Carnation Cafe & Lounge — Restaurant in Carnation

I had business in Carnation so I went early to grab some breakfast. Carnation Cafe had good reviews and nice photos so I thought I’d give in a try. As I pulled in I was a little bit surprised by the general appearance of the building. It seems to need a refresh. After parking I made my way to the door which was surprisingly dirty for 30mins after opening. This is normally a red flag for me and I go elsewhere but I had no time to spare. Interior is also a little tired although I was momentarily distracted by the pastry case which looks very promising. They were not yet busy so there was no wait. I was sat at a step up booth with taped up seats. I enjoy step ups for an elevated view of the dining area. I was greeted in timely fashion by a pleasant server who offered coffee/drinks. Coffee and water came out quickly but needed to have the water replaced due to several lip marks on the rim of my glass. Coffee was good and maybe slightly better than most cafes. I ordered the chicken fried steak and eggs and substituted a pancake for the biscuit without issue. My order came out quickly but was terribly prepared, especially considering there were only 4 other groups all with their meal in front of them. The gravy was broken and not very pleasing to the eye. My over-easy eggs were over-medium on the way to over-hard. The chicken fried steak was over cooked with a slight bit of gristle and the potatoes were mushy. My pancake was over cooked and dense, impenetrable by butter or syrup.

This is my only visit to Carnation Cafe and every restaurant has a bad day. Overall with the quality of the food and the run down atmosphere I think it was slightly overpriced. They did get busy and from the reviews it seems to be a well loved cafe. I would give it another opportunity but will not be driving out of the way...

If you're looking for someplace to have a private event, we recently booked the entire café on a Saturday afternoon/evening and it was absolutely the BEST experience! It's been a week and our guests are still emailing with kudos on the amazing food and great atmosphere.

I had been searching for a venue near Seattle/Eastside to have a fun, casual "life celebration" party for 50+ guests. I spent several months contacting every traditional venue in the area with disappointing results. On a whim, I called the Carnation Café - we have family there and know the food and staff are excellent - and Don and Heidi (owners) were open to the idea. I'm SO glad it worked out. I emailed Don my initial thoughts for the lunch buffet based on their published menu and he came up with much better ideas that elevated everything to "refined comfort food" and totally surpassed my vision. I requested floral arrangements and high-end wine, and he sourced both from local, family-owned businesses. We decided on an open bar, and our bartender Michelle was excellent. Throughout the whole process, I was able to text Don directly and got his responses promptly. The café has a lot of outdoor seating (appreciated by our COVID-wary friends) and a big, free parking lot. I was worried that the location might be too far from Seattle but we had a high turnout and the leisurely country drive was appreciated by a lot of our city friends.

It turned out to be the perfect venue for our event - I highly...

We have been a regular at Carnation Cafe for almost two years now, since we moved here. It has been nothing but great experiences. One side of me want everyone to know how great this place is but the other side of me wants to just hide this gem to myself. But I guess I can share.

The restaurant does not look flashy from the curb appeal. But once you walk in, a warm and comfort atmosphere surround you. You will be greet by friendly staffs.

The menu is not big but every selections are made from the scratch.

starters: Cajun calamari, Thai crab cakes, and fried mozzarella are highly recommend salad: Cafe Cobb, Caesar salad, shrimp-avocado salad, and Caprese plate are must try. dinner: we normally go with chef special but on the regular dinner selections, we like Jerk chicken, Tolt burger, Alaskan halibut cheeks, and grilled delmonico. -lunch: try any of one their famous standing sandwiches. Such as: Cafe club, hit pastrami sandwich, roasted dip. Also, open ribeye sandwich is also amazing. breakfast (they serve breakfast 6 days a week): well, all I can say everything is great on the breakfast menu. Now...(drum roll) dessert, yum! Chef Don who makes everything from scratch, I like everything especially the fresh fruit pies, but my best suggestion is stop by the dessert showcase and you will find what you like.

highly recommend this...