I really wanted to like this, I really do. I've begged my family to go with for months and so for my birthday (today) we decided to go there. Interiors: very classy, very clean. low light... More

I really wanted to like this, I really do. I've begged my family to go with for months and so for my birthday (today) we decided to go there. Interiors: very classy, very clean. low light fixtures, the whole place is dimmed. proper plate settings, nice tables and chairs. and oh! you gotta check out the restroom, it is amazing. i can't believe a Renton restaurant finally stepped up to Seattle restaurant standards. Staff: very friendly. everyone from the hostess to the lady who was refilling everybody's drinks were very corteous and overattentive (i should say). Food: okay, this is the part that really ticked me off. I eat out all the time so even though I'm not a food critic I can safely say my birthday dinner was a spectacular disappointment. We ordered the calamari, dungeness crab cakes, coconut shrimp and from Monday to Friday (4-6 pm) they have an Early Bird 3-course Menu (runs from $14-$17). I took advantage of the 3-course deal and ordered the clam chowder and salmon with vermouth butter. The clam chowder was very good. They used baby reds for the chowder and it was very thick and creamy. It was served in a small cup and I had to wonder (where's the crackers?) but it was good and I let it go. Next up all our appetizers came in at the same time because my mom and sister decided to forgo dinner and order appetizers instead. Okay it is impossible to screw up deep fried calamari, absolutely impossible but they did. Fin N Bone did. My mom and sister are calamari connoiseurs and after they took a bite, they let out a huge "eh..." I tried a couple of pieces and one has to wonder, "this is deep fried calamari, you could not possibly screw this up" It wasn't crispy at all and it had no flavor whatsoever The aoili-garilic dipping that came with it was so forgettable I've had many aoili-garlic dipping sauces in my life and this one was nothing like the ones I've had before. A few months before I went to Manzana Grill (in downtown Bellevue) and I ordered the Dungeness Crab Cakes from the happy hour menu. Once again, I didn't think crab cakes canbe messed up but lo and behold! they did mess it up. The crab cake was $10.95 and we got 2 tiny, little patties. very small and did not look appetizing at all. I took a bite and immediately pushed it away. One can't help but remember the scrumptios crab cakes I had from Manzana. I used to work in a Applebee's/Red Robin kind of restaurant and they had this never ending coconut prawns deal every Monday. so my sister asked me whether I thought she should order the coconut prawns and i said, sure, those are great. Once again, they've messed up the prawns so bad it was ridiculous. There were 5 huge prawns on the plate and in the middle was a honey-based Thai chili sauce of some sort. I took one bite and never returned. The sauce wasn't any good either, the honey was very overpowering. Think overcooked prawns dipped in honey, yeah that's how good it was. My salmon arrived and after trying out all of our appetizers I was so desperate to get outta there. The salmon of course was so... ordinary. For a "first class" restaurant I thought they would have given the side dishes a little more love but no... I got bland rice "pilaf" and the usual vegetable suspects (julienned zucchini, carrots, onions, yellow squash...). The Applebees'/Red Robin place I worked for whipped out way better, way tastier, way more loving salmon than Fin N Bone did. Our meal without tip came to $53.50. I'm not sure if I'd come back to this place. Our drive back home was so awkward because there I was babbling non stop about Fin N Bone and we all went home pissed off and unsatisfied. Sigh...
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Hurrah! Renton finally has fine dining with lunch, dinner, steak and seafood! The old bar at this location has been transformed inside into a classy, light jazz background music sort of place. Owned... More

Hurrah! Renton finally has fine dining with lunch, dinner, steak and seafood! The old bar at this location has been transformed inside into a classy, light jazz background music sort of place. Owned by the owner of Armondo's (great Italian food for decades in case you haven't tried it), this restaurant delivered us a nice lunch. We tried the fish and chips and the crab sandwich. Chips are in the form of lightly seasoned waffle fries. The halibut was fine. The crab sandwich was a delight. The crab was mixed with artichoke hearts, spinach, cheese, onion and served on a light sourdough bread. Service was excellent. 6 brands of beer are offered on tap, many more offerings of wine including 3 dessert wines. Lunch prices range $10-15, dinner $10-50. Lobster is $48. The Sunday all-you-can-eat crab fest is $26. There's a special early dinner menu, and fresh fish menu. Expect to find oysters, scallops, crab, prawns, steak, duck, pork chops, lamb. Several dessert offerings including brownies, cheesecake and fruit cobbler. You can call ahead to reserve the chef's table and watch them work (can be noisy). The bar is pleasant.
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