Dwellers Drinkery — Restaurant in Lake Stevens

Wow, what a gem this new place is! I’ve been three times (so far), so this will be three reviews in one. First trip, met a couple of friends and we got food to share out on the patio. One got @Diamond Knot! Root beer (yum!), one got the @5Rights 8928 pale ale, and I think I got the @Stoup Gold on Gold Pilsner. We ordered Brussels sprouts, tacos (3) and loaded tots. Tacos came with a side and we decided on coleslaw. I’m not a coleslaw fan, but this was delicious, especially in the tacos. The tacos were a bit greasy, but tasted great. Tots were loaded with yummy goodness of bacon, pulled pork, and cheese. Second trip, met another friend for lunch. She chose the @Obec amber ale and I had the @5Rights 8928 pale ale. We shared Drummies with BBQ sauce, tots, and coleslaw (again!) Plenty of tots to share. The Drummies were amazing! I’d read that the fried chicken was really good so was excited to try it. I don’t know what they put in their batter, but it’s my new fav. What we really liked about it, besides the flavor, was that it wasn’t swimming in BBQ sauce, but rather drizzled so we still had the crunch of the fried crispness. Third trip, I stopped by solo. The @Soundbite Summertime Blues peach & blueberry cider was refreshing on a warm day, and went well with the Clack wrap. (Because…fried chicken again!) I asked for the BBQ sauce but didn’t even open the container because it was delicious without. Had to get the coleslaw again. (It’s hard to find coleslaw I like!) It was a bit saucy, like the other times, but this time had a pink tint with a little extra zip to it. Saucy or not, I found it hard to believe it could be even better! (As a new business, I’m sure they’re making tweaks here and there. I just hope they don’t change that fried chicken recipe!) Staff was attentive, but not overly so. I heard them greet everyone who came in, asking if it was their first time in, and making suggestions for food and beverages. Great playlist, something for everyone, and not so loud that you can’t carry on a conversation. The patio has choices of sun or shade, with corn hole, a giant Connect Four, and water bowls for your pups. There is also a “take what you need” station with extra napkins, silverware, and water. Haven’t been upstairs to the kid-friendly area. I look forward to trying everything on the menu…if I can get past the fried...

It’s clear that Dweller’s is still working through their kinks, but after being open for over a month, I’m surprised they’re still having issues. This is the first time we visited and I want to start with the positive - the atmosphere is great and it’s a nice change to the usual restaurant in Lake Stevens. Unfortunately it doesn’t outweigh the strange and inefficient ordering process or the food. We were provided a QR code to order but then a server came to take our order a few minutes later - but unfortunately he didn’t seem to know how to order bc he was asking us for the numbers for our drinks.. which we had to look at the online menu to find. They ask for a card upfront, which is odd since it’s a restaurant and we’re ordering food at a table and not drinks at a bar. Then the food came out in a strange cadence and by the time the last of our tables meals arrived, the first dishes were cold.

Then there’s the food.. it’s fine but nothing stellar. We ordered the grilled escabeche, which came out looking very unappealing and the portion was shockingly small. 3 pieces of cauliflower, some bits of other veggies, and a small slice of carrot. The flavor of the nachos doesn’t blend well, it was all very disjointed, and the chips were on the border of being stale. We may return for a drink, but I doubt we’d...

We arrived almost an hour before closing and sat outside. We had water brought to us and later a table number placed at our table, but no further follow up or explanation. We waited a long time to have our order taken, then gave up and went to the front counter. The comments of the person taking our order were strange; when I ordered the grilled cheese he ran off to the kitchen and came back with “we 86’ed it, but I guess we have one left”. The food came out fairly quick, but the shredded cheese in the grilled cheese was not melted! I took it home to finish cooking it as the other comment we received when we were ordering was that they had already started their closing process. Not an amazing first time, it will be hard to convince my husband to go again. We have owned a restaurant and always give grace, but it did not feel welcoming at all. The restaurant has a cute look to it, but we were so flustered by our experience I didn’t even take photos… My last piece of advice, if you are going to whisper to other staff about a customer, you should not do it when they are in range of seeing and hearing it. I hope improvements are made to the customer experience. We love to spend our money locally and are loyal customers…but there has to be a reason to bring us in and not...