The Oyster & Thistle — Restaurant in La Conner

By looking at previous pictures of the menu on Google, and on the restaurant website itself, I was not expecting the menu we were given yesterday. There were noticeable updates to the menu, which is normal for fine dining restaurants.. But the actual restaurant website should be updating their posted menu daily. That's the expectation of a fine dining Establishment. I was looking forward to the ribeye but it wasn't even an option. The prices were also higher across the board compared to menus posted on Google from only a few months ago. I understand that the current economic recession / inflation results in more expensive prices, but a 33% increase in something like artisan bread ($4.50 - $6.00) is a lot. There were also several items that featured shitake mushrooms our party wanted to order but the restaurant didn't have any mushrooms!! They were using kale as a substitute.. Anyways, we got French onion soups and beet salads as appetizers. The French onion soup, in my opinion, was too sweet and had too much bread. It wasn't savory (beefy) enough, and there really wasn't a lot of onions at all in there. But, overall it was still good. The beet salad was also much enjoyed. We also ordered three loaves of bread (each loaf can feed two bread lovers, or three if you share) and with the flaky salted butter it was very fresh and delicious. I got the duck as my entree. If I didnt eat a French onion soup and 6 slices of bread before the entree, I would have been more disappointed with the portion than I was. Though small, the dish was very good. The duck had a nice crispy skin with incredible rich flavors and the meat was super tender and moist. And the potatoes were perfectly tender too.. I just wish I had more sauce with the dish. My wife's braised beef was succulent and tender. Others in the party got the filet mignon which they claimed to be the best steak they've had in recent memory, and also some kale risotto (should've been shitake mushroom) which they said was Delicious. For dessert, we got the chocolate fondant with homemade ice cream. The only problem was it came with one spoonful of ice cream.. It should at least have been one scoop or something. Also, creme brulees were great but the profiteroles left something to be desired. All in all, we had a great time, but the end price was very expensive, and for parties of six or higher they have one bill only, so we couldn't split the bill like we wanted. Also no air conditioning so it was definitely...

We have eaten here about 6 times since moving to Anacortes. I honestly cannot believe our experience there today. We got there at 3:30 today. It was a nearly empty patio only one table taken. The Pub was empty. We asked to sit in the pub downstairs. We were told we could not if we did not have reservations. Then the bartender went upstairs to see if he could get us in there. He came back and told us we could have the corner table in the pub. At this time, they had the side door to the patio open as well as the front door. It was freezing in there. The bartender was our server. It took a while to get water. Then took longer than we like to wait for him to take our drink order. Then as my Husband orders a coke and I a glass of Chardonnay $18(and not that good) the waiter asks what we would like for dinner. I was like really? a high end place and I can't even have a glass of wine before I order???Really?

Then Duane comes down into the bar and loudly asks the bar tender "why do you think we are almost out of orange juice?" Scolding him and asking if he had talked to the chef, because the chef owns the walk in cooler he knows everything that is in it. Duane yells at the bartender and we hear it all. So unprofessional. Made us feel so uncomfortable. I order the Muscles and clams pasta and my husband ordered the Ling cod. My pasta had no clams whatsoever..... It was ok but just ok. I was not given a bowl for my shells and my husband found a hair baked into our bread. Not once until we were finished did the bartender ask how are meal was. Honestly you can go to any establishment down the hill and have top notch service and better food.

Another group came in asked to have just drinks on the patio they were told "NO" that those tables were being held for people that wanted to dine. What the heck? it was freezing out. Then another group comes he asks if the owner is available, he is told he is not. He then asks for Duane and says Duane will let him stay and just have drinks. The bartender goes and asks Duane and Duane says they can stay and just have drinks. How crazy is this place? My answer to this is WE WILL...

There were some highlights and then some big misses, especially given the price point. Overall, I felt the price point was high for most menu items given the execution and/or portion size. Strangely, no cocktail list. Even a spirits list would be helpful. However, the bartender made me a delicious aviation upon request. Wine list was limited in styles. Pan fried oysters were hot and crispy with a rich house made sauce (Caesar?). Field greens were good with a variation on a Caesar dressing; just wish portion size was bigger for the price. Tartare was okay, but lacked seasoning. Raw oysters were clean and fresh (albeit pricey) with an interesting grapefruit granita instead of mignonette. Husband had the scallops/risotto for his main and the dish was beautifully presented and scallops perfectly cooked. The risotto was unfortunately very under seasoned, a shame given how lovely the flavours were. Our table mates had the cioppino, generous with seafood. Different style than a typical cioppino; less tomatoey. The toast served with it was burnt. They also had the filet, which was very thick and cooked perfectly rare. The steak and potatoes lacked salt and the dish as a whole really needs a sauce to tie it all together. Dessert got weird. They served the crème brûlée on a plate with a square cutout of the menu. It tasted off to me, like sour milk, but the rest of the table seemed to like it. The chocolate mousse was served soft-serve style in a coffee cup without any further garnish. It was dense and tasted more like bland pudding. No dessert cocktails were offered. In general, the service was lovely when the server was at our table. The servers were dressed professionally which I appreciated and added to the ambiance. I wish they had checked in more frequently as plates and finished food sat on our table for awhile, and I was never checked in with after I finished my first drink, so it was the only drink I ordered. Wasn’t a terrible experience or anything like that but nothing was exceptional enough for me to warrant a return...