We were excited to visit The Whale Wins after hearing great things. The atmosphere was lovely, the service attentive, and the food clearly above average. That said, the pricing, portion sizes, and added 22% charge made the overall experience feel less satisfying.
We shared a variety of dishes: Matiz sardines on sourdough toast, lettuces with lemon juice, Parisienne gnocchi, Hama Hama clams, Alaskan halibut, and zucchini bread.
The standouts were the gnocchi, sardine toast, and zucchini bread. The gnocchi had a perfect sear and texture, and was beautifully presented. The zucchini bread was moist, flavorful, and not at all soggy. The sardines paired nicely with the excellent sourdough and fennel.
The halibut was cooked to perfection, though the salsa morita felt a bit overpowering and the size just too small for $48. The clams were fine but unremarkable, and the lettuces, while tasty, didn’t justify the $23 price.
While we enjoyed the meal (quality at least 4*), the high cost, small portions, and a significant added charge (would appreciate just increasing menu prices) left us feeling underwhelmed and still a little hungry, making it difficult to justify a return visit and ultimately falls short of a recommendation.
Zaha Wolfe
Cute space, but all the dishes we got were small, bland, tasteless, and uninteresting. Prices were high, especially considering the quality and quantity.
Roger Landberg III
Any place that charges a 22% surcharge isn't worth visiting. I don't care how good the food might be
Jason Xian
Meh, small portions, oily dishes. Very limited menu, the only decent item was the cod. Not worth. 22% surcharge.
Brit Kreimeyer
We had our 10 year cousin reunion here! Thanks, Kiel Whitney, for recommending it! It was outside our normal brunch lunch spots but we loved it. It makes sense why it’s been on the award lists(James Beard). We had a fantastic time, with fantastic service! On reviews, people might say it’s pricey…but it’s worth it!
J Seeb
We got it as an anniversary gift. My wife was very excited to finally come here. Atmosphere was nice, service was lacking refinement and kinda too casual. Now this restaurant has been talked about so I couldn’t wait to see what it tastes like. To tell you the truth I was underwhelmed. More hype than reality. Would rather dine somewhere else.
Kyle Travaglini
Blanket 1 star rating for all businesses that have deceptive pricing with mandatory surcharges. Be honest about menu prices!
Colleen Canniff
I’ve been to the Whale Wins several times for dining with friends and more special occasions. It’s become part of the usual rotation because of the wonderful environment and delicious menu.
My partner and I visited in this past week, and had such a weird service experience, I feel I must write a review. We can in knowing more or less what we wanted to order. We ordered our beverages - I ordered a red wine and the server hit a beat, breathed in and replied “Oh no. You shouldn’t order that. You should go with the X.” And followed up with “Sorry, you just looked so nice.” It felt … weird and condescending. I’m largely very open to the recommendations of servers, and love to hear why a recommendation is being made. None of that was offered here. Rather I was told what I should order, felt slightly judged for my wine order, and the reason was connected by my somehow looking “nice” - not sure what that had to do with anything.
A more appropriate interaction, I feel, would have been to ask to offer a recommendation and explain the difference between the two so that the customer could make that choice.
It colored our experience of the rest of the meal - which was too bad because we were celebrating an anniversary.
The Whale Wins has been in our rotation, but I think we’ll be putting it on the shelf for a while.
Alexa Kroon
Amazing service and very quaint atmosphere. Highly recommend. Ps. the Gnocchi is too die for!
Bruce Lee
A force 22% tips for a party of 2 doesn't make sense.
I LOVE the Whale Wins! I’ve been with them from the start. We brought home 2 orders of liver pate this afternoon and they are literally half the size of previous orders. Renee Erickson, I admire your culinary and business skills- with the amount of chickens that are cooked, could the pate have remained ample?
Christopher Harris
Absolutely amazing food. The bread pudding is a spiritual experience.
Krista Snizek
Unfortunately the breakfast food was very very mid and very expensive for what you get. Would love to see either reasonable pricing or a meal worth the price tag. Staff was great. Place was cute.
Daniela Monserrat Ceballos Zavala
Love the service and food is delicious. I love having a drink and snacks and working here with my laptop, there is great WiFi 😃
Yasmin Barazandegan
I would give zero if there was a zero star option. The food was very low quality out of can, bread seemed to be prepared a couple of days before… there was a bone piece in their hamburger that hurt my teeth. The price was also not at all worth it. Do Not Recommend!
