Eating on Mercer Island

[clearskies0810]

Are there any good places to eat on Mercer Island? Also, any good grocery stores?

[Mark Nobe]

I’ve had lunch at The Islander several times and it’s always been good. Not cheap, but very good food & service.

[RegionalGuy]

Here's a list of most of the places to eat in Mercer Island; please add/delete and comment:

Albertsons Food & Pharmacy
2755 77th Ave SE, Mercer Island, WA 98040
206-232-0244

Alpenland Delicatessen
2707 78th Ave SE, Mercer Island, WA 98040
[phone]

Baskin-Robbins
2900 78th Ave SE, Mercer Island, WA 98040
[phone]

Bennett's Pure Food Bistro
7650 SE 27th St, Mercer Island, WA 98040
[phone]
http://www.bennettsbistro.com/
4:00pm-9:30pm

Caffe Italia
2448 76th Ave SE, Mercer Island, WA 98040
[phone]

Cellar46
7650 SE 27th Street, Suite 120, Mercer Island, WA 98040
206-407-3016
http://cellar46.com/
4:00pm-10:00pm (Happy Hour 4:00-6:00pm

)

Coffees A La Cart
8309 SE 57th St , Mercer Island, WA 98040
[phone]

Emerald City Smoothie
7803 SE 27th St., Mercer Island, WA 98040
[phone]
www.emeraldcitysmoothie.com
7:00am-7:00pm

Gourmet Delight
7671 SE 27TH St, Mercer Island, WA 98040-2804
[phone]

Han's Garden Chinese Restaurant
3020 78th Ave SE, Mercer Island, WA 98040
[phone]
11:00am-9:30pm

Haruko's Japanese Restaurant
2440 76TH Ave SE, Mercer Island, WA 98040-2731
[phone]
5:30pm-8:30pm

i Love Pho
7621 SE 27th St, Mercer Island, WA 98040
[phone]

Islander, The
7440 SE 27th St
Mercer Island, WA 98040
[phone]
www.theislanderseattle.com
11:00am-11:00pm

Johansons Fine Meats & Smokehouse
3024 78th Ave SE, Mercer Island, WA, 98040
[phone]

Little Tokyo Teriyaki
2717 78th Ave SE, Mercer Island, WA 98040-2816
[phone]

Maggie Moos Ice Treatery
7808 SE 28th st suite 126, Mercer Island, WA 98040
[phone]

Market House Deli (Closed
)7525 SE 24th St Ste 100, Mercer Island, WA, 98040
206-232-9810

McDonald's
2807 78th St. SE, Mercer Island, WA 98040-2818
[phone]
6:00am-10:00pm (Drivethru to 11:00pm)

Noah's Bagels
7808 SE 28th St, Mercer Island, WA 98040
[phone]
www.noahs.com
6:00am-5:00pm

Pon Proem Thai Restaurant
3039 78TH Ave SE, Mercer Island, WA 98040-2822
[phone]
5:00pm-9:00pm

Qdoba Mexican Grill
7650 SE 27th St, Mercer Island, WA 98040
[phone]

Quality Food Centers Inc-Mercer Island #839
7823 SE 28th, Mercer Island, WA 98040
[phone]

Roberto's Pizza
7619 SE 27TH St, Mercer Island, WA 98040-2804
[phone]
11:00am-9:00pm

Roanoke Inn
1825 72nd Ave. SE, Mercer Island, WA 98040
[phone]
www.roanokeinn.com/
11:00am-11:30pm

Seven Star Chinese Restaurant
2885 78th Avenue SE Suite 101, Mercer Island, WA 98040-2849
206-230-8665
11:00am-9:30pm

Shanghai Palace
2885 78th Ave SE, Mercer Island, WA 98040
[phone]

Starbucks Coffee (in QFC North
)7814 SE 28th St , Mercer Island, WA 98040
[phone]

