The Reef — Restaurant in Olympia

Overall, it was good, and I will go back, but I wasn’t blown away. It wasn’t crazy busy when we went in, the servers had us seat ourselves, they dropped off water and menus, and then it took a little longer than I expected for someone to come around and take our orders. I ordered the magic maitake mushrooms and the kimchi fried rice with pork belly. My partner ordered the chicken nuggets and the steak frites. Our server took the order, and then came back a few minutes later to tell us they were out of steak, and also out of the curry and out of oysters (but that the oyster boys had a booth at summerfest and we could get oysters there if we wanted). My partner decided not to order another entree and just stuck with the chicken nuggets. The nuggets and mushrooms came out after another few minutes, and we both felt that they were fine but not great for the price. The nuggets come in a goofy little white cardboard sleeve stamped with their logo (like a McDonald’s fries style thing), which seemed kind of wasteful to me. The breading was more like a beer batter, which was nice, but overall I’d say they were pretty average. The mushrooms were heavily breaded and toped with a spicy chili sauce and shredded cabbage. They were inconsistently sized, which meant that the small ones were nice and crunchy, but the big ones were soft and kind of pasty in the middle. I really couldn’t taste the mushrooms at all under all the breading and sauce, so it seemed like a waste to do maitake that way. I didn’t feel like the dish was worth the price, and won’t order it again in the future. The kimchi fried rice came out while we were finishing up our appetizers, so that was timed well. And it was really good! The egg on top was nice and runny, the spice level was appropriate for kimchi (not so cranked up that I couldn’t taste stuff), and the pork belly was excellent in it. It was a big enough portion that I took half home with me, so definitely a good value for the price. I will go back for this dish! It took longer than I would have liked for our waitstaff to come by so we could ask for a box and our check, and when they finally dropped the check back with us my card wasn’t there. They had left it in the machine, and my partner had to chase after them to get it. They were very friendly, and everyone who worked there that we talked to were upbeat and nice! Overall, the service was fine but not great, and the food was a little hit and miss, but I look forward to trying some of their other dishes and drinks in the future. Also, It does look very nice inside; it’s a very very different feel from the old Reef, but that’s what I expected, and I think they have a good vibe. (Picture is of the...

Oly born and raised and have watched this local legend rise over and over, often from literal ashes. It seems to have chosen to rest, rather than rising again in glory, as we felt and tasted none of the Reefs former glory in this newest iteration.

80 dollars for 2 sandwiches, a burrito and three sodas. If the food was good, we could see paying this. We know food has gone up. But this food left us underwhelmed, two of the three of us still hungry, and overall, missing our old Reef.

We were hopeful with a great host service and we seeing that the menu was no longer a 3 page novel.

One major other major positive is how much cleaner the place is over all. It looks and smells much better than it used to, but that is about where it stops with improvements.

The service hasn't changed much once you are seated, however. One can still expect a long wait to get food, checks, refills or anything you need, except not due to customer volume. We couldn't really figure it out until we realized our server was working the lounge, leaving the front for 15 min at a time while we waited for service at various points during our visit. Our burrito sat in the service window for 10 minutes.

Hamburger was a preformed, low quality single patty on a cheap sesame bun. Iceburg and no tomato. Base price is 14 and every addition is 2 dollars, from grilled onions to blue cheese. Low quality american cheese is the standard on this burger.

Chicken sandwich is absolutly not worth the price at 18 for a single thigh, with a tiny portion of fries. Promised brioche bun was missing and a bland sesame bun was used in its stead. Hard time trying to understand why this has slaw and then pickled cabbage, too. Greasy and wet with vinegar and mayo all at once.

Burrito was massive with potatoes and eggs but lacked meat in any substantial way. Plate was hot and the food dried out after hanging out for a while under the heat lamp.

Inflation has pressed all of us. But this is next level. I can get higher quality food handed off with friendlier service for a fraction of the ticket price just about anywhere else in town. I will opt for 2 slices and soda for 6 bucks across the street...

LOOK WHAT THEY DID TO ME BOY! This is a far cry from the King Solomon's Reef before the pandemic. Causal diner? Not anymore. Now it's a confused upscale Asian fusion eatery disguised as a diner. Google has images of the menu, but they are wrong. Nearly all "diner" food as been removed, save for some random French fries, an upscale chicken sandwich, and a sad breakfast menu. I'm autistic and couldn't eat most of the paired down menu, save for a couple of appetizers and the fried chicken sandwich. I chose the fried chicken sandwich, plain, hot. No pickled cabbage. No "red sauce" (I asked what this was and the waiter could not explain what it was) and no cole slaw. My date ordered the same, but with no pickled cabbage and no slaw. I'm a southern gal and know what a fried chicken sandwich should be. This was not it. My order was at least correct, but my date got picked cole slaw and a soggy sandwich. The fries were OK. This diner can't do basic stuff. I should have gotten the pork belly French fries appetizer but they didn't even have BBQ sauce at this place. It's too fancy for that.

On top of everything else, our waiter, who was super friendly, couldn't answer any questions we had about the menu. Nothing about the dishes, nothing about the fact a full third of the menu was marked with astricks with no explanation as to why, and told us he didn't read the menu and that it "wasn't that deep".

Also, it's valentines day and the place was dead. Google says "as busy as ever" which if correct, is telling. I don't think Olympia wants this place. Not like it is. This was sad. And expensive. $60 for two sad chicken sandwichs and two sodas.

Sorry, but we...