job, we dug into a small spinach salad with a delightful raspberry vinaigrette and the fish tacos. Â Both were fantastic but what made the meal were the post-hike beers. Â And trust me, after lugging a 25lb baby on your back for 4+ miles (Ebey's Landing trail), all you want are a few ice cold beers to end the day. Â Perfect.
Review Source:We have eaten here multiple times and I really do want to like Front Street Grill because it has amazing Penn Cove views...but after our last visit we said we wouldn't go back. Â The restaurant is small and tightly packed with tables so it can be very noisy during peak times - this makes conversations with friends/family challenging (note: Â it looks like they are trying to fix this issue with sound absorbing panels added to the walls and ceiling). Â We have found the service to be spotty. Â Some times its great and some times its poor (like forgetting to bring the bread starter and not returning to refill water)....I feel for the price of the food it should be great every time. Â If you do go, try their loganberry drop beverage the burger or fish and chips.
Review Source:Mussels. Oh, my god, the mussels. I wish we'd only ordered mussels for dinner instead of the chicken and whatever else that I can't even remember. We had the green curry mussels and they were-- legit-- the best mussels we've ever eaten. Ever. Â I don't even know why we ordered green curry, as neither of us cares very much for it, but this was knock-your-socks-off, shake-your-head so good amazing. Not to say that the other food wasn't good, but when you're eating something that's just good after something that's so amazing you're tempted to just describe it with a string of curse words used in the best possible way? Well...
So, the food was good, the wine selection was good, but the staff was kind of inattentive and aloof, and I heard a fight or an argument going on right where we were eating, which was weird and uncomfortable to say the least. My wine glass was crazy dirty and they acted weird that we had pointed it out, like no one does that. Huh. Two and a half stars for the staff and five for the mussels. I will definitely come here again... Eating seafood right at the source can't be beat. We were so happy we stumbled in here.
We were staying in Oak Harbor for the night and were having trouble finding a restaurant for dinner. Our map of Whidbey Island said that Coupeville had lots of shops and restaurants so we thought we'd drive down and hope we'd get lucky. Front Street Grill was the first place we came across with customers actually inside (it was a Wednesday night) so we were hopeful that the food was good.
Our first interaction with the host (and owner?) was him asking if we had a reservation. Seriously? In the middle of nowhere on a Wednesday night? They were about half full but definitely not busy enough to need a reservation. He seemed kind of put out that we didn't have one, and that we weren't dressed up (as some people were). We were given the choice of three horrible tables, one right in the aisle, one crammed in next to a booth of loud patrons and one right in the doorway by the coat rack. We chose to sit in the doorway so we'd at least be by the window.
The menu had some nice options, although it was more expensive then I was expecting in town that size, especially considering half the menu was burgers and sandwiches. We received bread and dipping oil with dinner which was served via tongs (cafeteria style) and slapped on our plates by our obviously overwhelmed waitress. The bread wasn't anything special, it tasted like some rolls you would buy at a grocery store and heat up in the oven for a few minutes. Also, instead of giving us the ketchup bottle for our french fries, they brought out a tray with three wells for sauce that had ketchup already in two of them. Kind of weird, since I had to pour it on my burger from there.
Our food was fine, nothing special but we hurried through as we were eager to leave. The atmosphere in this place is horrible! The host (and owner or manager?) did not know what to do with himself and flitted around the entire time we were there. He micro-managed his staff and every time I looked up, he was hovering over someone's table. I couldn't wait to get out of there as he was making me really nervous. While we were waiting for our food, I noticed the way he was seating people and he refused to seat 2 people at a table that could seat more than that. It's like he was being really greedy about his table space, just in case someone else came in and needed the table, even though there was plenty of room by this point.
My overall impression of this place is that the it's trying to be something it's not. It's a bar and grill in a really small town but they seem to think it's a high end restaurant in a bigger city. This made for a really awkward dining experience as there was a huge disconnect between the food and the atmosphere of the restaurant.
