The Restaurant at Captain Whidbey — Restaurant in Whidbey Island

I’ve visited this hotel and restaurant multiple times, hoping each visit would finally live up to the potential of its amazing location. Unfortunately, my experiences have consistently been underwhelming, and this most recent stay was the tipping point.

The hotel itself is mediocre at best. Rooms have the bare minimum when it comes to décor, bedding, furniture, toiletries. The lagoon rooms are noisy, making it nearly impossible to get a restful night's sleep, and they are far from worth the price. Customer service across the board is severely lacking. While the on-site coffee shop serves good food and drinks, the hotel restaurant is a disaster.

We stayed here for a romantic getaway, which we really wanted to love, but the experience fell flat. Our NYE dinner was the worst part. Despite having a reservation and arriving 10 minutes early, we waited a full hour to be seated with no explanation or apology from the hostess—no offer of a complimentary cocktail or anything to ease the delay.

When we finally sat down, we were served the most bland, mushy, and uninspired “tasting menu,” which wasn’t a tasting menu at all but a fixed menu with several items sold out. Our server, who we’d unfortunately had in the past, did the bare minimum, silently dropping plates without a word about the preparation, plating, or inspiration—something you’d reasonably expect with a tasting menu. To top it off, I overheard her complaining to a colleague about the automatic 20% tip, saying it wasn’t enough. Considering the poor service, it was more than generous. Adding insult to injury, since we were seated so late, we were rushed out with a last call after just one drink—on New Year’s Eve, no less.

This wasn’t our first bad experience with this server. We once went for lunch for a bachelorette celebration, and she couldn’t remember our order, came back multiple times to ask what we had wanted, and still managed to bring out incorrect food and drinks. It was embarrassing and frustrating for what was supposed to be a special occasion.

I’ve given this place multiple chances, and each time it manages to disappoint more than the last. Unless they seriously overhaul their customer service and restaurant operations, I can’t recommend this hotel or restaurant, no matter how great the...

Absolutely delightful. We tried the fair winds and following seas cocktail and the sandpiper, both were excellent but the sand piper was truly exceptional. The candied sage was a novelty we'd not yet seen but added so much delightfulness between candy, smoke and herbal, paired with the hint of an ipa hoppy bitterness to contrast the gin and yum! Then we had some beets and the smoked mussel bisque which also paired exceptionally well. The creamy umami of the bisque was cut nicely by the sweet tartness of the beets with sour orange marmalade. Then the NW sable fish and the white sturgeon entrees for an excellent sampling of some of the best white fish available. So divine. I'm still perplexed how exactly one gets a sesame crust so perfectly crunchy without burning it and simultaneously mastering the tender flaky sturgeon just right, I know for certain I can't do that and I'm not terrible in the kitchen. The atmosphere is cozy, seaside lodge with a nice bar and decent views. The fireplaces and waiting area is quite nice. Captain Whidbeys is a little on the expensive side but it's quite worth it.

Ps, the photos of each entree is unfortunately AFTER my wife and I divied some of each for each other and are NOT representative of the full size of the entree. Each had another piece of fish and nearly...

The Restaurant at Captain Whidbey offers a small, intimate dining experience with a beautiful view of the water. There is bar service and seating available as well. A reservation is recommended even if you’re staying at the hotel. We did not make a reservation and decided to sit at the bar. The bartended was very patient as we made our selections for drinks and food. We opted to order a few appetizers and chose the CW Garden Bread, Salish Sea Clam Chowder, the PNW Bounty Board and the Dungeness Crab Mac and Cheese. Every plate was delicious and filling but the Mac and Cheese was my favorite. We ordered quite a few delicious drinks, but were surprised at the end when we ordered one more round of drinks and It increased our bill dramatically. They were Barrel-Aged cocktails and tasty, though for the bill increase I’m not sure I would’ve ordered them again.

TL;DR Make a reservation Enjoy appetizers before dinner Don’t look at the price tag, just enjoy the...