Twigs Bistro and Martini Bar

I like Twigs a lot — they have a GREAT happy hour! In fact, the only time I have ever been there has been during happy hour.
I’ve had a pretty wide variety of things, but I love the Butternut Squash Flatbread and their Signature Fries — yum! The only thing I didn’t like was the calamari, which was a very sad display of only a few calamari rings and a lot of vegetables. Other than that, I recommend everything else on the happy hour menu!
The one time I moved off the HH menu to the regular menu, I had the Lamb Sandwich, which was quite good. Lots of good flavors.
You also can’t leave without having the Drunken Donuts for dessert, which come with 3 scrumptious dipping sauces. Nom nom.
The drinks are strong and the wait staff is very friendly. I’ll be back again, I’m sure!

Normally, I don’t keep receipts.
My experience at Twigs challenged that notion for a night, as I found myself compelled to keep that one receipt for note-​taking. I didn’t want to forget the unique name of our server (Saskia) or the fancy spread I shared with my lady friends.
With an attractive Happy Hour menu and 36 signature martinis offered (with names like «Black Stiletto» and «Kinky-​G»), what’s not to love? They have an impressive gluten-​free menu with items available for every course, including pizza and appetizers. The bar is also inviting with its color-​coordinated alcohol and smiling staff.
Saskia quickly became an honorary member of our girlfriend party, as she offered personal recommendations and promoted just the right amount of gluttony. We started with BBQ Chicken Flatbread, Hummus & Grilled Pita, and the Twigs Signature Fries with Gorgonzola Fondue (oh man!). Our drinks included the Happy Hour Classic Mojito, a glass of chardonnay, and the Well-​Mannered Dirty Martini. Saskia was so enthusiastic about the Drunken Donuts for dessert that we were indeed tempted, but we had also hit our limit. Before we knew it, she comp’d our table a plate of powdered sugar heaven with Apple Pucker caramel, Irish Cream chocolate and Amaretto crème sauce for dipping. Somehow we found the room.
Check out their menu online for more hunger inspiration.

Came for dinner with my sister. Service was a little slow, but food was presented well. My sister didn’t care too much for her pizza, but the salmon sandwich was quite tasty (although the feta and spices overpowered the salmon quite a bit). Dessert was the best though! You have to try the drunken donuts. They are powdered sugar and sweet alcohol amazingness. Overall, good but a bit overpriced for what it is.

Considering the service from the multiple times I’ve been here, I’d say it all works out to being average. One busy night the server was attentive and quick, one super slow evening the server was MIA for days. Hit or miss.
I’d definitely say the food is better than The Ram, and I prefer it over Stanford’s. The salmon and drunken donuts are good. Their food is consistently good too. The drinks we had the last time I went though were insanely sweet. I’d bet that nobody makes drinks that sweet on purpose even though one of the drinks was an Appletini haha.
Story about the heat lamps:
The first time I ate here we sat outside at night. It wasn’t too warm out, but they have heat lamps that work really well. They were actually so hot that we asked for them to be turned off (there’s only on or off, no in between). Another group came later and asked us why they were off because it was now chilly. We said feel free to have the lamps turned on. After about ten minutes of dining in our cozy little corner of the underworld, the group asked to have the lamps turned off.
So I guess what I’m saying is be careful if your hair is flammable and you’re there on a slow service night?
Oh and by the way, don’t bother sticking with the drinks on the Happy Hour menu, the items on there are only like 50 cents cheaper than the full menu!

I know this place had a bad rap for mistreating its employees or something to that effect in the past, but my friend and I decided to give it a try anyway. The food did not disappoint. I had the mushroom goat cheese pizza (the smell of the truffle oil alone made my mouth water. I was trying to eat my salad as quickly as possible so I could get to the pizza sooner. The side mista salad was plentiful and satisfying as well. I’d come back here and try some of the other dishes in the future. They have happy hour twice a day — I am looking forward to trying that out sometime, too.

My group of 5 left UW at 5:15 with the goal of making it to Twigs before their happy hour ended at 6. We got stuck in rush hour traffic though, so it ended up being 5:57 by the time we got to Twigs.
We quickly found a booth and took our seats. Within seconds, our server appeared and handed us some menus. We asked if we were too late for happy hour. Although we expected to have missed the cut off, our server informed us that she would try to get the orders in the system in time. She took our orders expediently, and then dashed off to input them into the system. She made it with 30 seconds to spare. Simply awesome. You can’t beat service like that.
The food was really good too. My girlfriend and I shared the Cajun calamari, the Kalua pork tacos, and the buffalo chicken sliders. Although all were tasty, the standout for me was the pork tacos. For $ 6, we got three decent-​sized tacos. The pork was tender, and the Creole remoulade gave it a nice kick.
As for the drinks, I ordered an old fashioned. It tasted fine, although it was a bit on the weak side (at least compared to how I make them at home).
Twigs is a great place to go for happy hour, and I’d definitely go again.

is there less than 1 star?
The service was NON existant. The place was at 25% capacity at most and we were there 15 mins before someone brought us water… then 10 mins later, someone asked if our order had been taken… when we said NO, he left menus and never saw anyone again. What a waste of time! Will NEVER go back here again.

