I visited FogRose Atelier once again - this time I tried their mocktails, which are amazing and…read moreecho the flavor profile of classic Italian cocktails like Campari. FogRose is known for its refined desserts and craft cocktails, but it also offers impressive dishes considering the price range. I especially appreciate that they feature wines from small local wineries such as Whitman Hill Winery; their 2022 Garage Caliper Cabernet Sauvignon was particularly interesting. FogRose is becoming my third place.

We went for dessert and some tea. The staff was very friendly and they all came to check on us and…read moremade some great recommendations. The tea was piping hot, which was nice because we are used to tea becoming cold as soon as it is poured in the cup.

Oh my goodness, if you get anything at DERU, GET THE CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER CAKE PLEASE…read more It's been a few weeks since I've gotten it and I still think about that cake. (I haven't justified buying a whole cake for myself, but I truly want to--and am tempted to do so) The food is great and I'd love to go back. I went on a Monday, so it wasn't as busy as it would be on the weekend. The servers are kind, and you typically order from a QR code unless you're having a hard time (and they'll help you!). Quiet space. Some parking available on site but it can get busy on the weekends from what I've heard.

Cute little place with good food and informal setting. Their dishes are pretty nicely thought out…read morebut oftentimes a number of them will be "out of stock" even leading into dinner time, but this is understandable if that's because they're aiming for freshness. What is not so great is that they've replaced human interaction and paper menus with a QR code based menu (annoying but becoming more common) and the only way to order is also through your phone (this is the part that is not common and really sucks). Been to DERU twice. First time my phone wouldn't let the order submit after polling everyone to put what they wanted into the "cart". Eventually some poor fellow who worked there had to use his little iPad and we all had to repeat ourselves to recreate the order after we'd already done the exercise on my phone. Second visit same thing- this time we had to recreate the order a few times on different peoples phones in our party until one of them could finally submit the purchase, and then they immediately started getting emails they weren't expecting as an outcome, their cell phone number was on our order ticket- so beware when you think you're just providing your credit card info- you're actually giving much more than that. We gathered for dinner to spend quality time together in real life and to get away from our phones but because of DERU's ordering system we instead spent the first 20 minutes of our dinner all on our phones. Then during the meal people would finish their glass of wine and want another- phone comes back out! This happened throughout the meal because, shockingly, people don't finish their glasses of wine at the same time, so all in all someone was pretty much on their phone close to the entire meal. Quite antithetical to the goal of human interaction and enjoying a nice dinner together. If they got rid of this ridiculous phone based menu and ordering system I would double my rating AND my tip. But at this point I may not come back for awhile.

One of my favorite finds for gelato. Such decadent and strong flavors here. The workers are kind…read moreand helpful. The place is intimate and small but it tends to get busy closer to the weekend. Love love loveeee their gelato. Rotation of flavors. Favorites: ube, dark chocolate

A lot of competition has popped up, but this is still by far the best option for a frozen treat on…read morethe Kirkland waterfront. I'm lactose intolerant so tend to steer towards the sorbets, but when I've had the proper gelatos they've been sublime! despite their being free of dairy or fat, they somehow manage to make the sorbets taste genuinely creamy! more than one friend I've brought here has said this spot is the equal of any gelato they had in Italy proper! Yes I've heard this more than once. The staff have always been pleasant and your kids will appreciate how generous they are with samples!

Seattle-Area Boba Shop Review #126…read more I've visited Bobae a couple more times at this point and need to upgrade them to a 5 for consistency. From my most recent visit on a Tuesday afternoon: Iron Goddess Oolong Milk Tea, Bae Size, 50% Sweet w/ Boba ($8) - This is a really interesting drink that doesn't taste like any other Iron Goddess (Tieguanyin) that I've had before. Instead of a more oxidized, somewhat vegetal and earthy taste, this tea delivers the aroma of warm holiday spices like clove and nutmeg. At half sweet, it's still a bit too much for me (reminder for myself to get 25% next time), but it's not a harsh sweetness by any means. The boba is very good and have been consistently good in my prior visits (other than my first visit, which was an outlier!). The pearls are clearly sweetened in syrup and have a texture that compresses on the tongue, but remains really bouncy. It's one of the few places that allows me my favorite boba chewing technique - biting off six sides to create a boba center cube. Milk Tea Rating: 4.5/5 Boba Rating: 5/5 Surprisingly, Bobae has turned into one of my favorite boba shops in the Seattle metro. It was definitely unexpected from my first visit! Drinks: [4.75/5] Service: [ ] Other: [ ] Final Rating: 5/5

