I'm a huge sucker for afternoon tea, so I had to come here. It's definitely on the fancier side…read more(though i do find it strange how it's inside a garage lol), and the vibes are fancy. You get little sugar cubes, strainers for your tea, and excellent service. Every bite is delicious whether it's sugar or savory. So many delicious teas to choose from and I remember each person getting their own pot. I tried multiple amazing teas! You also get plenty of desserts and savory options and they were all delightful!

Lovely spot for afternoon tea. We had a large party with several children and everything worked out…read morepretty well. The picky eaters in the group had enough to nosh on and I ate the entire tower. I feel they could easily expand their tea selection compared to a few other tea shops I've visited. It's a local place for us. That affords extra marks from me. I hope they do well and I'll be back with the kids in some time. It was slow to get started to make sure your family isn't in hangry mode when you first show up.

Amazing food, great service! Pizza is delicious. Peanut butter chocolate cake worth the drive!read more

My hubs and I took his mom to DERU Market to celebrate Mother's Day the day before (Saturday). Even…read morethough not everything went well, it was such a great experience that we will for sure come back again. I signed up for the waitlist at 11:15am before we left for the restaurant. When we got there at 11:40am, we checked in and the staffer said it would be approximately an hour to hour and a half wait on top of our already 25 minute wait. Whoa! We didn't know these were typical weekend waiting times. My MIL was willing to wait so we took off and came back in an hour. At that time, they were able to seat our party of three at a table outside. So, it took us about 90 minutes total to get seated. Note to future diners to get on the waitlist early if you're coming for weekend brunch!!! You use a QR code to order from an online menu. Liked how detailed the menu was and how we could remove or add ingredients. With my dairy and eggs intolerance, this comes in handy. My MIL ordered Eggs Benedict, I got the smoked turkey sandwich on focaccia, and my hubs got the chicken sandwich on focaccia. Our sandwiches were packed with lots of deliciousness, but my MIL's English muffin was toasted so hard she couldn't even cut through it with a steak knife. So she sent it back and she also asked for her poached eggs to be cooked harder. The staff member was apologetic and said no problem. It took a while to cook it, but when she got her remade Eggs Benedict, she really liked it. We split a slice of apple bread which was delicious. So happy it was dairy free! My hubs also enjoyed his London Fog. My MIL got a huge slice of coconut cake to go and loved eating it later, telling us it was very moist and coconutty. It was a bright day with nice weather and was a perfect time to try out DERU Market. Even though it was very busy, all of the staff were friendly and attentive. They worked like a well-oiled machine. We definitely want to come back and try more of their dishes, pizza, and desserts.

Food - Nice and fluffy gelato, not too heavy and not too sweet. Overall a pretty good selection of…read moreamerican gelato. Service - Friendly workers, you'll get your gelato quickly! Ambiance - Quaint shop with seating to sit and eat gelato with your friends.

Food Quality: 5/5 Service: 5/5…read moreCleanliness: 5/5 Value: 5/5 Sirena Gelato is a lovely little gelato shop in Kirkland and a great experience! This shop has a good number of flavors and some unique ones! I've never had chikoo, which was a flavor offered here. It was flavorful and a good sample to try! I ended up with the Ube and Pandan scoops - they were very generous too! The staff were super nice and did great with answering questions about the gelato and the shop was very well kept. Can't wait to go back and try more flavors!

I have been to Bobae in Woodinville in the past, but this is my first time at the Kirkland…read morelocation. This store is a cute and small, order and go venue. They don't have seats tables to linger. Considering how expensive Kirkland is, it is perfectly understandable. In the past, I was visually lured by their IG friendly drinks such as the strawberry matcha latte. I hated it. They serve it in a non-shakable cup, and it is impossible to properly stir the thick strawberry jam into the beverage. On this cold February day with no lines, I spent the time to ask questions, and we landed on the Bobaejicha, which is roasted green tea hojicha milk tea. For the hard care tea drinkers, hojicha is often a fav. They did right by the hojicha with the smoky tea, soothed with milk, and a touch of sweetness at 25%. It tasted good at 0% also, but I had her add the sugar after a few sips, so I can try both variants. I realized I prefer a 0% by the second half of the cup. Their house made brown sugar syrup adds a caramel taste when mixed with the smoky hojicha. Both variants are good. It was a fun chat to figure out my drink away from photo influences.

Finally got to try bobae and it lived up to the hype! The service was super friendly and I liked…read morethe interior as well. I got their strawberry matcha latte and it was a nice balance! I got it less sweet because the strawberry already makes it pretty sweet. It was about $8 which is sadly the standard for matcha these days. Next time I'll have to try their pink boba

The service was fast and really nice, perfect ambiance to work and relax a little bit. I ordered…read morethe crepe egg and cheese and a chai latte. The chai latte was not really sweet so an extra point for that and the crepe was really tasty!!

I have been wanting to try Kirkland Bakery for a while now, finally made it for a late lunch today…read more I got the Prosciutto, Fig Jam, and Goat Cheese sandwich, Quiche Lorraine, and Strawberry Italian soda. The Prosciutto, Fig Jam, and Goat Cheese sandwich comes with a salad. I loved the sandwich, could eat only half of it, the salad was light and very fresh. I loved the Quiche Lorraine.

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.

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!

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.

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.

My mom has celiac so finding a place with gluten free alternatives is hard! Fumies cakes has not…read morejust gluten free cakes but they are some of the best gluten free cakes I've ever had! The cake is fluffy and full of flavor! I cannot recommend this place enough for folks who need a gluten free alternative!

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.

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!

Lady Yum in Totem Lake is such a fun little treat-yourself spot. The shop is bright and beautifully…read morestyled, and the rows of colorful macarons are almost too pretty to eat. One of my absolute favorites is Ding Dong (a chocolate-forward flavor that's rich and nostalgic, like an elevated version of a childhood treat). I also love the chocolate mint for something refreshing, and the oatmeal flavor has this cozy, comforting vibe that pairs perfectly with tea or coffee. They consistently nail the texture: lightly crisp on the outside with a soft, chewy center. I also really appreciate that there's indoor seating. The last time I went, my parents were visiting, and we sat inside sipping tea and chatting. It felt warm, cozy, and just really sweet. It's not just a grab-and-go dessert spot, it's somewhere you can linger. And every time I've gone, the women working there have been genuinely friendly and welcoming. That consistency makes such a difference. Such a cute little gem in Totem Lake. Perfect for gifting or a small afternoon treat!

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

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.