Super cute place tucked away in the forest with beautiful natural landscaping. Our server was attentive and kept our large group supplied with beverages. Food came out in a timely manner and overall was pretty solid. I had the pork belly appetizer which was quite good. Others at the table had the clams which were apparently tasty. The steak was the most popular dish at the table, and everyone was pleased with both flavor and preparartion. I had the scallops, which were delicious, and I really loved the sauce. Definitely a good spot with a romantic and intimate feel. read more

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Beautiful setting surrounded by trees. Service was very good. My husband's duck breast was delicious and it should be for the cost. My pasta dish lacked flavor; ended up adding a lot of Parmesan. It did take a while to get our entrees. The kitchen was slow. All in all it was a good experience. Be prepared for a big bill at the end of the meal. read more

We are so grateful to have celebrated our anniversary at this beautiful restaurant! To summarize this review the experience is magical. The ambiance is cozy and warm, feeling like you are invited to dinner at your friends home, if your friend also happens to have an exceptional wine cellar, a farm, and is a wonderful chef. The way Duck Soup executes farm to table with such beautiful presentation is really a treat and the combination of textures and flavors was a journey that is worth a trip to San Juan Island alone. We had wonderful service and we were so grateful for recommendations on how to navigate through the menu! We started with the Spiced Carrots - they were incredibly paired with a salad, cracker, and cheese combo - perfection. For the main course we split the scallops and the filet. Scallops were served with fresh fingerling potatoes and this fresh, citrus/herb forward sauce that was so bright and refreshing (we are still talking about it). The filet was cooked great and served with a Demi glacé that was also just so perfect. the pomme puree was also flavorful and had a lot of amazing flavor on its own! Thank you Duck Soup for making our Anniversary memorable - we can't wait to visit again and again. read more

As advertised, they had pretty good duck! Upon arriving in Friday Harbor, my girlfriend and I immediately made our way to our reservation at Duck Soup. Tucked in an isolated, forested area 10 minutes away from the downtown area, the restaurant was a little lodge building you had to drive to on a dark road. Was it worth the trip? Definitely! We were greeted by the servers right away and were seated right next to the wine bottle area. The interior of Duck Soup had a really cozy and warm ambiance to it; it felt like the ideal place for couples and families. We were first served bread with anchovy pate, which, as a bread enthusiast, is something I've never had before. This is something I certainly want to add to my food circle. Our main dishes were pretty good! My girlfriend got the House-Made Tagliatelle Pasta, and I got the Duck Cassoulet. Personally, I like the pasta more than my dish because my duck dish was mostly beans. Even though I wasn't a huge fan of the beans, the quality of the roasted duck was really good. Thank you to the Duck Soup staff for having us! This is worth a try if you're planning a Friday Harbor trip. read more

Duck Soup - Bread with anchovy pate! - New American Near Me - Friday Harbor, Washington

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Duck Soup is the most enchanting restaurant I've been to. A bit of a way out from the central area of Friday Harbor, you will find yourself down this road with a lodge building, which is Duck Soup. My boyfriend and I arrived just in time for our reservation. We ordered Duck Cassoulet and House Made Tagliatelle Pasta, while we got served a pineapple mocktail and bread with some anchovy pate. The anchovy pate was salty yet umami tasting in contrast to the bread. The mocktail tasted similarly to a pineapple Fanta, which is my favorite. Next came our main dishes, medium rare duck laid on a bed of beans. It was cooked to perfection and I've never had anything like it before. The pasta was also delicious. Pesto straight onto the bread with tomato sauce Tagliatelle Pasta surrounding it. Truly an exquisite meal! The ambience of Duck Soup was just wonderful. It felt cozy and warm. It was a great place to have a meal. read more

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We looked forward to having a special dinner at duck soup. We frequently travel to Roche Harbor on our boat and so getting transportation is a bit challenging. However, we were able to get a taxi. We joined some friends unexpectedly and that seemed to throw the staff into a bit of a tizzy. There was nothing memorable about our meal, looked good but did not live up to it, it was OK at best. Our friend had rack of lamb that she could not even cut. They forgot to serve our wine. However, they offered a complementary dessert. I wouldn't make the effort to return. read more

