Lake Washington / Lake Union / Puget Sound Dining By Boat

[Ryan53742]

I have my 2012 Yamaha 242 Limited S moored in the North end of Lake Washington. The wife and kids and I enjoy grabbing a bite to eat while out on the water. Looking for some recommendations for some new fun spots to grab a drink /bite. I have been to so many over the last 8ish years in both lake WA and Lake Union, and while they are great, I am hoping someone can help me find a new spot to check out, or somewhere off the beaten path a little bit. Wouldn't be opposed to docking and walking a few blocks if someone knew of a "secret" public dock to tie up to. Some of our favorites are Bowriders, Agua Verde, The White Swan, Bluewater Bistro, Beach House, Meydenbauer Bay (walk to oldtown bellevue), and fishermens Terminal. Any recommendations of where you like to go or have been would be great! There are so many restaurants on or within a quick walk of a dock that I have to be missing some!

Also if anyone has any recommendations in the Puget sound to visit that would be great! Poulsbo, BBI, Kingston would be preferred as they are closer to the Ballard Locks but at some point would like to venture as far as Gig Harbor on a calm day when the kids get a little older.

THANKS!

 

[YoDaddy292]

In Gig Harbor there are a few options.....Tides Tavern, Anthony's, Devoted Kiss, various Mexican and Thai restaurants, and whole lot of easy walks from the docks. Unfortunately I am pretty anti-saltwater (I know, I know, we are surrounded by gorgeous boating in the Puget Sound). If you are into trying something new and trailering Hoodsport, Union, and Seabeck all have food accessible a very short distance from the docks on the Hood Canal.
We only hit Lake Washington about once or twice a year and made the mistake of trying to go to Lunch last Mothers Day. Needless to say we ate on the way home LOL.

 

[Ribs77]

This is a relatively new place at the Hyatt in the very south part of Lake WA. I haven't been yet but it looks nice!

Casual lake front dining in Renton, WA | Dock and drink

We are a full service restaurant on the first-level boardwalk at Hyatt Lake Washington. Enjoy burgers, brews, and beautiful views while sitting lakeside.

www.dockanddrink.com

Semi-related question for you - have you ever taken your boat to Blake Island? They have first-come, first-serve boat-in camping which I'm really interested in, but I'm a bit nervous about taking my 195 on Elliot Bay. Salt water aside, if I get a calm day is there any concern?

 

[Ryan53742]

This is a relatively new place at the Hyatt in the very south part of Lake WA. I haven't been yet but it looks nice!

Casual lake front dining in Renton, WA | Dock and drink

We are a full service restaurant on the first-level boardwalk at Hyatt Lake Washington. Enjoy burgers, brews, and beautiful views while sitting lakeside.

www.dockanddrink.com

Semi-related question for you - have you ever taken your boat to Blake Island? They have first-come, first-serve boat-in camping which I'm really interested in, but I'm a bit nervous about taking my 195 on Elliot Bay. Salt water aside, if I get a calm day is there any concern?

No I havent been to blake Island but it looks like they have a nice protected Marina. Do you know if moorage is free and first come first serve?
Dock and drink looks pretty cool, Ill definitely check it out!

 

[Ryan53742]

In Gig Harbor there are a few options.....Tides Tavern, Anthony's, Devoted Kiss, various Mexican and Thai restaurants, and whole lot of easy walks from the docks. Unfortunately I am pretty anti-saltwater (I know, I know, we are surrounded by gorgeous boating in the Puget Sound). If you are into trying something new and trailering Hoodsport, Union, and Seabeck all have food accessible a very short distance from the docks on the Hood Canal.
We only hit Lake Washington about once or twice a year and made the mistake of trying to go to Lunch last Mothers Day. Needless to say we ate on the way home LOL.

If your anti salt water and only go to lake wa once a year, where are you boating most of the time? Any western Wa lakes that you recommend to check out?

