Empty Shell Restaurant

Jan2020-- restaurant has sign which says it's closed for the Winter and will be opened in Spring without any specific date. We even tried to call the restaurant before arriving but there was no voicemail. We wasted a trip for nothing. Oct 2019 -- Seafood in general is good and fresh. Happy hour $1 oysters are a great deal and hard to find around here. The lobster roll has a generous lobster portion, but the roll leaves a lot to be desired. I truly believe the restaurant could benefit from replacing their source for rolls and buns, which are too thick and doughy. Along that thought, stay away from burgers in general because of the buns, also because the burgers themselves are nothing special.

My husband and I went here for dinner last night and it was great. The service was wonderful and the food delicious. There was a large menu and everything sounded good so it was hard to choose, but in the end I had the Creamy Coconut Shrimp with rice noodles and my husband had the Shrimp and Scallops with Pesto. The food was hot, well prepared and very tasty. We'll definitely be back again to try other things. That Lobster Pot Pie is calling my name.

Update: Was excited to try this place again! I went back today, and sadly was disappointed. I want to love this place. I really do. It's locally owned with a female head chef and lots of unique Mukilteo charm and style. But their execution is off in many ways. I had to order my 1st drink twice and wait half an hour for it. My 2nd drink just never came. 25 mins after I ordered it, once we were done with our meal, I finally canceled it and asked for the check. Forgivable. Every barback has an off day. What isn't forgivable is the bad idea of trying to make this market-price seafood place low-calorie vegan. The bisque I had the 1st visit was phenomenal! But this bisque was a whole other story. I have photos of both on this review. The difference is visible. Now more like tomato soup, seeing as they decided the omit the heavy cream necessary to every real bisque in favor of coconut "cream." I sent it back. If I order lobster bisque I want lobster bisque, not your vegan best effort. It isn't vegan anyway! Hence the lobster! So why ruin it? And it's not only the cream they're omitting here, it's the butter as well! I had the shrimp scampi but it was more like garlic shrimp. They made it tableside, which is a nice idea in theory, but in practice it left both my sides cold by the time my "scampi" was done. And on top of that, bc of the 1/4 cup fresh garlic and 1 teaspoon butter (he made sure to tell me he was adding just a liiiiiiittle bit of butter) it wasn't good. The garlic to butter ratio was absolutely backward! I still can't get the garlic taste out of my mouth. Let me tell you; mounds of garlic do not make up for the lack of butter that is necessary to a true scampi. The focus here seems to be more on cutting out fat and dairy rather than on the flavor of the food. To me, this an abhorrent waste of high-end seafood. Have low-fat and vegan options, sure! But don't force it on your customers. 3/5 Original: Empty Shell is a real Mukilteo gem. At the time of this review they've only been open about 2 weeks. Of note: they don't have their liquor license yet - it's expected by the end of March 2019. So for this visit we only had appetizers. Both were outta this world good! I've had crab bisque dozens of times at dozens of places, and theirs ranked in my top 3. Lots of fresh crab - which is the first thing you wanna see - not at all skimpy in portion. And a rich, complex bisque, brightened with just a touch of red cabbage. Served with seeded toast for dipping. I will no doubt order it again and again. The scallop mushrooms were great, too. Even though I'm not a big fan of pesto in general, theirs was good, and I enjoyed it. Would love to see a crab stuffed mushroom as well. I can't wait to try out the rest of their menu alongside a bright cocktail or glass of wine! They do a tableside flambeau of both shrimp scampi and bananas foster I'm really excited about. They've got nice steaks and fresh seafood galore. Service was everything you'd want it to be. If I had any critiques it'd be the writing on the wall. There are uplifting mantras in various fonts covering every wall, and for me, they take a little away from the class of the menu offerings. Otherwise the decor is pleasant and urban, with metal chairs and fresh flowers on every table. And the 2nd would be the Toast brand card reader they leave with the customer that asks all sorts of questions after taking payment, like "Do you wanna sign up for our email list?" There were at least 4 follow-up questions we were meant to answer into the card reader. Trendy, but again, it takes away from the classy dining experience this place otherwise projects. Just take the card and bring it back in a card binder with the receipt. I don't need to see how you're running it. Parking is free but streetside only, and as this place gets busier and more well known I can see it becoming difficult. Luckily there are lots of side streets around, with just a little walk to the restaurant. All in all I love this place and think it has great potential, and I'll definitely go back. 5/5