I swung by to get their Nitro OG milk tea with boba, 50% sweet and light ice. I think that nitro…read morebrewed tea is a little gimmicky since I've been to Bobae's other locations and the tea always felt like a normal milk tea. Nitro coffee is real though, since it makes the coffee smoother and frothy at the same time. SO, I was surprised to see that the top of this tea was actually a bit frothy with tiny bubbles! Interesting. Maybe the other locations aren't doing it properly? Anyway, this made the tea have a silkier mouthfeel, although I'm still not sure it does anything for the flavor of the tea as milk and sugar are already added, making the drink super smooth and creamy to begin with. The boba here is soft, bouncy and perfectly chewy. It's soaked in syrup, adding another dimension of flavor. I'll be coming back!

Bakery goods and coffee are superb. The staff are professional and friendly. Always a "Good…read moreMorning" greeting as you walk in the door. A homey ambiance.

This place has great pastries but is expensive I know I'm in Kirkland but was worth it…read more If you're on a budget, the croissant bar down the road is just as good and less money

This is a very accessible and friendly place if you're a tea beginner to expert levels. They sell…read moreteas and tea accessories, as well as loose leaf teas and ready to drink hot/cold teas, lattes, etc. I attended one of the tea classes and I think it was a good experience for beginners. We got to sample five teas and several pieces of chocolate, as well as snacks to clear the palate between teas. We learned about tea and how its harvested, as well as the processing of tea. We also learned about the tea flavor wheel and identified tea tasting notes in the sampled teas. I do wish there was more of a compare and contrast between the teas - it would have been cool to try the same teas but early vs late season, or tea processed similarly but from different regions. If you're new to tea though, the classes are perfect for you!

We visited LizzyKate as we were interested in taking one of their tea classes. We had seen several…read morepop up in the past, but hadn't seen anything interesting in the past few months, so we dropped in to ask about them. Apparently rather than being prescheduled most of the time, they are held on demand. We asked for an Oolong tasting session and was able to get one penciled in a couple of weeks later. The store itself is appropriately decorated for a modern and trendy tea shop. There's a bit of an overpowering perfume that lingers throughout the store. It's not the best setting for a tea tasting, especially when trying to differentiate tasting notes when the olfactory glands are already completely saturated with perfume. LizzyKate has a decent selection of true tea, nothing super unique or rare, but I think they lean towards the more accessible blends and tisanes in the first place. Oolong Tasting Class ($35/per person) - Tasting sessions are held in the bar area, brewed mostly using gaiwan with carefully measured water temperature and volume. The class provides some educational material including laminated papers describing the tea production process, growing regions, anatomy, etc. More importantly, unlike some other tasting sessions I've attended, they actually provide pencil and paper, along with brewing instructions, to write down cupping and tasting notes. It certainly beats taking notes on my phone as I usually do. For this course, we tasted a white tea and four different oolongs. My personal tasting notes as follows (for future reference for myself): Bai Mu Dan - Mild, mellow, sweet and slightly astringent flavor with notes of honey and hay. Light golden liquid that's very easy to drink. Tie Guan Yin - Caramelized sweetness, vegetal leafy with a tiny earthy element. Darker golden color with more astringency and round lingering taste. The leaves smell smoky and roasted. Baihao - The smell is distinctively roasty and earthy, approaching the fermented smell of puerh. It has a brownish color and tastes smoky and earthy like peat. Formosa Oolong - It tastes of malt and molasses, with a certain oxidized toastiness. The color is more dark brown although it's not very astringent given the color. Osmanthus Oolong - This smells more malty and surprisingly not that flowery in aroma. The mouthfeel is extremely creamy and silky, almost like milk with the balanced taste of barley and hops with only a slight osmanthus flowery taste in the background. I think the base used is Jin Xuan given the milkiness. With the tasting also comes some treats including mini muffins and some tea infused bars from a chocolatier in Singapore, Fossa Chocolate. I think LizzyKate is more geared towards people who don't have much experience with tea and want a place that's extremely welcoming and modern. They have lattes and plenty of herbal and fruity infusions to help beginners ease into the complexities of tea, While this shop isn't for me, more tea shops are always welcome in the area. I'd definitely recommend it to my friends who want to dip their toes into the world of tea. Bathrooms - Single unisex room.

