Levitate Gastropub

As far as bar themed restaurants go, this may be my favorite on the east side. It’s a well lit place with easy off street parking. It has an interesting industrial and rustic feel with multiple levels, including an outdoor area outback with reclaimed cedar picnic tables and benches. Probably real fun in the summer. The beer selections as you would expect has a good range. There’s also a full bar to wet your whistle. The food came out quickly and the service excellent. I generally rate a place good when my kids are happy so Levitate gets 5 stars. We’ll make a point to go there this year.

I’m very bummed to update my review on the negative but I must. I am not sure why some restaurants choose to not listen to their customers and constantly try and reinvent themselves. This was an excellent place for Brunch on the Weekends and it was needed as many locals needed a change from Fins and Jacks.
Sadly this place now sucks due to an ever shrinking menu and losing their chef. Until things change my Wife and I will not be back.

If you like the overplayed IPA this is your place. Of the 12 beers on draught I’d say more than half of them were IPA. Food is decent.

Best burger ever. I’m still thinking about it. I’ll drive out of my way to go back for more meals like that. Everyone at our table was pleased with the service and the drink selections. Yeah, maybe a tad pricey for every day but in this case it was worth it for good service and interesting menu selections.
They could graciously accommodate the vegetarians and vegans and gluten-​phobic in our mixed party.
Usually I dread going out with this bunch to a new place because of all the allergies and special requests.
Usually I stop in for a quick happy hour with one or two friends. Glad I tried a meal.

So having been here on a couple of occasions, I have been impressed every time with the level of service, quality of the food, and the wide selection of great Washington beers & wines. Also, the funky array of infused liquors they have on hand is very cool; let them make you one of their signature cocktails! Delicious!

We arrived at the Pub at 5:00 pm & we were pretty hungry. I had a house wine (red) which was very nice. My husband ordered a Manhattan drink w/​Bourbon (not Rye) and he received the Manhattan w/​Rye which he does not care for. We also ordered a Pretzel loaf, which was good & the sauce that came with it was also good. So the 2 drinks my husband ordered were disappointing since both were made out of Rye. He should have sent them back but he didn’t — his own fault. We had our drinks and the pretzel appetizer. By 5:15 pm we were ready to order dinner … but we were told that we had to wait until 6:00 pm before we could order off the dinner menu, which would have been another 45 minute wait. The look on my husbands face must have given our waitress a clue to give us some time to talk about it, which was a good read on her part. My husband was upset because he was hungry and wanted to eat a meal (dinner) & not just from the Happy hour /​Social menu. I was able to calm him down and have him to just go with the flow… Luckily within 15 mins after we received our drink & appetizer, our waitress said the chef was ready to take our dinner order. Thank goodness… For dinner I had the shepherds pie & I enjoyed it. My husband had the mac & cheese. He enjoyed it, but it was pretty spicy. I could see how some folks might not be able to handle it, because it did had a «lot» of jalapeños in it. We also had the truffle fries which the portion was huge. The fries were tasty but the truffle oil they put on it was not the best quality in my estimation.
5 ***** Our waitress was very sweet & efficient and we were very happy with her service.
5 ***** Generous with their portions.
5 ***** The place is very cool looking.

I have never been in a Restaurant-​Bar after 5:00 pm and been told I have to wait until 6:00 pm to order off the dinner menu. This is a new one on me. It just seems a little «odd»…and a little pretentious for a Restaurant/​Bar in Issaquah to not serve dinner until 6:00 pm … I can see if we walked in the bar at 4:00 pm and were told we needed to wait until 5:00 pm to get dinner… I could totally understand that but I’m still trying to get my head around the 6 thing. I am happy they did eventually serve us before 6:00 pm, because that would of turned my husband off for good. I did notice that breakfast is served at 10:00 am on Saturday & Sunday… Really Hungry people will be heading out to eat way before 10:00 am… which is a odd time for Breakfast to start. Or maybe then are just looking for patrons that like to sleep in.
We would venture back but I would hope that the Place would change the policy to have the dinner menu ready by 5:00 pm.

