Burrata Bistro — Restaurant in Poulsbo

Adding another REVIEW to the one from Valentine's Day 3 months earlier. Our friends visiting from California insisted they want to take us to Burrata's, as they really loved it from previous visits. We didn't want to spoil their expectations and agreed. Their menu hasn't changed much for the last 14 years, and we all had our usual favorites. Our friends even wanted to go again before they left a week later.

But after dinner they rescinded. Claimed their favorite food wasn't as good as what they had in years past, and the Broccolini was downright inediable for all of us - like chewing on a stick of wood and a knife couldn't cut it! My Pork Meatballs were the only thing still tasting as good as it used to be.

They also didn't care for the long dark trek from the Paella Bar thru the entire building to the "main" also dark and dingy restaurant. So after 14 years of trying to support this local business - we're finally cured. Too bad the owners don't seem to care or even read reviews - but they finally lost all of our - and our friends' near and far - business.

PREVIOUS REVIEW: So after the Valentine's Day being closed issue mentioned below, and since the food used to be really good, we decided to try yet again - always hopeful that things may have changed. This time the main restaurant was locked, and we had to enter through the Paella Bar and be shuttled across, which sadly is still dark and dreary. The food, with a menu that has hardly changed since 2011, was still decent enough - albeit a long wait for it when only 3 tables were occupied!

But we were slightly shocked to find a hefty 6% SERVICE SURCHARGE on our bill - were told it is NOT FOR EMPLOYEES, BUT GOES TO THE OWNER! We understand such charges from COVID dates, but those days are long gone. So why would any establishment charge such fee, when in fact the Servers will suffer - as not many people will happily add yet another 15-20% for tips. Our server confirmed this and said she is looking for another job. We gave her a cash tip.

Therefore - after making Burratas our favorite Poulsbo restaurant since 2011, we're finally done with it and never to return - unless it's under new ownership. Obviously they don't bother to check reviews with constructive and repeated negative comments, so nothing ever changes.

OLD REVIEW: Closed Mondays and Tuesdays - but stubbornly not opening for Valentine's Day - which happens to be on a Tuesday this year! Person answering the phone when I tried to make a reservation 2 weeks earlier was downright rude when I expressed my surprise and disbelief. Just for that I'm not inclined to patronizing that business again - after being a regular customer (with friends) for about 10 years! But they must be doing really well to pass up one of the busiest restaurant days of the year...so they...

We just had a dinner there, to celebrate my mom’s birthday, with my partner, and our 1 year old baby. Most food we had was tasty. Vibe is lovely. The serving experience we had was unpleasant and uncomfortable.

Joe was our server. When I was ordering food, he asked me, “Where are you from?” I said, we are from Seattle. Clearly, he was not “satisfied” with my response. So he decided to add on, “Where does your accident come from?” I said, “What do you mean by my accident?” He finally gave up as I didn’t come up with a response he was hoping for. Located in Downtown Poulsbo, haven’t they seen enough people of color and learned how to genuinely ask customers questions without being offensive?

The second incident was the Cioppino we ordered. One clam coming from that has insanely amount of sand and small rocks, that my mom had to throw up immediately and literally brush her teeth. When I was about to finish the rest of the soup from the Cioppino, I found a part of stainless steel scrubber. I brought this up with Joe. He said he needs to check with his manager. When he returned, he said, “We took care of it.” I asked, “What do you mean by taking care of it?” He said, “We took this out of your bill.”Throughout the entire discussion of this stainless scrubber thing, there was no single point that Joe was even sorry about this. This is way beyond my expectations. I can’t imagine what if my one years old had that thing in his mouth.

Again, most food we had was tasty. I just would not return for the professionalism of the serving...

Public humiliation in front of other patrons for not loving the food. There must be some changes in management. There is good Mexican, Indian, and sono di’vino. Go elsewhere. They tack on 7 % service char and say “it’s seasonal” then tax that charge. Totally embarrassed and disgusted by the customer service. Our family was mortified and will not be returning to our favorite bistro in my hometow of Poulsbo Washington. There is absolutely no excuse for the fact that an insulting waitress would be so loud and public about our enjoyment of the food. Lots of the food was great. Olive was good. The beet salad was good. Chicken enchilada was delicious. Service was great, except the the angst and pains of a full-on embarrassing experience. She says she wants a good review. Hmmmm. Maybe if the food was good, and we weren’t so disgusted by this experience…

The pork was so over cooked it was like chewing on driftwood. When I mentioned the massive change in food quality and why??? My entire family was confronted by TWO waitresses while we ate in the back patio with a full house of customers. They suggested we ate the dry pork, however that was nuts!!! It was so disgusting it was like chewed up wood on the side of my plate (as well as the 4 other people at the table who all gave it a taste). Terrible food that is usually amazing.

Bad food is a one thing. But being MEAN to customers in front of other patrons is a huge issue. Be kind. The focaccia is great. Really GREAT.

I heard there is a good vegetarian...