The Stonehouse Cafe — Restaurant in Seattle

I very specifically did a search of the Rainier Beach area looking for a unique breakfast spot that would meet the needs of our out of town group, specifically early to late breakfast and something a child would enjoy eating. I saw the mixed reviews and decided to take a chance anyway figuring you're going to have the A team working the weekend as that's your money maker. Our experience at the cafe really put a damper on our fun weekend gathering instead of giving us a wonderful high note to end the weekend on. The atmosphere is wonderful with a lovely view of the lake and surrounding hillside. I was rather impressed with the Hostess's can do attitude, she did everything she could to get customers in the door and seated as quickly as possible. She was also the only person we saw smile the entire time we were there. For a late arriving party of 6 on a Sunday morning we had a table within 5 minutes of walking through the door, there were no waters or silverware but we had a table and menus. The food was quite delicious and the nice hearty homemade experience we were looking for. A word of caution, if you're going to state you use smoked salmon best make sure that's what you're serving. My Northwest Benedict came with very obviously baked salmon, not smoked as stated on the menu. Be prepared to play the waiting game. We waited 15 minutes before we had any water delivered, and promptly made our order at that time since who knew when she would be back. The waitress was quick to squash our desire for 2 separate tickets as there were 6 of us, was borderline rude about it. Most likely she would have gotten a larger gratuity from us with 2 checks than the guaranteed 18% she was eyeballing. An hour after we were seated our food finally arrived. IF not for the fact we were all from out of town and had long drives ahead of us plus a very hungry 11 yr old boy, we probably would have paid for the coffee and tea and left. During our time waiting, we had ample opportunity to watch your staff. The Kitchen was definitely rocking and rolling, doing their best I'm sure to keep up with the busy morning. A good majority of the tables were full the entire time we were there. There was an interesting mix of waitstaff. One person did anything and everything to keep business moving. She was taking out food as soon as it was ready (for any table), clearing dishes from tables she walked past, rounded regularly with coffee and water, addressed customer needs as she went. Most just did what they needed to do for their tables and only their tables. One we don't believe ever did anything but hold up the counter between the order station and the bar area. The bartender was marking time, there was no joy or pride of job expressed. We honestly felt that since we were a party of 6 with a guaranteed gratuity, minimal effort was made to provide customer service. Honestly, if any effort had been made we most likely would have left a larger tip. There was never any explanation as to why our order took so long, or a quick "hey thanks for being patient, it shouldn't be much longer". The only way we knew our food was coming up was the delivery of the ketchup and hot sauce and our prime view of the kitchen. My recommendation would be to fix your dysfunctional team dynamics otherwise you're going to start losing customers and that would be a shame cause you have everything else in place for a solid business. And teach them what good/great customer...

To the Stonehouse Cafe and all its staff. We have dined at the Stonehouse Cafe on a couple of different occasions and we loved the quality of the food and how helpfull all the staff have always been. So when it came to planning our wedding we decided we wanted something small and intimate with good food and good people. The Stonehouse was our first thought so the next time we where their we asked if they could accommodate a wedding, as always the staff where really enthusiastic and helpfull they gave us the contact information of the events coordinator Rea and said they would pass on our information to her. We recieved a call from Rea and we arranged to go in at a later date to see the event space and discuss what we would like and what could be done. When we arrived we where shown the space and discussed all the finer deatails she was so enthusiastic and excited about having a wedding to arrange and made us feel completely at ease with the whole process. We walked out knowing it was the perfect place for us. With a bakery (seperate business from the stone house) on sight it made everything less stresfull. The baker Patrick he was so friendly and helpfull and just as enthusiastic as the Stonehouse to be apart of our spcial day. As the wedding day approached we decided on a few changes to the menu, we phoned up Rea and she was more than happy to cater to our needs. On the big day we got married on the balcony that had been set up and decorated to fit in to the color scheme of the wedding. with a breath taking view of Lake Washington in the back ground it made the wedding photos so special. After the ceremony they brought the food out, it was presented perfectly and was delicious, there was definately no shortage of food. All of our guests commented on how good the food was and more than one person said it had been the best wedding they had been to with the reception dinner so wonderfully set up. The room was decorated so beautifully. All of the staff where so friendly, helpfull, walm and worked so hard with a smile on their faces. We would happily recommend the stone house to friends and family for special occasions as it was definately stress free at an affordable cost. Thank you to all the Staff and to the owner Lea Ann at the Stonehouse...

This place wasn’t always this bad so I’m sad to say, I had one of the most disappointing dining experiences ever, I absolutely recommend avoiding this place. First off as you enter, a sign greets you to scan for the menu and order at the front before finding a table. It gave off such a cheap tacky atmosphere like we were dining in a cafeteria, except the prices were still sit down restaurant level. After ordering, you go find an empty table, that is dirty since no one cleans them off between customers, and wait for a buzzer to go off and pick your own food up. The food is at the counter and you grab the two last remaining, plastic silverware sets, really setting off that cheap cafeteria vibe.

Now the food. It was disgusting! The Chicken and Waffles were absolutely the worst I have ever had! The first thing I noticed taking them back to the table was the prepackaged Smucker’s brand “breakfast syrup” even though the menu said maple syrup and cold butter in a plastic container (sticking with the cafeteria theme I guess). The chicken itself was bland, the breading just fell off when trying to eat or cut it, revealing a pounded thin basic chicken breast almost tasting like it was boiled or something. My particular piece of chicken had a few French fries stuck to it as well, not sure if that was a plus or not. The waffles were dry and really nothing to be excited about. They weren’t even hot enough and with the cold butter, the butter never melted that so just chunks of butter and cheap nasty smucker’s “breakfast syrup” were the only flavors that you could taste. To finish off the horrible food and atmosphere, once you choke down the food you can, you walk you sorry self with your dirty plates to sort your own waste, leaving your sticky dirty table for the next losers to sit and be disappointed. Over all, absolutely by no means should you go to this place. If I wasn’t in such a bad mood in that moment I would have asked for a refund and left embarrassed but just didn’t want to be rude to the workers who have nothing to do with the lousy...