The Endive Eatery — Restaurant in West Richland

Where do I begin? I didn't look this place up, a friend of mine recommended it and to my surprise I was very taken away. At first a little intimidated, the menu is written in such a way I could only describe as sophisticated yet mysterious as there's no pictures so you have to use your imagination unless you want to look them up online.

With that being said, the atmosphere is great. Very well lit, I love the art on the walls which are for sale, they have a beautiful display of different wines, they have both outside and inside dining, not to mention the music... their music is great and they have a different theme each day. Very welcoming, friendly staff willing to help guys like me who have never experienced something like this.

Now for the food which is the reason I have to write this review.. I ordered what they call a Champignoner's Rarebit... the plating alone was absolutely stunning, I was taken away by the spinach salad consisting of these purple looking olives and sun dried tomatoes, the sandwich (which I ate open faced) had these amazing sauteed mushrooms and melted gouda cheese with this... bechamel sauce embedded deep into this sourdough bread making this incredible crunchy yet chewy combination that paired amazingly with the bitterness of the olives and tomatoes. To top it off, it was served with fresh lemon that I drenched every inch of this canvas of a plate (which I highly recommended) the lemon was the icing on the cake. The flavors are so bold are pare so well and I looked forward to each bite after the next. It was a very exciting experience and I left feeling good taking my friends advice.

My only issue I had, which is so minor but hopefully I'm not the only one which is why I bring this up but I found it difficult choosing something to drink. I wasn't exactly sold on their cooler and I'm not into coffee and they really didn't have much of other options between Alcoholic beverages and canned sparkling juice. Either that or I need to look at their menu more and figure out which drinks are good as I plan on returning in the near future.

Prices are a little high but so is everything else these days....

The food is great! Good flavors. But we didn’t have over an hour to wait for our food. It would have maybe been worth the wait, if we hadn’t all had places we needed to be. One member of our party had to call in late for a job and dip into personal time. I get that good things take time…. But given the order process taking us almost 15-20, and the meal taking over 60 minutes to arrive, and us trying to take 20 to enjoy the food … some of us spent almost two hours in there. Could it be because the guy behind the register/cooking looked like he was stoned out of his mind… 🤷🏻🤷🏽‍♀️🤷‍♂️🤷🏼‍♀️ maybe it always takes that long. I will be back to try it again, but I think the rest of my group is not going to come back.

I noticed almost no one likes to use the ordering system you have. some people at other tables looked really confused. To help out new customers, maybe try adjusting its user friendly level, more description maybe or photos on a physical menu?? I saw a few people make it to the payment level and then quit (my friends included). No one was sure if they can go order at the register. I like that it’s minimalist and can appreciate what you’re trying to implement…. But it’s got some glitches. I love that it’s not full of staff members, and it’s cool the people that take your order cook your food…. But maybe explain the system a bit?? or just have normal descriptive menus and staff members that can come to your table. My friends were all unsure if they should tip because there was no service, I understand the service is that the food is being freshly made for you. but maybe just one visit to the table to get an order, or explain the ordering system. Just some feedback that may be helpful. The place is cool, I’d love to see it flourish even more so! I will at least be back. And now I’ll know To just order at the register, and to try to look up images on Google maps. Nice space! I’d love to give 5 stars if I can get my food within 60 minutes of ordering....

After trying to bring this issue to the restaurant respectfully through email, which was ignored, I guess I’m forced to leave a review here so to warn others. My friend has a dire egg allergy and called ahead to make sure that she would be able to be accommodated if we were to eat out here. The person on the phone said yes and told her that they would cook it in its own pan and everything so that no other egg cooked things would contaminate her food. We were about to order that day and my friend went up to the counter and asked about if they could accommodate her allergy. The man behind the counter to whom she spoke with about her egg allergy was extremely rude and was complaining and acting like her ask was annoying and he made loud sighs and annoyed expressions and basically said he couldn’t (seemed like he just didn’t want to). It seemed like he didn’t want to put effort into accommodating her and was being lazy.

This upset my friend and she came back to our table sad and distraught. This behavior was ridiculous and so my friends and I upset left the restaurant and went elsewhere. To say our first experience here was terrible and one that makes my friends and I not ever want to return. To make my friend feel in such a way and put her in such a terrible position about something she doesn’t even have control over is ridiculous and unprofessional. It is 2024 and yet here we are dealing with lack of accommodations for allergies. Might I also suggest having more egg free options on your menu as almost all of your menu options contain eggs.

So beware if you have allergies this place will not...