Best restaurant on the islands. Splurge here and don't waste your money elsewhere. Innovative menu with lots of great choices. Fresh, local, wild. The outdoor patio is the place to sit. read more

Nice, cozy, Pacific Northwestern restaurant in Friday Harbor area, though dishes can be hit or miss depending on what you get and service could be better. Location requires a car as it is not centrally located near the ferries or seaplanes. I made reservations in advance for 6:30pm dinner Sunday, and it was quite busy. Most people are visitors like us so near 8:30pm when we finish the meal, the restaurant clears up with minimal people starting their meals, to catch the last ferry of the day. Note: despite the name, there is only one duck item on the menu, and according to the server, the name comes from the 70s saying here: "easy as duck soup." We got roasted baby carrot salad, braised pork belly, duck breast, and prawns and herb gnocchi. For dessert, we got the toasted dandelion ice cream sundae. We also got a cocktail "Twyla Mae" (forgot the exact spelling) that was a bit underwhelming - watered down. We got started with bread and anchoiade and butter, and the anchovy is pretty prominent and salty so enjoy it sparingly. The baguette was decent. The butter was also good. Roasted baby carrot salad was pretty solid - many uses of carrots which ended up flavorful, paired with a fresh herbed ricotta and fried carrot bits and baby arugula salad. Presentation was spot on too. Braised pork belly is decent - good ratio of fat to meat, with some oyster mushrooms. The mustard on the side was too strong and did not really pair with the pork belly. Duck breast was cooked to a medium and also had a decent fat to meat ratio. I love duck so this one was good. Prawns and herb gnocchi was also delicious. Price point is a bit high for what we get, 7 pieces of prawns that were pretty fresh, and herb gnocchi was large gnocchi, not the small ones. At minimum, the gnocchi was fairly flavorful, further enhanced with the sauce. Ice cream sundae was $14 which was quite high, about double the cost of what it was 2 years ago... but we were intrigued by the toasted dandellion flavor that ended up a bit subtle. We were celebrating a birthday and there was nothing special they do aside from just sticking a candle on the dessert. If we did not tell the server, they would not have paid attention, even though I stated a special occasion in the reservation notes. Service is a bit mediocre for a restaurant of this caliber. Long waits on food, so a 6:30pm dinner straddled close to 9pm, and our ferry was 10pm. We had to rush the dessert as it was already past 8:30pm, around the time we hoped to leave the restaurant to leisurely make it to the ferry. The server did not wipe down the table between mains and dessert, which would've been okay usually, but the server placed my spoon carelessly on top of some sauce that was left from the mains. I called it out, and they brought a cloth to clean the table but dropped the spoon loudly thereafter, which annoyed me a bit. Throughout the dinner, the server was nowhere to be found in a lot of instances, instead of paying closer attention to the tables if they needed anything prior to the server making the rounds across the tables every so often. Overall, a decent place that is recommended by lots of people, but a little overhyped. I would recommend for a nice dinner, but it falls short in service and some dishes when considering the price point indicative of a fancier sit down restaurant. read more

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I had the salmon and it was fresh and cooked well. Nice location and very friendly staff. Will definitely go again next time I am in Island. read more

I love the outdoor dining ambience for fine dining. This is a place where I would not bring little kids. Despite the name, they've never had duck soup on their menu. They did have a duck entree which was very good. I would not recommend their black cod. The grilled skin wasnt very crispy and the cod wasn't very blackened. Only other complaint is that it took 45 min to an hour to get our food. read more

Duck Soup - Key lime pie - New American Near Me - Friday Harbor, Washington

I loved the environment but for the price it's just Meh! If I visited San Juan again it wouldn't be here. I've spent a lot on meals before and I just wasn't impressed with the menu for how much it cost. The menu also doesn't describe everything that is on the plate. I got the dinner salad and it had goat cheese.... I hate goat cheese lol and it didn't say it came with the salad. Favorite thing was the Rockefeller Oysters. read more