We were in Coupeville for a few nights, so strolled the waterfront street for a dinner idea, smelled good smells coming from Front Street Grill, and lucked out getting a table without a rez on a Saturday night. Â
DH chose an appy of Asian beef skewers on a bed of slaw which was not only pretty to look at, but amazingly tender and delicious. He also got a clam-broccoli chowder which he liked a lot, and a Caesar salad.
I had a special, Latin-spiced halibut steak, which had a creamy cilantro sauce that was SO good--served on a bed of grilled veggies including lots of pea pods (yum, those veggies were divine), & alongside a side of nicely flavored Israeli couscous, most of which I was too full to eat.
I also had a Caesar salad; neither of us was enthralled with the Caesar dressing flavor; we also thought having the waitress grate the parmesan onto the salads at the table was a pain. Â Caesar salads are supposed to have parmesan in them anyway, and we want LOTS tossed throughout, and don't want to see a poor waitress work her arm off grating it for us (after touching credit cards, handling cash, etc), and she can't help but get cheese on the table, one's lap, etc. Â Let the chefs/cooks do their work with the food! I don't get why restaurants think it's cool to grate cheese at the table anyway--so we can see they use fresh? Â So le$$ is used as we take pity on the waitress?
Anyway, we LOVED the rest of the meal and did all but lick our plates! Â And the staff and wait people were more than accommodating. Â We'd definitely go back.
This is our first time here. We have wanted to try this place for some time.
Great atmosphere, great food and great happy hour! Dishes were outstanding. Ahi poke, oysters on the half shell for appetizers. Coconut green curry mussels (local Penn Cove mussels) and fish tacos (with seasonal catch salmon). Finished with lemon creme brûlée.
Was just here for lunch with two others. Â Service is always slow here, and the servers are not warm but the food is always good so we ignore that. Today we came here with an out of town family member for their bday. We had to ask for more water, ask for more bread which was delivered without butter or oil. Â We then ordered an appetizer of the crab dip. We picked at it and told the server it was dry and not good at all so she promptly removed it and still charged us for it. I told her it was a family member's bday to which they could have acknowledged but didn't. Â Ridiculously disappointing and over priced. Will not be back.
Review Source:I was with family on Whidbey this summer & we headed to Coupeville for lunch & a stroll on a day not so good for beachcombing and the like. Front Street Grill has made some major upgrades since I dined here years ago. Nice, yet casual and comfortable atmosphere. Contemporary/casual and newer tables/booths, etc... Tables afforded gorgeous views overlooking our beautiful Puget Sound. Service was good - especially for our large group of adults and children. Â
Fabulous & full seafood menu joined with vegetarian options provided 'something for everyone' offerings. Food was delicious and presented like any good Seattle restaurant. Kids had pasta & fish & chips while adults enjoyed the rest of the menu... From what I remember, we all had great dishes:
* Ahi tuna Salad was delicious with roasted potatoes, olive, cherry tomatoes & green beans with a basil vinaigrette
* The spinach salad was fresh with the usual mushrooms, tomatoes & parmesan. Cranberry vinaigrette was lovely.
* I had the Chicken Caesar with Reggiano parmesan and big crunch croutons.
* The burger, I hear, was good with Washington grass fed beef, onions, cheese, etc. and served with fries
* My sister had the Penn Cove Mussels which were shared among the table & to die for!
My nephew loved the flat screen in the bathroom with good football game going on... No wonder he was gone so long...
I would come back here anytime I'm in the area for a nice date-night or lunch again.
Knowledgeable staff of GF items is a huge bonus! We didn't have a reservation, but lucked out and there was a table open right when we arrived. It was in the middle of the restaurant, which isn't super romantic or strategic but I didn't get bumped into too many times.
I take away a star because of the crowded layout of tables, and the flies. I just can't get past a swarm of flies buzzing around the middle of the restaurant. Â I also don't like shooing them away from my plate. Bleck. I realize it was summer, but icky.
