Best Restaurants for People Watching in Mercer Island

As usual, there were not many restaurants open close to where we live Christmas Day 2024. So I turned to my trusted app -- Open Table - which I could use to narrow down the day. Fofo de Chao sounded intriguing, so I booked one of the few openings -- 4:45PM. Around 3:30PM a 7PM time had opened up, so I cancelled the 4:45PM time AFTER I booked the 7PM time. That way, I was assured we had a time and our prior time was opened up for others. Because we had a reservation, we waited about 10 minutes to be seated. There were about 40 people in line, who we had to assume did NOT have reservations. Thank you, Open Table! We were seated close to the front window in a semi-private 2-person table, which we appreciated greatly. Our wait person Marsala could not have been more personable and professional. Because we had not eaten in the restaurant before, and because there was a special holiday presentation, Marsala explained to us how the entire process worked. Everything started with a self-service salad bar (like those that existed before Coid-19), which was pleasant. Large plates were available instead of the very small ones other venues offer. Once we were at out table, my wife and I were both given 2-inch-in-diameter paper discs. One side up indicated you were not ready for meats. Flip it, and a steady stream of carvers came to us offering different meats -- carved at the table and put on our plates. The meats were not overcooked, and overall were delicious. Our check, including an 18% (voluntary) tip on food+tax was $208. So at ages 80 and 84 on fixed incomes, we will be reserving Fogo de Chao for special occasions. But we were very happy with the whole experience. You will not leave hungry!

Our 2nd time at Solarium. I really like the buffet over the dinner option where you have to pick from a fixed menu). I also liked that they had a good selection of breakfast items. To be overly picky, I think several of the desserts were way too big meaning a single slice of cake was huge. It'd be better to have smaller items that are easier to try out 3-4 and not waste one big slice of cake. Some labels were missing on the desserts so I didn't know what the were. All tasty though.

The food, service and ambience were fine. Being a John Howie restaurant, we weren’t surprised by the high prices. Two cocktails, two starters, two steaks with no sides, and two glasses of wine were almost $300. We were surprised, however, at the 20% service charge on the bill that goes entirely to John Howie. Their explanation was that they pay their staff well and give them benefits. There was a typical place for a tip on the check. Had we added a typical 20% tip, we would have paid over $100 in add-ons plus $35 tax which included tax on the service charge. This certainly put a damper on our enthusiasm for this restaurant. $400+ for the above listed food is certainly not worth it.

Excellent all the way around! Excellent service, food, cocktails & ambience!

Amazing experience every time we go. Thanks again for the amazing service, great cocktails and delicious meals.