The Loft at Latitude Forty Seven Seven — Restaurant in Poulsbo

Hubby and I just celebrated our anniversary on August 27th. For dinner, we decided to experience the exclusivity of The Loft at Latitude forty-seven seven. Early in the day, I was discussing our chosen restaurant with a couple of acquaintances. They mentioned that it was once a hidden gem, but both felt, for the cost of the food, it wasnt worth it. Well, this piqued our curiosity nonetheless.

Keep in mind, The Loft at Latitude forty-seven seven operates on a first-come, first-served basis, so it's best to arrive early to secure a table.

Arriving around 4:45, we were taken aback by the unexpectedly casual atmosphere. It was, for lack of a better description, a contemporary beach casual setting. The price of the dishes certainly didn't match the restaurant's aesthetics. We were seated right on the waterfront, overlooking people's boats and yachts. A slight breeze but a beautiful day, not too hot to sit and enjoy dinner outside.

After looking through the menu at the many mouth-watering dishes, it was hard not to change our minds over and over. Finally, we concluded that if we ever wanted to eat, we had to pick and order, lol.

Our server was terrific. Megan M. was neither pushy nor hovering. She brought us water and took our drink order, and since we were ready at the same time, we ordered our food.

First, our drinks, I had the Loft painkiller, and hubby had a Margarita; after seeing the price of those drinks, I really needed a painkiller, LOL. Aside from the price of each drink, the drinks were good. No complaints there, and this is coming from someone who barely drinks.

Dinners. I had Thai chicken salad, and my hubby had butter-seared halibut. His Alaskan halibut was butter-seared and lying on a bed of garlic, asiago, mashed potatoes, along with seasonal vegetables, broccolini, and carrots. He thoroughly enjoyed his halibut, but his one minor complaint is that he felt there should have been some seasoning on it to enhance the taste but not overwhelm it. Overall, the dinner itself wasn't what I would call huge; that said, we were dually impressed by the size of the halibut. He thought he would have received a tiny sliver of halibut, but that was not the case; it was a nice size, and overall, he enjoyed his dinner.

My Thai chicken salad was very unique. I would say closer to a Thai-inspired salad; nonetheless, what a delightful-tasting salad. The meal did not disappoint at all. The salad offered loads of chicken breast, cabbage, onions, peppers, peanuts, vermicelli noodles, and cilantro tossed in their house-made Thai vinegarette dressing, presented on a bed of organic greens! It was delicious and filling.

For those who are interested in dining at The Loft at Latitude forty seven seven, their address is 18779 Front St NE, Poulsbo, WA 98370. Its right on the water and next to the large free parking lot next to Liberty Bay Waterfront Park. Also, upstairs from Juicy J's Burgers.

Although there is a lot of parking, I would be lying if I didn't say it was a challenge during Spring and Summer with a lot of tourist. If you are unable to locate parking there, another option is street parking.

One other small disappointment I almost forgot to add. Unless there is an elevator that wasn't visible, and if you are handicap or elderly, climbing a flight of stairs is your only option to dine here. It certainly is sad to think that The Loft is losing out on some worthy business and some potential customers are losing out on a wonderful view and some tasty food.

Don't forget, Please be kind to ALL living things! 🐾🌲

Once again, thank you for continuing to support our local...

Update December 2021:

Went for dinner, and the service and food were way off what we've come to expect... I went in to get a table and order drinks, but the bartender walked past me 4-5 times before acknowledging me, cut me off mid sentence when I told her I was waiting for my husband, and walked off without another word. I decided to go back to the hosts and request a regular table (figuring the bartender must be in the weeds to be treating guests that way), and the service was somewhat better, but the server seemed impatient, annoyed at being asked for a beer list, and we were left sitting with dirty appetizer dishes and used side plates throughout the entire meal. As a former server, this is a huge service error, and it's unacceptable just about anywhere, but especially at a restaurant charging premium prices. To be fair, I believe they have bussers on staff, but a server shouldn't be waiting for a busser to do something that is also the server's job. At the end, instead of offering dessert (which we had planned on ordering), she stated "do you want anything else", put down the check book and walked off. We stopped elsewhere for dessert.

On the food- I'm not sure if there's been a change in management or chef, or what, but the clam chowder and calamari both lacked seasoning and fell flat compared to the same dishes I've had here in the past. The calamari wasn't hot. My husband's sandwich looked differently than it used to, and he said it wasn't as good. I ordered the scallop pasta, and it came out covered in pancetta crumbles and chopped chives, which really looked like loaded baked potato pasta with scallops thrown on the side. The pasta sauce was thick and heavy, the scallops weren't entirely cleaned, and the dish overall lacked balance and presentation.

Nothing about the experience was characteristic of the usual smoothness and casual elegance we usually enjoy here. Plus, it seems the prices have gone up and selection has gone down. We spent $120 on what I thought would be a nice dinner for two people, only to have it be a real dissappointment. It wasn't worth the money this time.

I hope this is a temporary situation or maybe just a one-off, as this is usually one of my favorite local restaurants for a nice dinner out, in a great location. I'll probably give The Loft another try at some point, and hopefully update the review then.

Original review:

My husband and I love The Loft! Absolutely gorgeous view of the sound, beautiful outdoor dining over the water on sunny days. The menu is good all around, the fish and chips are a favorite. Their salads are also worth mentioning- I don't often order salads when out to eat, but The Loft never dissappoints. Right now they have a bacon wrapped scallop and pear salad that is to die for, and they...

I've had a few decent meals at The Loft back when I lived in Poulsbo, so the other day when I was hankering for lunch, I felt like it was a safe choice. There is a little park nearby that has plenty of parking. Some days, you will have to take a short walk from an available spot and then, you have to go up a flight of stairs to get to the door. I like a little exercise, so no big deal for me. The first thing that hit me when I went in was the smell of old fish. It's a hard smell to control when you serve fish, but fish is a small part of the menu and this was a lingering odor that felt like part of the usual atmosphere. There were two hostesses working, one of whom seemed new. The new one led me to an 8 top. That was a little weird. It got worse when a large loud group showed up and got seated right next to me. My order was already in and getting any attention was hard, so I didn't ask for a new table. I was in the mood for a hamburger and they had a great selection. I had read through the options several times and took out my book to read. After a chapter, a waiter came by and took my order for a bacon cheeseburger and a beer. The waiter disappeared and I read another chapter while the cook hammered my food. The plate that arrived had a big bun and a pile of fries on it. I took off the top and found a pickle spear laid on a heap of lettuce. I like pickle spears, but I don't put them on the burger. I put it on the side and excavated my way through the lettuce to find a small hamburger patty. I did some mental math and calculated that there was about 6 square inches of extra bun. At two bites per square inch, I was going to have to deal with 12 bites of bread. There was no sauce, so it was going to be dry going. I spread the lettuce out and added some ketchup, but I should have just trimmed the bread down. Not only was the bread dry, the meat was cooked to death leaving no juiciness to make up for the bun. The bacon was OK, but I could not taste any cheese. Not all was lost - the fries were fine and the beer was good. I was long done eating and read another chapter before the waiter brought my bill - $30 plus 3.5% if you use a card instead of cash. I'm old, so counting out cash and calculating a tip was not a problem. When the waiter came by, he asked if I wanted my change. Really? There would be nearly $10 of change and the service was half hearted. At least when the change came there were a number of singles. I went through the fog of old fish smell and left, thinking that was my last visit...