My friend Wendy and I were planning to go listen to live music and drink wine at The Woodhouse Estates on a recent Girls Night. Wendy hadn’t been to Woodinville Cut Shop yet and I wanted her to check it out. We arrived to find their doors flung wide to let in sunlight and fresh air – I love that! I paid my respects to Windy the Clown at the front door on the way in, naturally.
This time, I’d arranged permission in advance to wander around taking photographs, so we eagerly explored the restaurant’s 1970s retro decor. Here’s the living room lounge. You can tell someone had an awful lot of fun shopping on perhaps eBay, Etsy, and at antique malls. I think I see a vintage slide projector?
Perhaps I shouldn’t have photographed these kitschy vintage owls tucked away on a shelf, so you could have had the pleasure of discovering them yourself. I just want to know – do you find them homey or creepy? I’m edging towards “homey” myself.
If you’re of a certain age, as I am, you likely had a father or uncle with a basement setup like this when you were growing up.
I adore this faux fireplace. It really gives off a welcoming vibe. I very nearly abandoned Wendy to go sit a while next to it, basking in its faux warmth.
I love, love, love this illuminated horse. This area needed a warm glow and this is just perfect.
Our waiter said the bartenders were friendly and wouldn’t mind their photos being taken. But when I finally worked up the courage to go up to the bar and ask, it was slammed with customers and busy servers. I didn’t want to get in the way, so went back to my seat defeated and photograph-less. I’d never want to get in the way of a thirsty patron getting their drink on!
I wandered over to the main dining area, enjoying the breeze coming through the open doors. Here’s a table set with a carafe of water and a darling potted plant.
This table has a view looking outside. I wonder if the patio will ever expand to this corner?
I love this long table for larger groups. It features bench seating.
A family group had just left, so the restaurant was quite a bit quieter immediately.
Almost everywhere you look, there’s a sign demonstrating the Cut Shop owners’ hilarious sense of humor.
Support your local Cut Shop on the Slough!
I wandered outside to explore a bit while we waited for our drinks and appetizers. I truly love this patio area, but wonder what it’s purpose is. You could easily sit and nurse a drink, but I don’t see any tables to set your food on, and wouldn’t really want to balance a plate on my lap. Perhaps this is where they’ll make the hordes of children lining up for balloons from Windy wait their turn?
I finally spied the legendary waterfall! The excitement made my hands shake, thus the blurry photo, alas.
I am impressed with this mural – someone is not afraid of bold, vibrant color!
A side door leads back into the bar.
Back at our table, our appetizer had arrived: Pimento dip with house-made crackers. I apologize for the bad photo (it’s hard to photograph beige dip and beige crackers on a blonde wood table in the dark) and assure you this is delicious food.
The jalapeno Hush Puppies were so good last time, I ordered them again so Wendy could try them. Once again they were perfectly cooked – crunchy on the outside and well done on the inside.
I’d ordered the Paloma cocktail – so delicious, it might be my go-to drink here from now on. It was worth the wait – the bar was a bit behind on this evening.
I cannot for the life of me remember which drink Wendy ordered, and can’t guess just by perusing their Libations menu. Is it a Manhattan? She thoroughly enjoyed it though, I assure you!
I’d ordered the Simple Green Salad and was quite pleased with it – a nice small portion size (leaving room for my appetizer and entree!), well dressed, with wonderfully fresh ingredients and high quality lettuce. Loved the pickled red onion!
Despite having chowed down on a pimento appetizer earlier, I ordered the pimento grilled cheese sandwich. I’ll order it again! I definitely was grateful for the carafe of water though – that’s a lot of cheese!
Partly I ordered this sandwich because I’m now addicted to their French fries and wanted to get more!
Wendy ordered their burger – when it came, I pointed at her and laughed and made fun of her – how was she going to get all that in her mouth? She asked for regular mustard, as did the people at the table next to us, surprised by the Dijon that showed up with the burger. We also heard the people next to us puzzling why there wasn’t ketchup on the table.
Then it was time to wind our way towards our wine and music destination. We bid farewell to our friendly server and to Windy the Clown.
As we left, we spied a few leather clad motorcycle riders walking into the bar. Looking at their parked bikes, I said “Now that’s more like it – NOW it’s a roadhouse!”
-Carrie
Woodinville Cut Shop is located at 12801 NE 175th Street, Woodinville, Washington 98072.
Phone: 425-408-1173
Email: info@woodinvillecutshop.com
RESOURCES:
Woodinville Cut Shop on Facebook
Woodinville Cut Shop on Instagram
Woodinville Cut Shop at OpenTable
Woodinville Cut Shop at The Stranger
