The convenience of having a restaurant attached to a theater is very appealing. Before or after a performance, all you need do is walk a few steps. It’s also a bonus when the restaurant is well regarded. No additional driving, no fuss. Fins Bistro happens to be next door to Village Theatre in Issaquah. There is even a pass-through entrance between the theater lobby and restaurant when there is a performance. Moreover, if your hankering for theater refreshment during intermission goes beyond the lobby’s candies, cookies, bottled water and coffee, you can pre-order desserts and drinks from Fins. A nice symbiosis.
As the name suggests, Fins is a seafood restaurant, with a smattering of meat and chicken entreés for the non-pescetarian. Three of us dined here immediately following an afternoon performance (“No Way to Treat a Lady,” a musical comedy that I highly recommend for its dark humor and high camp).
One of tonight’s specials was bacon-wrapped scallops (☆☆☆), three enormous specimens that were pan-seared and served over creamy risotto. I personally prefer scallops to be a tad more cooked, those served tonight being almost raw, but it’s a minor quibble. The bacon strips were a nice, crisp counterpoint.
I really shouldn’t have ordered a lamb shank. It’s like ordering a steak at a seafood restaurant (and there are a couple on Fins’ regular menu) or a burger at a Chinese restaurant. After all, there were many interesting-sounding seafood dishes. That being said, the shank was quite good (☆☆☆), fork-tender as I would’ve expected, pooled in a chianti sauce reduction with plentiful vegetables and accompanied by garlic mashers. It so happens that my lamb shank ideal is made right across the street at Max’s World Cafe, so in some ways my order tonight had an element of wanting to make comparisons.
Kudos to the restaurant for squeezing our party in on a fully booked night only minutes before the performance and to our waiter who had a sense of humor and was efficient without being overly attentive.
Fins Bistro
301 Front Street N
Issaquah, WA 98027
425.392.0109
zoomeboshi 
Leave a Reply