Alchemy Bistro and Wine Bar

This is one of my favorite haunts! I love the food. Steaks are great and the crème brulee is to die! I would give that last little star if they changed up the menu now and again. It is a limited menu and I usually don’t order the appetizers because they aren’t my favs. I’m sure they are amazing, but just not something I might order. Although I did try their beet potato (pie?) and, wow! I’m hooked! And I hate beets! The staff is lovely.

We went to Alchemy for a birthday dinner for two. We got here at 6pm on a Sunday thinking we would have plenty of time to catch the 8:30 ferry to Coupeville. Tonight was not the best night for that. There was a very large party already seated in the main dining area. We were seated in the back dining room. A couple of others came in in the hour we were there. We got an appetizer… the Mediterranean Trio which was great! However, it took us 30 minutes after we ordered it to get it, you know, due to the large party in the other room. We had ordered our entrees and waited some more. 7:15, no entrees. But they brought out entrees for another table that was seated 15 minutes after we were. A mixup with the tickets, they said. We told them we needed to catch the ferry in 30 minutes. FINALLY some urgency. At 7:35 they deliver our entrees. The food was good-​the halibut flaky and moist, but was it worth 90 minutes? No. We asked for our check when they brought the food and scarffed down our dinner before leaving to catch the ferry. My advice, don’t come here if you have 2 hours to eat.

Excellent entrée and salad. I ordered the «Lapin Ivre,» a dish of rabbit braised in wine, and the flavor was great. Very nice atmosphere, too.
Somehow they mixed up my order and brought out duck at first, but they were very gracious when I pointed it out. A lesser establishment would have insisted that they were correct.

Excellent and charming!
Locals love it. Trust and ask for the wine flight best suited to your meal. Delightful, spot-​on picks from knowledgeable real people staff. They do what works and they do it well and with heart!
Happy eating,
a chef’s ex and a wine industry ex.

Service was great. The young gent that took care of me was focused and very pleasant. Food was average. A tenderloin and vegetables. Could have been vastly improved by serving my hot meal on a hot plate. Plate was ice cold, which translated into a cold meal! Yuck.

In Port Townsend for a short business trip while in WA. We have been here before and the food was good so we returned in force. We booked a table for 10 and started the order onslaught on our poor server. We ordered starters: Scallops, Angles on Horseback (shrimp wrapped with ham), several salads (beat and goat cheese), charcuterie board etc. For mains we had: New York Steak, Cassoulet, Salmon, Skirt Steak, Filet, Paella and drunken Rabbit. It was an overall ok experience. My steak was over cocked and ice cold (they did take it of our check). Three orders came out wrong and when it was fixed it was rushed. The scallops were good and so was the salads. I have to give special whoop whoop for the Cassoulet. It was very good and probably one of the best meals of the evening. The Skirt Steak was also amazing. The rest were as indicated 3 stars at best. Our server was a good kid and he really tried. I’m sure this «ball drop» was because we overwhelmed them on a quite week night. We will try it again in a few months… maybe?

The hostess here told me they weren’t accepting «walk-​ins» right now. No explanation other than that. More than half their tables inside and out were empty.

Food was good as was the service. Ate outside on a nice evening and it was a great environment. I had the chicken and it was good, but everything with it knocked it out of the park. I would go here again.

we just ate at this restaurant with a group of four, felt the food was over priced for the amount you get, was cold, and was very disappointing. it tasted to us all that food was pre cooked earlier then heated or microwaved, would not return!

Laughably bad for the price — my «ravioli» were made with wonton skins (I kid you not) and came in a sickly sweet sauce that would have graced a General Tso’s chicken. For the privilege of eating takeout Chinese food at a sit-​down restaurant I was charged $ 50.

Our server was very nice and helpful and the atmosphere was also really pleasant, but the food was a dud. Had the grilled duck breast salad, which was under-​dressed and the dressing itself was runny and under-​acidified and couldn’t stand up to the juices running off the duck breast. The result was a pinkish, lukewarm drizzle that tasted more of duck than the promised balsamic vinegar. Truth told, it was slimy and gross to eat. The duck breast itself wasn’t overcooked, but I do worry that it might have been under-​cooked as I felt a little queasy (trust me, you don’t want any more specifics) for a day or so after I ate lunch there. The partner had the Salade Niçoise which was fine but not particularly stellar. Hopefully, this was a fluke as the folks there were very nice.