Went there with my husband and ordered a couple drinks– the tiger mt. tea cocktail with coconut water sounded great but it was HORRIBLE. It was nice that someone, who I believe to be the owner, noticed my grossed out face and offered to get me another drink because I didn’t like it. The second drink was made incorrectly with OLIVE JUICE, it was disgusting! Finally a decent drink was made– but I was still charged $ 15 for the stupid thing…
After the drink fiasco we decided to order just a pretzel then get dinner elsewhere. Well– we THOUGHT it was a pretzel but it was pretzel bread… good, but not what we were expecting. The container for the cheese sauce was WAY to big and a pain to dip into, as your knuckles were submerged into the dish.
Not going back…

Cool looking place. Service was snobbish. (For absolutely no reason) The place smelled of truffle oil… Which is a horrible product and should never be considered a food. Truffle oil is not oil seasoned with truffles, it is a synthetic perfume and tastes nothing like an actual truffle.
We waited to be seated for a long time, were given a stink eye when we said we didn’t have reservations (was barely dinner time). We decided to just leave. Between the horrid smell and the snarky attitude, we didn’t need to eat there. Won’t be going back.

I’ve eaten at this place once before and it was a 2.5−3 star because the food was just okay. Just bumped down to ONE STAR, and would do zero if I could. Party of 4 (3 adults, one in a high chair) walked in on a weeknight, about 5:30pm into a half full restaurant and were ignored for a solid 5 – 10 minutes (made eye contact with the TWO bartenders/​waiters running around the computer and still nothing). There was no hostess at the hostess stand despite a sign saying please wait to be seated.
When someone finally came over, we were asked snootily if we had a reservation and when the answer was no, she proceeded to move on to the party who arrived behind us asking them the same thing. They had a reservation, but instead of the waitress/​hostess? taking our name, or letting us know it’d be a couple minutes, she sat them right away, did something else then came back and asked us the same question. When we said we had a party of 4 (w/​a highchair) she said «well, this table right here is all we got» then walked away to the computer. So, we seated ourselves, sat there for a few minutes waiting for a high chair, was given the side-​eye when I grabbed one myself, and we never received menus.
That’s as far as we got, because we left and went down the street to the new Indiana restaurant Bukhara.
Sorry Levitate, you’ve got a LONG way to go. If you want sub-​par food and crap service this is your place. If you actually want a good place to eat with people who are not snobby, you can pick just about anywhere else but here.

I really wanted to like this restaurant. I did so badly that after the first bad experience I went back for yet another let down.
First of all it’s seat yourself which is okay but I feel like they don’t have the best layout for that. You walk in to a few large tables that you share with others where you feel really cramped. It’s a cool dim area but then if those tables are full you have to walk to the lower part of the restaurant where you will find it’s competently different then where you walk in.
The food is OK. Really nothing special at all. I feel like the chef tries too hard. I think if he just relaxed with his cooking, he would be better.
We had fish and chips which were SO soggy and the french fries were not good at all.

This place was FANCY but they were not playing all the games on Sunday (only one). Their pretzel loaf was very good but this place is not vegetarian friendly. The server tried her best to accommodate me though.
That being said, their chicken wings were HUGE and my group was very happy with that.

Well, they must have worked out the kinks, as all of the food was top notch, the service was great, and the experience was without flaw. If I was to nitpick, I’d say the room might need a little bit of acoustic dampening at some point.
Hey, I said I would nitpick.
Pluses:
The sliders. The salmon sandwich. The poppers. The wings.
Minuses:
The poutine was off the menu. They were out of oysters.
Not worthy of a star ding, however. I’ll be back.