Wonderful service and enjoyed happy hour. Made me a virgin mojito and allowed us to take our time and enjoy the atmosphere. The bruschetta flatbread was amazing and very large for the price if $ 6 at happy hour. Would pay regular price for it in the future. The entrée was a salmon with mango jalapeño sauce with green beans and we substituted mashed potatoes. They had no issue with the substitution. The salmon was cooked perfectly and the vegetables were crisp and tasty. The purée sauce was perfect well flavored and just a hint of the heat from the jalapeños. The potatoes were lovely. We decided to try a dessert and got the sticky cookie. Very tasty and decadent. Definitely enough to share with a partner or two. Very pleased overall with our first visit here will plan to visit again often.

Great spot if your solo and looking for a quick bite to eat. Or even if your with a group. During the day there are many tables open and air conditioning and the bar is bigger than most in restaurants.
Quick, friendly service even though I wasn’t having a drink and just getting an appetizer for one. After seeing how popular the Kahlua Pork Tacos were on some of the reviews, I decided to order it (not HH).
The pork was perfectly done and the Creole remoulade that topped it added a twist of creamy citrus. I only wish they didn’t put so much sauce!!! I would have preferred on the side. The coleslaw that came with had a little heat and it wasn’t runny and the tortillas could have been smaller.
My hunger was satisfied and I didn’t leave stuffed.
I will definitely be back to try the flat-​breads everyone is raving about!

They had great pomegranate margaritas and the server (Julia) was so sweet and great. The only halfway bad thing was the cheese sauce… tasted like goat cum (just guessing bc I never had goat cum before). Other than that this place and food and atmosphere was wonderful.

I love this place. I don’t know why it has a three star average. Service was absolutely fantastic. Our waitress was very friendly and helpful and made the whole experience extremely pleasant and non-​rushed.
The bistro itself is pretty beautiful and there is outdoor seating, which was perfect on the sunny day that today happened to be. I ordered their hamburger and it was fantastic. It came with their signature french fries, which have an amazing blend of spices and are tossed in BASIL, which was freaking delicious. My friend ordered the waffle fries and those were even more delicious than the regular fries.
Overall an awesome experience. GREAT food, great ambiance, great service. Will definitely go again.

Twigs is definitely a 3 star place. It’s A-​OK. It’s not bad but it’s not great.
The bee-​friend and I usually stop in here, when we’re randomly at the Northgate Mall.
We ate dinner here once. We got crab dip and truffle penne. They were both descent dishes. we ate them and were satisfied. Are they memorable? No, but that’s ok with me.
I do really like their caramel apple martini. It’s a little on the sweet side BUT yummy! That’s definitely the highlight here for me and why I am willing to come back here.
The place is nice, the bar is really nice presented. They have lots of bottles on the wall, which looks pretty cool.
The service has always been friendly here. No complaint there for sure.
We have stopped by day and night and they’ve never really been that busy. Soooo that’s nice for me b/​c I don’t like waiting.
Anywho, if you’re in the area and want a drink or a bite I would recommend coming here. They’re friendly, they have lots of alcohol and their food is descent. I would say it’s a lot better than their neighbor ;)

Let me tell you a story, a story of unmet expectations and general oil-​induced stomach ache.
I’m going to begin with the setting, as any good story should. The service is excellent and the interior almost promised food that was just as good. We started with appetizers, which arrived swiftly. And tasted great. We had ordered the Cajun Calamari and Fried Artichokes w/​tartar sauce. Both were tasty in their gloriously deep fried forms. The salad complimented the deep fried squid well, with a slightly tart dressing.
This is when it all went wrong.
My entrée, the truffle penne was way overcooked. I could barely chew as the pasta fell into pieces in my hungry and horrified mouth. The sauce itself was probably half oil by the taste and looks of it, any flavor of truffle obscured by a sheen of bacon grease and heavy cream sauce. When it arrived at my table, I took in the sight of the Titan-​size plate of greasy noodles and hoped that it was not actually some Lovecraftian portal in which the creatures of the Necronomicon could escape into our dimension.
Luckily it was not. It was simply incredibly hearty, and by hearty I mean my heart grew three sizes today by the cholesterol I had consumed.
My cousin had ordered Margherita pizza, an universally safe choice. Little did she know, she had an unpleasant surprise in store.
The pizza came without tomato sauce.
Shocked at the revelation, my cousin stared at the pizza for a solid five minutes before even touching it. The only way she could consume the pizza was to peel off the later of rubber cheese that was smelted onto the oil-​slathered crust.
We did not order dessert.
I’m not going to finish this story because of a moderate stomach upset. Which I will attempt to nurse, armed with tums and mineral water.
The End.

Is it just me or does it feel like they’re trying too hard?
Their drink menu consists of 30ish specialty margaritas. It felt awkward & overwhelming reading all those options. I wanted a mint julep (bourbon, simple syrup, mint) & the staff must’ve asked me 4 times how to make it… eventually i went with another drink.
Food seemed spendy. Everyone’s food looked pretty good but again, like they were trying too hard to be fancy than instead of just rocking some solid dishes. My ceaser salad tasted like cumin… very odd.
All in all, it was a good location for a girls night with some fancy drinks. Service was slow, food was meh & prices were on the spendier side. Unsure if i’ll return.

