Thirsty Hound Drinkery — Restaurant in University Place

Thirsty Hound Drinkery - 1905 Bridgeport Way W, University Place, WA

How many times are you sitting at a light, looking around, and spotting a bar or restaurant in a nondescript strip of businesses and wonder… does anyone ever go there?  Well having patronized another business in the same strip for grab and go takeout, we decided why not try the place on the opposite end for our 9pm visit and discovered the Thirsty Hound Drinkery! And to our delight, this place was really a great find with much more to offer on the inside than one might assume while sitting, waiting for the light to change and looking from the outside. The minute you enter you find a relaxed welcoming atmosphere utilizing lots of warm woods in design and comfortable furnishings that utilizes a concept of small open spaces. These spaces include raised table seating, cozy bar seating, and tucked in the back, a grouping of soft furnishings grouped around a welcoming fireplace being the focal point perfect for evening cocktails and conversation. The Thirsty Hound menu offers an uncomplicated but delicious array of food and beverage items (both 21+ and non) in addition to featured specials both solid and liquid! On our visit we started with one of the special appetizers being a hot Artichoke & Cheese dip with crostini. Hands down it was one of the best ever, rich and creamy where neither the cheese nor creamy goo overpowered the delicate taste of the chopped artichoke hearts. Personally the crostini may just as well have been an afterthought being I was perfectly content just using a spoon to indulge in this tasty treat! But sampling some other regular menu appetizer items included Hummus Plate: hummus with a hint of citrus, served with pita bread and veggies. Pulled Pork Nachos: pulled pork, black beans, cheddar cheese, tortilla chips, pickled jalapenos, BBQ sauce and sour cream. Shrimp Ceviche: shrimp, avocado, cucumber, tomatoes, jalapenos, red onions, cilantro, lemon & limes, tortilla chips. Following we ordered from the selection of Flatbreads, the ‘Aloha’ with ham, pineapple, jalapenos, mozzarella, marinara sauce and  Parmesan cheese (crisp and delicious, perfect serving size). From the entree listings we ordered the Musubi Bowl (with added fried egg,) consisting of grilled Spam marinated in teriyaki sauce, nori, over jasmine rice. The presentation of this dish was pure food porn whereby I don't believe I have ever seen such a perfectly presented egg upon a more than ample serving of Spam Musubi. From the menu, one also easily notes that the Thirsty Hound menu also has a Thai influence featuring favorite Thai family recipes with items such as Thai Chicken: chicken with a Thai peanut sauce made from an old family recipe, served with jasmine rice, cucumber salad. Tom Kha Gai: chicken, coconut curry, quail eggs, straw mushrooms, served with jasmine rice (note available Fri. & Sat. only), along with other Thai specialities. Other menu selections include Burgers, Salads and Desserts not to mention a full bar along with a number of unique cocktails (ie: PB & J Cocktail - Screwball Peanut Butter Whiskey / Raspberry Puree) and other great concoctions. Our service was exceptional and naturally friendly and attentive which demonstrated why Thirsty hound Drinkery has become (we soon learned), a local favorite. Wednesday 4 - 11pm, Thursday 4 - 11pm, Friday 4 - 12am, Saturday 4 - 12am

Closed...

Look, the food is good. Depends on the time of day you go. They change up the menu. The service is good and the atmosphere is good.

I want to love this place because I am a local. I want to visit this place more. But every time we visit I remember why we don’t go to The Thirsty Hound as often. You smell like grease when you leave!

The smell stays in your hair and your clothes. It is a strong smell. It’s the kind of smell that clings to your clothes and it’s hard to get rid of unless you wash it. I don’t want to wash my jacket that often. And some jackets have to be dry cleaned.

Yes, we air it out. But that sometimes doesn’t work. I want to be able to visit a restaurant without bringing the bad smell home.

The problem is that Thirsty Hound is not well ventilated. Their kitchen is not separated by a wall. It’s separated by a divider. A wall that doesn’t go all the way up to the ceiling. So all the smell from the kitchen will reach you and weave itself in your clothes and hair.

I wish they could fix this but I have lived here 3 years and it’s still the same. I doubt I’ll ever go back, unfortunately.

UPDATE:

To answer the owners reply about the change in menu... That is what we were told. There were some food items that were not available from the last time we went. But we had not been to the restaurant in sometime. I guess I misunderstood.

As for the smell... I do not believe that comes from next door. You all may not be using grease but what ever oils you are using or method of cooking that is being used is creating a strong smoky smell that follows you home and...

My partner and I went last night for the first time and we loved it! It’s a smaller place but I love how cozy it is and how welcoming it feels. They did a great job with designing the space! The cocktails were perfectly balanced and delicious and our food was amazing, everything was also a fantastic price for the quality. We got the beer cheese with pretzel sticks (The beer cheese is absolutely delicious) , the chili dog (my partner said the chili was super tasty and it was a quality hotdog), and the musubi bowl (SO GOOD, I will be ordering again). Shout out to the staff, they checked in on us often enough that we always had our needs/wants taken care of immediately, but not so often that the service felt pushy! All in all an amazing first time experience, we live in walking distance and will definitely be back with friends! Thank you Thirsty Hound Drinkery for such an...