Taproot Cafe

Reviews & Tips

• 0

  I enjoyed this little bar/cafe below the Willows Inn.  We sat at the bar and got a chance to chat up the bartendress who was polite and professional.  They had three local beers on tap including an IPA, a Porter and an Ale.  The pints were reasonable, about $5 per.   We only had a few snacks and didn't get to try out any of the sandwiches or soups.  They also have an espresso bar for that caffeine fix.   Hours are 11:00 to 6:30 daily.   Cute seating both indoors or out and about five seats at the bar.

  Review Source:

  Posted on 06.29.13 Christie C.

  • Report
• 0

  Beautiful and fitting for the island. Hours are funky but see last thought. Plus food made from upstairs willows inn chefs. Had a bean soup here that I am still thinking about.

  Review Source:

  Posted on 04.27.13 Bryan A.

  • Report
• 0

  Tragic. This place used to be one of our favorite places to go when we would visit the island before we moved here. The food was good, the owners were friendly, and the view was fabulous. Then the ownership changed, and now it's not even a cafe. It calls itself a  "cybercafe", which is about as useful here on the island as a hat on a pig. I guess they are trying to cater to the guests at the Willows, but on the few occasions I have been in there the place has been a tomb. The only food available other than coffee is pre-packaged sandwiches and soup. There are few things more heartbreaking in this economy than seeing a successful local business yanked in favor of someone's corporate "vision" of what should be there. Don't waste your time.

  Review Source:

  Posted on 04.20.12 Scarlett M.

  • Report
• 0

  Mixed bag at this establishment. First, the good. The location is beautiful: sitting on the upper porch, you can look out across the water to Orcas Island, as well as to the Canadian Gulf Islands just beyond. We also saw a huge bald eagle glide by along the waterfront. There aren't many places where you can have lunch and see something like that.
  
  But, for positives, that's about it. The service was poor; not horrible, just scatterbrained and not terribly observant. We were seated for about five minutes before menus were dropped off, and then it was about another 20  minutes before our drinks arrived, and the waitress had to ask us to remind her what we'd ordered. This absentmindedness happened again with our food order, when she had to ask us to remind her what side orders we had wanted. Our drinks arrived courtesy of another waitress, who was just told that the people "up there" had ordered them, so it took her a bit of guess work to figure out which table got what.
  
  As for the food, I'd give it a solid "meh". I seldom eat burgers, ordered their  "Taproot Burger" since it was made with organic, grass-fed beef from just down the road. Normally this would bode well. Not so for this poor burger, which came out a bizarre light-grey color, cooked about 5 minutes beyond well done. It was basically an 8-ounce hockey puck, dry texture with little flavor. It was served with a sort of horseradish mayonnaise, but there was so little of this that it was hard to detect. There were a couple of slabs of good-quality bacon, which at least offset the dryness of the burger. Overall, quite disappointing. My advice would be that, if you were to order this item, make sure they don't cook it beyond medium rare. You shouldn't have too many worries with foodborne pathogens on ingredients that local.
  
  There are few dining options on Lummi Island, and people do seem to like the higher-end restaurant that Willows also runs, so maybe you'd do better waiting for dinner and eating there instead.

  Review Source:

  Posted on 09.05.11 Eric F.

  • Report