The Islander Restaurant
| Address: | 2441 76th Ave SE, Mercer Island, WA 98040, USA |
| Phone: | +1 206-232-6676 |
| Site: | the-islander.com |
| Rating: | 3.4 |
| Working: | 7AM–11PM 7AM–11PM 7AM–11PM 7AM–11PM 7AM–12AM 8AM–12AM 8AM–10PM |
Location
Photos 82
Reviews 10
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Alec Nowers
Based on a successful "steak" night meal a couple of Tuesdays back, I persuaded my wife to accompany me to the Islander for dinner this evening. I told her the beer was great and the bar-fare pretty good too. I was wrong. She ordered an Ultimate Burger, medium-rare, and I ordered Bangers and Mash. Her hamburger pattie, though it was trying desperately to hide under the mounds of bacon, lettuce and cheese, was revealed as a round of meat not at all resembling a medium-rare hamburger pattie. My dinner was worse. Much worse. There were two leathery sausages, a heap of caramelized onions and a mound of creamed potatoes, all swimming in a distressingly pale sauce. There was so much of this sauce I thought for a moment I had been served a bowl of soup. No, this was the mustard the menu mentioned. I should have sent it back immediately but I didnt. I didnt even tell the waitress of my dissatisfaction when she came by to ask how everything was tasting. I ate the sausages (the meal came with a steak-knife. I wondered why until I tried to cut into the sausages) and the onions and tried to scoop up some of the mashed potatoes on my fork. I would have been better off with a spoon. It was an AWFUL dinner! But the beer was good.
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Jesse Matz
I feel their is two different experiences at the Islander. The Restaurant and the Bar in the back. While most times walking into the front, Ive noticed no hostess at the podium to greet us. We opt out anyways and walk right past the restaurant into the back for the Bar. We personally dont know if happy hours happen in the restaurant but we like the tvs and the atmosphere in the Bar - oh did I mention happy hour!? Not many places on Mercer have good happy hours but the Islander knocks off a buck or so per item to actually feel like its worth it. The truffle fries are probably our all time favorite where the pulled pork sandwich comes in close second. Having said all that, one thing is you need to be assertive in The Islander. I can understand why people say "it takes forever for someone to give service" as I am one of those people that will wait patiently forever. But with how busy this place can get with a small staff and kitchen; your best bet is to flag them down because they cant always do their steps. To counter the small staff and kitchen - food comes out amazingly quick. Even at its most packed times, 10-15 minutes max after ordering food.
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Joshua Russell
My wife and I ordered two omelets, hash browns, and English muffins to go. At first, we were overcharged and one omelet order was wrong. Then after mentioning it to the host, we received ANOTHER wrong order: hash browns were gone from one order and the omelette was missing avocados. So after a THIRD time talking to the host, we walked back to our apartment and found out we received ANOTHER wrong order: wrong omelette, missing English muffin, no recooked food, and all the food was now cold! I was shocked that the order could be wrong after specifically asking 3 different times! We were so frustrated, we decided not to return a fourth time and went to another local restaurant. My husband and I live in the apartment above the Islander and were hoping to make it our go to restaurant. It was a waste of $30 and the service was horrible! Terribly disappointing! I would hate for you to have the negative experience that we had. I plan to never go again.
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A Private User
Late last night we decided to try the Islander and, to be quite honest, we did not have high expectations. From the parking lot below it looks like it may be a bar with pool tables and limited eats. We were so wrong. Great booths overlooking the main street on Mercer was just perfect and relaxing. The Jets/Dolphins game was viewable for entertainment and the staff was terrific. The very best part was the food. My Kobe Beef Hamburger is in the top two burgers I have ever had. Perfectly cooked and incredible flavor. My husband had the steak salad and, after scamming half my burger, we decided to split the salad as well. It was equally great. Steak was flavorfull and cooked to perfection. Dressing was also wonderful. Our server was very helpful and attentive and perfect for an end of evening dining experience. Try it and you will be pleasantly surprised.
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Marina Moscovici
Trying out the new venue in the center of Mercer Island. The setting is cool, so it looked promising...but,apart from the waitress, who was very amiable and knowlegeable about the beers on tap, I would not return here for anything but a beer at the bar perhaps. The hamburger was terrible on all fronts. It was overcooked, rubbery and flavorless. The bun, which was supposed to be toasted, was warm and then became rock hard as if it had been microwaved. Then sadly, the small part of the burger that I did eat, remained indigestible the whole day! The only bright spot were the sweet potato fries and my draft beer. The only reason I didnt complain was that my companion was treating. And by the way, $15.00 for a really bad hamburger??
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Keith Bloomfield
Not sure why, but the staff did not greet us. They clearly noticed. Maybe they are locals-only. After about 8 minutes of waiting, we finally approached an employee who was cleaning a table who, in turn, asked another employee to seat us. It was an awkward experience. Also, they price their meals by the quality of the meat with kobe being the high end. The highest quality meat tastes no different. I would recommend raising the recipes to a standard above Dennys. In their defense: They are one of very few restaurants on the island that serve food in the evening.
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M.L. Adleberg
Closer to 2 1/2 stars. Not bad. Pretty attentive if stretched a bit thin service wise. Rather typical menu and food items. We had the Clams, they were very simple but still pretty tasty. Burgers and entrees were prepared as requested. The temp on some of the food items was lower than ideal. The desserts seemed pre-made and served but tasted pretty good. Its kind of a fool proof menu int hat one is unlikely to HATE or LOVE anything. Its a bit pricey for what it is but I might go back under certain circumstances. Not a destination.
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Selene Ludington
I ordered the sounder omelet and swaped my hash Browns for a fruit cup when served it came with very little hollandaise which had formed a skin over it and was served cold. the fruit cup was sitting on a napkin on the plate but it was soaking wet? It seemed to take a very long time for the server to visit the table and so I didnt bother sending it back. Very obvious the server left the food in the holding window way too long. I wont be back.
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Mandy Olson
Absolutely the worst bloody Marys ever. At $12.95 a piece I guess my standards are too high!! Green cheese and plastic cups!! Very watered down and stuff floating. I sent them back when I seen green on my prawns. Skimpy ff portions, did the price of potatoes go up? Left hungry and unsatisfied!! Trying Bennetts fish shack!!
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Cindy Hewitt
The dinner was passable for the others in our party but my prime rib came out looking like boiled meat. Then the manager Isaac proceeded to argue with me about this claiming this was how it was supposed to be. I have never had an experience like this with the manager of a restaurant being so rude. Very unprofessional
