deru market

warning- this post may make you drool. there's chocolate cake and pizza involved. if you're on a diet i apologize and i hope you get a cheat day soon. then you can have cake and pizza, too. . i had heard about the slices of cake they serve at deru market in kirkland and they sounded too good to pass up. so to kirkland we went so our family could have a delicious lunch. we were seated at a nice table outside. i started with a glass of some bubbly and my husband had a beer. our sons had already had a little lunch at home so we ordered them each a snickerdoodle cookie to be brought out with our food. then i thought, what the heck, bring me a slice of the chocolate cake, too.

meet little gem of a restaurant! food is really fresh and tasty... loved the farmhouse salad with a slice of the peanut butter cake... oh my heaven... i'll be back.

love love love this place. got the pesto chicken pizza so amazing, tastes real. and there are no words for the peanut butter chocolate cake. although i must warn you the slices are huge so expect to share. the decor is to die for and i would go back any day.

so let me start by saying that this is an update to my review, demoting the place from four stars to one. as they say, one bad experience ruins many great ones...

my and my young daughters have been walking to deru for dinners and brunches quite frequently over the last two years. over time, my daughters developed their "permanent" order of pizza (split between cheese and chorizo), the chocolate mountain of a cake and two cookies to go (for school the next day).

the last (literally last, we are not going back) time we were there we were told, quite abruptly that the pizza the girls requested cannot be ordered. one of the girls - as well as myself - explained that we have been ordering the same pizza for quite some time. no good - we were told we can have cheese pepperoni but not chorizo. this was followed by some girls drama but my carnivore daughter badged - she was hungry after the walk. (disclaimer: i did not and decided to remain hungry and irritated vs. eating something i really don't care for).

'when things go wrong, you'll find they usually go on getting worse". we waited for ~30 minutes. whole pepperoni pizza arrives. the cheese half got covered. fairly quickly after that (they can make it quick if they want to!) a whole cheese pizza arrives. it was all good if the table wasn't too small for two trays. one ended up on the floor with some of the pizza. we got to take the floored pizza and leftover home; we'll give them to our backyard chickens.

it was time to go home. unfortunately decent food is not enough to cover bad service. we liked deru when they were smaller. attentive and kids friendly better. we will need to find a new family spot for our dinners. unfortunately it may not be within walking distance.

chocolate cake with peanut butter frosting. died and gone to heaven!

just found deru! what a find!. i had lunch at deru market for the second time this afternoon: farmer's salad, margherita pizza, and chocolate, chocolate cake. the salad was excellent--extraordinarily fresh and with bits of added flavor (roasted pumpkin seeds, cherry tomatoes) and simple dressing. the thin-crust pizza was very good (with sun-dried tomatoes). better than other local kirkland pizzas, not as good as tom douglas' serious pie. the first time i was there, i got a turkey sandwich and peanut butter cookie. the sandwich was great--fresh and great flavors.

so for savory food, deru ranks very high. for the desserts, however, not so much, imho. the peanut butter cookie didn't taste much like peanuts and was on the greasy side of good. the chocolate, chocolate cake was good, but nothing to write home about.

everything here is a double portion--so don't go by yourself as i did. other than sandwiches (which are large, but not double), there was nothing on the menu that was what i would call a single serving. the pizza was a usual 12" good for 2, or maybe one very hungry person. the salad was large (yet it was called the "small") and could certainly have fed 2 at lunch as a first course. the slice of cake was huge--half of it was more than enough--and was cut from a 12" diameter cake that is 4-1/2" high (rather then the usual 8" or 9" cake made at home).

sooo good!. this place is so unbelievably good. at first, when you pull up, it feels really weird, like, "where am i?!" but, the décor is so clean and simple and modern. and, then you get to the food. pick anything off the menu and it will be so good. the chocolate cake with peanut butter frosting is insane. the brisket sandwich is what i'd like as my last meal. can you tell that i like it here? yeah.

yummy!. by far, one of the best places to eat on the eastside. i live in seattle and have made the trip over to have their amazing wood-fired pizzas, or any of the specialities of the day. jamie and jordan, the owners and chefs, are passionate about what they do, friendly and genuine - and it all shows in how their place looks, feels and the great food.

this place is amazing. great food, rustic yet gourmet, and deserts to die for. their carrot cake is the best i've ever had. they have pizza, sandwiches, soup, deserts, and more. the menu changes daily, so keep an eye out. seriously, go here, you won't be sorry.

didn't know sandwiches could taste like that. the hardest part was figuring what to order. everything looked incredible! kirkland's biggest secret jem! and they sell victrola coffee! can't say enough about deru! eat here!