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Categories: Diners, Breakfast & Brunch
101 Denny WayMon-Sun. 9:00 a.m. - 9:00 a.m.
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I'm actually writing this FROM Whym at the moment. Yeah, they have wi-fi- which gives them a few points.
I had to check it out, Minnies was my kitchen and dining room in the early 90's and I spent a great deal of time there in the early 2000's when I lived in the 'attached' apartment building for a couple years.
Atmospherically, Whym brought the space up to a more 'contemporary', less stark 'old white walls' feel. I'm sitting at the little bar like area overlooking the central serving area. Add a place to put your feet (I am of the short legged persuasion) and an under counter power strip, retarget the can light a bit, and this is a nice spot to compute while eating/ drinking. I do miss having the espresso drink option, that always gave the off bar hours a perk. (They have soy milk on the menu, which Minnie's never offered, so it could 'theoretically' open a door with espresso options- hint, hint).
Okay, so, back to interior: it borders cool with a hint of kitsch, the update, I think, works aesthetically. The back end toward the bar, however, could use a little... functionality/ feng shui-esqe tweak. But, it DOES have potential. I, personally, would ditch the wall benches. They limit that inviting yet flexible potential you want in a place you want folks to gather in. I mean, in a bigger space, sure, but you have to work the 'flow'.
Okay, so, I'll lay off of my 'rate my space' BS now, thanks for waiting folks.
A guy named Steve is the cook at the moment. I ordered The Garden Skillet with bacon added (yeah, they allowed options!!). I also ordered tea. THEY HAVE VERY TASTY TEA! This is not your typical paper bag on a string man, not by a long shot. The Skillet rocked- this isn't your grandfolks' Denny's type fare. Perfect hash browns! Oh how I would have loved those browns back in the day when your only potato was Minnies Italian Potatoes (usually over done or still cold because they didn't thaw all the way. Yes, I'm a picky potato girl). Sure, I don't see the Tomato Basil soup that was my main sustenance in 92, but it was made with cream, so I wouldn't be able to eat it in my advanced years anyway.
I am actually happy they retained the 24hr option. If you've grown out of Hurricane and are looking for a decent place to get good food/ drinks and wi-fi on top of it all, this gives us back our option. It's a bit slow right now (Tuesday on a hot day down town) but the service is good and the folks are polite. (I've worked service before, and as a result have little patience for folks dropping the ball just because it's slow, and a bit more for a staff hit with a rush when they're a body short.) My food was out fast and it was GOOD!
So yeah, it's one meal, one snapshot of the place, and I've had a drink or two while typing now so this is getting long. But I'm thinking the place has some definite possibilities for another go at 1st and Denny.
No, it's not Minnies. I was bummed when I saw those closed doors, even after the various interior incarnations and the addition of an after thought-like 'Minnies Bar', I still have a soft spot in my heart for Minnies. Of course, things change, we change, and I honestly have to say, maybe, just maybe, this is a good thing. The place had to be something, at least it's a hang out and not another freakin' condo!
Thanks for your time :D
Okay old Minnie's folk, I just checked out the restroom... Girls! The toilets now flush (not always so back in the day) and it's clean, you can wash your hands and they're still clean when you walk out! Yay!
I miss Minnie's. This place gives me massive douche chills.
They should have closed down for the "whymsical" (shudder) menu names and descriptions alone. I felt truly embarrassed reading the overly constructed attempts at witticism.
The restaurant arrangement is awkward. The dining area is awkward. I could see the waitress peering at us from behind a cutout partition.
The grilled ham and cheese sammich was too sweet. Was it ham dipped in maple syrup?
When I first walked into the place, there was nobody out front for about 5 minutes. The bartender yelled at us across the room that he couldn't leave the counter, so we sat ourselves like the 8 hungry drunk people that we were.
When we FINALLY encountered someone to take our order, he complained that he didn't know we were all here because he didn't seat us, which was odd seeing as how it was 2am and we were the only people in the darn place.
The food was terrible for a terrible price. (9 bucks for a salad made with iceberg lettuce)
2 of my friends took the dump of their lives about 2 minutes after the meal.
My advice?
RUN before you get the runs.