We were excited to visit The Whale Wins after hearing great things. The atmosphere was lovely, the service attentive, and the food clearly above average. That said, the pricing, portion sizes, and added 22% charge made the overall experience feel less satisfying.
We shared a variety of dishes: Matiz sardines on sourdough toast, lettuces with lemon juice, Parisienne gnocchi, Hama Hama clams, Alaskan halibut, and zucchini bread.
The standouts were the gnocchi, sardine toast, and zucchini bread. The gnocchi had a perfect sear and texture, and was beautifully presented. The zucchini bread was moist, flavorful, and not at all soggy. The sardines paired nicely with the excellent sourdough and fennel.
The halibut was cooked to perfection, though the salsa morita felt a bit overpowering and the size just too small for $48. The clams were fine but unremarkable, and the lettuces, while tasty, didn’t justify the $23 price.
While we enjoyed the meal (quality at least 4*), the high cost, small portions, and a significant added charge (would appreciate just increasing menu prices) left us feeling underwhelmed and still a little hungry, making it difficult to justify a return visit and ultimately falls short of a recommendation.
Cute space, but all the dishes we got were small, bland, tasteless, and uninteresting. Prices were high, especially considering the quality and quantity.
Any place that charges a 22% surcharge isn't worth visiting. I don't care how good the food might be
Meh, small portions, oily dishes. Very limited menu, the only decent item was the cod. Not worth. 22% surcharge.
We had our 10 year cousin reunion here! Thanks, Kiel Whitney, for recommending it! It was outside our normal brunch lunch spots but we loved it. It makes sense why it’s been on the award lists(James Beard). We had a fantastic time, with fantastic service! On reviews, people might say it’s pricey…but it’s worth it!
We got it as an anniversary gift. My wife was very excited to finally come here. Atmosphere was nice, service was lacking refinement and kinda too casual. Now this restaurant has been talked about so I couldn’t wait to see what it tastes like. To tell you the truth I was underwhelmed. More hype than reality. Would rather dine somewhere else.
Blanket 1 star rating for all businesses that have deceptive pricing with mandatory surcharges. Be honest about menu prices!
I’ve been to the Whale Wins several times for dining with friends and more special occasions. It’s become part of the usual rotation because of the wonderful environment and delicious menu.
My partner and I visited in this past week, and had such a weird service experience, I feel I must write a review. We can in knowing more or less what we wanted to order. We ordered our beverages - I ordered a red wine and the server hit a beat, breathed in and replied “Oh no. You shouldn’t order that. You should go with the X.” And followed up with “Sorry, you just looked so nice.” It felt … weird and condescending. I’m largely very open to the recommendations of servers, and love to hear why a recommendation is being made. None of that was offered here. Rather I was told what I should order, felt slightly judged for my wine order, and the reason was connected by my somehow looking “nice” - not sure what that had to do with anything.
A more appropriate interaction, I feel, would have been to ask to offer a recommendation and explain the difference between the two so that the customer could make that choice.
It colored our experience of the rest of the meal - which was too bad because we were celebrating an anniversary.
The Whale Wins has been in our rotation, but I think we’ll be putting it on the shelf for a while.
Amazing service and very quaint atmosphere. Highly recommend. Ps. the Gnocchi is too die for!
A force 22% tips for a party of 2 doesn't make sense.
Restaurantji Recommends
I LOVE the Whale Wins! I’ve been with them from the start. We brought home 2 orders of liver pate this afternoon and they are literally half the size of previous orders. Renee Erickson, I admire your culinary and business skills- with the amount of chickens that are cooked, could the pate have remained ample?
Absolutely amazing food. The bread pudding is a spiritual experience.
Unfortunately the breakfast food was very very mid and very expensive for what you get. Would love to see either reasonable pricing or a meal worth the price tag. Staff was great. Place was cute.
Love the service and food is delicious. I love having a drink and snacks and working here with my laptop, there is great WiFi 😃
I would give zero if there was a zero star option.
The food was very low quality out of can, bread seemed to be prepared a couple of days before… there was a bone piece in their hamburger that hurt my teeth. The price was also not at all worth it. Do Not Recommend!
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