The food was delicious.
A very nicely done restaurant right on the waterfront. An extra half-point for the nice stemware (I get tired of those little cheap wine glasses). So, everything I read says try the mussels, the special of the day is mussels, so what do I get? An oyster burger. As I was half way through my oyster burger it occurred to me that I should give up this quest to find a good oyster burger. There's no such thing. Like unicorns. But, I keep ordering the friggin' things. Anyway, the oysters themselves tasted okay, but were too large for a sandwich. The fries were perfect. The wine was nice, the service was very good, the view was excellent, and I would definitely go back.
Review Source:We were driving back to Portland after a weekend in Seattle and the San Juan Islands, where we had been disappointed with most of the meals we had eaten. Stopped in Coupville to check out the historic downtown. Very cute, authentic false front buildings. We picked the Front Street Grill because it was nice, while still feeling casual. It has a great view of Penn Cove, which I didn't know is famous for its mussels. My boyfriend and I each ordered a different preparation of mussels, with linguine. The pasta was cooked perfectly al dente. My mussels were prepared with prosciutto, carmelized onions, and sage. Both dishes were delicious. The service was excellent, too. Hands down, this was the best meal of our trip.
Review Source:We were taking a leisurely tour of Whidbey and got to Penn Cove right at lunch time. Lucky us, as some of the best mussels in the world come from Penn Cove.
We chose this place to sample them based on their multiple peparations listed on the menu. The green curry mussels were listed a house specialty so we decided to go with them.
We were happy with our selection even if I felt it was a little salty. The mussels were fresh but the sauce was a little too salty. The small order was a perfect size to sample and share these world-famous bivalves.
OMG!!! Based on Yelpers review of the Mussels in Green Curry, I gave it a try. Â AWESOME!!! Â Came at happy hour from 3pm to 6pm...all mussel half orders are $9 instead of $11. Â The half orders have enough to share. Â The broth was so good and worked well with the garlic bread for dipping. Â You can order a side of pasta to mix with the broth for $5. Â I saved the room for more Mussels. Â I don't normally like Mussels but these were outstanding!! Also got the saffron mussels and they rocked too!!! The dessert was a pumpkin creme brulee and was housemade. Â This is a great place! Â The mussels are fresh and cooked perfectly. Â Such buttery goodness. Â I suddenly realized that I had been eating poor quality mussels! Â This place is where Penn Cove mussels come from so take the opportunity to dine in and enjoy the mussels here. Â The view is great too!!
Review Source:Possibly the best mussels I have ever had! That is saying something since I have eaten them all over the world. Our table had three different preparations and they were all great but it was the actual mussels that were the stars.
The server we had was efficient but could have used some training on the wine list. We had to show her what our choice was and she left the table with her finger marking it on the wine menu. We got the correct bottle but I am sure if we had had any questions she would not have been able to answer them. Other than that really small glitch her service was spot on.
When I got the bill I was surprised (in a good way) expecting to pay much more for what we got. It was a fabulous meal.
Been here twice, summary of my feelings:
Atmosphere: 5 star
Service: 3 star. Server didn't refill water enough and left our table alone too long, but did everything else adequately. Good recommend on calamari appetizer.
Food: 1.5 star. Terrible oyster po'boy, had it twice terrible both times. Very simple dish shouldn't be so bad, especially twice. Girlfriend's spicy pasta dish soupy and surprisingly bland. Poorly cooked seafood contents.
Will come back if reliable sources give me the thumbs up, I have heard the kobe beef burger is good and might try that, but really disappointed so far.
The PC mussels were good (we got the Mediterranean and the diablo?) Â The service was fine but the wait staff was almost uncomfortable. Â The hostess said there was no room for our stroller (there was only one other table seated at this time) and then offered a high chair but did not bring it. Â In the end we had the stroller folded up and the high chair which obviously took up more room than just the stroller.
