Krawbar

Spoiler alert: they have a food safety violation for "standard not met: parasite destruction procedures for fish"... kind of a big deal for a seafood restaurant! The two people in our party who ordered the catfish ended up with food poisoning. When I called the restaurant to let them know, they just said "well, lots of people ordered the catfish yesterday and this is the first we're hearing of any issue." Once I discovered Yelp provides food safety records, I checked theirs and discovered the violation. So, silver lining, now I know to pay attention to food safety violations when deciding where to eat. The only reason they get more than 1 star from me is because the waitstaff tried to serve our large-ish party the best they could. We attended a birthday dinner party here and they put our party of 13 people at a long table near the bar. I think the space was too small to accommodate us (if it were up to me I probably wouldn't have chosen such a small restaurant for this group to start with) so we were pretty packed in. It was really inconvenient for those of us in the middle on the bench side to use the restroom or get up for any reason. On the plus side, it wasn't very crowded so it felt intimate. That's pretty much where the plus side ends.

Such an incredible and seemingly ambitious menu, located in the small downtown strip of Issaquah, is Krawbar - pleasantly big and bold in flavor. The food is fresh, seasoned, and cooked perfectly. For seafood and fish lovers, and anyone who likes flavor, this is thee spot. On the weekend, expect about an hour wait, without a reservation between 6-730, but it clears out after that. Service was a little all over the place, constant change in servers, but maybe everyone was just doing their part. Not enough to deter me from coming back!

The best thing about our experience was the clam chowder. It was seasoned well and full of tasty bites. The rest of our experience was disappointing. We were seated in a booth tight next to the bar. One man at the bar was so loud we had to move tables to be able to converse. All surfaces in this restaurant are hard. Sound has nowhere to go. The waiter wasn't very familiar with the menu (couldn't tell us what kind of sausage is in the boils) and hadn't tried most things on the menu. Dynamite Shrimp was described as crispy shrimp, sweet spicy aioli. If these shrimp were ever crispy, you couldn't prove it by our dish. A small pile of a sweet mayo sauced shrimp. No coating, no crispy. The accompanying salad garnish tasted fresher and more interesting. We tried 2 salads, the one with seared ahi (no seasoning at all, and oil vinegar on the large mound of fresh greens), had lots of chewing and no flavor. The swordfish was a generous portion of fish, but the dish was only saved by the green sauce. The dressing didn't have much flavor. Our friend had a boil and didn't want a spicy sauce. He was told his only option was the onion cream sauce. He thought the sauce had no flavor at all. It just tasted of cream and served in a bowl that made it almost impossible to get to the sauce. He had ordered noodles extra to eat with the sauce but didn't eat them; who wants to eat noodles in cream with no seasoning or flavor? The worst, though, was the Thai Curry Mussels. If I had expected Cajun Mussels, maybe I could at least understand the dish. But it didn't taste good and had nothing to do with Thai flavors. We gave it back to the waitress, and it was taken off the bill. We were not asked it we wanted something else instead. I had long wanted to try this place, but we won't be back.

Quote the unique menu. Asian fusion does not describe it. It has a Cajun vine happening with the boils, and an Asian bend with the appetizers, bao, and more.Great service,. Enjoy!

GNO was on a Saturday night. Reservations made via Yelp. Shared our dishes and each ordered a drink. Yuzu cosmo, Lychee-Soju spritz and Sojurita.Sojurita was a bit strong! Dishes ordered Calamari with chojudang sauce. We asked for garlic aioli which be liked better. The calamari was spicy 1* without the chojudang sauce. , Blackened Ahi salad with sesame ponzu was flavorful and refreshing. Totally enjoyed it. Clams with lemongrass made with cilantro lime sauce with 1/2 bread roll. We needed to order another roll to dip into sauce. Third dish krawbar seafood pasta had a light spicy kick. It had fairly amount of seafood in this dish. I would order the calamari, the salad, and seafood pasta again. Indidnt enjoy the clam dish so much. . The staff friendly. Service so-so. We had to ask for serving spoons, water refills. It was happening and lively place! See pix

We celebrated my dad's 85th birthday here a few weekends ago. Four of us split the seafood boil with garlic black pepper sauce. We got a pound of clams, two pounds of prawns and the Dungeness crab. My sister ordered the Chicken Katsu Bao Buns and my sister in law had the Cajun Pasta. Both of them enjoyed their meals my sister liked that the baos came with a salad the needed freshness with the fried item. The four us enjoyed the seafood boil. We also had the a Japanese street corn and calamari as starters. I think the biggest hit was the Mango Shaved Ice we had one order with six spoons. Was the perfect way to end the meal refreshing and light! Definitely would return, service was friendly and helpful especially when we had questions about the boil. The black pepper sauce had a kick but wasn't overly spicy it built the more you ate.

The food at Krawbar was fantastic. I came with a group and we each had something different. Everything was given a thumbs up. The chicken noodle bowl was nicely seasoned and topped with a poached egg. The buttered fettuccini noodles were unexpected and exceptional given the spiciness of the chicken. Everyone really enjoyed the food.The only reason I give it 4 instead of 5 stars is because the sound bounces off all the hard surfaces of the room making it almost impossible to hear when you get a lot of people in the restaurant. The bathroom was a nice respite. lol

Get the seafood boil spicy Cajun sauce, the kimchi miso soup, and the Ahi Tuna Salad (dump some pickled cucumbers in that salad).. You won't regret it!I'll be back!

Oh my goodness talk about a sigh class, restaurant and bar scene it was absolutely amazing , with everyone there smiling and being so happy to have a spot with a full parking lot and then looks like everyone knew it was happy-hour @3:0pm when I got to go to be the 4 one of the 4 of my family so it was the best pit- stops for having your meal and drinks before you travel/ to have a meal after your flight cause it was so good and the Hospitality and Ambiance from the Hostesses was so good so Nice and relaxing and special!!, & then I went to the bathroom real quick and it was so nice and clean and I was so happy for my dad to say hey check out this kitchen and this is where produce& crest those gorgeously delicious meals yeah I know dad and Thanks you guys, so delicious and I love how sweet and Gorgeous our waitress was too!& on the way out she said bye you are so cool I hope I see you again UM, yeah- You better better bet I will cause that was a double + meal, & you're so sweet Amanda!! Thanks so much love everyone and everything here is such a positive blessing thanks and have a great night thanks U2!! ateF

Food - chicken wings and seafood bowl were pretty good but steak was cooked hard and burnt partially. Service - Servers were great in customer service but the manager (not sure if he is the owner) was extremely rude and arrogant! He definitely needs training for the proper customer service to handle the complaints about the food gently to get the business from the returning customers! Ambiance- quite good for a local neighborhood restaurant but not returning there for the poor customer service from the manager!