Starbucks Coffee-Mercer Island Drive Thru
7620 SE 27th St, Mercer Island, WA 98040
[phone]

Starbucks Mercer Island III
7695 Southeast 27th Street
Mercer Island, Washington 98040 US
[phone]

Steves Eatery
7814 SE 28th St, Mercer Island, WA 98040
206-232-2320

Subway
7679 SE 27th St., Mercer Island WA 98040-2804
[phone]

Thai Kitchen
7811 SE 27th St., Mercer Island, WA 98040-2961
[phone]

Thai On Mercer
7691 SE 27th St, Mercer Island, WA 98040-2804
[phone] DISCONNECTED

Tony Maroni's
7636 SE 27TH St, Mercer Island, WA 98040-2805
[phone]

Tully's Coffee
7900 SE 28TH St Ste 400, Mercer Island, WA 98040-2970
[phone]
6:00am-9:00pm

Wan Lung Restaurant
3020 78TH Ave SE, Mercer Island, WA 98040-2823
[phone]

SOUTH END BUSINESS CENTER

El Sombrero Mexican
8451 Se 68th St, Mercer Island, WA 98040
[phone]
11:00-9:00pm

Georgio's Subs
8415 SE 68th St, Mercer Island, WA 98040
[phone]

QFC Quality Food Centers Inc-South Mercer Island #806
8421 SE 68th St, Mercer Island, WA, 98040
206-232-0102

Sahara Pizza
8425 SE 68th St, Mercer Island, WA
[phone]

Starbucks Coffee (in QFC South)
8421 SE 68th St, Mercer Island, WA, 98040
206-232-0102

Starbucks Coffee-South Mercer Island
8415 SE 68th St #100, Mercer Island, WA 98040
[phone]

Toshi's Teriyaki
8425 SE 68th St, Mercer Island, WA 98040
[phone]

Yuzen Japanese Restaurant
8451 SE 68th St Ste 104, Mercer Island, WA
[phone]
www.yuzenrestaurant.com

[fastfred]

We enjoy a slice of hot pizza for lunch at Tony Maroni's. Not so easy to find; easy to like. Nothing fancy, just a good generous slice o' pizza.
The sandwich and soup special is usually very good at The Roanoak Inn, N.Mercer Way.
Count me among those who like Thai on Mercer. I've known the proprietor, Eddie, since before he even opened his restaurant at it's previous location.. He tried his menu out on us, then used our comments to refine his menu. His squid filet with peanut sauce is my favorite entree.
All three grocery stores on the island are good, but for different things. We shop all 3, and buy from whichever one has the better price. Produce at either of the QFC's is always fresher looking, but generally higher in price than Albertson's. But I never met a grocery store I didn't like. Food shopping for me is all about finding the right ingredient at the right price at the right moment.

[lisaf]

The Roanoke Inn has a pretty good breakfast, surpisingly.

I second that Harukos used to be very good. I haven't been since they left the old Winchell's donut location.

I am a fan of the pretzel rolls at Alpenland at lunchtime. They are only served on Thursdays. The salads and sandwiches are decent.

[GreenYoshi]

There used to be a nice, little family run Japanese place called Haruko (i think, or maybe Hanako). They were going to move a couple years ago, and I haven't been since.

Anyone know if they're still good or even if they reopened on the island?

[ethereal]

There's a new Japanese place on the south end, but I haven't been and don't recall the name.

[3little bears]

The new Japanese place next to the southend QFC is called Yuzen. Went there for the first time yesterday and thought it was good. Definitely beats fighting traffic to get to Seattle, when you need a quick Sushi fix.

Bennett's is pretty good too, as someone else mentioned. They are open for dinner everyday and brunch on weekends. There is takeout from their deli for lunch on weekdays.

[mariannas]

Is that the Japenese place on 78th by the Rite Aid? I used to work next door and as far as I know they are still open. They always seemed to be doing a hoping business when I saw them open.

