crystal creek cafe

crystal crrek in bothell. we both ordered corn beef hash ,corn beef was mixed in with hash browns with green and white onions . the onions were very strong in flavor and overpowered the meal. but worst of all,30% of it was corned beef compared to hash browns...couldn't taste the beef at all. the key word is"corn beef",where's the beef.
will not go back. the bloody mary was good. no restaurant in there right does this to corn beef!

musts:

you must-
1. sit at the counter (not bar, soda fountain counter) order a coke. best coke you'll ever have
2. order bfast (my fav) anytime any day
3. order one of these-potato pancakes, french toast, corned beef n hash, a joes scramble, cali benedict, biscuit, or a piece of pie. pies made daily and are fab.
4. for lunch my fav is the kentucky club
5. expect a guaranteed wait on weekends between early morning-2 and some weekdays (refer to #1)

something about the coke from the soda fountain is special and different then other places. ryan the owner is great, makes a reg appearance and remembers us by name. the staff is attentive, timely, and efficient. there have been a couple bad service visits but everyone is allowed to have a bad day and i avoid that persons section. not an issue though. it's cost efficient enough that we go weekly. out of town visitors look forward to bfast here and make a point of getting it.

tammy is the manager and offers great support to her staff. katie, sara (aka deazy), thomas, and kat, are our regs and been there for a long time.
it's the first and only bfast choice in our house. weekday or weekend, you'll see us there bellied up to the soda fountain counter. best seat in the house. there's never (seriously never) a wait to sit at the counter, you get fast service, and it's entertaining. watching the dynamic of the wait staff, teamwork, and the voice of the cook coming from the back when orders are ready, makes each visit unique. if you have never sat at a counter, do it and here especially. i have many options for bfast here... this is the fav.

should you be lucky enough to stumble in on a a busy weekend after a bit of a wait you will be treated to breakfast food that is worth a little patience. crystal creek has become somewhat of a weekly staple. the food is always great. the servers are all amazing. i have eaten most of the items on the menu through the years and very few have ever disappointed.

great breakfast. other than the mandatory weekend breakfast wait, the dining experience here was excellent. service was outstanding and my california scramble was delicious. should you find yourself in the neighborhood on for breakfast i can highly recommend it.

their prime rib is the only thing i eat from here. its melt in your mouth amazing!! only available fridays and saturdays i believe. service is okay. always caddy girls that flirt with guy customers or chat it up at the cashier.

disappointing. i went to crystal creek cafe with a friend for weekend brunch. for some reason the thing on the menu that really sounded delicious to me was the monte cristo sandwich, so i ordered that.

big mistake.

i just assumed it was homemade, and i should have asked first before ordering it. it looked, and tasted, like it had come out of a box from costco's freezer section and had been taken out of its plastic pouch and heated up in a microwave. i won't go so far as to say it was inedible, but it certainly wasn't good.

love the food and service is exceptional. i get their california eggs benedict for brunch and it is to die for! yum. we are always greeted with a smile.

i've been here many times for breakfast with friends and family. the food has always been hot, tasty, and affordable. the service has also been extremely friendly every time. this is one of my favorite places for a nom breakfast with great service.

once i sat down, it didn't take me long to figure out what i wanted...the corned beef hash. i can't tell you why, but it's probably my favorite breakfast thing, especially when i need something to really get my day going. and the description was enticing as they specifically noted it was made from scratch and not a can. i also got coffee which came out in the little white diner cup. one of these days i'm going to keep one of those just so i can walk around the office with it.

the food is good, it's a great place for kids...when we have our usual waitress, the service is great!

this is our favorite comfort food place, although food quality seems to be going down as well as service. we've been coming here for several years. the 40's atmosphere is nostalgic and goes along with the menu items. we've had breakfast, sandwiches and dinners. it's been great except lately food overcooked, meatloaf tasteless, and service questionable. we had my 90 year old mom with us last time and we asked for a booth after waiting quite a while to be seated. there were 5 open booths and lots of tables. the young host wouldnt seat us in a booth. he insisted on a table because the booths were for parties of 4 or more. there were 3 of us and my husband and i always get a booth just for the 2 of us. he finally sat us in a tiny, awkward booth in the corner by a drafty window. mom's meal was overcooked and the meat tough. my husband doesn't want to come back. we'll see.

surprisingly good. accomodating staff and great standard. maple syrup is natural, sweet potato fries are not overly sweet and terrific with the fresh lunch options.

overpriced. the food is ok, the pie is great...but the prices are bad. $30 for a chicken caesar salad, chicken sandwich, and 2 sodas? the pie is worth the money, but the food is not. we asked for additional chicken for the salad when we ordered and were quoted $6...we passed. when the salad arrived we were quite disappointed. we will not be returning for a full meal.

average food. i've come here twice after working all night. both times ended up with the fish & chips - minus the chips with either a salad or extra coleslaw. the coleslaw is ok, the fish has changed since my first time. now they are using very thin sliced halibut sprinkled with crumbs. it was fairly dry and way overpriced.

lunch. this place has great lunch specials. typically good service and wonderful food.