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I'm REALLY apprehensive to write this review. After some thought (several months' worth) I have decided that my experience is worth sharing...if for nothing but lolz. (I can't believe I just typed that - sorry)
Anyway, we walked in after finishing up some errands, since we'd both been fans of Minnie's Tomato Basil...and, well, it can't be worse, right??!
So I see they've got my all-time favorite sandwich of all time on the menu: THE REUBEN.
I didn't even need to look at anything else. I ordered it. I ate it. I scarfed it.
NOT TWO MINUTES AFTER THE LAST BITE - OMG. RUN.
I RAN (NOT WALK) to the bathroom and BARELY made it in time to throw every last bite up. Now, I spent the rest of the night asking myself the obvious questions. "WTF" being the first, then the one I didn't want to ask "Am I pregnant?!"
I was STARVING afterwords, so I went to QFC and bought some microwave somethingorother and it was tasty enough and I didn't throw it up. And I don't have anything growing inside... so.... Yeah. I don't know. Check the meat expiration you guys. Srsly. Gross.
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"Nice tail," I say.
The girl sitting at the barstool turns to look at me, and sees me regarding her derriere.
"PIG!" She says.
"No, that's the one next to you," I say, gesturing towards her friend's seat. "I think yours is a skunk."
Ah, the look of death. It's not everyday a guy has the nerve to tell a girl she's got a nice tail, imply her friend is fat, then compare her to a skunk. However, it's not everyday you're in a venue that decorated their barstools with animal tails hanging down.
The waitress was kind enough to bring me a towel with some ice to sooth the handprint on my face. Just kidding. This is Seattle, folks! We don't slap people! We just ignore them! Once these gals realized they were sitting on stools decorated with tails, all was well. I didn't have the heart to tell them I wasn't talking about the stools.
My buddy and I took a seat and proceeded to order food and coffee. You know, because it's always a great idea to tank up on food and caffeine right before you're planning on going to sleep. Especially after you've just finished partying for Mardi Gras, after having had a 40 hour day. Literally. I had gotten off the airplane from Korea earlier that Tuesday morning. I had gotten on the airplane in Korea Tuesday evening. It was like I traveled in a time machine. I should have looked up some horse race results and placed some bets.
The place wasn't crowded, so the one and only waitress didn't have her hands full. Well, until I showed up. I'm a handful, especially when there are tails hanging around.
Food was fine from what I remember. See 40 hour day/Mardi Gras party two paragraphs above. Service was slow but it gave me and my buddy time to catch up. That is, after we were done laughing about the tail incident.
People thought this was:
Okay so I am giving this a very high review because I think the food is darn good and reasonably priced and its open all night!! It's open 24 hours actually which means when I get a hankering for a grilled cheese, I need go no farther than belltown. I used to go to 13 coins which has cool ambiance but they are more expensive, father away, and don't have grilled cheese on the menu.
They place is clean, dinery in feel and they play good and not annoying music plus they have free wifi - woo hoo! I've been looking but not a lot of places nearby have that plus good food and plenty of seating.
Every time I have been here the staff have been friendly and attentive I come here to work or late at night when I want a grilled cheese but they have a cool bar in the back so I think this place works for multiple reason.
Alright I'll stop talking now. Check out Whym sometime though.
People thought this was:
I ate here with a friend for the first time since it was called Minnie's and I'd say that it is a major improvement. I'm not sure I understand the bad reviews, but we had a great experience.
First of all the decor is very cool, very modern and has a great vibe.
Second the service was fantastic. Our waiter, who I got the feeling was hte manager or owner, was super nice and super friendly. He even had a conversation about Battle Star Galactica with my friend.
The menu is interesting with GOOD comfort food. There are quite a few vegetarian options as well. I got the Mac N Cheese and it was good. My friend got the reuben and loved it. Next time I want to try the veggie pot pie or the grilled cheese. Want to check it out for breakfast too.
I don't understand why everyone says it is so expensive. I thought it was very reasonable.
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Seriously, if you're craving comfort foods then go to Whym. The menu is a who's who of guilty pleasures and recover-from-what-ails-you foods. The kind of food that your friends would make for you when you're feeling down, or hungover, or they just wanted to barrage you with grease and happiness.
and they have Trailer Fries.....oh god. A heaping pile of fries, smothered in rich, brown gravy and melted, gooey cheese. It was love at first bite. And I've found that any dish that comes with fries can have the fries done up trailer style.