The décor and ambience is cool, it’s an upbeat feel with end to end open space, naked walls and naked light bulbs and a mix of small and large thick wood and metal tables. There are chalkboard menus behind the bar. I still don’t get why it’s called Levitate as it doesn’t really fit with the space or menu but it’s a cool name.
The music is usually loud and as it’s fairly packed the noise levels can be high. Perfect for a date when you’re not in the mood for spiritual conversation but just out for fun and drinks — and they do have some nice local craft beers and good cocktails. Just be prepared to spend a bit more than you would at some other places in Issaquah as it’s a Gastropub!
The food, yes, the food is good for Issaquah since there is a shortage of such places here but probably would be considered average by any other standards. The burgers are fairly decent, but honestly nothing life-​changing. Just good. The fish and chips are average. Chips can be on the soggy side. The truffle fries taste good if they’re delivered hot and crispy but sometimes they can be soggy. The pretzel bread is ok. Really it’s decent Gastropub food but given the prices I wanted a little more Wow factor. The cheapest burger is $ 20 if you add tax and tip, and with a drink you’re looking at $ 35 apiece so a meal can get expensive here.
The service here is ok, it’s just that their servers are often tending to too many tables. Once I came in and the same girl was serving 10 tables. That’s crazy! I commiserated with her and said let me know if I can help, and she was grateful I paid attention and my order was served quicker than others but we still had to wait 15 minutes after we ordered for a drink to arrive and 20 minutes after that for the food. Wish they would have more people.
The parking is also sparse at this place, so drive around and maybe you’ll have to walk a little but usually you can get some parking somewhere and at least it’s free!
Lastly, their menu seems to have gone through iterations since they opened and still needs some tweaking, hope they can work out the kinks that exist even 6 months later. I’d love to add another star to their review!

I am writing to express my tremendous disappointment in Levitate. Given this is a new establishment; perhaps my review can help patrons with expectations.
My husband and I were thrilled when we heard of a new gastropub opening close to our home. We decided to book reservations for Sunday brunch as we were entertaining my mother from out of town and my son’s godparents.
I made reservations for a table of 6 at 11:15am on Sunday morning.
Arrival:
Upon our arrival, we could see the place was relatively busy and the bartender asked us to seat ourselves. We walked around and saw there weren’t any apparent tables available for 6 so we let the bartender know that we had reservations. He indicated he would return, but one of their servers greeted us and asked us to sit at the community table near the back. She suggested we move the chairs around to make room for our family. I was somewhat bothered, but wasn’t willing to let a slight oversight define our experience.
Order:
Once seated, we waited 30 minutes for our drink order. Understandably, our two-​year-​old son along with my mother became increasingly impatient and hungry. Once our server arrived, we ordered drinks and waited yet another 20 minutes to place our order. Our breakfast order consisted of 2 dutch apple pancakes, 1 side eggs, 2 sides of sausage, 1 breakfast sandwich with no cheese and 2 monte cristos. My mother, however, was not pleased there was no coffee available. Our server mentioned that someone was out purchasing coffee and that my mother could receive coffee upon arrival.
One minor complaint was the three egg (chef selection) omelette (and only omelet option) was sausage and bacon. I was hoping for some veggies as an accompaniment, and when I inquired if there was anything else, a short no was the response.
The wait:
We waited for an additional hour for the food to arrive. During that hour, nobody checked in with us. I asked my husband to find out how long the wait as our guests were all impatient by this time. Both servers were in the kitchen so we patiently waited until the food arrived. We knowingly ordered the dutch apple pancakes, which could take awhile. We did not, however, anticipate the long wait for the drink order, food order and food arrival with little to no communication from staff.
Food:
My sandwich had at least 2 slices of melted cheese on both ends despite asking for no cheese. Most disappointing, my entire party ordered from the breakfast menu and was anticipating home potatoes with their meals (similar to the party at our community table), but they were all served fries without any explanation. Last, my husband noticed other tables drinking coffee and mentioned it to the server who was short and stated the boss just got here with coffee. It is unclear why my mother was not offered coffee upon arrival.
The food was just OK. (Sometimes phenomenal food can supersede poor service). The menu looked great, but the execution did not live up to the expectations. Those that ordered the dutch apple pancakes would have appreciated apple topping as the menu lists caramelized apples on top (it was served dry), the monte cristos were coated with excessive breading without much filling, and served with fries rather than home potatoes as mentioned earlier. I decided to send my sandwich back as I didn’t know how long it would take to correct my order, and I didn’t want my party to be there longer than needed.
Conclusion:
I understand this is a new establishment, and there are a few kinks to work out. From my vantage point this place has a long way to go. The unapologetic manner in which our party of 6 was handled will be remembered for some time.

Food is so so with small portions. My wife (a little woman) actually had to order a second entre.
Service was poor at best!

Love this place! Issaquah is getting better all the time! The bartenders are true Mixologists. Finally, craft cocktails in Issaquah!
The food is great in my book. I’m gluten free and would love to see more options available. However, the food I’ve tried has been delicious. I loved the ceviche; I hope you’ll bring that back. The new lamb chili is fabulous!
I’ve always had good service here. I’ve heard a few complaints but, I haven’t had a back experience yet!

