Shadowland — Restaurant in Seattle

This is the first truly terrible dining experience I’ve had in Seattle, I feel it’s important to leave this review not because I’m upset, but because of what happened. Tuesday night after happy hour ended me and another guest come in for dinner and drinks this was intentional so we wouldn’t be caught up in the rush of happy hour people. After making our way to the back of the restaurant because of limited seating we sat at a larger table that was separated from another, but still close to it under a TV. Another group walked in at least 30 mins later and decided instead of staying at the very large booth they first sat down at they wanted to move to the table directly next to ours. No problem because originally there was only a few of them until the rest of their group arrived, and completely shut us out of our spot. They even began sitting at our table because they ran out of space at theirs! They were so LOUD that other guests couldn’t hear each other’s conversations. We had already ordered our meals so we couldn’t leave and there was no way to move because we got blocked into the corner. Otherwise we would have gladly moved somewhere else but this proved problematic at best. The problems were that this group was extremely loud, obnoxious, and completely took over the area, and they knew they were in the wrong because a lady in the group kept saying, “I think we should buy them a round for putting up with us.“ That never happened. The problem was very obvious to the staff working as well, and instead of asking just some of the group to move to the bar or show any type of respect or common courtesy towards us, they served alcohol to the rowdy bunch. Seriously who serves already intoxicated people?!?! At that point it was time to go, we asked for our meals to go before they even brought them out which did not translate into good take home meals. Not only did we not get our correct orders, but by the time they were packed and taken home they were cold and super gross it was such a letdown after seeing all the good reviews. This could have been at least handled differently by the staff who clearly saw what happened to us and did nothing until we were leaving and got a half hearted attempt at an apology. Y’all were wrong for allowing a large group do this to a smaller group and even more wrong for throwing Alcohol onto the situation. Clearly we don’t speak up to drunks being served alcohol for obvious reasons, but the staff could have at least stepped in to help us out of that. It was embarrassing to even spend money there just to get a terrible experience...

Really excited about this bar the photos made it look good. Really cool vibes and maybe I'd go back to just drink but the food I got was so bad I couldn't eat there again. The poutine was just regular cheese poorly melted on what i can only assume is package gravy, no curds. I also got the jalapeno mac n cheese which had zero flavor and felt like they just put plain noodles in a big bath of medium cheddar cheese and nothing else. When I tried to reheat the leftovers i ended up with literally a half a bowl of just cheese but not in a good way. My friend had the Philly cheesesteak and that was decent, maybe stick with the burgers and sandwiches when you go here. I was going too order more but after the poutine appetizer I decided to wait to see and I'm glad I did. My friend had the mezcal drink and it was very good.

Our server was good at their job. Remembered our orders and looked like he was in charge of a large section and keeping up. I think he didn't like me because he would literally only talk to my friend and wouldn't acknowledge me after she ordered a drink. Even when I'm saying like thank you. I am slow at ordering and when he tried to help me pick out a drink I asked him stop trying to help me pick something out so I don't really fault him for being annoyed but it was so blatantly disrespectful like he checked in on the table definitely a good amount but only with her not with me. He wouldn't even really look at me and he asked her if her meal was good but ignored me on at least 3 separate trips to our table.

By the way I was trying to decide if I wanted to try the non alc option they had so the helping me pick out a drink thing was irrelevant as in I didn't need or ask for help choosing a drink.

Anyway the main reason for the stars is the food sucked. My server was rude but only to me and otherwise good at their job which I personally care more about but if the food is gonna suck the staff being rude is...

Warning: If you have a wheat allergy I strongly recommend that you do not eat here. Kick back, drink, enjoy the atmosphere but DO NOT eat. The waitress was wonderful and I ate believing that I was safe. I had a naked burger on salad, and they agreed to cook it in its own frypan, as the grill was shared with wheat. Tasty but within an hour I was swelling. I have 3 guesses as to why; 1- there were seeds on salad, they may have been processed with wheat- that would be on the package. 2- Unclean kitchen with wheat bits all over the place, but I saw no evidence of baked goods that would mean an open bag of wheat flour was used. 3- The third possibility is horrid, but I don't know the kitchen staff and there are some out there who would cook the burger on the grill anyway, or use a pre-used frypan, or drop it on a wheat bun and then just take it off, oops, for plating. That is potentially deadly for someone with an Ige wheat allergy. Fortunately, my allergy is Non-Ige, it will just be uncomfortable (swelling face, feet, hands, gut, pressing on internal organs....etc.) for a couple weeks. All restaurants need to train staff in allergy. Allergies are real, they are science, and they can kill. Big problem in some places; the disconnect between front and back staff. If the cook believes that cross contamination is an issue they NEED to speak up, " no we can not cook that safely," and front staff need to believe them! One of my favorite restaurants told me straight up not to eat there, the kitchen was small and chaotic. I had a drink instead, and another time I risked a bowl of strawberries :-) There is no shame in this, it is not filth, it is ingredients flying throughout the kitchen. Step up and quit making restaurants miserable and unsafe for...