There are some down-sides here though. The service, while always friendly, is also always slow. The impression is that they're understaffed, since I've regularly heard that my waitress/waiter was working a double because someone didn't come in or something.
Note to Whym's owner: HIRE MORE STAFF ALREADY!
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I wish Minnie's were still here. I was delighted at first to see another "24-hour diner" (only open all night Friday and Saturday). I got over that pretty quickly.
The service was terrible. We were seated at a table right by the door, under strange lighting, and there were only 2 other tables in the entire massive room. That was odd. We had two servers come to take our order at different intervals, how could they not have been coordinated on that? And the food - we got the Trailer Fries (topped with cheese and gravy). $8. For a smallish portion. And then we waited ages for our bill. And our coffee was never refilled.
As for the room - it looks kinda cool. The lighting is pretty harsh. The music is fucktastically awful.
Sad, sad days.
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Aww! Whym closed. Time to find a new favorite grilled-cheese-and-bacon spot for when I visit my Seattle peeps.
Well, okay. I can't review this place *not* in conjunction with the 5 Point, so I'm not going to… Read more »
In the beginning I though I would see if this place would get with the program and it has but not exactly. There have been times that i come to this place were I get my meal fast and quick. Late Halloween night wasn't the right night to go to that place. They didn't expect their place to be packed like the old Minnie's days. I ordered a simple cheese toast, fries and coffee and waited at my table for an hour or so for my meal. I have also noticed times when they are short of staff (at night) that I'm desperately waiting for my coffee cup to be filled and there is no one to fill it.
My favorite here is their coffee and anything with Chirizo in it. They are still too pricy for their food although and
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They are getting better with faster service and also larger servings. I had the Fremont with garlic… Read more »
Perhaps they have improved their service since they opened. My experience was nowhere near as bad as some of the reviews I read. Maybe people are just expecting too much from a small diner? I think it's a great place to get simple food at all hours, which Seattle needs more of. Either way, I'm glad my lunch was enjoyable. I had the Greek Omelet no mushrooms. It was cooked properly, served with a side of diced potatoes that were also cooked well. It had to have been decent because I ate the whole omelet and most of the potatoes, and coming from me that's A LOT!
Some bad things I noticed: The little things like sugar, jams, ketchup, and cream were not present on the table - and it took a while for the waiter to bring them to us even though it was not busy. Likewise the food arrived a little slower than I had expected with only two or three other patrons.
Some good things: After they got those to us, it seemed like the coffee got filled quite regularly - I swear my lunch companion drank at least six cups during the meal. My lunch buddy also enjoyed his burger, and really liked the bun they used. So much so, he asked where they got them - Central Bakery or something like that. I really like how they remodeled the place. I no longer feel like I am going to catch umpteen billion STDs when going into the bathroom. Everything in the establishment is clean and neat, I just like the way it was done! Moving the entrance over to the side patio was smart too, I no longer feel like a wasp walking into one of those bee traps that is narrow at the entrance and wider in the back and impossible to get out of.
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"Whym"-odd name,and odd cafe. Chirizo omelete. Like it came out of a box in to the microwave. Staff was not motivated to push their food. We left with tips to try Glo, Coastal Kitchen, the sister restaurant, Hurricane for good breakfast!
We arrived here following a terrible experience at The Frontier Room. I give Whym a star above The Frontier Room because Whym's staff had stellar personality compared to the Mr. Zuchinni.
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Following the Tia Lou's clubbing failure, the entourage needed to feed, and this place was open! The service was slow, but I can't blame the one waitress for it. She stated (several times) that she was working on a straight 26 hour shift. I was too apathetic to do the math. At least she kept the coffee coming.
The omelets are a nice little football sized serving of grease and eggs over "farm potatoes". No standard toast here - they use a peasant bread that's actually pretty good. $10 range for the omelets. Barring the service (get that waitress some help already!), it's not a bad place to refuel after the club, if you can keep your eyes open: we counted at least 3 clubbers that literally passed out at their tables.