Also, when the waitress took our drink orders she took my husband's and then walked away before I could even order so then I ordered when she brought his drink. Â It was all very odd.
We wanted to go to Toby's but couldn't because of the wee-one. Â I wish that Washington establishments could have minors when serving food....
Not worht a long review, so here is the short version... Long wait, fish sandwhich had zero flavor, cold yucky fries that even my daughters couldnt eat, a host who doesn't know how to properly seat people, and a waiter who was rude when informed about the above sandwhch (I, a fat man, took only two bites and two fries before sending it back, even tho I hadn't eaten all day).
Review Source:I'm giving Front St Grill a solid 4-stars for a late lunch - 3 stars for the food and 1 extra star for our server, Ron (according to the name on the receipt). Â
We were in the mood for mussels and they offer by the 1/2 pound or full pound...since it was my entre it was a full bowl with green curry. Â Flavorful a touch of heat but very, very good. Â Companion to the mussels were the 1/2 dozen of very fresh oysters, nice size for eating raw. Â Both, I thought were excellent choices. Â
The fish platter special was pretty good with the coconut prawns and fish fried just right. Â I tasted the chowder and it was just okay.
Our server was extremely helpful and efficient, but the place was in between lunch and dinner so it was only about 1/4 filled.
Nice bar with hi def TV and a mid level happy hour menu.
I do recommend for lunch if you want to get off your feet and overlook the water and relax.
Be sure to check out the men's room....TV on the wall - nice touch.
Nice ambiance, and the food was good, but our server (cute young blond female, very nice) had a TON of perfume on. Â So much do that I would smell her before I'd see her, and it lingered at the table after she'd left. Â That doesn't help with the flavor of one's food and wine. Â I was happy to leave when we were done because by then it was getting hard to take.
But other than that ;) it was nice, and I love the TV in the bathroom. Â Great touch!
I have spent some time in this part of the woods and come here often. Â I have ordered a steak here 4 times and EVERY TIME I send it back. Maybe it's me but the way a steak gets cooked here is just not to my liking. I say skip the steak and order anything else as the rest of the
menu is tasty. Â Bring back hollandaise sauce!!!
What's not to like about having a meal at a window seat in a charming little bistro on the water in Coupeville, WA.?
Nothing, that's what.
Kobe beef hamburgers. Full bar. Great seafood chowder. Even better views of Penn Cove. Service attentive and friendly without hovering. Good quantity of food for the price point. Intimate and cozy dining room. Clean and really nicely appointed bathrooms (with TV's in them!).
A nice little place to stop and eat when visiting Coupeville.
Beautiful restaurant with a beautiful view, but FSG is missing on a few key points. Â
Service is SLOW with only having 2 waiters staffed on busy Saturday nights. Â Hard to get water/drink refills and slow to take our finished plates away. Â Secondly, they must plate their mashed potatoes way before the rest of the meal is done because both times I've been there they have been cold on the plate.
DON'T order the Short Ribs....they were so dry and tough, I couldn't eat it btut the waiter was kind enough to take it off the bill.
DO order the Gnocchi! Â So light and fluffy, you can definitely tell they are made in-house.
We were here for lunch and everything is just impeccable.
The server is very attentive and nice. The owner also dropped by and asked us on "how's everything?". I was impressed.
The food is lovely. I had the bisque soup and clams for less than 10 bucks. My friend ordered a seafood pasta for less than 15 bucks and the quantity is actually good for 2. I tried the pasta and it's just "wow". Seriously. Clean and fresh.
The restaurant has a great view. They also serve wine and cocktail which is sweet! (they have a bar). I think the cocktail is only 2 bucks during happy hour. I tried the margarita and it's just refreshing.
I just wished that for the price range, service, great food and ambiance is existent in Seattle proper.
It was nice to see a new restaurant in Coupeville! I was very pleased to see that it fits a more upscale NW Bistro style, something that was very lacking in this little waterside town. We stopped there for a late lunch last Sunday, and had an appropriate wait for not having a reservation.
