The Whale Wins

I visited for my birthday and enjoyed tasty seafood dishes in a nice atmosphere. Friendly service. The pate was amazing, and some interesting dishes and desserts complemented the meal. The architecture is also lovely, like you're in a wooden boat. Lots of whale decorations were cool. I ate like a whale, but I felt like a winner.

I don't frequent Fremont, but had a gift card here so made a day of it. I made a reservation online for a Saturday at 12:30pm, which requires a credit card. Though it was unusually hot here in Seattle, a reservation was not at all needed, seems like they get a lot of foot traffic, but it wasn't very busy. We sat outside and I loved the ambience, however leaves from the tree dropped in my food and drink lol. I don't fully understand the menu. Seems to be family style, a La carte? Maybe the menu is a little too bougie for me! I ordered the Gordita with Egg and it was delicious. It was saucy and the herbs and chorizo really added to the taste level. The Sardines on Toast was very rich but full of flavor. My partner ordered a lamb dish (can't remember the name) and didn't enjoy it. It felt like ingredients put together rather than an entree. The curried pickled cauliflower was overpowering. The lamb was cold (intentionally) and the bread was just plain, no sauce provided. The restaurant is in the front of the house while a very cute store is in the back. Lots of cute trinkets for the kitchen, as well as many of the same ingredients they serve on their menu.

A cozy chill spot tucked away in Fremont walking distance from Gas Works. Our sever was friendly, but kind of wish he came to our table more to check on us. Their menu has some good eats. I was not expecting this meal lamb meal to be cold(and that's on me for not asking). The ambiance of this place is amazing, and they have outdoor seating in the shade, which was great on the warm day we went.Overall, 4/5 stars!

Service: never lets us down. The staff is fun, great with recommendations from the food to the wine list, and also great with handling food allergies and other accommodations. Ambiance: fantastic. It can get a tiny bit loud so don't host a dinner here if you're planning to talk biz but otherwise it just means a leaning in and enjoying a little bit of extra close time with your guests. Food: delicious, well balanced, interesting, and fresh. From brunch to dinner and beyond, they do a great job. Beverages: delicious, and plentiful.

I came here with friends last night. It's a sharing style place so we ordered a few dishes and shared which I always enjoy. They were quite kind and marked up the menu for me showing me what dishes I could easily eat that were gluten and dairy free. The service was very attentive which was great - despite them being quite busy. We shared the pork chop (which was a table favourite), the roast chicken, ham (they brought chips for me instead of bread!) had dates for dessert and my friends shared the Eton mess. While I enjoyed the food, atmosphere and service I felt it was very overpriced for what it was which is why I unfortunately feel like I have to give three stars. It was good, but I didn't feel the dishes were that exciting deserving such a high bill. If it weren't for the price I'd return.

Really love the PNW flavor profile ( subtle and unique) and decor. Everything is family style so even the main are big portions to share. We started off with FARINATA. It was really unique, the clams go really well with the crème fraiche. Pair this with 2017 domaine des cognettes gorges muscadet, fr and thank me later!!! Baked goat cheese with honey is also Bomb. They come with not a lot of bread but they give you extra. Pork chop was out lease fav. Not a lot of flavor and just not the best. Pudding is soooooo good and such a nice way to end the night! I would love to come back to just eat FARINATA with some wine again!

This place is interesting. It's rustic and sterile at the same time, white and wood decor. The food was outstanding. Pork chop bar none top 5 I've had. It's the size of Manhattan and has a great crust but is wild juicy and tender. The clams are fantastic, little bits of chorizo or some spicy sausage seal the deal - I could drink the juice in the dish. Served in a Le Creuset for extra bougieness. cod is cod, smallest portion of the mains we got - thankfully they were accommodating of my frustrating allergies(nuts).

I won a prize at my workplace. The prize was to have dinner at The Whale Wins with a shareholder and two co-workers chosen by me. We booked our appointment online via Open Table. When we arrived a bit before 6, the restaurant was quite empty, but within 10-15 minutes, the restaurant became packed. It was a Monday evening, so I was a bit surprised how popular it was.The staff was quite friendly and patient. There were not too many items on the menu, but there was a good variety of food. We decided to share things together, so we ordered Pickled Vegetables, Lettuces, Braised Cabbage, Hama Hama Clams, Salmon Steak, wine, and desserts. The food was okay, not bad but nothing special. I wasn't impressed. They tasted fine, but with the price, I was a bit disappointed. I feel that I could do better at my home cooking.The interior was a casual "cottage" style, which I do like a lot. I also like the high ceiling, which makes me feel that the air circulation is good. The customer service was excellent. It's just the food itself that wasn't that great. If they could improve the taste of the food, I would love to come again.

Stopped in for a mid-week lunch with a friend. They were not busy, only one other table was seated. I got their Tomato Tartine. It was so so delicious that my friend had food envy and requested several bites of mine as well. She got the buckwheat crepe which was fine but not something that I was impressed by. I plan on returning to see what other gems they have on their menu.

We haven't been back for the Whale Wins "day" menu experience in some time - we were in the neighborhood and decided to give it another try. The reason for the avoidance is that the day menu was stripped of some of our WW favorites a while back (including that oven-roasted bone-in steak). The menu now relies pretty heavily on pre-cooked or barely-cooked items (salads, sardines on toast, dips, olives, breads...), and less on cooked-to-order dishes. Anyway, on to the experience yesterday: it was okay overall. Service was excellent, as you would expect from any Renee Erickson restaurant. The food is where things floundered. We had the ham and the halibut dip to start: the ham was doused in olive oil, likely to mask the lack of marbling in the meat; the dip had only a glancing amount of fish in it (seriously - probably less than 2 tbsp in total - it mostly tasted of dairy). The Sea Wolf baguette that accompanied the ham should have been substituted/left off the plate; it was stale (no doubt because SW was closed from 12/25-12/26, and not baking bread on 12/27 as a consequence). The sausage and cabbage dish was a highlight - we ordered the fingerling potatoes and a side of eggs to round out the meal; this made a satisfying addition. The General Porpoise donuts made our kid contingent happy - they were pretty good. The biggest disappointment by far was the Boat Street bread pudding for dessert. It bears not even a passing resemblance to the original Boat Street Cafe dish, which we should have anticipated when we discovered that it's now "tree nut free" in its current incarnation at WW. I dimly recall that the original may have had an almond element (frangipane?) in the pudding. What arrived at the table yesterday was an over-fired bowl of shredded stale bread, sitting on top of a scant slick of what tasted like condensed milk, topped with orange zest, and a carafe of lukewarm cream on the side. It was letdown to the memory of Boat Street Cafe, and to any bread pudding enthusiast. Bread pudding requires pudding - not just bread!