Calypso Edmonds — Restaurant in Edmonds

I always hope that when I am going out to eat that my expectations are met for two things:

The food and service.

I don't care how expensive a restaurant is and will order anything I want, but I want a server that takes care of me and delicious food. Ambiance and music are a plus, but the two above are non-negotiable.

My partner and I visited Calypso as it has been on our list of restaurants to visit in Washington. The location itself is close to the water, but the restaurant was very low key in its decor. It seemed like a hole in the wall.

We were seated by a nice waitress who was hosting and serving. She would check on us multiple times during our meal but the bartender was our server. Because he was busy and stuck behind the bar, I asked if she would be our server instead and offered to move to her section. They both eventually took turns serving us but my stars are for the service only.

The food here is INCREDIBLY bland I was shocked. We ordered a few items from happy hour, and skipped ordering entrees because of how bland the happy hour food was. We grabbed the corn bread, ribs, conch fritters, and jerk hot wings.

I swear to God nothing in this restaurant uses salt. The wings were coated in a dark sauce heavy with cinnamon but ZERO salt. I almost sent them back but my partner attempted to eat them with gobs of blue cheese to make up for the lack of flavor.

Conch fritters weren't crispy, and instead they had a rubbery outside. I'm thinking the dough was over worked. Also, no damn salt. But the aioli it came with was great and I started dipping everything in there for a semblance of flavor.

The ribs were huge, and tender, but jfc why aren't they salting their food? We ended up leaving to split a crab roll at Market because we know their food has FLAVOR.

This restaurant is a huge skip. Save your money and go somewhere else that isn't afraid of...

We were really excited to try this place because they have Caribbean food but we won't be back.

Our server was the greeter, and she definitely was welcoming and friendly. Four stars for her.

My son had the stew and ate every drop. That's why they get the three stars. It's a bit expensive but I feel it's a great flavorful dish.

Lobster mac and cheese is a joke here!!! The lobster (lobster was good) was just sitting on top of some FAR below average, American or Velveeta cheese tasting, macaroni and cheese with flavorless liquidy sauce. You would think if it had lobster paired with it that it would have an absolutely amazing flavor, perhaps a sharp Vermont cheddar somewhere in it , but there was nothing special, no flavor and he didn't even eat it!! What a huge waste of money. You can see the liquid pooled in the picture.

Lastly, I had the jerk chicken. It was delicious, It really was. But I'm a small person and I feel that it was too small of a portion for the price of $27 for one piece of chicken with bones in it. I was served about a tablespoon of beans and rice, which I mentioned to the server and then she brought some back in a little bowl. However after tasting it, Zatarain's beans and rice is about a thousand times better. This was some of the worst restaurant food (rice) I've ever had. If it's on the plate it should be edible that's the rule. Why would they serve this beans and rice?? I can't imagine serving it at any restaurant. It truly tasted as if it had been just sitting there all day, and it was served at room temp, no seasonings and dry.

So one dish out of three was great. If you have money to burn then perhaps you're comfortable paying $27 for one piece of chicken but most people don't. It's definitely overpriced. The server said that the price of chicken had gone up...

Caribbean island oasis

We have visited Calypso quite a few times since they opened and have always been well cared for and well fed. The atmosphere is warm, subtly tropical and relaxed. The area near the windows is great for happy hour and people watching. The inner dining room is perfect for an intimate dinner or meeting friends. We have some happy hour favorites. The pork ribs with the pineapple curry glaze are amazing. They are dry rub roasted and paired with this sweet, savory, slightly spicy glaze of yumminess. If I could order a platter the size of a table, I probably would. We also love the Conch fritters with jerk aioli. The jerk chicken wings are very good as well.

Dinner menu items have a list of staples and an ever-changing hot sheet of what is new and fresh. We have sampled most of the menu and they hit the ball out of the park with everything. The new tomato watermelon salad is a dance party of summer flavors. The blackened rock fish and seared mahi-mahi will make you think you are at a beach grill in the Caribbean. The jerk chicken and pork tenderloin are savory comfort food. The Rasta pasta is very good and will warm you while giving you a very satisfying full tummy. This last visit, the hot sheet had lobster tail macaroni and cheese. Best mac & cheese I have ever had. If was tough to not go back again today to get more of this special hot sheet treat.

And the cocktails! You can ask for pretty much anything you want, but we would recommend ordering off the cocktail menu. Try something new and pretend you are on vacation. Recently when I needed a little vacay without actually flying away, the BIG Pineapple helped greatly. (Yes, it is a drink in a hollowed out, frozen pineapple.)

We highly recommend...