The food quality was very very good, very pleased with the taste and presentation, BUT and here it is... The price point for what is being served is not matching. I had the Choppino, which featured great quality product, great flavor, but the portion size was out of sync to the price. The same can be said for the Fish & Chips. The only item of the three was the Southwest Chicken Sandwich, this was right on.
The service was alright, I would suggest to management to spend a little time with their team to fine tune it. Here's what I mean...Bring a spoon to with the coffee and cream, so it can be stirred, the wait person realized about 15 minutes after bringing the beverage. I would also suggest that they spend a little time also in how to converse with a guest, either our wait person was extremely new, or just has no clue how annoying the volume and tone of her voice is.
Would I try this restaurant again, the answer is yes. If encounter the same type of issues the next time, I would have to then rate them a 1 - 2 star.
Management...You have the potential for something great there...please please...please fine tune it!
An interesting addition to the island dining scene. Overall--decent food with a few glaring exceptions. Biggest complaint is the totally untrained service.
From the minute the sweet, smiling gum chomping young lady came up to the table, we knew not to expect too much. First interaction:
Us" Oh, this looks like an interesting specialty drink menu--can you tell us about these?" (BTW--just names of the drinks, no descriptions. Hard to judge what may be in a "Cove Cutie")
Her: "oh, they are really complicated". Okay, hmm....
Us: "Well, can you describe them?"
Her: "Well, they are really pains to make". I am not kidding--that was her answer. We gave up and ordered well drinks.
So, to the management--I know it is hard to get good servers on the island. If you cant get them to memorize what is in your 6 specialty cocktails, for heaven's sake, have a cute little bar sheet she can hand over or read off.
We ordered heavy. 6 cocktails, 2 bottles of wine, 6 appetizers, 6 entrees.
Appetizers: Coconut prawns well received, as were the crab cakes, and mussels. Clam Chowder was absolutely flavorless. The table of 6 next to us all sent their back (!) A few mistakes on the menu. Not a green mixed salad with the crab cakes, it was a Caesar. There is a difference.
Waitress was asked about the baked salmon special--" is it wild or atlantic/farm raised?" . She looked dumbfounded (come on--this is Washington for cripes sake) and said, "oh, wild, fer sure". It came, was not wild. Not in this life or previous. Awful--previously frozen, farm raised, fishy, mushy. That went back. However. Here is the second biggest complaint. Never once did the server return to pour water. Or check on meals. Or refill bread. Or ask if we wanted another bottle of wine. Reason? "Automatic 18% tip added to tables of 6 or more". Bingo. She knew she was getting a huge tip, as the bill was over $300 (a lot for Coupeville) and she didn't have to do much of anything to earn it.
I do get the automatic gratuity concept--but shouldn't it be for a party of 8 or more? And shouldn't you at least get a refill of your first glass of water? We normally tip 20% for good service--but this simply was not good service and that annoyed me and the rest of our group.
Other food items--the fillet was actually perfectly cooked and excellent. Flank steak salad --meat was fine, grilled med rare as requested, but the salad aspect was dull. Give it some interest please. Fish and chips got a thumbs up. Burger was okay--acceptable. Fries were tavern quality and boring--make 'em homemade steak frites style and blow the town away!
The fresh veg of the day--I asked what is was and waitress said " Oh, it's like, um, chopped up cabbage and stuff...." Another articulate answer. It wasn't chopped up cabbage and stuff--it was an excellent fresh medley of seasonal vegetables. Finely shredded fresh brussel sprouts, sweet pepper,and onion a bit of broccoli. All cooked just perfectly done, lightly seasoned--that blew me away. How can you have such a great hand on veg and serve day old mushy salmon?
Wine list OK, prices were reasonable. Decent glassware also.
