John's Grill — Restaurant in Mukilteo

UPDATE#2! After a disappointing NYE 2024 - Johns made it right for us! We finally returned for dinner in August as we reside on Whidbey. Crab Cakes were amazing! Big, fluffyish, full of crab! A small meal in itself!. I had the Seafood Linguine which includes prawns, scallops, dungeness crab, Willapa Bay clams, bacon lardons, and cremini mushrooms served in a light garlic cream sauce. Excellent! All the Seafood was cooked to perfection on nice al dente pasta. My wife had the Halibut special - also good! Kentucky Mules all around! Excellent service in a very quaint setting! NYE was an anomaly and they made it right! Just go! Get the crab cakes! Thanks Johns Grill!! We will be back! Greta Happy Hour too!

UPDATE! 1.14.25 After the review below, I was contacted directly by Chris at John's Grill who offered to make things right! We will ferry over in the near future and let you know how it goes! VERY IMPRESSED that John's Grill reached out to me directly and just didn't let it slide! They really care about their customers and their reputation! I am certain that our next experience will be much better! Stay Tuned

Original Review: Dined with a party of 4 on NYE 24. Made reservations on a suggestion from a friend. We ferried over to MUK from Whidbey for the evening. Crab cake as an app was good but about 1/2 of the size of the table next to us. My wife had Salmon Caesar and the King Salmon was quite fishy tasting. She didn't finish it. My steak Oscar Special was disappointing. Potato Au Gratin was a nearly burnt mass that was unrecognizable as potato anything. Steak temp was Medium Rare as ordered but literally could not cut it with the steak knife. The side vegetable was some sort of gourd/squash. The steak had a heavily seasoned (Allspice??) butter that overwhelmed the steak and was not a good pairing with beef at all. Our friends had the Scallop Risotto and it was very salty (as others have reviewed) and the Steak Oscar Special ($59 ea) with the same comments as above. The steak was near a shoe insole in toughness and appearance. It was thin and unbelievably tough. $217 per couple was a total waste. We were too embarrassed to send anything back as we invited our friends to join us and ultimately had to apologize about our choice repeatedly. I just don't know what happened. Johns Grill was well regarded by another friend of ours who is more of a regular. Great expectations as the location is quaint and bar looks cool! We are just not sure we will give them another chance. ...

The food is OK. Not great but it’s edible. Portions are super small and WAY overpriced. If you like to dine out for good service definitely avoid John’s Grill!!

I have not dined in at this restaurant and, after my takeout experience, I never will. After calling in an order I was told 1 hour 15 mins it would be ready. Kind of long wait but totally fine. So after 1 hour 15 mins I drive to pickup my order and it’s not ready and would be another 5-10 mins. Sort of annoying but no biggie and not a dealbreaker by any means. However After waiting in my car 45 mins for a call from the restaurant that the order was ready (no one bothered to call me) I went back inside and waited even longer for someone, anyone to help and finally after standing around being ignored a few mins someone notices I’m standing there and food is brought out. Not one apology or event a mention about the wait, not a word of thanks for being patient, not even a thank you for your order. Not even a have a good evening. And certainly not a enjoy your meal.

Then I bring my food home and the portions are tiny considering the price! $30 for grilled prawns and $30 for a salmon dinner. Kids pasta barely enough for 1/2 a child. Not to mention greasy fingerprints all over the to-go boxes. Eww. The photos AREN’T “after I ate” photos they are BEFORE photos! that’s what I saw when opening the takeout boxes. Chintzy at best.

I totally get it if they are short staffed and busy during nice weather and high season. And yes it’s very hard to do upscale takeout. But then don’t offer to-go if you can’t deliver at least a decent experience! If the service was any better this would be a 3-4 star review (still minus 1-2 stars for potions and food presentation) Finally maybe if they express gratitude for the business and acknowledge service was lacking they’d see more local repeat business.

If you’re a Mukilteo resident I hope you’ve had a better experience at John’s Grill, I really wanted to love it but, until the service improves, I won’t go back.

If you’re visiting from out of town looking for a nice dinner experience avoid John’s Grill and try the Thai place across the street!! Superior service and way bigger portions (especially for the price), great...

We decided to celebrate my birthday at John's Grill on Saturday. With the gray skies and rain, John's Grill was like coming home --- the warm atmosphere welcomed us as did the wonderful staff.

We had our two elementary-aged children with us and even though they were the only children in the restaurant, I must say they were treated wonderfully. I can't emphasize how wonderful the staff is.

We started with the bread basket and crab cake for appetizers along with the chowder for my husband and older daughter. The crab cake was easily one of the best I've had --- and it was quite large, so my husband and I shared it. Both my husband and older daughter thoroughly enjoyed their chowder; my husband commented on the large tasty clams in the soup. My older daughter loved the addition of corn to the chowder and praised its taste. Chowder is hit-or-miss around here, so it's great to find a place that not only does it right --- but exceeds what is deemed good chowder.

The bread basket was delicious. Crisp crust and soft center with delightful honey butter and salted butter for butter options. Both butters were on point.

My husband and older daughter were almost full due to the appetizers, but they somehow managed to consume their huge burgers. They looked beautiful; the presentation was lovely. My younger daughter's chicken "fingers" were cooked perfectly --- the chicken smelled so good. All homemade dishes made this such a lovely birthday dinner. Finally, my bleu cheese- and onion-topped filet mignon was superb -- fork tender with smashed potatoes along with tasty carrots and zucchini. Yes, some say that it's a straightforward dinner --- but John's Grill made it their own.

My husband and two daughters shared the brownie sundae. Everything exceeded our expectations. The cocktails were sweet and my husband's near-beer was a good recommendation. The intimate atmosphere, fantastic food, and kind (and professional) staff make this a must for anyone's list.

Finally, I want to give a shoutout to Kendel for her exceptional service. She was an angel with my children and they loved her! I also want to thank (I didn't catch her name) the lovely woman who worked with Kendel to help serve our meals and...