Anthony's Hearthfire Grill Olympia — Restaurant in Olympia

TL;DR - Great views with mediocre food and subpar service.

Me and my colleagues were in town for business and wanted to go somewhere upscale after a week of daily overtime. We made the 45 minute drive from Dupont. We had a reservation for 5:00 pm and were seated after only a few minutes. We had water poured for us and our server brought bread to the table. The bread wasn't anything special, could have used some oil to dip it in.

After a bit of a wait, our waiter was knowledgeable when asked about the fish on the menu, he did a good job explaining the options etc. I opted for the flank steak 3 course meal with Caesar salad, flank steak and jar of key lime desert. I got an additional cup of tomato soup and a beer. One coworker got blackened halibut with peach salsa and a beer, the other coworker got corn chowder, blackened halibut with the lemon orgeno seasonsing with an unsweetened tea. He also ordered the calamari as an appetizer.

The views were awesome -- the reason you come to this place and not somewhere else. It was a rainy, drizzly day but the views still did not disappoint.

Our drinks were brought out pretty quickly and so was my soup and salad. The Caesar salad was lightly dressed (one of my coworkers commented on it as well) but I thought it was good -- they added real chunks of bacon that made for a good bite. Tomato soup was just decent. I traded spoons fulls of soup with my coworker -- we both agreed that the corn chowder tasted like nothing with a slight corn aftertaste. It required salt and pepper to impart any flavor.

Service wasn't great. Our server was nice enough, and made sure we had waters but never asked us if we wanted another beer and never refilled the unsweetened tea. The appetizer we put in never came out - we told him not to worry about it after the dessert came out. Checkins were very infrequent for the hour and twenty minutes we were at the restaurant.

The food was plated very well - it looked appetizing, aided by the huge windows and lots of natural light.

The flavor just wasn't there, though. Food was chronically underseasoned -- all three at our table agreed. When I went to add salt to my steak, the salt was clumpy due to moisture and when I shook it the plug on the bottom came off and showered salt all over me, the table and my food. My companions thought it was hilarious; I was a little bit salty about the whole affair. When I examined the shaker it was obvious that the plug at the bottom was stripped out and didn't grip well but that didn't stop it from being put out for service. My server helpfully offered to replace the salt shaker- I told him I thought I had enough to last for a lifetime.

The cornbread pudding tasted better than I thought it would - I was expecting a soupy mess but it was actually very similar to stuffing. It wasn't that great, however. The green beans we all agreeded seemed rather undercooked. The peach salsa was diced very coarsely and the lemon oregeno seasoning added little flavor. The fish was advertised as blackened but appeared much lighter.

When the dessert came out I was a little disappointed at the portion size. I offered my companions a bite and both declined: "That looks like it only has two spoon fulls, I don't want to eat all your dessert." The texture was closer to a thick pudding vs a key lime pie and the ratio of graham cracker crust to pie filling was off - it needed more crust.

For price, I was OK with the three course early dinner option for $33 -- I felt that was a strong value. My companions who paid quite a bit more weren't as satisfied with their value for the money.

I don't like giving out two star reviews but this went from a questionable 3 star to a solid 2 star with the service faux pas and the lack of flavor.

Moral of the story: a nice place to see but I wouldn't want...