Duck Soup - New American Near Me - Friday Harbor, Washington

Not being from the island, we were visiting for the weekend. Came for dinner last night after having not visited this restaurant for THIRTY years The last time we were here we were engaged, and last night we celebrated our 29th anniversary Our server wasn't even born when we were here last lol. They had a wagyu brisket special that we both enjoyed. Their bread is divine. Excellent carrot cake. Service was great. Quaint and lovely sitting on the outside porch on a sunny day with a bottle of wine. We'll be back sooner next time! read more

Came here for my birthday dinner since we were staying on the Island, and the flavors and quality ingredients combined with the beautiful location and decor were perfect. The service left a bit to be desired, though. Twice, our dishes were left unattended to the point that we had to move them around ourselves before anyone came to clear them. The servers aren't great here for a "fine-dining" experience restaurant. They also had a snooty air, which was annoying. The service was so slow that we decided not to order dessert or an extra cocktail because everything else had taken so long. Did notice that some folks were legit sitting and chatting for hours and hours because they were there well before and after us. Liked that it was an excellent place to catch up with loved ones without the pressure to leave. That may be why the service was slow. True Island time, I suppose. They have an adjacent parking lot and three seating areas: the dining room, this outside patio area, and the gravel patio area closer to the woods. I had initially booked the dining area, but the day was so beautiful that I kindly asked to be seated in the garden patio area. It was lovely watching the hummingbirds come and go while surrounded by nature. The parking lot view was the only annoying part. Had I not worn heels, I preferred the gravel patio area with fire pits. We ordered: (btw, one of the butters served with the table bread has anchovies mixed in and at first the flavor wasn't that great but it grows on you! Going to try to make this at home now) -Clam Special (I can't remember the exact name): The clams were giant! The picture did not do them justice, but this dish was excellent! -Confit Duck Leg--This was so delicious! Considering the name, I just had to try it, and it exceeded my expectations. I loved how they added citrus to the dish! -Smoked Pork Belly App: These were surprisingly hearty, even though they were tiny. I highly recommend you give them a try! -Petite Cioppino App - This was also delicious; the seafood was perfectly cooked, and the sauce tied the dish together nicely -2 cocktails which were delicioussss I highly recommend this place for special occasions or just for catching up with loved ones. Just make sure you set up your reservation ahead of time and enjoy the beautiful drive up. The surrounding area is gorgeous! read more

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We loved our visit to Duck Soup! We made reservations ahead of time for dinner and were seated immediately. Our waitress was so friendly, welcoming, and attentive. We thought she did a great job with service. The space was cozy and inviting, with indoor and outdoor options available. It looked like the patio had heat lamps for chillier nights. The Halibut entree was our favorite out of everything we ordered, and the Chamomile Honeycomb Gimlet was so unique and flavorful. I would definitely put this on my return list! read more

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Best fine dining on the island. Best atmosphere. Service is always amazing. It's the place we go for all of our special evenings. Great for large parties too outside on the patio. read more

Beautiful foliage-fringed restaurant with a funny name. The food is excellent but super pricy. Its location is not close to anything on the island except Lakedale Resort, which the trolley does stop by but limited hours/schedule so impractical, so you either need a car or hail/order a taxi to get there. Our server was gracious and attentive. She deserves 5 stars! Food/Menu - wide variety of meat and seafood to pick from. Very fresh and seasonal. Some highlights: - super flaky and crunchy bread served warm - the anchovies paste is scrumptious, could not get enough of it! - beet panna cotta is interesting! But together with goat cheese, candied pecans, and salad with a tart dressing it was well balanced - halibut was generous in serving size! Bit expensive for $48 - steak Diane was made to my husband's liking, and the potato Mille-Feuille side was super crunchy and addictive mouth watering. But still not worth $60+ imo Cocktails - earl grey old fashioned was lovely - Niepoort tawny port ended my night on a lovely note Definitely make reservations in advance! The server let us know that gratuity was already included since we had a large group. I appreciate that she even had written out the total amount so all we had to do was sign. Pricing is cost prohibitive, so just beware. read more

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Deliciously balanced preparations and well presented plates. Staff was attentive. Enjoyed the recommended cocktails and wine paired with our meal. Roasted Baby Carrot Salad, Scallops, and Sturgeon. Highly recommend! read more