Fantastic. A very wide menu and drink selection. Quality dishes. Relaxed and helpful service.

Came here for Christmas dinner. Everything was delicious, even if the service was a little bit lacking.

Huge wine selection and I liked their specialty cocktails. There small bites menu was a lot of fun and the roasted garlic and red pepper with baguette was delicious. Friendly staff and I really liked the décor.

We enjoyed a lovely late lunch and had the Duck Breast Salad and Nicoise Salad — both were delicious and our service was great!

We had a lovely lunch at Alchemy today! We were particularly impressed with our server, Tiffany, who showed no signs of distress or drama in spite of being entirely on her own during the lunch rush. She handled indoor tables, outdoor tables, and the bar with a smile on her face. Yes, things were a bit slow at times (how could they not be?), but she made sure that we were well taken care of.
In addition to outstanding service, Alchemy has a GREAT wine list and very solid food. My salad nicoise was HUGE! This is a dish that I’m often hesitant to order because most restaurants skimp on the good stuff and fill in with greens. This salad consisted of a big hunk of perfectly-​cooked and perfectly-​seasoned tuna, anchovies, hard-​boiled eggs, green beans, cornichons, olives, and some of the most delicious tomatoes I’ve had recently. Everything was finished with a light and tangy dressing (with a hint of tarragon?). And like I said, it was HUGE. Believe me: I’m not «that girl» who orders a salad for lunch and then claims to be full halfway through it. Still, I had trouble finishing this thing. My dining partners ordered the paella, risotto, and meat skewers and were very satisfied with their meals as well.
We look forward to going back next time we are in Port Townsend!

It is a breath of fresh air to receive such wonderful service from an establishment. The hostess, Taylor, had such a sincere warm welcoming that we immediately felt welcomed. You could tell that she really made an effort to ensure our welcoming!
The atmosphere was great and enjoyed totally enjoyed our experience!
Kept up the good work!

Port Townsend has a fair number of restaurants, but few provide the quality of food and fine wine list that one finds at Alchemy. Four of us had dinner there on a Saturday evening, and it was excellent in nearly every respect. The starters were well made, the menu was varied, and the dinners were outstanding. Even dessert was rewarding. The restaurant does well in all aspects of the meal.
The well-​balanced wine list is not surprising, given the «wine bar» status of Alchemy. We ordered bottles, but it is good know that a broad assortment of wines is available be the glass.
The only weakness was slightly slow service, but that can be attributed to the full house on a Saturday. The good news regarding the service is that the restaurant makes no effort to hurry you through the meal. If you want a relaxed pace, this is the place.

When staying in the area for a weekend getaway, my son and I decided to come here for brunch. I ordered the Wild Crab Hash topped with poached eggs and he just had a side of bacon and a side of eggs since there wasn’t a kid’s menu. I was very pleased with my meal! The flavor was good and the portion was perfect. The only reason I am deducting a star is because shortly after we arrived and ordered, two other tables arrived. Both tables were told about the «specials», but we were never informed of any. Honestly I would of ordered the daily special had I known about it.

UPDATED: Heard back from Alchemy and this is their response to my email. Their response moved my rating of two stars to three. I appreciated their thoughtful response:
Heidi,
First I am sorry you were sick. Secondly I am sorry our chef was so defensive.
He’s impression was that you hung up on him as he was trying to explain food born illness so I am certain he meant no offense.
We have to take many classes on food born illness so I think we must have come across overly certain.
What out chef was trying to say is that typically food poisoning takes 18 – 24 hours to manifest and usually it is not the last thing you eat but in fact what you ate earlier that day or the day before. He was reasonably certain in this case that it was not your shrimp risotto because everything ad just coming in. That does not mean it was handled properly before it got to us. We do take every precaution and buy from a seafood specialty company because we know how serious shellfish reactions are. I did take the time to call pacific seafood and tell them about the potential of the shrimp and whether it was your shrimp risotto or something you are earlier and it was the shrimp risotto that came back up, it is still an awful experience that deserves attention
Please accept my apology and know that we do take extra care at alchemy to know where everyone of our ingredients come from and to handle them properly
I was visiting Port Townsend with a friend of mine and we had a great experience at Alchemy until I ordered the shrimp risotto on Sunday night. I am still sick from the risotto. That’s the last thing I could eat this week.