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I had a chance to stop by yesterday and meet Bridget & Neil the new owners of Seattle's newest 24 hours restaurant and I was thrilled. I've met them before while they were running around the Hurricane Cafe (their other restaurant).
As many people around Seattle I was sneaking peaks left and right trying to find out what was going into the 101 Denny locale. I was excited by their efforts to open a middle ground 24 hours restaurant, not greasy spoon and not upscale... just right in the middle. =)
I believe in two things when it comes to writing a review... you first off DON"T write a review on the opening day. That's like wagging your finger at a kindergarter and asking them why they don't know calculus yet?! It takes a while to get on your feet... whole new staff... whole new menu... cut the slack just a bit, sheesh!
SECONDLY: To be completely honest I'm a bit embarrassed by my fellow yelpers and their previous reviews. Don't discredit a restaurant because they aren't the same as the one before it. Sure Cafe Minnie's is gone, but don't point fingers at the new guys in town.
As for the food. I loved LOVED the Greek Omelet. As a person who doesn't particularly like eggs, I actually really enjoyed the flavors associated with the dish. It was chuck full of pine nuts; feta cheese which was popping out from the side as if to tease me to place it intermittently about my potatoes... which I did! Tempt not a desperate girl when it comes to cheese. There were fresh leaves of spinach and what topped it off was the olives which added just the right amount of salt.
I asked Neil about the potatoes which surprisingly enough reminded me a bit of my grandma's house browns. He had mentioned that he makes his own batch of 11 herbs and spices... take that KFC!!! He also mentioned that everything is made in house!
Neil was nice enough to give me a brief tour of the restaurant as well and I was shocked to see cubby holes at the bar for women's purses. What a novel idea I thought.
They are currently working on finding some artwork to place on the walls, I can't wait until they do... that's the one thing it's missing.
I went during 2 p.m. on a Monday, so I'm guessing the after hours scene will be huge, but well worth it! As one of the features on the menu is milk and cookies... what a great way to tuck yourself in after a long night of drinking?!
-Jen.
People thought this was:
There's nothing worse than a cleverly misspelled name. Like Krafting Korner, Sports Senter or...Whym. Gross. Why did you have to ruin my life by naming your restaurant Whym? Let me guess...you did it on a whim. You're a genius.
I'm glad they scrubbed up the purple nightmare that was Minnie's. Whym is cleaner and brighter, which would be nice in the daylight, but at 1 AM it hurts the eyes after being at dark watering holes all night. Suggestion: lower the lighting or place individual lamps or tealights on the tables. I ordered a BLTA with fries, which must have tasted good because it was gone before my brain could register any taste. My friend ordered the nachos which were made with potato chips instead of tortilla chips, which made us all die a little bit inside (literally). Cheese and sour cream on potato chips? I have a feeling that someone got stoned, played an hour or two of Halo and then decided that Potato Chip Nachos were the best idea in the universe.
Thanks for the fuzzy memories, Whym. Next time I'll stumble home and devour a bowl of cocoa puffs in my skivvies.
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They are open 24 hours on the weekends and only close for two hours on weekdays.
The food is mediocre. The Whymburger lacks seasoning. It's just a greasy beef patty on a chewy bun. Not my favorite.
The fries were greasy, limp, and unsalted.
The tempura veggies were okay. I liked the asparagus.
Breakfast was just breakfast. Bacon and eggs and toast. The bacon was really good.
Now, the bar is another story. The bartender makes a damn fine Lemon Drop and Dirty Lady Lemonade. And they'll make it at 6:00am.
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I'm excited to see a 24-hour diner filling the gap that Minnie's left. Checking out the menu, it looks like your average 24-hour diner grub: Burgers, sandwiches, soups and salads, BREAKFAST food, and a good selection of comfort food. They also, apparently, serve wine, and a few beers on tap.
If you're one of those people who judges a place based on the quality of mac 'n cheese, I will tell you about it, because that's the only thing I've had from there. It's made from penne pasta, which is a bonus in my book, and a variety of cheeses, which is also a plus. However, the noodles were overcooked and there was way too much cheese/sauce. Also, the menu said it was topped with bread crumbs and tomatoes, but I see none of those things on mine.