I felt disrespected at this boba shop. Please let me explain. We were the only patrons in the shop…read moreand we ordered at the kiosk. We ordered the royal milk tea with boba and the special peach oolong milk tea with boba and lychee jelly. I did not want lychee jelly, and instead wanted pudding. We could not adjust the toppings on the kiosk. The staff did help me adjust it manually to give me pudding instead of lychee jelly. That was nice. However, the royal milk tea we ordered came out with boba. I obviously didn't notice until after we took our photos, left the shop, and took a few sips, so we went back in to let the staff know. First, she said she would re-use the drink and sift out the boba to replace it with pudding. I declined that offer and requested they make a new one. Then, another staff member joked saying she would drink my already drunk from, old boba. Then, they threw it into the trash. Talk about waste :( finally, they remade it but gaslit me telling me that I had actually ordered boba, and they didn't believe me that I had actually put in pudding. Given that I had ordered from the kiosk, I told them they can just look it up and see I wasn't lying, but she rudely said "well I already made it." They didn't even put a sticker/label on my remade drink. The worst part is, the peach oolong was really bad and the boba was especially bad. Overcooked and bland. I wouldn't come here again for the tea or the service. The shop itself is clean and decorated with cars and anime. There is car-themed seating and a large, free parking lot.

Very themed shop for car lovers! If I liked cars I'd come often with friends to be in the vibes…read more I tried their Mango Pomelo Coconut drink since it was dairy free and sounded refreshing. It was! I'd say I was surprised to find ice cubes in between the jelly and pomelo bottom and the top mango slush. Made getting the bottom yummies very difficult. Parking on the right side of the lot can be a trap due to the very long drive through Mercury Coffee line.

We ordered the chocolate mousse cake for a birthday. The cake was fresh, light, and not overly…read moresweet, which we appreciated. That said, the cake we received was quite different from the photo shown on the website. The listing showed a smooth, mousse-style cake with clean sides, but what we received was more of a sponge cake with cream layers and a different overall finish. It still tasted good, but the mismatch in appearance and structure was unexpected. I'd recommend clarifying the style when ordering so expectations are aligned.

1/11/2025 I ordered a blueberry yogurt cake from Fumie's…read moreGold Cake in Kirkland for my husband's birthday, and it was an absolute delight! The cake was beautifully crafted, with a perfect balance of sweetness and tartness from the blueberries. The yogurt added a lovely, light texture that made each bite melt in your mouth. My husband was thrilled with his birthday cake. I highly recommend Fumie's Gold Cake for any special occasion. Their attention to detail and dedication to quality truly set them apart.

I stopped by Lady Yum last night and had such a great experience. The girl helping me was…read moreincredibly kind, welcoming, and patient while I picked out flavors. Everything looked beautiful and tasted just as good as it looked. I tried the toffee, salted caramel, honey lavender, oatmeal snickerdoodle, and strawberry rhubarb macarons. The honey lavender was light and floral without being overpowering, and the strawberry rhubarb had the perfect balance of sweet and tart. The salted caramel and toffee flavors were rich and indulgent, and the oatmeal snickerdoodle tasted warm and cozy with a cinnamon sugar flavor that stood out from the others. The macarons were fresh, flavorful, and perfectly textured. Definitely one of the best macaron spots locally!

Such a cute place, walking around town and saw the promo - Glass of bubbly and a macaron for $5.00…read more We went back after our walk . We ordered Raspberry Chardonnay macaron and a Rose bubbly and chocolate macaron and Brut. She was so friendly and served us. The place is so cute with cute little things around. Perfect ending to a Tuesday.

Koza is a small Turkish and Mediterranean grocery store located in a strip mall across from the…read moreMetropolitan Market in Kirkland. It is on the far right side of the building and has a medium size parking lot. The store primarily sells pantry and refrigerated items. There is a small selection of produce and fresh breads, but no fresh meats. Was able to find some locally made pita bread (Alida's) here and paired it with a pack of Turkish halloumi style cheese at a reasonable price. While there are a handful of Mediterranean grocery stores in the Seattle area, I think this spot stands out given its focus on Turkish products.

Great selection. Well organized. Helpful for beginners to Turkish cuisine. I found most…read moreeverything I needed except celery root.