Woodinville Cut Shop Restaurant and Lounge — Restaurant in Woodinville

Loud, every item incorrect, should just be a bar...

We tried something new tonight, The Cut Shop. We called first to be sure it wasn't a bar (no minors) (it isn't) and it was so loud on the phone call she didn't hear our other questions. A little voice in my head said, "this is too loud".

We arrive. It certainly looks like and smells like a bar (stale beer, lots of crowds gathered by clique). We waited at least 6 minutes to be sat, though we were acknowledged in that time. Waiting for our table it was so very loud with bad 80's "butt rock". I guess that's their schtick, but it was off-putting. We asked for the more quiet of the two tables available--patio or inside--waitress indicated that neither would be much different, offered to turn down the music and sat us outside

The picnic tables are full of algae and black mold spores, we all received splinters in our pants during the meal. These can't be food-safe surfaces; they are unsealed, porous and dirty.

The Woodinville water was well-treated, tasted heavily of bleach (not their fault).

We ordered a pale ale ($7) jack and coke ($6), the ribs ($18), a happy hour double-cheese burger ($9), side salad and plain kids burger w/ fries ($5). Every item we ordered ended up wrong: the beers ordered, of 3, 3 were not available; of the settlements, 2 were the same beer poured, but-not-as-ordered and one of the cocktails came back as a rum and coke. The friendly and accommodating waitress fixed them all, but it was irritating. The fries are real potatoes but not cooked correctly (twice: once for doneness, rest, next for crispness) so they were soggy. The ribs were dry, cooked too hot and fast (or day(s)-old) and slightly over-charred, coleslaw was old, soggy, my double-cheese burger with bacon was decent but overcooked. Kids burger order came with cheese (ordered no cheese) and she had to wait at least 15 minutes more for a new burger. The side salad never arrived. (Prices above were for Wednesday Happy Day and do not reflect all pricing all the time.)

An employee bussed an emplty table's full beverage by dumping it on the deck walkway, that our table (and possibly others) could easily/must walk through to get to the bathroom or outside, etc. I would be seriously concerned as the owner/manager about a slip-and-fall lawsuit with deliberate, overt and careless actions like these.

I have been home for over an hour and still have a headache from the noise.

Overall we will not be back because of the noise, bar-like atmosphere (not very family-friendly), kitchen and bar mistakes and general grossness of the tables and facilities. The kitchy decor inside was interesting, but we don't understand what it had to do with...

So, I'd really hoped to have a great experience here on our first visit, especially on the gluten free front. I'll comment on the GF portion to begin with, as 2 members of my family are GF and it drives all of our choices for eating out. The story starts off well, as their wings are done in rice flour and they have GF buns for the burgers. Oddly, their fries are done in a cross-contaminated fryer, which we took a chance on but were disappointed about. So, they're ALMOST there for gluten free options; if they had GF burgers and fries, that would add some points in their favor. As for our actual experience: We ordered sandwiches and burgers. Mine in particular was a BBQ bacon jalapeno burger, the special burger that day. I asked specifically whether there was mayo on the burger (I despise mayo with a passion) and was told no (they listed off everything that was, so no lack of detail). We waited quite a long time, at which point the waiter came to us and apologized, as the line printer had apparently had issues, and our order had just printed out. It had to have been 30-45 minutes after we sat down when we had this news delivered. A while later, our food came out, mine being delivered last. The burger had mayo on it, which took me a while to flag down the waiter (it was actually an alternate person that came by), and they took it away. They came back a couple minutes later with all toppings on the side (as she had said) and a new bun, but missing the bacon! The burger went back to the kitchen again, returning with bacon. Needless to say, the burger was at most lukewarm at this point due to all of the travelling, although still had good flavor. Some of the fries (both in my order and my daughter's) were slightly undercooked, making me think there was a batch of older fries and a batch of hurry-cooked fries combined. This was disappointing, as the properly cooked (but not really hot) fries were pretty good. I didn't complain, as by this point I just wanted to be done. All-in-all, a late lunch in a restaurant that had no patrons other than at the bar took over 1.5 hours, closer to 2 hours. The people that we ate with ended up paying the bill, but NOTHING was taken off for the problems encountered, which I think was ridiculous. On a good night it's probably quite good food, but we apparently hit an off moment, and it...

The Cut Shop in Woodinville presents itself more as a bar than a traditional restaurant, which is a crucial distinction for potential diners. My family and I decided to give it another shot after a disappointing experience years ago. Unfortunately, our recent visit on a Friday night reinforced our initial impressions.

Atmosphere and Service Upon entering, it became clear that the Cut Shop is designed for a lively bar experience rather than a family-friendly dining atmosphere. The noise level was overwhelming, making conversation nearly impossible and contributing to a headache rather than a relaxing dinner. The self-service model requires patrons to order at the bar, find their own seating, and fetch their own drinks. While some staff were present, they were few and far between, leading to a lack of guidance for newcomers like us. My interaction with the bartender was particularly frustrating. When I approached to place our order, I felt dismissed and met with impatience. This attitude was not conducive to a welcoming environment, especially for those unfamiliar with the ordering process. The noise and the bartender's demeanor combined to create a less-than-pleasant experience.

Food Quality

We ordered two items from the Happy Hour menu—Pulled Pork Sandwich and Mac & Cheese—and the Basket o' Chicken and Alabama Smoked Chicken. The Basket o' Chicken was crispy but disappointingly dry, while the Alabama Chicken was excessively smoked, lacking enough white sauce to balance the flavors. The dry rub was overly cakey, making it difficult to enjoy the chicken. On a positive note, the pickles served with the meal were excellent. The mac & cheese was decent but unremarkable, and the pulled pork sandwich had good flavor, though it suffered from an inadequate sauce-to-bread ratio. Overall, the food did not live up to expectations, especially considering the noise level and service issues.

Conclusion

While we encountered a couple of friendly waitstaff members, the overall experience at the Cut Shop was disappointing. The combination of mediocre food, a chaotic atmosphere, and a lack of attentive service has led us to decide that this will be our last visit. The establishment seems to cater to a specific clientele that enjoys the bar scene, but for those seeking a more traditional dining experience, it may not be the...