February 17, 2008 at 1:21 am
· Filed under Business Bites, Poulsbo Real Estate, Sparks from Sparky
In the early morning hours of May 30th of 2006, a very popular local eatery in Poulsbo WA was left in charred ruins by fire. When Mitzel’s, a well known landmark, went up in smoke, area residents lost a dining tradition they had enjoyed for over 20 years.
Fast forward to the present, and the grand opening of ”Taprock Northwest Grill.”
Recently, I offered my son, Ben, and his friend, Josh, a lunchtime reprieve from their house-building efforts, and treated them both to a meal at the new Taprock Northwest Grill.
As is typical of most newly opened restaurants, the place was packed with plenty of local business people and assorted patrons patiently awaiting a seat.
The hired help was extremely friendly and gracious throughout our meal. On several occasions, the Manager, Steve Hancock, came up, personally greeted us, and inquired about our meal/service.
Yours Truly enjoyed a plate of Pan-Fried Totten Bay Oysters, while both Ben and Josh manhandled the Mountain High Tillamook Cheddar & Bacon Burger.
Trust me when I say that “Mountain High’ is an adequate description!
The food was very tasty, the service prompt and attentive, and the prices kind to my wallet.
The decor was classic Pacific Northwest, appointed with generous use of wood and stone, giving you the sense of an upscale hunting lodge or ski resort, but only next to a strip mall. It wasn’t too high-end though. Ben and Josh felt right at home in their work boots and bibs.
Overall, a very pleasant experience, and one that will no doubt more than adequately fill the shoes left behind by Mitzel’s.
Located at 760 NE Liberty Road, Poulsbo, WA 98370 * Phone: 360.697.2215
Hours of Operation
Sunday - Thursday: 11am - 10pm
Friday and Saturday: 11am - 11pm
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Taprock should serve breakfast. It will never fill Mitzel’s shoes until it does. Mitzels was a great breakfast spot, the best in Poulsbo.
I ate at Taprock yesterday and while the wait was short, the table we were brought to was still wet from being wiped down, as were the seats. The Hostess waited for us to sit down, not seeming to notice the wetness. I had to ask her to wipe it off for us, and when she did, she only wiped half of it. I had to take a napkin and finish wiping.
We ordered cocktails and an appetizer. The cocktails took longer than the appetizer to make, and though the waitress was appologetic, she told us that the management has the bartender waiting tables as well, and they’ve been having problems getting drinks out in a reasonable time. When the cocktails arrives, they were in super tall, thin glasses, filled with ice, and the remainder with the cocktail. For a $7.50 drink I would expect it to be a decent size. When a glass is filled with ice it may look like you are getting a good sized drink, but you are not, same with the height and circumfrence of the glass. All in all, I felt a little ripped off.
I was also not impressed by the bread sticks, which seemed rather dry and boring with nothing to dip them in, and only a few herbs sprinkled on the too-chewy surface.
When we ordered, the food came promptly. My Halibut-shrimp dish was very good, everything was juicy and flavorful, and I like what they’ve done with the potato dish. My mom’s crab salad was also good. She had no complaints. My boyfriend’s Prime Rib and Au Jus sandwich, however, was lacking. First, the waitress forgot the Au Jus, and then the sandwich tasted a bit like dog food smells. It didn’t reflect the price at all. My boyfriend only ate a quarter of it before giving up.
The rest of the visit was good, the waitress got our check quickly, was kind and courteous. I see nothing wrong with the staff, but maybe the management needs to re-think some things if it truely wants to fill the shoes of the much missed Mitzels.
Brenda wrote @ May 24th, 2008 at 11:07 am
My husband and I ate at Taprock last night, and couldn’t believe the experience that we had. First, we ordered two margaritas. We didn’t specify the “Mount Hood margarita,” which was $7.50. We just wanted plain margaritas.
The flat bread they serve is dry, and has a bitterness to it. We didn’t care for it.
Then we ordered our dinner entrees. I ordered the Halibut tacos, and my husband ordered the Tillamook burger. When the server came with our entrees, she brought a Halibut sandwich instead of the tacos. (Not a big deal, it looked really good) They brought the Halibut tacos about 10 minutes later, after my husband’s food was half eaten. The manager brought it, and didn’t even apologize!
When we got our bill, we saw that we were charged $7.50 for “Mount Hood” margaritas (which we had not requested). We each had two, so that was a wopping $30 for four drinks! I felt the waitress was trying to take advantage. We asked her about the charge, and she said she would get the manager.
The manager (the one who brought us my late entree) came out with a serious attitude! She asked very condescendingly, “What needs to happen here to fix this?” We couldn’t believe it. Perhaps she thought we were trying to get something for nothing. That’s not the case! We go to dinner once, maybe twice a week, and we tip very well. I don’t even remember the last time we had to send anything back, or even had a complaint. We’ve never been treated so poorly.
My husband responded to her by asking for the price of a regular margarita for the four drinks. We didn’t ask for any kind of discount (although they should’ve tried to compensate for any ill will). She quickly said,”Ok” and stomped off. $10 was taken off of our bill for special margaritas that we didn’t order.
Needless to say, we won’t be back. Their establishment just lost a good customer.
This manager could’ve provided Taprock with plenty of future business from us by correcting the bill with maybe an apology, and less attitude.
Brenda-Kingston
Ann wrote @ June 17th, 2008 at 9:04 pm
I’m surprised to see these negative comments. My husband and I have been there 3 times for lunch on a Saturday and it’s been great. The drinks were fine. The food was fabulous and brought in a timely manner. The waitresses we had were so neat. One of them was a kick in the pants with a great sense of humor and was very attentive to us as were the other young ladies. I’m sorry those other folks weren’t as lucky. Hopefully maybe they’ll give Taprock one more try and it will be a nicer next time for them. We look forward to eating at Taprock often. (Oh, and Taprock, keep those oysters coming… They are heavenly!!!!)
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