North Shore Lagoon

My wife and I have been talking about coming here since the place opened but were put off by the negative Yelp reviews, however, tonight we decided to give the place a try and were definitely not disappointed. The decor is first rate, from the live banana trees out front to the subtle details that you will miss if you are not specifically looking for them.

We started off with two classic tiki cocktails, the Jungle Bird and the Mau Tai, both were, large, excellent and at $11 each pretty reasonable. We then proceeded to dinner, Dragon Boat appetizers (spiced pork meatballs, pickled daikon and carrot, cilantro, fried shallots and sriracha mayo all in a lettuce leaf), followed by the Thai Chop salad with chicken for my wife and the Hawaii Five-O burger for me. The burger was great, cooked exactly the way I like it, and topped with grilled pineapple, ham and mango-habanero sauce. The salad was epic, being based on cabbage rather then lettuce and was large enough that my wife could not finish it all.

After dinner was finished, we moved on to desert, I had the Kahlua Creme Brulee and my wife had the pineapple upside down cake. Both were pretty good, but the creme Brulee was not fully or properly caramelized on top so the shell was kind of chewy rather than the crisp, crunchy sugar shell on generally expects on a creme brulee.

In general we had a really great time, there were, however, a couple of negatives. The first is that it took a long time to get dessert even though the place was adequately staffed and not that busy. Secondly, my wife, who had an excellent view into the kitchen did not like that the kitchen staff were not wearing uniforms and were not using hair restraints. Finally, one of the waiters who helped us had terrible B.O. which is something I absolutely detest.

I would also like to say that Jacob the bartender was ultra-great and really worked hard to make sure we had a great time.

Went to the North Shore Lagoon for the first time this evening. They've done a great job with decor and environment, and service was prompt and very friendly. They have a good rum selection and a nice selection of "traditional" tiki drinks. I enjoyed a Mai Tai and a Zombie, and a special called "Kokopelli's Smirk". All were good or better, but not over the top fantastic. Food is above average pub grub with some nods to Asian/Polynesian. The music was at a conversational level and a mix of exotica, reggae, and surf rock. There were plenty of noticeable tiki statues, and a lot of masks that were more African, S. American and Asian than Polynesian, but all blended well for an exotic atmosphere. We were there somewhat early on a Saturday evening, and most of the people we saw were there for a novelty and a night out, and didn't seem to be tiki-philes. I imagine that was true at many places during the "Golden Age" of Tiki too. Their menu has a good intro and a page in back about where their decor and such came from. Overall, a lot of love and integrity went into making this place. It is unique and interesting. We hope to return some time, and may plan a stay at the adjoining hotel, and swimming in the Olympic sized salt water in-door pool that the North Shore Lagoon bar and restaurant overlook.

I live in Seattle which is 45 mins south of Bothell. The North Shore Lagoon is totally worth the drive! The decor and vibe is pretty much spot on. The Bar is actually above a pool that people are swimming in. The zombie is the best I ever had!

Here is my full review of the North Shore Lagoon:
http://www.tikiwithray.com/tiki-bar-review-1-north-shore-lagoon-bothell-wa/