Epulo Bistro

I have been going here off and on for 6 years. My family enjoyed it before we moved to New York. I still came here regularly over the years when I traveled to Seattle on business.
I recently moved back to Edmonds and have been stopping by more regularly. The Spicy Margarita flat bread on the bar menu at happy hour will make you happy! They pour generous drinks and the wait staff is very nice.
Back when my kids were younger, this was the place where they started loving grilled asparagus. My two sons were probably 10 and 12, and we came by for some flat bread and ordered the grilled asparagus. They loved it and I’m now regularly grilling it, as it’s become a family favorite, thanks to Epulo. I’m not sure it’s always on the menu, but order it if you see it.
One note, my kids were extremely restaurant savvy. We could get away with taking them most anywhere and they were so well behaved. Parents of young children may want to think twice about coming here, since it has an adult vibe, IMHO.
I have to admit I had one bad experience here. It was a happy hour and there was literally one stool open on the bar. I squeezed my 6’6″ body in and sat there for 10 minutes before the bartender even acknowledged me. it’s was 5 minutes later before I had a drink. I stuck it out and when the bar had thinned out, I ended up talking to the bartender who said she usually doesn’t bar-​tend and she was doing it all alone. So initially while I was mad at her and her service, I later understood. The issue actually is with management for not staffing adequately.
That’s just one incident out of one hundred. I’m still a fan. BTW, if you use the «Swarm» app on your mobile phone, I’m currently «The Mayor.» of Epulo. I earned that star last night, in fact!

My boyfriend and I went for happy hour Saturday evening and it was a wonderful experience. We sat up at the bar and the bartender was awesome! The food was absolutely delicious and I highly recommend trying their donuts for dessert.

My wife and I are big foodies, so we always like to give places a few chances. So far we’re 1 for 2 with Epulo.
The first time we came, it was about 6:00pm on a normal weekday. Not busy at all. Because of that, our food was great and our service was perfectly timed. We were happy to finally find a good restaurant in downtown Edmonds.
The second time we went (last Friday) was at about 7:00pm on a Friday night. It was busy and you could tell by the staff. They seemed frantic — like freaked out. Unfortunately, we were packed into a small table right next to an obnoxious group of ladies that were apparently celebrating a baby/​bridal shower or birthday. One was literally screaming at her friends, one foot away from my ear. I had to hold my hand to my ear to even hear my wife. It didn’t help that the music there is a little too loud, so everyone is talking above it.
All-​in-​all, the food is good, not great, but good.
Like most places we’ve found in Edmonds, don’t order protein as your main dish. My wife’s stake was way over-​done despite ordering her stake medium. I’ve ordered pasta dishes both times and enjoyed it.
We’ll try it again, but we were disappointed the last time we went. Maybe we just have too high of standards, but everything in Edmonds is pretty mediocre. Epulo is just the best of the pack.

Wonderful dinner tonight. I had rockfish on special, my wife had raviola, and both were delicious. Service was attentive and informative. A bit on the noisy side, but still very nice. We’ll be back!

Had dinner here while visiting a friend in the area. The food and service were both excellent. We tried a couple of their appetizers, the house made burrata cheese was delicious as was the seasonal soup. My main entrée was a steak and it was done perfectly and the sides were excellent.
I would definitely visit Epulo again!

Epulo is always one of my three stops in Edmonds. They have great food and a good happy hour and a terrific bar. Shawn is a great bartender as well and always take good care of us when we visit.

Amazing food and drinks. Chef Alex does a wonderful job in the kitchen. Shawn, the master mixologist is amazing. Any drink you order will be done to perfection. Uses lots of fresh fruit which is great in any drink. A very good wine selection as well that is paired for their Tuesday pairing. Have recommended this restaurant to many people. You will not be disappointed. Menu is updated frequently. Always something new to try.

Me and my girlfriend went here for happy hour. We ordered the fritas with garlic aioli and some drinks. The food came in record time it was delicious and not grease. The drinks were very well balanced. The staff was fantastic quick and friendly. I would definitely be returning and would recommend anyone to give this place a try!