Anyway, I'm not expecting anything too fancy here. It's your basic diner menu, and the decorations they've put up are cute (dare I say, whimsical?) Especially love the barstools with animal print upholstery complete with a little animal tail. Adorable.
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I don't care how they spell the name, it is a relief to see a place like this open. I just moved here a few months ago from a city where great food was everywhere and accessible at all hours. Moving here was a shock because I couldn't find familiar menus at decent prices when I wanted to eat.
This place has food that they don't attempt to make seem exotic, it's just good and you know what you're getting. And the hours is a huge plus.
Obviously it's new, so we'll see how it goes. So far, so good.
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I LOVE WHYM. It's a 24-hour diner run by the same guy that owns the Hurricane.
So when you judge the food - judge it as 24-hour diner food and I think you will be quite impressed. I come here in the morning for a little hair 'o the dog and I think they have great bloody marys. Looks like pretty much everything is made in-house and is very fresh.
I usually get the eggs benedict (not served all day BTW) or the egg sammie (egg sandwich with ham or bacon).
The staff is usually great, real friendly and outgoing and will recognize you immediately upon your second visit. I'm delighted they are in my neighborhood now.
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Popped in here for a pre-dinner time snack but the waiter Darren was so damn convincing we ended up eating like it was the last meal we were ever gonna devour.
Started with the calamari per his recommendation. Good stuff. I had the grilled cheese....a little on the small side but the fries made up for it big time. Friend had fish tacos which were large and delicious. Service was fantastic and even though we were unbelievably stuffed, we did us some warm apple pie.
It's diner food but good diner food. I say if it was good enough when I was completely sober and it was daylight...I'm gonna LOVE this place when I'm good and drunk at night.
Bring it on Whym.
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The food is really good and the service is friendly. I appreciate the many vegetarian-friendly options!
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I'm so happy to have a place that's open late in the Queen Anne area, since I work into the wee-morning hours and I'm getting sick of eating 7-11 crap. But more to the point, this place has actually pretty fantastic food!
Service was quick and friendly, and they kept checking on the table to see if all the coffees and Ice-tea's were topped off. I was in a group of 3 people and all of our orders were fantastic. I had a grilled cheese sandwich and a side of soup, which was a lightly curry flavored lentil.
To start off the meal though we ordered their Snob-fries, which were garlic and feta covered, and god I could have just had a whole meal of that stuff!
My friend had a burger that I had a tiny bite of and that's definitely what I'm getting next time. Burger on Ciabatta with basil? that seems like a winner to me.
I'm actually kind of bewildered as to how this place got so few stars from people, absolutely no complaints from me!
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...so in conclusion (I know that's a strange way to start a review, but its 'cause I have the final say), I give Whym Diner 2 stars.
The layout and decor are pretty cool. If you could eat with your eyes, this might be a great place. The menu also looked marvelous. I was very excited about my White Lasagna (although in retrospect, maybe White Lasagna just wasn't meant to be. It isn't entirely natural) and my Snob Fries. In theory, the fries are crispy and topped with delightful garlic and fine feta cheese. In practice, the garlic is a huge lump of the minced stuff from a jar, the fries were soggy and droopy and mushy, and... apparently, Polly-o now makes feta cheese?
I don't know exactly what was in the lasagna, but your Giada D. would (hopefully) spank whoever designed it. And I'd be right there to watch... So Giada... call me?... please...
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Our waiter was a bit overzealous and, well, he kind of annoyed me. Not rude, just pushy and overly talkative. My friends and I decided to reserve judgment until we actually got to taste the food.
Good call. My chicken Caesar was one of the best I've had in a while, with fresh lettuce, quality parmesan and a house-made dressing that was fresh and well balanced. The chicken was perfectly moist.
The guys got BBQ burgers with fries, and commented on the high quality of the meat. They seemed as happy with their choices as I was with mine.
Whym doesn't provide a particularly unique culinary experience, but they're doing some great versions of diner fare.
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Most of the drunk revelers in Belltown choose between the Hurricane and the Whym for their 2 AM food craving. I think the 'Cane is head and shoulders above Whym, but they've cleaned the place up remarkably well since Minnie's was shut down by the city inspector. (What the hell was up with that, anyway? Mafia front?)
