A chic Northwest farmhouse concept with farm-to-table cuisine. 

Jason’s Wilson’s new restaurant in Bellevue downtown’s Two Lincoln Tower promises “simple, fresh, produce-driven craft cooking, accented with local seafoods and meats, handmade pasta and a house-made larder.” The restaurant features an open kitchen and modern rustic decor. The tables are placed fairly close together and it’s quite loud. Overall, it was an expensive meal to forget. 

For small plates, we ordered the Roasted Cauliflower with curry spice, green apple, herb hummus, preserved lemon, and a kale pesto. This was our favorite dish of the night. The cauliflower was crisp and flavorful. Moroccan Spiced Carrots roasted with chiles and served with a yogurt sauce was forgettable and lacked seasoning, which proved to be a theme throughout the meal. 

The Grilled Octopus was cooked properly and served with very bitter green chickpeas, fennel, and celery. The bitterness from the chickpeas—representing about half the dish—was so overwhelming it ruined the dish. While it sounded delicious on the menu, the butter-poached Alaska Spot Prawns was a disappointment. There was nothing special about the dish and a small portion for the $22 pricetag.

The Albacore Tuna Tartare was grey and looked unappetizing (see below). However, the sea vegetables, lemon, ginger, and chile accompaniments came together to make a bright and tasty dish. The Neah Bay Halibut served with bloomsdale spinach, manila clams, and maitake mushroom ($43) was overcooked and far from exciting. 

Service missed the mark. After being seated by the hostess, we waited at least five minutes until our server came to greet us. He was minding the tables on either side of us, but didn’t make eye contact or come over even to let us know, “I’ll be right there.” The bus boy, however, was fantastic—we let him know our table was uneven and he left to retrieve a piece to fix it right away. Our server was over-the-top and did not read our table at all. He came off as inauthentic and pushy. He repeatedly asked if I wanted a Tequila shot after I repeatedly declined. What is your deal, dude? 

The Lakehouse is open for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and late night service daily for W Bellevue room service. 

11/26/17 Update: Stopped by with a couple of friends for brunch. I ordered Two Eggs Cooked As You Like Them (basically a standard breakfast plate) with eggs, bacon, sausage, potatoes, and sautéed spinach. My dining companions both ordered the Lakehouse Wagyu Beef Burger. My platter was subpar—the sausage lacked flavor or texture, the bacon was not extra crispy per my request, and only about 60% of the spinach was sautéed while the rest was undercooked. My friends did enjoy the burger, especially the meat, but our server didn’t ask how they’d like them cooked and brought them medium well (they wanted medium rare). The Kennebec Fries tasted stale and slightly undercooked. 

All in all, we won’t be back any time soon for any meals. 

The Lakehouse    |        10455 NE 5th Place, Bellevue     |     (425) 454 – 7076