DERU — Restaurant in Kirkland

This has been on my list to visit for years but never made it! Big mistake as the food is fantastic!!

Parking: Small parking lot and surrounding neighborhood Pet friendly: Unknown Family friendly: Yes

FOOD: Garlic Bread (House focaccia, garlic confit, seeds, parmesan. Served with olive oil and balsamic) $12.00: 3 Star – I really wanted to love this bread as its different that make them unique to DERU. The garlic confit is very tasty but I think they had TOO much seeds that it covered a lot of the taste. I love focaccia but I don’t think it’s the right “bread type” for garlic bread. Focaccia is this heavenly squishy cloud bread but I want my garlic bread to have a crusty crisp exterior but super soft interior for the textural difference.

Roast Beef Sandwich – Full (House herb focaccia, house herb crusted roast beef, gruyere, arugula, bacon onion jam, celery root aioli and house herb aioli) $18.00: 4 Star – See a focaccia is perfect for a sandwich bread! This was a tasty sandwich BUT it looked and tasted similar to the Chicken sandwich. The only difference was the protein.

Roasted Chicken and Goat Cheese Sandwich – Full (House herb focaccia, roasted herb marinade chicken, goat cheese spread, house red onion marmalade, arugula, house herb aioli) $17.50: 4 Star - bread bread bread! I had to say that because I what else can you say about a good focaccia sandwich bread 😊. I still stand by the fact that visually and even taste, it was very similar to the roast beef. Too light on the goat cheese as you couldn’t really tell it was there.

Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting – slice $12.00: 5-Stars - OMG this carrot cake was so delicious! The only other time I’ve had an amazing life changing carrot cake was at DW Bistro in Las Vegas (yes it was life changing because until that point I did not like carrot cake). The texture was so moist and the perfect denseness (real words). The frosting was just sweet enough that it paired so well with the cake. ::Chef Kiss::

DRINKS: Salted Caramel Latte (Espresso with steamed Milk and DERU Salted Caramel Sauce) $6.00: 4 Stars - first sip, I thought it was tasted like super water down coffee but I took my friend’s advice and just do a slight stir even though it’ll ruin the latte art. The perfect kiss of Salted Caramel Latte to the must needed caffeine, even more so as I went on a breezy day and decided to sit outside.

MENU/RESTAURANT: I love their menu! Its very bistro style and you can tell it’s a place that serves local, clean, simple ingredients in the most fabulous way.

For some reason, I have no idea why I thought this restaurant was in DT Kirkland. Its not far but as I drove, I thought my GPS was misdirecting me. To my surprise I found myself in a neighborhood with a small restaurant. There is small indoor and small outdoor seating which explains why its first come first serve. To be honest, this is really one of the reasons why I haven’t gone due to the lack of ability to make reservation.

SERVICE: This is really a 3 part review… The in person staff is super friendly and will constantly check on us. You can order remotely via the QR code at the table OR you can go to the front and order directly. We originally thought to use the QR code since it seemed easier but when it came to ordering a slice of carrot cake it wasn’t even an option. I had to go to the front anyway and was told that oh for the carrot cake you need to come to us… why bother with the app than..? Their remote waitlist - I actually tried to go back for a 2nd visit but when I joined their remote waitlist for a party of 7, it told me it was 225 minutes which made us go somewhere else and lo and behold an hour later I got a text saying my table was...

I have been to Deru a couple times and the food was excellent the first time I went with my family. The second time has honestly made me hesitant about whether I would ever go back. This review is for constructive purposes for the owners and staff:

This last Sunday, my husband and I decided to go to Deru Cafe for our anniversary brunch. I ordered the brioche breakfast sandwich looking forward to the soft and chewy brioche bun but when the meal arrived, the bun was over-toasted and crisped. I kindly asked the server if there was any way I could get a new one even though my husband's meal was already there and I didn't want to make him wait to eat. It took a little while for it to be remade but I was still looking forward to it because I was very hungry. In the meantime, my husband started to dig in to his meal which was the Fried Chicken and gravy with two poached eggs. It looked amazing but when he started to cut into it, we noticed that the chicken wasn't cooked all the way through and was very pink. So, he showed one of the servers and the server agreed that it was visibly undercooked so he offered to remake it. That was another thing that was unexpected at such a nice, fairly pricey cafe. So we both waited a little longer. My sandwich came out first and again, to my disappointment, it was as if it wasn't actually remade because the bun was still clearly overdone and too toasted to appreciate the brioche bun. I decided not to make another fuss since I was so hungry and ate it anyway. The breakfast sandwich itself tasted delicious even with the bun being the way it was. When my husband's fried chicken and gravy with poached eggs came out, it looked fully cooked through and he enjoyed it. The gravy tasted excellent along with the added eggs! I had hoped that we would get one of the meals comped or at least received a discount for the experience we had but it was neither offered nor did I ask for one.

It's pretty much a self-service restaurant/cafe with minimal personal interaction with the staff. At the tables, you scan a bar code and order/pay through your phone.

The baked goods looked so delicious and mouth-watering except for the fact that some of the cakes on top of the case were exposed and I saw a fly land on one of them.

Overall, we still had a great anniversary brunch with great conversation in our waiting time. It is a wonderful cafe and I look forward to someday going back to try...

I would have never known about it but thanks to an old friend, she took me here a few years ago and I can't stop coming back. I cannot say enough good things about this place. If I had to complain, it would only be the lack of parking options.

Tucked away in a very unsuspecting location - DERU serves up amazing dishes - from salads to sandwiches, burgers to soups, down to cakes and cookies. The menu is rather seasonal so it's bittersweet to eat something amazingly delicious and find out it's not served any more the next time around. But anything that gets replaced by said item is comparable if not better than the prior.

Ingredients here in each dish seems simple enough - so what makes it better? quality ingredients is my guess, paired with a staff that simply cares about what is being put out to their patrons. Food made with love and passion. Every member of the staff here is always so friendly and helpful. Every dish I ever had is soul warming delicious. Every cake and cookie i've had here goes right to my gut. And I do not have one regret.

Their coffee drinks are sourced locally from Victrola Coffee which also happens to be my favorite coffee spot in the coffee capitol of the world (Seattle). The dining area is rather small but cozy all the same. The decor, simple yet inviting. There are some patio/outdoor seating as well with space heaters to keep you warm, although they run their drive thru/pick up outside so if you don't want to be exposed to exhaust fumes (on the long line days), wait to eat inside, it's worth it.

I've taken a few clients, friends and associates here and every one of them has fallen in love with this place and rightfully so. It's quite the danger to my pocket book as I now work less than a mile away. But that's a next pay check problem as far as I'm concerned. I wish they had a punch card haha. I definitely will...