The facilities are clean, and the food is just good, especially when drunk. The service is pretty good, but the food is often slow in coming out. Prices are very reasonable, especially for Belltown.
Minnie's lives on in our memory, and Whym can never replace it.
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Give them a few weeks, hopefully by mid-July they'll have the kinks worked out and Belltown will have a decent all hours food spot.
I have to agree with Chris H. completely. GF and I pretty much had the same experience on their 2nd day being open (Sunday). Nothing was set on the table, took 15 minutes before our order was taken and the food took another 30 minutes. I wish I were exagerating.
The food was also pretty dissapointing. The manager even came over to appologize for the wait and asked "was it worth the wait?" We both loook at him and had no response. I wish I'd just stayed home and made the eggs myself.
So, maybe they've got a chance to redeem themselves, we'll give it a second try in a few weeks, thankfully with the two free appetizer coupons they gave us.
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I was (and maybe still am) so excited to see a decent looking restaurant open in the hole Minnie's once occupied. I had hope for the late night dining scene in Belltown - things were going to get better!
My first dining experience at Whym was late last Thursday night / Friday morning at around 1:30. We were seated promptly and impressed by the new decor. Our order was taken and thirty minutes passed. Our waitress was ignoring us. Another 15 minutes - the table seated after us gets their food. Another 10 minutes - we flag the waitress and receive an apology that things are taking so long.
After a hour and 10 our food arrived! Yay! I couldn't tell you why it took that long to make two omelets and an egg sandwich. We were too happy to care by the time they finally showed up.
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I believe that this place could be a great place if the owners cared more about the people inside the place. We experienced many irritating things like people in the front who repeatedly forgot who's table which plates go to, repeatedly hearing "This isn't my job, I'm just covering the server who called in tonight" or "I've only been here two weeks, I don't know the menu yet" and being pushed to pay the bill and get out when you're 1 of maybe 4 tables occupied in the whole restaurant.
We went around half past nine on Sunday night after going to the Seattle Center. We could sense something was going wrong when we first got there and saw a table leave while a girl stated "Let's go, I don't like the vibe of this place at all." We decided to stay and give the place a chance and sat down at one of the many many open tables. We were greeted by the bartender who seemed really bored and asked if if we knew what we wanted yet. We wanted to read over the menu and asked for a few more minutes and for drinks. For a bartender, she didn't know her stock very well and we heard the "only been here two weeks" a few times too when we ordering. The menu does try to be a little too cute and I think a few quips here and there are entertaining but not in EVERY description of EVERY dish. The thing that too me was a little off was that the decor and vibe did not match the happy menu. It felt stale, almost medical state to the space. The little ducks in a jar were cute but looked completely out of place with the nature stick art in the front.
I got the tempura vegatables, my friend got the Alaska Salmon, and my fiance' got the Fish Tacos.
His exact words for the fish tacos... "One part sour cream, one part plain yogurt, and a dash of cayenne pepper would fix them. Get rid of the hot sauce, that's called an option... other than that the fish tacos weren't too bad, the fries weren't bad, if not a little plain."
The menu states pasta with the Salmon but when my friend's plate arrived it looked to me like a more grand version of the Lean Cuisine version of the same dish (with the same orzo and everything). A lot of oil in the side dishes to the point where my friend said she felt like to was a lot of lube for only some boring veggies.
My tempura veggies weren't done at all. The veggies were bland, soft, and not crispy at all. It felt like they were cooked at too low a heat and the oils just sucked into the veggies.
I really wanted to like this place since it took over the same place where Minnie's once was. I think that the owners had a great idea but aren't enough in the restaurant to know what's going on. This can be fixed with minimal effort. Come on now, you can do it!