Met my ladies for a pre-​theatre snack (see Driftwood Players at Wade James Theater or The Phoenix Theatre for some good shows)… second time here and both have been very good experiences! Both times it was busy, but had reservations so were seated easily.
Spilt a bottle of the recommended wine of the week for a decent price along with the brussel sprouts appetizer, fig & gorgonzola pizza, and gnocci… all delicious and enough for three. The pizza was a fav!
Great service and atmosphere. Parking can be troublesome on weekends. Go early!

This is one of my favorite date night restaurants in downtown Edmonds. The food and beverages are great. The atmosphere is modern and romantic and I have had great service every time I have been there!

Great dinner, great atmosphere, can’t wait to go back. Only problem we had was the hostess scolded us for being 9 minutes late for our reservation and we really did not appreciate it.

The bean salad was disappointing and awkward. with a poached egg. The shrimp calamari was over fried and the sauces were lacking taste. The banana bread pudding was soggy… and small. Wasn’t very satisfied.

We love taking the ferry over from Kingston to Epulo when we feel like having an upscale, yet casual dinner that is easy on the wallet. We’ve never been disappointed in our meal, whether it’s something off the menu, or one of their daily specials. (And, when the Copper River Salmon run, we go several times, calling ahead to make sure the chef is still preparing it — yum!)
The martinis are wonderful (have tried several, of course). I particularly like the ruby red grapefruit martini and the bartender was kind enough to share the recipe, so now I get to make it at home! He told me they try not to use flavored vodkas because customers don’t like the added sugar instead they just add the fruit. I love that!
They also have an extensive wine list, and as with the daily food specials, they also have a featured wine that is not on the menu. I always try it and have written down many of the selections to buy at home.
The waitstaff is attentive, friendly and knowledgeable. The ambiance? Bistro says it all.
One of my favorite restaurants in the area.

What a great new find!
We decided to venture out more from our humble lynnwood abode and came cross this on Unilocal,so glad we did as this is now a favorite of ours.
We first ordered the brussels sprouts and deconstructed bruschetta. The sprouts were crunchy and full of rich flavor from the bacon and the bruschetta had fresh tomatoes and delicious house made Barrata that was smooth and rich.
We then had the prosciutto and arugula pizza which had delicate and crispy dough with fresh and peppery arugula with nicely balanced saltiness.
Our main dish was the Pappardelle with handmade noodles. Perfect texture to the noodles and the meat was tender «melt in your mouth» texture. The sauce sadly was way too salty but our sever was great and handled our feedback very respectfully.
The décor is modern and welcoming and the drinks were great too. :)

One of my favorite restaurants! Been here multiple times and have always had great food and a positive experience. Whether you’re coming in for happy hour or their dinner menu, I would definitely recommend their burrata cheese — absolutely amazing.
For our most recent visit, we ordered the burrata plate, clams, and the crab and leek pizza for apps. The pizza was perfect and we all very much enjoyed it. Our entrees included the rigatoni formaggio, skagit chicken, sweet corn raviolo, and the shrimp and merguez sausage. Everyone was very happy with their food and the service we received!

Stopped in here on in late Sunday afternoon for a quick happy hour. It was a lovely establishment, very quiet and a little romantic. We ordered a few beers but there selection wasn’t very extensive, I would imagine they sell more wine and cocktails then beer.
The happy hour menu had several dishes but a hand full of them were $ 10 – 15 which isn’t quite what we were looking for during happy hour (we really just wanted some inexpensive snacks) but we order two small appetizers; truffle frites and an arugula, pancetta flatbread. Both dishes we fantastic and elegantly crafted… I’m sure that’s why their prices are a little higher then some other places.
In general I wasn’t overly impressed by the establishment as a whole. The bartender was friendly but his demeanor didn’t fit with the overall feel of the restaurant. Additionally I heard him joking that he «stanches short ribs» while the cooks are preparing them. I know that’s not completely uncommon in restaurants (I wish it was) but the bartender shouldn’t feel comfortable enough with that behavior to share it with guests. Regardless of how delicious they might be, it’s kinda gross to imagine an employees picking food out with their fingers. But maybe that’s just me… I often feel frustrated (not specifically with this place) that staff treat the restaurant like its their home.