[equinoise]

I've been working on the island for six months now, and I am still asking the same question. My current answer is "not really", but I haven't exhausted all avenues.

Here is what i've found at least acceptable:
-Little Tokyo Teriyaki on SE 78th is probably the best of the few 'yaki joints, with various combos, yakisoba, gyoza, etc. The other place on SE 27th, Gourmet Teriyaki, is pretty poor.
-Next door to Lil' Tokyo is Alpenland Deli, which does a brisk lunch business and sells german and swiss products. I've had their sausage, roll and kraut combo, which was pretty tasty (esp. the kraut which is cooked with bacon), but a poor value at $10, which is a common theme on the island.
-Pan Proem Thai, further south on 78th, I've had twice and it was well-made and fresh, while offering a very conservative and short menu of standards. I've had the phad thai, with perfectly textured noodles, and this spicy eggplant dish which is one of those permanent "specials" listed on the board, a la other thai restaurants. I got both at 4 stars and was surprised that no punches were pulled. Thai on Mercer, which has a whole mess of credentials in its window, has an embarassingly bastardized menu including black bean sauce, peanut sauce and even caesar salad. I walked out when I saw it.
-I Love Pho is a whitewashed Viet place which purges/waters its fish sauce for the xenophobe palate, and charges you nearly $10 at lunch for the privilege. It makes a pretty fat BBQ pork skewer, I must admit. Its pho is passable, but why bother when 12th and Jack is 10 minutes away?
-The Roanoke bar serves a palatable lunch, but nothing worth making a trip for.

I look back over my words and find them harsh, but a worker's lunch must be dependable and represent value. It is hard to believe that with the concentration of wealth on the island there isn't better food, but it appears so.

[mariannas]

I completely agree...when I was working on Mercer Island there was NOTHING. Here in Seattle I'm used to $5 pho...$10 always seemed a little ridiculous to me. Since I stopped working there almost a year ago several new places have popped up, but I think they are all chains (although I do dig Noah's Bagels...yum!).
Oh yes...I'm talking about the area surrounding the Island Crest Way exit. I'm sure there are other places to get food on MI, but I never had time to try to find them.

[ethereal]

No longer true.

Did the OP say they were looking specifically for lunch?

Bennett's is a recent addition to the island. I think I first dined there last fall, so it's not brand new. Not sure their schedule, but they are open for dinner. The food is pretty good generally, and down right delicious compared to what's available on the rest of the island. It's in the new building across the street from I Love Pho.

Roberto's is next to I Love Pho and serves marginal pizza and pretty good salads.

Thai on Mercer is the next shopping center over and serves consistently respectable Thai.

Also, if you're up for a bit of a trek, the new Mexican place on the south end of the island isn't bad.

Grocery stores, they are all chains. QFC is probably the most respectable (north and south end) of the bunch.

[clearskies0810]

Thanks for all the recs so far! Breakfast, lunch, dinner, late night, any help would be appreciated =) I'm living on MI for the summer and don't want to have to hop on I-90 east or west just to eat. Oh yeah - any happy hour recs would be appreciated too!

[creativeusername]

I second Thai on Mercer. They make a great "Thai caesar" salad dressing. When I left the Island my folks still lived there and I would have them send me bottles in care packages.

It's been years since I lived there but back in the day happy hour was good at the bar above Tru Value on the north end. Don't remember the name of it but it is literally above the hardware store. Down-to-earth place, good for a pitcher of beer and a game of pool.

Used to do standard grocery shopping at the QFC on the south end out of convenience but look for good deals on fish at the Albertsons on the north end.

[GreenYoshi]

Really? I think Thai on Mercer is middling at best, and I'm not one to hate any local business owner. I've tried a couple of things and none have had the fresh bright taste that I like to see in Thai food, it's all been mediocre.

Take the time to go a few blocks down to Pan Proem (down by the Rite Aid)