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wow.. seriously.. how can you screw up a grand opening that bad in a town full of restaurants?
popped in with my lady to get breakfast sunday morning. wasn't too busy.. i was greeted with a cup of coffee while they set our table. sat down and was brought orange juice but no water. some tables had them, some didn't. no cream, no sugar, no jams.. nothing was properly set for breakfast.
after waiting for almost ten minutes, our server came back for our order. she explained that the kitchen was a little backed up and our order would take about 15-20 minutes. for eggs, i thought? we decided to stay anyway. after about 25 minutes and a couple games of hangman on our napkins, our food finally came. my eggs benedict was over cooked to hard boiled. my girlfriends over easy eggs were undercooked so bad that the whites weren't set. her bacon was fried to a crisp and the potatoes were boiled, diced up and not even seasoned. she sent hers back and it took ten minutes to get a new plate of eggs & bacon. ridiculous.
every table around us was disappointed. some tables that were sat before us didn't get their food until after us. i shouldn't have paid.. and i normally don't do that. but this.... this was BAD. for a tip, i left a frowny face. they decided to comp us an orange juice. how sweet of them!
as we walked out.. i saw three tables walk out as well. i spoke to one couple and they said 'just not worth it..ridiculous' as they got into their car. saw another couple walking away without their food also.
not to mention how cheeeeeeeeesy their menu is. theres winnie the pooh quotes draped ALL over it for christ sakes. spend a little more time making sure your customers are well taken care of.. and hire the right people to run your kitchen for pete sakes. there was no sense of urgency.. just apologies one after another. you know, its one thing to wait forever for your food and then have it be spectacular when you finally get it.. but to wait that long.. for eggs.. and have them be fucked up six ways from sunday.
that's an hour and fifteen minutes i'll never get back. ugh.
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So boyfriend and I strolled in here after Capitol Hill block party full of free beer and ready for something to soak it up! Our waitress was very nice. We ordered the grilled cheese to split with the fries. Grilled cheese? Delightful! sourdough bread. cheese. perfectly toasted. Fries? GROSS! Not fully cooked. At. all. It was kinda like they put them in the microwave to thaw them out a bit then let them soak a lil in a grease pit. It was sad. We were sad. And most of all our tummies were sad after that because we ate a few strips of greasy mush. Not sure if we will go back. It may take another drunken moment to decide that.
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It's been open for a week and I'm already a regular...
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We had walked by this one night on vacation in Seattle in July. The restaurant had not been open for long. We decided to try it and it was pretty good. They were out of some menu items. The food was a little slow as it wasn't very busy.
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Whym is way better than Minnie's ever was. The service is good, the food is great, and the new decor is really fun. The best thing I've had is the Reuben Skillet which is totally AMAZING for me because I love Reuben sandwiches but can't eat bread anymore. THANK YOU WHYM for making this lovely concoction. The only thing keeping it from getting five stars for me is it's a little bit pricey if you are looking for something totally cheap, but it's not really outrageous either...you should check it out!!
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Read the reviews so took my cousin and her friend for birthday lunch October 2008. For one I noticed it was expensive, We ordered the nachos which they made with nasty regular potato chips. My Mexican skillet for $11 dollars was that Oreida frozen potato's and a small portion my cousin and friend weren't impressed with there burger and other crap! 3 of us lunch, over $60!
I was out late on a Tuesday night with my friend visiting from Tucson, who is also a Seattle ex-patriot. She was most displeased to see that Minnie's had finally collapsed like a neutron star under the weight of it's own pretension, but we decided to give Whim - oh, wait, I'm sorry: WHYM - a shot.
It was about midnight, and there was no one there; seriously, we were the only customers in the restaurant. We had a very cute little waitress with a charming personality and a hip haircut, and the service was excellent. I don't know how it would be if she had, say, two tables to attend to, but I can only speak from my own experience. She said that the place is usually pretty quiet on Tuesdays until the bars close, so maybe the lack of patronage wasn't something to be too concerned about, but I seem to remember Minnie's being busier than that pretty much all the time.
I don't know what happened with Sarah H.'s mac 'n cheese, but mine was unquestionably the highlight of my visit. As she said it was made from penne pasta, and mine did indeed have the promised bread crumbs and tomatoes. Personally, I thought it was the first mac 'n cheese I've had that rivaled the Astral mac 'n cheese at West 5 in West Seattle. My friend had a salad with bleu cheese dressing, and aside from the fact that it tasted just like their ranch dressing, it was a perfectly fine salad. You know, it had lettuce, some veggies, and salad dressing - not much to report.