After I posted my previous review, the owner contacted me apologizing for the discrepancy in hours. They have since changed both Unilocal and their website to the correct time. He also offered me a gift card if I would come back, which I greatly appreciated.
Our second experience with Epulo was terrific. The bartender (I think his name was Shawn and now I feel awful for forgetting) was very attentive, friendly, and helpful. The food was FANTASTIC. We ordered a few things off the happy hour menu and shared so we could try multiple dishes, under the assumption that it would be small portions. We had plenty of leftovers, however!
So overall, great service, fabulous food, awesome atmosphere! We will definitely be back.

This place has great potential, and maybe if we would’ve went a different day, other than Saturday evening, it would have been fabulous.
What we had to eat:
–Lacinato Kale — This was okay, not worth $ 9 in my opinion.
–Endive & Frissee — Refreshing and light! Super yummy!
–Hood Canal Manila Clams — This was way too salty (I don’t feel that I have the right to complain since I didn’t say anything to our server, but I should’ve sent it back.)
–Fig & Gorgonzola (Woodfired Pizza) — My hopes were too high for this entrée. I’ve had some really good Woodfired Pizza, and this was not one of them. (Very greasy and I don’t recall seeing or tasting any Caramelized Onion or Thyme, which was supposed to be on it.)
Our server was great! It was very busy, and VERY loud, but she was attentive and took the time to listen to our requests, answer our questions, and recommend drinks!
Since I live in Seattle and we just stopped here before going to see a show I probably won’t end up going back. If we do go to Edmonds again, we’ll likely try one of the other cute places we saw on our way to Epulo.

This Review is for the Bar
My friend took us here after dinner in Edmonds one night for some drinks. Who knew that there was such a quaint little street up north.
We got a booth by the bar. My friend had the house red wine and I got Seattle’s finest — OOLA whiskey from Capitol Hill.
Overall, the ambiance was perfect. The place has the looks of casual but fine dining. The staff was friendly and weren’t pushy since we didn’t order anything else but drinks. I wish there were more casual spots like this in downtown Seattle or SLU, rather than having to find a refuge in a place out in the ‘burbs.
When I’m in the area next, I’ll be sure to keep this place in mind.

Seattle Restaurant Week October 2014
an outstanding SRW experience and a newly found respect and appreciation for this restaurant.
the last time i was at epulo, three of us squeezed into a two seater in the bar and stuffed food iand drink nto our mouths after an full afternoon of partying at the edmonds waterfront festival. it was obviously a completely unmemorable visit.
epulo did not cut back or dumb down the SRW menu. every item on the SRW menu was on their regular menu. portions appeared to be full serving portions. service was as if intended for guests paying full fare. the SRW menu was a perfect way to sample the regular menu.
the restaurant is cozy but the tables were not too close together. a bit loud because epulo suffers from the current craze of minimalist furnishing of anything smacking of textiles except for throw pillows lined up on the wooden bench spanning the length of the wall.
nevertheless i was comfortable and my ears were not ringing when i walked out.
every item we ordered was a win.
house made burrata appetizer: fresh and sweet and creamy. served with a generous portion of beautiful crusty bread slices, cherry tomatoes and fresh basil.
fried calamari and shrimp appetizer: a huge portion for a «small plate». there were plenty of our favorite tentacles. the shrimp were large substantial size.
braised short rib: boneless, fork tender, served on a bed of garlic mashed potatoes.
scallop: three large seared scallops served on a bed of lentils. you will not be hungry after this.
chocolate torte: large wedge more than enough for two to share. meltingly delicious chocolate.
i felt valued and respected as a guest even if we were taking advantage of the Seattle Restaurant Week menu. by not treating SRW diners with lower tier food and service, epulo has won me as a returning customer.