Suquamish Clearwater Casino Resort

A surprising slice of fine dining paradise

Tranquility and beauty are not words that normally pop into your head when you think of casino dining. Yet the new fine dining dinner house at Clearwater Casino Resort, The Clearwater, provides just that feel. You experience the bustle of the casino as it leads into a hallway to the new tower, enter through glass doors to be greeted by, seriously, happy hosts. The dining room opens ahead of you with the truly Northwest view of Agate Pass. You're home.

Circular dark wood soars above the bar to your left where you can enjoy cocktails, a very reasonably-priced wine list with great options, and numerous beer choices. To the right, tables line the floor-to-ceiling windows, and booths flow along the left, slightly separating the dining room and bar. There's not a bad seat in the house.

As lovely as it is, the look and feel are the least of the surprises. Food takes top place. First, the menu is very approachable, and while there really is something for everyone, you don't feel like someone slapped a little bit of everything on the menu. This is a thoughtful menu. The Clearwater takes the place of their former steak house, Cedar Steakhouse, so there are red meat options: prime rib, rib eye, filet mignon Oscar, New York, top sirloin, steak burger. But they take full advantage of Suquamish fishermen's haul. Chef Tin, who has been with the Casino Resort for eight years, makes his choices from the boats as they come in, and the restaurant offers Dungeness crab cakes, fresh oysters, calamari, prawns (cocktail, appetizers, linguini), clams, tuna, salmon, a beautiful cioppino, and a rotating seasonal fish. In addition, they offer a Mongolian pork chop, bone in, with garlic, hoisin, and ginger; eggplant risotto; quinoa and marinated vegetables; coq au vin; and Maine lobster tail. Numerous salad and side options include seasonal specials like a spring berry salad (blueberries, raspberries, rhubarb vinaigrette) and stuffed squash blossoms. And there are plenty of interesting starters, like the Mac & Jack blackened shrimp, oysters Rockefeller, ahi poke, and mushroom gratin with onions, garlic cream and Asiago cheese.

It's difficult, but you've made your choice. And then you have your next surprise: the presentation. They take the time to make the plates inviting. The cioppino comes in an oval boat, piled high with seafood; scallops line up alongside brilliant green broccolini; the filet mignon Oscar sits atop grilled asparagus fanned out below it. Soup bowls are shaped so the soup is even with the edges of the bowl-mini infinity pools.

Then your first, second, third bites, and your next surprise. The chefs are on fire. Steak comes out as ordered, not overdone, not underdone. Scallops are cooked on one side only, giving you the pan-fried near crunch on top while the inside is at the perfect almost raw texture. Flavors are balanced, you're not overwhelmed by one ingredient, you taste them all.

Scallops with broccolini

Beyond the kitchen knowing how to execute, they're using high quality ingredients. The restaurant tag line "Locally Influenced Cuisine" applies to each dish, sauce, dressing, etc. Whenever possible, ingredients are sourced locally. Steaks are cut in house daily. Everything is made in-house. Chef Tin is a believer in shared knowledge and keeping everyone on the same page, so the restaurant experience is consistent. He has put together a great team with the final staff member, a pastry chef, coming soon. They already make desserts in-house, but with the new event space, they're adding someone to handle volume and items like wedding cakes. He's also looking at offering ice sculptures for those truly big occasions.

Your next surprise: price. Menu items, wine (glass, bottle, corkage fee) are very reasonable. They want guests and visitors to enjoy this room. While they say they've gone a la carte to allow guests to choose what they want to eat vs. having a salad come as part of the meal, it amounts to getting a single plate and needing to order whatever else you'd like. However, they have priced those plates accordingly and most come with a vegetable. Even the Maine lobster tail is priced reasonably.

The final surprise is that they've hit their stride so soon, having opened May 12, 2015. In a week's time, their service was friendly yet professional; food looked and tasted good; kitchen was executing perfectly. They could take it easy, being the only fine dining restaurant in the area, but instead they've worked hard to take it to a high level.

Filet Mignon Oscar

As part of their remodel and expansion, they've added 98 new hotel rooms, including nine suites; the Beach Glass Café and Beach Bru Coffee shop inside the main entrance to the new tower; added 10,000 square feet of event space that can be divided into four smaller spaces; a pre-function indoor space and an outdoor terrace. They have started redoing the casino space, including a non-smoking area; and creating a new lounge that seats 300-350, with a new, slightly-larger stage. They are remodeling their current buffet area as well. And to make it easy to get there, if you join their Players Club (free), you can grab their shuttle at the ferry dock (all weekend Bainbridge Island ferries and all weekday arrivals after 9 a.m.), leaving your car behind in Seattle or Edmonds.

Considering the beauty of the area, the ease to get there, and the amazing quality of food, The Clearwater is something you're going to want to experience soon.

Suquamish Clearwater Casino Resort
15347 Suquamish Way NE
Suquamish, WA 98392
360-598-8700

www.clearwatercasino.com

Connie Adams/June 2015