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Majorly disappointed Read through recent reviews! This was our first time after being highly recommended by friends. Raw and cold duck, warm just ok Halibut and messy Un tasteful veggie sides. Staff including waitress couldn't care less. With no alcohol or desert $188 was insane Im all in for spending for a 5 star dinner but not this. Beware!!!! Read other recent reviews Mcmillons is a much better option Ps no comps or even a sorry. Staff indifferent read more

Duck Soup - Roche Harbor - New American Near Me - Friday Harbor, Washington

My cousin brought me here for dinner and it was amazing. I loved the location right by a pond, it was very green and luscious, they even had a garden out front. We had a reservation, but had to wait a little bit for our table to be set up. Our waitress was super nice and helpful. We sat near the back of the restaurant. Inside was very cozy and a little dark, felt like being in a hobbit hole. For our appetizers we ordered the cucumber salad and pork belly. These dishes complimented each other very well. The cucumber salad was refreshing and crunchy while the pork belly was fatty and tender. The presentation of each dish was beautiful and eye catching. I liked their use of edible flowers in the cucumber salad. For my entree I had to get the duck breast. Presentation once again was stunning, the duck breast was at the center of the plate, but it was surrounded by fresh greens and topped with chives and another edible flower. The duck seemed slightly undercooked but still tender and delicious. The polenta was cooked perfectly and soaked up all the juices that came from the duck. My cousin ordered the radiatori for her entree and it was also plated elegantly and had a lot of fresh vegetables in it. Of course, we had to order dessert. We split a simple pot de creme, which was also topped with the usual edible flower. It was a chocolatey rich, but not too heavy dessert. We had a wonderful dinner here and I would definitely come back the next time I come to San Juan Island. read more

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The service and ambiance here are great, but sadly our food was not. We ordered burrata with heirloom tomatoes, the seasonal salad, and the duck breast. The burrata, tomatoes, and salad were all bland, tasting like they had no sauce or seasoning and no inherent flavor either (for those familiar with this part of the PNW, you know that even without additional sauce/seasoning, you can easily find produce bursting with flavor at local farmer's markets). The duck was very difficult to chew, and tasted as if it was going bad (I am familiar with duck, this was not gamey but off). We were really disappointed because we were so looking forward to dining here at the end of a wonderful day on the island. read more

Great place to indulge yourself - the chef is fabulous and the staff was knowledgeable and friendly - gluten free options are available and the menu is creative and wonderful. Great ambiance and off the beaten path - HIGHLY Recommend! read more

I've gone here nearly ever summer I can remember for birthdays, anniversaries, etc--and it never disappoints. The lamb and the duck are my go-to, and the dandelion root ice cream is fantastic. Interior is beautiful (though I miss the picture of Groucho that used to hang in the entry!) and the service never fails. Lovely people, food, & atmosphere. read more

I've been traveling WA state for the last month, eating in Seattle, small towns, mom and pop places and highly rated restaurants. I know good food and I know when the business is customer oriented. I'm sorry to report that my very first meal on the island was at Duck Soup. After reading reviews and watching IG influencers rave about it in their stories, I made the mistake of not following my instincts. It all started with the "big" salad we started with. We just knew when we found wilted greens and a lack of a good dressing. Then came the bread that was decent but came with a huge squirt of anchovy paste that was so fishey and pungent we didn't want to touch the last slice. The waitress gave hints, "Go real slow with that". We moved on with ordering and should've known the $18 kids meal was a flop when the waitress described the ivory salmon as a "salmon with a genetic defect". The so called salmon was rubbery, slimy, and thrown across watery potatoes and some okay green beans. The flower on top had bugs in it and when we let another server know, she said "oh you can just toss that out!" So we tossed it into the bushes. I let the waitress know the kids didn't like the meal and she was more than Ok with it, suggesting it's always good to "keep trying things". The other kids meal was a filet that was ordered as medium but still was stringy and bloody. We had to push aside the kid meals and order them the $40 vegetable pasta which was charred veggies thrown in unseasoned cream soup with pasta noodles. My husband and I ordered the lamb chops and, I will admit, we should have said well done but the waitress claimed that medium rare was the standard. We asked for it medium well and it was just pink meat on a bone that we gnawed at because we were hungry and already in a mess. Not one person asked if we liked our food. Bottom line- this place was a waste of time and money. They are just making dishes and serving them, like it or not. My guess is that no one is tasting the food and checking for quality. I will not be back and I recommend this to no one. The only good that came is this is that it inspired me to buy clams at Wescott and make my own delicious meal! read more

