Arnies Restaurant — Restaurant in Edmonds

Try “Arnie’s” in Edmonds. You will love it. That is the short answer. And, for those of you who read my reviews know, the more extended answer is as follows: This was a last-minute decision when a dear friend flew in from Denver. It was a beautiful summer evening in Edmonds, and we took full advantage of it! Admittedly, another restaurant down the street had another hour’s wait due to a couple of happy party reservations running a bit late. I decided to call Arnie’s to see if they were available, I am so happy they were! Here are just a few of the points to consider: • Their view is (in my humble opinion) even better! Being able to see the ferries on our right, coming across and then anchor in was a delight for all of us. Seeing the beautiful Puget Sound is always a delight, regardless of the weather. At Arnie’s, the view from every table is pretty much fantastic. I also appreciated their window coverings that allowed you to see out but stopped the intense sunshine onslaught. • THE FOOD IS REALLY GOOD! Two of us had the Copper River Salmon with a macadamia-pesto crust, potato mash and perfectly done, thin asparagus spears. Yum! Other places tend to accidentally drown the taste of this magnificent salmon with a similar macadamia crust. It happens…but not at Arnie’s. The beautifully grilled salmon was the headliner, as it should be! My beautiful, adult daughter had the kid’s menu grilled cheese sandwich with French fries and fresh fruit. She has Williams Syndrome, which tends to make most of those experiencing this issue really, really picky about food. The bread Arnie’s uses is a type of thick-cut, sourdough bread…I held my breath…SHE LOVED IT! Who knew? Hurray! I also eyed their gorgeous fish and chips. Someone across from me was gobbling a plate of it down but I showed monumental restraint and did not, even once, try to create a distraction in order to try to snag a piece. Fellow guest, you are welcome. • Now for something I tend to consider almost as important as the food, the customer service. One word: WOW! From the young man who answered the phone when l called in to check on availability, to the gal who greeted us, to the same young man who seated us, to our wonderful server – it was seriously great! I love when a server especially, can, as they say, “read the room” or more importantly, each table. Karen, yes, that is her name but NOT her attitude, was a delight! She had several very different tables and treated every single one with this great smile and personally attentive way. She has that rare ability to respect her guests and treat them in a manner that best meets their needs. That is impressive. My dear friend who had flown just in, was a lead flight attendant for several decades. We both were so, forgive the redundancy, impressed! • THEN, we were surprised by another server, AJ, who played on the same high school football team as our son, and who my husband had also coached while they were there! Just going to say, this was the best! I have to add this, too. AJ was also a perfect example of a quality server! He was respectful of our dinner, gently asking if we were from Snohomish, not trying to intrude but just saying “hello”. Of course, if you know me, there were huge hugs! AJ was so kind (our daughter often went to practice with my husband so all of the “wild boys” as she called them, knew her) and yet, he was right back to caring for his guests. Having been involved in customer service my entire life, that is also something to note! • My friend also likes to say; “Leadership puts their footprint on everything, good or bad.” The management of Arnie’s gets it. They are welcoming. They work hard to give everyone a great experience both in service and food. Go there. Yes, it is more casual than the restaurant down the way, yay! Every restaurant has its own niche. This one fulfills theirs perfectly. Go to Arnie’s, you...

Don’t come for the food. Prices are high for what you get. Example; bay shrimp shows up three places on the menu. While bay shrimp is technically west coast shrimp, I’ve never seen it highlighted on any self respecting restaurant’s menu. I believe it’s normally frozen? What happened to Pacific Northwest food as is stated on the front of their menu? No halibut to be seen; our server actually steered us away from the oven prawns; whispering it was not a dinner serving- that I’d be hungry afterwards. I appreciate that; but if your own staff doesn’t recommend every item on your menu you need to wake up. I’ve been to Arnie’s many times in the past- however the last time was pre-Covid. Did the pandemic hammer a nail in Arnie’s coffin? The other thing we noticed was that on a Saturday night, bar was empty and last reservation was 7:30… they’re closed up by 8pm! That’s even before sunset- which is clearly the biggest asset this restaurant has. The restaurant inside is dated. I don’t believe it’s changed since I first came here in the early nineties. It could be a beautiful classy restaurant but instead the clientele seems to be locals who eat dinner at 4pm. Food: appetizer was ginger lettuce cups. Tasty but wrong lettuce (don’t use butter bc it falls apart immediately. But tasty all the same. Bread: by request. Sourdough, yummy. Fisherman’s platter: go to Red Robin or your freezer aisle. It’s better. Prime rib; came out wrong, which is fine; it got corrected immediately which is why I say our server was superb. Many times we were checked on and cared about. There was no busser; so finished plates were left on the table the whole meal. I don’t understand it. Baked potato- the skin was hard as a rock and I couldn’t cut it with a steak knife. Puzzling. Glasses: probably new in the 90’s. I had to include this bc I would never use these in my own home. The reason they’re cut up at the rim is bc staff scoops ice with the glass which is so dangerous. If you break a glass there’s no telling if you get it all out. Offered dessert but at this point I’m assuming nothing is made in house and is probably frozen. Overall a disappointment. This used to be my favorite restaurant where you could enjoy the view and have excellent local seafood. I gave the atmosphere 2 stars - for the view. But you can’t go to a restaurant for the view alone- I could just walk out the pier and enjoy that for free. Aqua- please buy Arnies and show Edmonds what a real classy...

The worst food I've had in my life, never gonna eat this or go near it again, it was almost as bad as my grandma's funeral I was crying so much from how bad the food was. My mouth had to be surgical removed cause all the food stained my mouth permanently, but the surgery to remove my whole mouth still cost less than the bill I received, like I could've gone fishing and made food on the dock get a ticket and still have enough to buy a whole yacht. Compared to buying a shrimp cocktail that is 1% shrimp and 99% salad. Like where did it say salad? Also I would've much rather ate food at a homeless man's vendor with him making the food with his feet and it would've atleast tasted semi edible. If I come here again the only thing I will order is water, reason one it's free not, and reason 2 it tastes like what it looks like. Nothing it taste like nothing just plain ol water not some shrimp cocktail that looks like dog food. But i will admit scamming eldery people who literaly cant taste a single thing is a good way to get money considering all the reviews are all elderlt people who think theyre getting food made by gordon ramsy but its proably made by some underwage worker getting paid 1$ a day. Overall horrible experience wouldn't come here again even if it meant being tortured by the devil wacking my butt everyday with a a metal spoon with spikes on it. Also the music choice is so bad like I know I have bad music taste but holy cow I was about to kill myself listening to these tik too edit songs, like a I don't some hard edited music for my food coming to my table when I already know it's coming and it taste no better than a crayon. Final review don't come here total ripoff, not worth the money, if you do come here order water and bring some headphones to nit listen to this not so food appropriate music. Don't come here I personally would...