This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Business & Tech

Shorts and Chardonnay Both Welcome at Beach Cafe

The casual atmosphere doesn't mean skimping on a tasty dinner at the Carillon Point restaurant, where you'll find American flavors with a makeover.

Crowds at Carillon Point’s Beach Cafe seem to depend on one factor -- the weather. The night before dining there, the hostess informed me, business had been very slow beause of the rain. Not so on the brilliantly sunny but breezy evening of my reservation.

Conversations buzzed all around as I walked into the naturally lit ground floor directly on Lake Washington. The casual “I just stepped off my boat” environment makes it a comfortable place for families with kids, but cool enough for a first date.

“Beach” Cafe is a bit of a misnomer considering the absence of an actual beach, but the sentiment is there. A surf board decorates the top of the bar to reinforce the idea. The decor may lack personality, but with the view of the lake, it hardly matters.

What does matter is the food. A smart mix of upscale burger joint fare and seafood, Beach Cafe is all about new American cuisine. Light beers and white wines were definitely the more popular choices, glancing around the dining room. The glowing magenta Prickly Pear 'Rita (try saying that fast five times) accented tables here and there, throwing its color like a prism; though I’ve never understood drinks with both a salted rim and a straw.

Before arriving, a friend highly recommended the Beach burger, a left-wing burger interpretation topped with bacon onion jam, spicy mayo, arugula and cheddar. But it gets even better because there is a mini Beach burger on the starter menu, perfect for liberal dabbling without the full commitment of the entree. Juicy and full of sweet meaty flavor, this is a must-have. My dining partner made a natural choice, ordering the sweet potato fries crusted with diamonds of sea salt and parsley flakes.

Those in a more refined state of mind might choose a spinach salad with blueberries, goat cheese and filberts (what they call a hazelnut with a pocket-protector); or the classy version of a green salad dressed up with dried cherries and smoked almonds.

Having satisfied my burger craving with the mini appetizer, I only halfheartedly glanced at the other sandwich options. These include the Beach burger’s right-wing counterpart, the Ellensburger, featuring Dell’s BBQ sauce, avocado, jalapenos and cheddar; a grilled cheese with aged gruyere and cured tomatoes; or the Hempler’s hot dog topped with sauerkraut.

It was the seafood that caught my attention. Ordering the Washington mussels, I contented myself with more of the addicting sweet potato fries until my entree arrived. An enormous plate of blue and black mussels topped with two surf-board shaped slices of garlic bread enticed my eyes and nose. Balsamic cream, a nice twist on a regular cream sauce, was enhanced by rich, salty bacon and warm red pepper flakes. The entree was so large that I ended up taking half of it home -- because who wants to skip dessert?

My partner was introduced to her first piccata, a sauce traditionally made with white wine, butter, lemon juice and capers. Usually served with fish or chicken, the sauce provides a tangy zing. A pan-seared chicken breast would have been preferable to the lightly breaded scallopini-style chicken, which was a little tough, but the overall dish was perfect for a sunny spring day. The artichokes and haricots verts paired nicely with the sauce and nest of linguine.

The dessert menu didn’t have much more than the standards -- a creme brulee, a flourless chocolate cake, an apple crisp and some ice creams.

But keep reading that menu. Something very interesting, indeed, lurks near the bottom. Drinkable sweets, otherwise known as “delicious shots with a buzz,” are just the thing to cheer up the dessert menu. We both ordered the vanilla shot with vanilla vodka, baileys, chambord, buttershots and cream to wash down our flourless chocolate cake. Some garnish on the shot would have made it extra special. Flavors include the chili chocolate shot, the apple cranberry shot and the chocolate cake shot; $5 apiece or a flight of four for $15.

The sun finally dipped behind north Seattle, a relief as it was quite warm during dinner. Sipping the vanilla shot while the sky slowly darkened, I felt happy and comfortable. Beach Cafe is a great casual place for dinner without having to give up a good-quality meal. The attention to flavor and inventive dishes make the corporate decor fade into the background.

Just don’t forget to make a reservation if the sun is out or you could be waiting a while.

Beach Cafe is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner during the week; brunch and dinner on weekends. Happy hour is twice daily (even on weekends!) from 4-6 p.m. and 9 p.m.-close.

Interested in local real estate?Subscribe to Patch's new newsletter to be the first to know about open houses, new listings and more.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?

More from Kirkland