The salad and scallops were amazing! Well curated and seasoned. Every mouthful of the scallops just melted in my mouth! Loved the seed the croutons. So unique! Yummy bread and spreads too. Great service from Laurel and wonderful decor and ambiance. Duck was pretty good but not outstanding. read more

Duck Soup - Salad - New American Near Me - Friday Harbor, Washington

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Fish soup, more like fish poop Had a really bad time here and there were bugs in the food (came out cold after an hour) Wish the staff was at least nice read more

One of the worst experiences of my life. Just because this is the only fine dining option on the island, doesn't mean you need to be dining here! Beyond the horrible service from the get-go, our waitress did not care about us in the slightest. They served our drinks 55m after we sat down and our appetizers 20m after that, regardless of us questioning. Post our appetizers being late, my duck were also late; i sent it back and it came back microwaved for 4m. it was overcooked and no longer the way promised. I sent it back again and was met with aggression and disbelief. the GM came out (finally) and was so rude to us, insinuating we were wrong. She said she never heard this before (read the other reviews lmao) and insisted we were wrong. She comped 1/6 of the bill with no happiness. Won't come back ever again :) read more

The food is 5 star to me and I eat dinners out almost every day! This is seriously the best place to get a bite to eat, but just know that this filet mignon was like $55 so keep that in mind! The steak melts in your mouth with the quality of butter read more

Duck Soup - Filet Mignon at Duck soup, the best steak ai have ever had. - New American Near Me - Friday Harbor, Washington

This was my FAVORITE meal on our weekend trip to San Juan Island. Duck Soup is in a quaint cottage in the woods, absolutely beautiful. The bread they give you comes with anchovy paste and if you love anchovies like me, this is unique and yummy. Their cocktails use a local-ish distillery from the Seattle area. The baked oysters were nice and flavorful, but the winner for me was the large soup and salad entree. The soup was a roasted artichoke and the salad was blueberry tarragon with local vegetables and toasted hazelnuts. I could've licked the plates, this food was that fresh and delicious. I will be recommending this to anyone going to SJI! read more

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I was in a party of 6 that reserved a table for 7:15 pm. It took over 90 minutes to be served our food (food arrived at 8:55 pm). The waitress explained that they were hosting a wedding so they were very busy, but that is not a reasonable excuse. If the kitchen isn't able to handle a large volume of orders, they should not be seating additional customers or taking reservations for that time until the wedding concludes. Additionally, there were 2 other parties that were seated after us but got served before us (they even finished their dinners before we got our food). I'm not sure if this was due to incompetence and poor prioritization, or discrimination (a majority of my party was Asian), but it was definitely a slap in the face. The food itself was fairly bland as well, definitely not worth the price. read more

+ nice service + beautiful ambiance + butter was great - Food looks much better than it is - Cocktails were stronger than they - overpriced read more

Duck Soup - Scallops and pasta - New American Near Me - Friday Harbor, Washington

Such a cute little hidden gem of a restaurant. Really enjoyed dinner here, we ate on the patio while it was still light out. We loved everything we tried but the pork belly was a fav. read more