Host was nervously glancing about the dining room as well--though they were not slammed--but he never came around to ask if he could offer any assistance or how the meals were. So we were left at the mercy of the gum snapper.
Will we go back? Maybe--if I am in the mood for a decent steak. But with the other food so inconsistent, it makes you a bit worried to spend $25 for a fillet at this place.
We stopped here for dinner, without reservations. Â Fortunately they had ONE table reserved for those without reservations. Â It seems to be a popular dining spot, but then we were told it was fairly new. Â We were seated on the window side, so we have no real comments on the view of Penn Cove.
I had the Cioppino and my wife had Mussels in Green Curry and we split a coleslaw. Â My wife enjoyed the mussels and they seemed good. Â The Cioppino was the best I've had in a restaurant in Washington state. Â i just wish some of these chefs would travel to San Francisco where it was invented to see what it should really taste like. Â This had oysters, white fish, clams and mussels - the broth was a bit thin. Â They need to think CRAB - the real stuff has Dungeness Crab and a thick tomato base; it should be served with a bib and crab crakcers to get the real taste. Â I personally love coked oysters, but they don't belong in cioppino anymore than cow liver or an old baseball mitt does.
I see we were not the only ones asking for extra bread for the sauce, my wife and I both requested it for our dishes. Â The toasted garlic bread served with the entree was good, but give us something to sop up that sauce with!
The servers were great, they deserve 5 stars. Â The atmosphere, about 2 - it is so crowded that it gets too loud and looses any of it's ambiance. Â The food - I hate to say, is pretty average, which makes the prices seem a bit pretentious.
Great find in Coupeville on Whidbey Island. Warm woodworking inside cozy restaurant overlooking the water. The owners were present on a fairly busy Saturday night and seemed to put a lot of effort into making sure everyone was being treated well.
We started with the Penn Cove mussels, harvested right out of the bay in front of us. Great curry sauce that begged to be soaked up with bread. I had a local Kobe beef burger that was succulent and cooked perfectly. My wife had the Ahi tuna, again cooked perfectly and quite tender. Our kids were quite happy with the fresh pasta and hamburgers.
The price was very reasonable for what we got. We have certainly paid more for less in Seattle.
Service was subtle but very helpful.
Overall, one of the best restaurants we have found on Whidbey and rivals our favorites in Seattle.
We stopped by Front Street Grill for an early dinner on its first official day open. We immediately loved the atmosphere and view. The restaurant (which seats 66) was decorated in warm woods. The space is open, looking out on the cove and into the small bar. (The only negative of that is that there is a big screen TV in the bar, so you can view it from the restaurant ~ a pet peeve of mine.)
We were pleased at the reasonably-priced wine selection and found a bottle that suited our meals well. The entrees were also very affordable, at around $16. Our friendly waitress was enthusiastic about the menu and was able to give us good direction.
I had the gnocchi with caramelized brussle sprouts topped with fresh basil and parmesan cheese. The whole dish was pan fried and the sprouts were perfectly done with a beautiful caramelized finish. Absolutely delicious! Â My husband had the Penn Cove muscles in coconut curry sauce. The curry sauce gave the dish a bit of a kick and he asked for extra bread to sop up all the soupy goodness. Both were hearty plates; we didn't go home hungry.
The overall experience was delightful and I look forward to going back.
The 5 best restaurants in the 2015 Denver Restaurant Week
3,611 Views | Category: Denver
The complete list of 2015 Denver Restaurant Week businesses
1,972 Views | Category: Denver
The tourists' guide to Portillos: 5 must have dishes
3,318 Views | Category: Chicago
Pho = Pronounced "fuh" not "foe" for pho-king sake
2,915 Views | Category: Denver
Indulgery selected to exhibit at Collision Conference
2,987 Views | Category: Press Releases
Not Logged In
BUSINESSES
Local Businesses
Near Me
My Favorites
SOCIAL
Blog & News
MY ACCOUNT
Login
Register
Contact Us
Add Your Business