So I can't speak to how things would be under different circumstances, but I had a very positive experience. I will say that I kind of agree that the lighting can be a tad garish for late-night dining, but it also highlights the clean, slick look of the place, so I don't know if dimmer would be better.
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So we live only a block away and we were devastated when the hole in the wall minnies shut down. We have given whym multiple chances only because its so close to where we live. First of all, who makes nachos using sliced potatoes? For a standard in diner food, they're making an american fixture an atrocity. Service was ok at best. The women working at night were friendly. But we have gotten this waiter in the middle of the day that likes talking entirely too much. A little too crass for my taste.... not to mention the large knife handle i spotted on the waiter. Its not hard to make cheap food taste good. Just don't make cheap food fancy food, and charge an arm and leg.
Unfinished. That is the experience here. From the unfinished wall with oval cutouts, to the service, even to the menu -- it just seems to lack that finished (or maybe polished) quality.
I had the corned beef hash (which appeared to be a specialty as the menu states that it is their "own recipe"), as I salivate at the thought of that special treat of truly good homemade corned beef and hash, under eggs over-easy dripping yolk into freshly made well-seasoned potatoes.... mmmmmm..... scriiiiiitch. Sorry to stop the music, but...
The corned beef itself was quite tasty -- if only I got more than a tablespoon full of shredded to death meat. Offsetting that was 5 servings of cubed potatoes that looked, felt, and tasted like they came straight from the freezer. The eggs were perfectly over easy, but served on the side for some reason. Maybe I'm being picky about that but I like my eggs on TOP of the potatoes -- rather than trying to carefully move them there without breaking the yolk. That aside, for a specialty item, the corned beef dish left me wanting... for the real thing.
The service was odd -- the two guys working the place wear oh-so-uniquely fashionable black -- always in style. Yet, there were no smiles, no real engagement (not that I really wanted to, necessarily), and the service just seemed "off" -- like robots on auto-pilot with a timing mechanism that needed calibration. When I wanted to order a drink... no one around, even in that small place. When I wanted to pay my bill, not available, even with my card hanging out 5 minutes on the table. The server said my breakfast was coming "right up," right after he served me my bloody mary (which was quite tasty but way too chunky -- too many limes in the drink make it sip like a milkshake with chunks). And I thought to myself "wow, that's quick." So then I felt rushed to drink my bloody mary. But then the corned beef hash didn't come for another 15 minutes -- leaving me 10 minutes to read the menu.
The menu (like much of the rest) seemed a bit contrived, but if the food is really good, it would more than make up for it, and might even be kind of a good thing. But with so many offerings, and a lackluster "specialty" breakfast, their menu only makes me dizzy.
To the reviewer who puts down other reviewers for contributing their fair opinions -- if you hadn't noticed, you are the ONLY one giving this place 5 stars. Puhleez. But you're certainly entitled to your wrong opinion. Maybe if you show them your kiss-ass review, they'll give you a free orange juice.
PROS: A GOOD SPOT FOR A LATE-NIGHT RESTAURANT/BAR
CONS: ALL ASPECTS JUST A LITTLE OFF -- NOT SATISFIED.
I went here for lunch with my five-month-old baby, and we both had a great time. The waiter was friendly and helpful. I had some kind of meatloaf sandwich which was pretty good, and the fries were decent. The menu looks pretty interesting. I definitely miss Minnie's, but we're short on 24-hour options and Whym seems okay.
I was walking past the new WHYM and peering in the windows to see what the place was like when a waiter stepped outside and handed menus to both myself and my friend. We were hungry and figured "heck why not", we tried the place out and I am glad that we did. Our waiter Bruce was very friendly and attentive and although the food was a little slow I found my breakfast selection to be quite yummy! After a meal and a drink my ticket was a grand total of $16. Good food and great service at a reasonable price. I am glad found the place.
Happy Hour M-F 3-7PM
Neighborhood: Queen Anne
1/2 Price Wine
Neighborhood: Capitol Hill
Neighborhood: Belltown
Category: Diners
Neighborhood: Queen Anne
Category: Mexican
Neighborhood: Belltown
Category: American (Traditional)
Neighborhood: Queen Anne
Category: American (Traditional)
Seattle, WA
Category: Apartments
My local dry cleaner, watering hole, deli, cafe,…