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I'm sharing my recent experience at Duck Soup, hoping it might help others make a more informed decision before dining there. We visited on August 8, 2024, for my brother-in-law's 50th birthday--and were extremely disappointed. Our experience was far from what we had hoped for, and unfortunately, it overshadowed the celebration. First, the online menu was misleading. We were looking forward to dishes like the pork chop and belly, only to find they were not available once we got there. Instead, the menu at the restaurant was different and the prices higher. This was frustrating, especially since we had specifically chosen Duck Soup based on their online menu and recommendations. Our party of six faced numerous issues with our meals. Out of all the dishes, only one was satisfactory. We chose not to send back the majority of the meals out of embarrassment, which contributed to a ruined birthday dinner. Here's a breakdown of the terrible food we were served: The filet was overcooked despite ordering it medium rare. It was remade, but it definitely was not worthy of an $80 steak. The Steak Diane was overcooked, with raw and burnt side vegetables that were left untouched. The noodles that came with the black cod were drenched in soy sauce, making them inedible. The pasta and prawns were overcooked and barely touched. The quail was undercooked and left uneaten. It looked like it was thrown in a microwave. My stomach turned so much that I could not eat it. The waitress never asked what if there were any issues even when 4/6 dishes remained mostly uneaten. We should have spoken up, but considering it was a birthday dinner, we did not want to spoil the night. The final blow came with the automatic $88 tip added to our bill ($528 total), which felt unjust given the poor quality of the food and service. After spending so much, most of us left hungry and had to find another place to eat. I spoke with the manager, who explained that the online menu isn't always current, as they change their offerings monthly. She also mentioned that the main chef was in the ER that night. While I understand that emergencies happen, it doesn't excuse the overall lack of quality and bad service. I was told we should be grateful for being accommodated without a reservation, but in hindsight, I wish we hadn't gone at all given how disappointing the food was. We were never offered anything to remediate the crummy food and experience. We dined here previously and it was pretty good. However, after this experience, and the manager's response, we will not dine here again. I want to make sure others do not make the same mistake we did with eating here. read more

I have been coming here for over 15 years and it has always been wonderful on all fronts- ambiance, service and food ..up until the past 2 visits. I thought the first time may have just been an off night, but the second time made me think something has changed in the kitchen. The food was not as fresh, looked like whoever was plating it up in the kitchen didn't care, and so salty I could not eat my entree. I hope the folks at Duck Soup read this and will make some changes. You have been our go- to special meal place on the island for so many years and I don't feel like I want to come back any time soon right now. The ambiance and service are still wonderful. read more

What a cozy place! We were recently on San Juan Island and decided to try the restaurant after reading positive reviews. The food was excellent. Scallops with risotto for me and steak for my husband. Green salads to start. All were expertly prepared, well portioned and delicious. Service was attentive without feeling like it was too much. We left satisfied with our bellies full of local food. read more

Made a reservation a week in advance via their online form and I'm glad I did as the place was packed even on a Thursday night! We were able to dine outdoors with our puppy. We shared the large summer salad as an appetizer which was perfectly sized for 3 people and refreshing. I enjoyed the duck breast which was very tender and presented beautifully; it was my husband's favorite dish and he normally doesn't like duck! I preferred my husband's filet mignon which was perfectly cooked medium rare. My mom really loved her scallops. The house bread with butter and anchovy paste was so good, and the bread girl kept coming around with refills. The waiter was on point too and very sweet to our dog. Would definitely come back and it was nice to go somewhere removed from the main downtown area! read more

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We were celebrating our anniversary. We ordered the halibut and scallops. The scallops were delicious. The halibut was ok but not too special. The desert banana cream pie was too die for. read more

Duck Soup - New American Near Me - Friday Harbor, Washington

A lovely setting for dinner. A warm summer evening out on the back patio with huckleberry bushes nearby and stately conifers surrounding the restaurant The kitchen gets stars for the delicious food that they bring to the table. You won't be disappointed. read more

Dinner at Duck Soup was the best that my wife and I had on our trip to San Juan Island. The restaurant itself was extremely cute, and the service was so friendly and attentive. We started with steamed local prawns and raw oysters. Both were delicious. For dinner, I had scallops with risotto and my wife had a steelhead salmon with potato and a corn puree that was also very good (I had a bite). For dessert, we shared a Tres Leches cake that was very yummy, especially with the little toasted crumbly stuff if the side. Altogether it was a great meal to finish our trip. We no longer had our rental car. But a round trip cab ride from Friday Harbor was $40 and easy to arrange. read more

Duck Soup - Yummy scallops - New American Near Me - Friday Harbor, Washington

Food, service and ambiance were all top notch. Would definitely recommend. Original cocktail offerings and great wine list. read more

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Good atmosphere, well-balanced menu, beautiful setting. Service was excellent, very helpful. Scallops, tender, seared beautifully; cauliflower florets were browned externally, tender internally, and the base for the scallops was a cauliflower-potato pure', a tasty bed for the scallop entree. Thanks to our property owner for great recommendation! read more