My wife & I as well as occasionally our teenage sons have eaten at many Anthony's locations from California to Washington & always enjoyed the views as well as great service & food, this was our first & sadly our last time eating at this location! The views were great as to be expected from Anthony's, BUT everything else was terrible, we dress casual (not homeless looking), we are a young appearing couple (30's-40's), from the start of our service our waitress (won't use her name here) gave us so much judgement (face of a fake smile & distain with a bit of eye roll), she even pointed at the pricing next to the wine! I'm a great tipper always (25% minimum & much higher, I take pride in this), to be judged like we're trash was to say the least a setback on this new relationship! So anyways, we ordered our food, appetizers & drinks simultaneously, it took a solid 25 minutes to get our drinks, then another 15-20 minutes later our appetizer arrived, then almost an hour later our food arrived (lobster risotto & broccolini), we only saw her every every 25-30 minutes, & when she came she didn't ask if we were happy with anything except for her final pop in when our mouths were full of risotto... & then vanished again until we had to waive her down for the check! Onto the food, the crab/shrimp dip app was decent, the garlic flatbread with it was yummy, the lobster risotto was awful, the lobster was only small pieces from the tip of the claws, no solid chunks of lobsters all (I make lobster & king crab frequently at home), beyond this lack the whole of the plate was very salty and lacking in texture & taste, the lobster bits were unseasoned, overcooked and had very little flavor, very unlike Anthony's in my opinion, & very disappointing! The drinks... my old fashioned was good, my wife's pear martini was literally a half of a martini glass (half full), it tasted only of mix & no alcohol (yes I'm familiar with martini's as I also make cocktails), we had to order an extra shot to add which actually filled the glass to proportion... hmmm did they forget the gray goose?? All this and the waitress still didn't seem to care that we visibly went from happy to disappointed!! Not a good experience, not great food, so enjoy paying a lot for the view, or check out another spot!! Needless to say with a sad heart she didn't get a 25% tip which actually breaks my heart because I really enjoy giving a shock of surprise to anyone who gives decent service, great service always gets a 35% plus tip from me even if that means I'm spending upwards of $3-500 for a family night out, don't judge people because they aren't dressed to your standards, if your in the service industry then be of service, please!! I'm a nurse and I take care of my patients with kindness & a smile no matter my mood, that said I don't make a lot so it's not cool when you ruin a night out with my family, for shame!! Of note.. I asked for a side of roasted veggies to which she replied that my meal comes with Broccolini, she added a charge to the receipt for both broccolini's (shady), at this point we just wanted to go vs dispute! And charged the vodka that was utilized to complete the already not right martini (making the almost a $30 martini)!! Thanks for reading an...

The atmosphere alone deserves it own review. It is a little off the beaten path, so to speak, but once you walk in the doors, it doesn't matter. You are greeted with a spectacular, unobstructed view of the Sound. Huge floor to ceiling windows provide viewing of the beach, the ocean, and all the way over to the neighboring peninsula shore. If the view isn't enough, the overall energy, theme, and decor are unique and make me feel cozy and warm, with the lighting fixtures having individual fire-toned glass covering each light bulb. The staff and waitress we had were very attentive to our party of eight, with the waitress paying attention to things like the amount of bread in the baskets to the amount of soda in our cups, and refilling them often. The menu looked great and the options included seafood and steak, meaning the price per plate is about $25-35 / person. The flatbread served as an appetizer was hot and delicious, topped with a flaky salt and some kind of oil or herbed butter and was loved by the table. The waitress happily gave recommendations and most of my dining companions were impressed. There were two things that caused me to only give the food 4*. First, two of my companions ordered the flank steak, and one asked for the steak to be prepared medium and one medium rare, however both came out looking very medium. The second was my take on the margarita shrimp pasta. Based on the description I expected more flavor from the herbs and lime, but instead I was overpowered with the very oily pasta, though the shrimp were excellently prepared and delicious. The look of the dish was also somewhat lacking as the seasonal vegetable mix took up half the bowl, and the pasta taking up the other half, not that I minded the quantity ratio- but vegetables are either supposed to be a supporting role to the main dish or a side dish, based on the presentation it was unclear, but they did taste good with the sauce on the pasta. Let's not forget desert! One of our dining companions ordered from the early dinner price fixe menu and it came with a desert, so the rest of us also ordered desert. The burnt cream is essentially a Creme Brule but my dining companions and I greatly preferred the "jar pies". We had the option between a white chocolate cranberry and a chocolate oreo pie and while we ordered specific individual ones for each of us, the waitress also brought an extra of each of the three and extra spoons to ensure all of us could taste the others if we wanted. My favorite was the chocolate oreo but all were delicious.

Overall great service and fantastic atmosphere and overall good food. I will definitely be eating here again and bringing...