This gastropub has such a modern and comfortable feel about it. The bar has chalk board menus and the front and back of the restaurant open up with garage door style windows. The rear has a gorgeous outdoor area with tons of seating. The kitchen is upstairs and there are fans all over the ceiling blowing down deliciously scented air. I’ve got to say service took a while to get us water and menus. And the wait for our food was a good 20 minutes. They didn’t ask how I wanted my burger cooked or if I wanted salad or fries which was off putting. I’ve got to admit I was skeptical by the time the food finally rolled out.
I got the burger #1 with Kobe beef, havarti, caramelized onions, and bacon jam. It was literally one of the best burgers I have ever had. The pretzel bun was steamed and so it was incredibly fluffy and light. They still toasted the inside of the bun for some crunch. The French fries are garlic truffle fries. They were incredibly crunchy and resembled veggie straws in appearance and taste. I must have gotten the bottom of the fryer basket because most of my fries were under two inches which was rather annoying. Literally one of the best burgers ever.
Their fish n chips are tight tubes of fresh fish crammed in a batter featuring locally made beer. The wild boar sandwich was wonderful, with a fried egg on top and a deep juicy color. Their peach lavender salad did disappoint, with a small portion and little dressing.
Their cloth napkins shed so expect white fuzzies all over your pants after a meal.
I will be back to try burger #2!

Great truffle fries and drinks. they have a blackberry calamari salad which is great. fare is lighter than most pubs so it’s good when it’s hot outside. wide selection of random beers and outdoor seating in the back. good place to watch a random sporting event

I want so badly to give this more stars. It was great to see your new place open up on Front Street in issaquah!
Pluses are:
1. A great location, parking in back of establishment.
2. There’s a great outdoor patio facing west/​evening sun. Nice spot for dining and/​drinks
3. Nice wine/​drink selection
We came in on a Friday night so it was hard to hard to find seating. The staff seemed a little thin. We had to flag a waiter down. The menu needs work. Odd stuff and pricing seemed out of whack.
I hear they have breakfast — we will give that a try!

This is one situation that I wish I could review without giving stars; not because they are bad, but because I know they just opened, and they are probably still working out their kinks. Since I have to, at this very moment, just a week in, they are a three.
My experience was overall good, with a few weird (at least to me) bits. We came around 4pm, and snagged one of the 4 parking spots in the back lot. inside, we walked to the front, and was told it was open seating. They have a bar on the right side, and three large community tables, that seat I remember 6 – 8 people. Down past that section, are smaller 2 – 4 person tables. We sat here. Their kitchen, I noticed was upstairs in a loft section.
Weirdly, at 4pm, they don’t have a menu… I assume it’s because it’s between services, but they had a «social» menu, which has 5 items, a lamb burger, fritters, fries, fried cod and I think lastly wings. I would have preferred a smoother transition between the two services, and not a lull with little options.
Secondly, we sat at a table for two, and somehow, one of the little feet that balance the thing, came off, and our table nearly fell over. luckily the server was able to catch the glasses, and I held the table upright enough, that the girl did get water all over her. We moved to the next table, which sat 4. and of course, when I turned to lean ton the table to gaze up to the loft kitchen, I managed to unbalance the table and nearly tip over this one too. That table, the top was loose, and the feet weren’t wide enough it seems. We moved back to our newly fixed table of 2, and the servers took to trying to figure out what happened. Another couple sat down at that table, and I saw they kept an eye on the table as they ate.
Okay, the food, we ordered the burger, didn’t want to give up on a new place. When it came out, it was served on a cast iron dishes, fries in a metal cup, and burger on a paper laid below. The burger, was simple; meat, cheese, mushrooms, sauce and bun. I was expecting perhaps some greens/​vegetables, but it was a «man» burger as I put it. It was cooked right, and and the flavors were there, so I can say that the food was spot on, flavor and taste.
At the end of the day, I can see this place really being a good place for locals who want a little gourmet, but a place that visitors to the town can appreciate also. So for now, three stars, but maybe I can come back at a real service, and not social hour, to try out what their menu actually has to offer.