 

[Ribs77]

No I havent been to blake Island but it looks like they have a nice protected Marina. Do you know if moorage is free and first come first serve?
Dock and drink looks pretty cool, Ill definitely check it out!

Looks like it costs something, but it doesn't say how much.

"The moorage dock and buoys have a year-round fee for mooring from 1 p.m. to 8 a.m. The moorage dock has electrical service available for a daily fee. All mooring is first-come, first-served. The boat pumpout is out of service and not available."

Blake Island Marine State Park | Washington State Parks

parks.wa.gov

So you take your boat in the Sound with no issues? I see you have a 24-foot boat so that's pretty different than the 19...

 

[Ryan53742]

Looks like it costs something, but it doesn't say how much.

"The moorage dock and buoys have a year-round fee for mooring from 1 p.m. to 8 a.m. The moorage dock has electrical service available for a daily fee. All mooring is first-come, first-served. The boat pumpout is out of service and not available."

Blake Island Marine State Park | Washington State Parks

parks.wa.gov

So you take your boat in the Sound with no issues? I see you have a 24-foot boat so that's pretty different than the 19...

I actually havent taken my 242 in the Sound yet but I used to have a 19 foot bayliner that we would take through the locks into the sound a few times a summer. Actually took it to Friday Harbor one time from Edmonds! wont be doing that again though, the rosario straight can be really rough. We went through the swinomish channel and stopped in La Conner for breakfast which was really fun. This was before having young kids on the boat, so have to be a little more cautious now. The bayliner did just fine out there on a calm day. I would imagine you would be totally fine if you had a nice day.

 

[Ribs77]

I actually havent taken my 242 in the Sound yet but I used to have a 19 foot bayliner that we would take through the locks into the sound a few times a summer. Actually took it to Friday Harbor one time from Edmonds! wont be doing that again though, the rosario straight can be really rough. We went through the swinomish channel and stopped in La Conner for breakfast which was really fun. This was before having young kids on the boat, so have to be a little more cautious now. The bayliner did just fine out there on a calm day. I would imagine you would be totally fine if you had a nice day.

Yeah, on the one hand I'm pretty new at this and have already been in some big waves (confluence of wakes) on Lake WA that threw me for a loop. So I need to get a lot more experience first.

On the other hand, there are dudes like this that go over there in a Zodiac with a non-functioning motor ?

Blake Island Highpoint

Blake Island Highpoint (213 ft) March 20, 2023 Eric Gilbertson This peak has been on my radar for a while as an excellent use for my zodiac boat. Blake Island is an island in Puget Sound about 4 mi…

www.countryhighpoints.com

Kinda makes me feel like I could zip there in about five minutes at 40 mph with my boat...but I want to be confident before I try it. Looking to possibly do a multi-day camping trip there at some point.

 

[YoDaddy292]

If your anti salt water and only go to lake wa once a year, where are you boating most of the time? Any western Wa lakes that you recommend to check out?

Usually we are on Mayfield Lake, Rimrock Lake, Alder Lake, or Mason Lake. The first three are near our cabin and the last near home. We are huge fans of travelling to Roosevelt a couple of times per year then hitting somewhere we haven't boated before once a year (Crescent Bar, Lake Chelan, Various places along the Columbia River etc...). We may actually hit the Hood Canal this year since it is just kind of a crime not to. My steel trailer may hate it so a quick dunk and a couple of laps around the lake afterwards should help a lot LOL.

 

[Ribs77]

Stopped by Dock N Drink yesterday - it's a really nice spot! I wasn't sure where to tie up - there's a long open area with some kind of padding that's parallel to the water, but the waves were rough so I opted for a small floating dock to the side.

Seems like there's plenty of space, although the weather wasn't that nice yesterday so not as many boats on the water as there might be on a peak day.

Also pretty rough water heading back north, but I felt a bit more comfortable with it this time. Had 6 people in the boat which felt like it stabilized it a little bit.