Last week was Valentine’s Day week, and we were feeling a little overdue for a family date night out so we started searching for something close-by with a romantic feel to treat ourselves to. With a little help from Yelp and recommendations from friends, The Commons Restaurant/Café seemed like the exact vibe we were looking for! Friends who had been there before said to absolutely try the pretzel, and looking at the menu online I had already couldn’t decide between the Buffalo Burger with a fried egg or the French Onion Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup… drooling over the menu from the start meant that we just had to go!
The restaurant is very accessible located smack in the middle of all the wineries in Woodinville. If you are a smart wineo, you could totally plan to hit a tasting room or two before your dinner reservation! There is plenty of parking outside, which is one reason that going out in Woodinville sounded appealing to us… not having to pay for parking and remember what garage you are in after a long walk to the restaurant (I’m looking at you Seattle/Bellevue) is a huge plus.
The vibe was perfect. You can tell this place is a hit just driving by it, because it is always bustling with guests no matter what time of day. The atmosphere is very modern with wood countertops and white barn-style lamps hanging from the ceiling. While waiting for our table we spent some time picking out pastries from the bakery for breakfast the next day (you HAVE to check out those giant cinnamon rolls!).
For dinner, I finally made up my mind and went with the grilled cheese and tomato soup, and my hubby couldn’t turn down the chance to have steak frites. Please don’t ever roll your eyes at a gourmet grilled cheese… I feel like at good restaurants this is a chance to shine by using some high-class cheeses and homemade bread. This one in particular had a magic little pocket of caramelized French onions in the middle, which totally made my day. My husband wished his steak frites had some herb butter on top, but after we shared an amazing slice of s’mores cheesecake featuring a handmade marshmallow (that was so good that my toddler stole it from us), I convinced him to let it go 🙂
In all, everything was spot-on and I am sure we will be back many times in the future!!
Wait…wha, “s’mores cheesecake featuring a handmade marshmallow”?!!!
A bit too far for us but looks delish. Thanks for sharing. Putting this one on my ‘must visit’ map.
Where are you located?
Skagit Valley area. We’ve a few good places up here.
Visit 5b’s bakery/restaurant in Concrete when you’re up here. It’s All Gluten free!
This is so crazy! My husband and I live just a few miles from The Commons (in Redmond on education hill). We also liked it there and I had the same grilled cheese and tomato soup you did! My husband also did not want to miss a chance on the fries and had a burger. We often run at the slough and passed the commons this morning and talked about going back! This world is so small!!
Wow that is super funny!! But did you have the s’mores cheesecake??! Great foodie minds think alike:)
No, I went with a “booze milkshake”. I don’t remember which one but I do remember that it was gooood! Would love to go back and have one of the other two that they offered!