Best Casual Restaurants in Mercer Island

From the moment I walked in the experience was welcoming, efficient and thoroughly enjoyable. A bartender greeted me warmly as I walked past the bar to my table. The staff were uniformly cheerful and helpful. A bottle of water was delivered to my table immediately together with drink menu. My server, Daniela, was solicitas and took great care of me. Care was taken to explain items place in Peruvian culture. My choice of classic Peruvian Sour cocktail was delicious and I was told is traditionally delivered for its sour taste before moving to wine, which I did with a selection from the very good wine list. I ordered the cebiche sampler of 3 cebiches and all were fresh and delicious. It was my introduction to the explosion of flavors on my palate, which was consistent the entire evening. I had the Criollo, a stunning small plate (the servings are all ample), of sushi grade hamachi in a amarillo (yellow) sauce served with plantain chips. Absolutely excellent. On another recommendation I tried the beef empanadas and found them lovely, also incredibly flavorful. The pastry was perfect. My main dish was Arroz con Pato (Rice with Duck) that was prepared to perfection as well. The duck was crispy on the outside skin and fall off the bone tender inside. The rice was risotto-like, and a joy to eat. As Daniela explained their Tres Leches i’d not like others, to which i thought “yeah,yeah”, but as was the case all evening she was correct in hr description and recommendation. The cake is processed into corn kernel sized bits and made into a little mountain topped with a meringue and accompanied by fruit sauces. The process ensures the cake is saturated by the milks. Different and fabulous as was my coffee with milk. A great dinner and experience—Genial! We’ll return.

Carmine’s is one of the best food experiences we have had in awhile! Service was exceptional, the lobster pasta special was a dream, the fillet with gnocchi was lovely. And the bread pudding was amazing. Thank you for a great evening. We will be back!

As usual, there were not many restaurants open close to where we live Christmas Day 2024. So I turned to my trusted app -- Open Table - which I could use to narrow down the day. Fofo de Chao sounded intriguing, so I booked one of the few openings -- 4:45PM. Around 3:30PM a 7PM time had opened up, so I cancelled the 4:45PM time AFTER I booked the 7PM time. That way, I was assured we had a time and our prior time was opened up for others. Because we had a reservation, we waited about 10 minutes to be seated. There were about 40 people in line, who we had to assume did NOT have reservations. Thank you, Open Table! We were seated close to the front window in a semi-private 2-person table, which we appreciated greatly. Our wait person Marsala could not have been more personable and professional. Because we had not eaten in the restaurant before, and because there was a special holiday presentation, Marsala explained to us how the entire process worked. Everything started with a self-service salad bar (like those that existed before Coid-19), which was pleasant. Large plates were available instead of the very small ones other venues offer. Once we were at out table, my wife and I were both given 2-inch-in-diameter paper discs. One side up indicated you were not ready for meats. Flip it, and a steady stream of carvers came to us offering different meats -- carved at the table and put on our plates. The meats were not overcooked, and overall were delicious. Our check, including an 18% (voluntary) tip on food+tax was $208. So at ages 80 and 84 on fixed incomes, we will be reserving Fogo de Chao for special occasions. But we were very happy with the whole experience. You will not leave hungry!

There’s a reason this is the flagship for Daniel’s. The staff here is outstanding and makes your dining experience one for the books. From the host staff, to the servers, managers, server assistants, everyone is so welcoming, positive, gracious and genuinely kind. Also the views from this Daniel’s are stunning. None of the other Daniel’s are even remotely close the experience you will get here… My family had Xmas Eve dinner and it was the best dining experience we’ve ever had with my elderly mother who has severe dementia. She can be challenging in public places but everyone here was so positive that she was over the moon with the attention she received. Our server Jeffrey took amazing care of our family and gave extra special attention to our mom; we didn’t have to ask him he was just a genuinely kind person who bonded with our mom. Couldn’t have asked for a better dining experience as everything was amazing, the service, the food and atmosphere. It was the best choice for a special dinner for our family. Thank you Jeffrey, Clark the manager, all the managers and staff at Daniel’s for helping make our mom have the time of her life. We will be back sooner rather than later. My mom is already asking to go back! And she doesn’t remember much these days…

Really great place. Food and service was on point!