Lost Lake Cafe & Lounge — Restaurant in Seattle

Cautionary review: Adjusting from last night to be specific. Security guard with medium length dark grey beard and mustache with Black beanie was pretty inappropriate in his handling of my partner and I since we arrived at the bar on the other side of Lost Lake Cafe and Lounge (not quite yet Comet Tavern). Walked in through the cafe side and we initially didn’t see him sitting on his stool in the dark corner by a table and he started snapping his fingers saying “IDs. this is a bar now,” it was 8:30pm and DARK. We gave them to him and he was looking us up and down like we were out of place. *He did not do this to the white patrons who came in after us the exact same way we did. There’s short and stocky bartender with the short bleached-blonde hair that had a passive aggressive demeanor when I asked for water - as if I wasn’t supposed to be standing at the bar waiting my turn for service. Her face was twisted and agitated and after I asked, she said “over there in the corner” and immediately walked away. It was only 9pm, still quite empty, but surprise surprise, she did not do this to the white gentlemen who ordered after I did. The entire time we were having our drinks, I was being glared at by the security guard by the door, and as uncomfortable as I felt, I kept watch to notice that for both the bartender and the security they were not treating the non-Black customers with this level of hostility. We only had the one drink each and a cup of water as the vibes were now so incredibly off we wanted to leave. As we were exiting the bar with the remaining sips of water (by this time, the security guard was finally off the stool and smoking outside with someone I’m assuming was another employee), the bouncer snatches the clear plastic cup from my hand as it was up to my face without saying anything initially. I went “oh!” because he scared me and he says “the liquor board will think it’s gin. I know that it’s water”, before going back inside about five feet and then asking if I’d like to finish it inside. I didn’t want it after his cigarette hands had touched all over, but was also afraid to since it was such an inappropriately physical and aggressive interaction. I would’ve absolutely responded to regular communication like “excuse me, you unfortunately can’t bring even the water out.” 1/5 for atmosphere and service - unless you prefer 1965 treatment from staff, this is not a spot for...

Stopped in for the first time in a few months with my friend on a Saturday night, at about midnight. Some of the service was initially nice, but they were cold to us afterwards. The main problem was the food.

I ordered chilaquiles. The server asked me how I wanted my eggs, which is strange for chilaquiles--over easy. I should've taken a picture, but I was starving and ready to eat just about anything hot. The yolks were hard and the plate was especially depressing with quite small portion sizes. The menu describes the black beans as spicy and it was supposed to come with avocado and queso fresco, but none of that happened or was true, and it's a $14 item that really was canned black beans (that weren't even drained properly), tortilla chips, and eggs, all of which I could source and heat up at home. They quickly and kindly replaced the eggs, and even discounted my meal. And I'm thankful, I gave them an extra star for this, but I think a lot of things went wrong with the experience in totality.

I ordered a hot chocolate, and I wasn't charged, but I've always been displeased that they clearly use Swiss Miss for one reason--the price. It's also no longer on the menu which is strange, but I recall it being $4.50 which is highway robbery. And it's not a great portion size or even well stirred as you can see in the second photo.

My friend ate the eggs from his breakfast combo. They were quite pale and clearly low quality and small portions. The toast wasn't really toasted. The hash browns were undercooked. The pancakes were satisfactory, though and did get finished unlike everything else. Basically almost everything was wrong again. What can you do?

If you think my photos are disingenuous because it's part-way through having eaten, you wouldn't be impressed to see what they gave us originally. You might be thinking, "if you didn't like it, why did you eat it?" Well this was the third place we tried to eat at and we were extremely hungry and didn't feel like turning up our noses and beginning the search again.

Lost Lake is no longer 24 hours, they no longer even have pie. I don't see any good reason to...

I had an awful experience at Lost Lake that I feel the owner needs to be aware of. After losing my cross-body bag containing my passport, ID, apartment keys, glasses, and AirPods (which I could track with GPS), I spent three weeks desperately trying to locate my belongings. My AirPods kept indicating they were nearby, often showing up around this diner.

When I finally went inside Lost Lake to follow up on my tracking, the bartender was rude from the start. Without greeting me, she bluntly asked, “Are you here for pick up? The food isn’t ready yet.” I explained that I was tracking my lost items, and her response made it clear she was irritated, as if I was inconveniencing her by even asking for assistance. When I asked if she could check Lost and Found, she made a fuss, saying, “This is not my job. I have more important things to do.” She then walked away, leaving me shocked by her dismissive attitude.

I asked to speak with the manager, expecting a more professional response. Unfortunately, the general manager’s behavior was just as unprofessional and dismissive. When I explained my situation, she acted as if I was the one being unreasonable. She reluctantly checked the Lost and Found a second time—and, lo and behold, my belongings were indeed there. I expressed my gratitude, only to be met with more attitude. When I mentioned leaving a review, the manager responded that my “threat” had changed things and she wouldn’t be addressing the employee’s behavior.

The dismissive and unhelpful attitudes of both the bartender and the manager are not only unprofessional but deeply disrespectful. No customer should be made to feel like an inconvenience especially when trying to recover valuable belongings. I sincerely hope the owner of Lost Lake sees this review and understands the level of poor customer service being given to customers. A little empathy and courtesy would go a long way in restoring Lost...