Came here for a late dinner on a Saturday evening after returning home from an afternoon in Port Townsend. Didn’t know what to expect since this is a relatively new place and it’s in the mall, which doesn’t necessarily bode well for service or food quality. But we came here because it was easy to park, close to home, and it was one of the few places that didn’t have an hour wait after a sunny winter Saturday in Seattle. We gave it the benefit of the doubt assuming that the lack of patronage was due to its newness. «Once this place gets more publicity, people will show up!», we said. «We’re lucky to be able to be seated at this nice place so quickly», we said.
We were wrong on both accounts. If I were a betting man, I’d say most people will try this place once it gets publicity and be disappointed to the point that they will actively avoid it in the future. And luck had nothing to do with being seated so quickly. That was more a product of how over priced/​under flavored this place is.
We got in just as the late night happy hour was starting (9pm). We happy that we would be ale to take advantage of a discounted happy hour menu since the non-​happy hour prices were exorbitant. We ordered drinks from the happy hour menu, which were $ 5 a pop, which isn’t bad at all. The bad part is that it was just fruit juice. I think the bar tender forgot that these drinks were supposed to have alcohol in them at all. My girlfriend had 2 mojitos and I had 2 of the pomegranite margaritas. They were basically fruit juice. It would have been easy to convince us that those drinks were non-​alcoholic. Not like we were going there to get hammered as we were looking to have a laid back night after a long day of driving around in the sun.
I ordered the crab mac and cheese. For $ 20, it was not very tasty at all, nor was the portion size very big. I ate all of it because I was so hungry, but there are few circumstances under which I would eat the whole thing.
Overall, I was pretty disappointed. Maybe I’m being naïve, but I’m giving them the benefit of the doubt (again! fool me once shame on you. fool me twice…) and giving a 2-​star rather than 1-​star because the staff was pretty new and they may not have figured out all the nuances of good service/​good cooking/​good bartending. I’ll keep an eye on this place, but I’m not holding out hope that it sticks around long enough for me to give it another chance.

It always feels bad to give a less than stellar review, so it is in a humble manner in which I present the facts of my experience. We came for a birthday celebration as a party of 6 in the afternoon.
Pros:
–heard they have AMAZING cocktails (none of which I have yet had an opportunity to sample)
–interesting and trendy décor
— plenty of seating and bar space
–unique and tasty sounding menu items
Not-​so-​Pros:
–beer selection was a bit limited (my brother-​in-​law tried naming 4 beers before they had one he liked)
–server did miss some items on our order (it was game day so I feel like he could have needed some more backup) However, you just can’t forget things like added bacon on a burger!
–my Pork Osso Bucco (pork shank) arrived looking delicious and quite fancy sitting on the plate, but was sadly so dry I could not finish it. The mixed veggies were ehhhhh and my favorite part ended up being the mashed potatoes
–apparently my whole family had a similar food experience, since most of us ended up with plenty of their meal left on their plate
Perhaps this was an off day, again, the game was on and I suppose that could have been a factor. But for the price I just expected more.

Meh. It was okay, but I’m not sure I’d ever go out of my way to eat here.
They offer standard bar type food. My friend and I split a salad and the crab dip. Prices are around $ 10 – 15. Nothing was too memorable about the food, the dip was a tad salty and the salad was standard.
We also tried two cocktails and neither were stand out. They both tasted like juice mixed w/​liquor.
Service was fine. Overall, there just wasn’t anything that would bring me back.

Kahlua. Pork. Sandwich. Add some jalapeños and you’ll be in for a sweet, savory and spicy treat. I have also tried the prawn and salmon linguini and the happy hour kahlua pork tacos which were equally delicious. Raspberry mojitos are also a must here.
The servers are great and have always been very accommodating and attentive.

I’ve been here for happy hour, and not. And I’m thoroughly impressed with the food!
From the HH menu, I recommend:
+ Bruschetta Flatbread
+ Cajun Calamari
+ Turkey Sliders
+ Kahlua Pork Tacos
From the regular menu, I recommend:
+ Roasted Garlic Gorgonzola Burger
Everything was surprisingly delicious considering that this is a mall restaurant. Definitely prefer this place over the RAM next door and Stanford’s nearby.
My only gripes are 1) the dreadfully slow service. The restaurant doesn’t seem like it’s understaffed, but I guess maybe they’re still working on training or something since this place is kind of new. And 2) they definitely skimp on the martinis! My apple martini was barely half full, and I noticed that other martinis coming out of the bar were as well.

Happy hour review:
This is a pretty typical mall happy hour. Standard traditional American food. It’s not particularly ground breaking or amazing but it’s decent.
I tried the calamari, butternut squash flatbread (sans bacon) and bruschetta flatbread. I would have to say that it exceeded my expectations and the butternut squash flatbread was quite interesting. They have a nice selection of happy hour cocktails– I had a mojito.
It’s also got a nice deck which was perfect for the Saturday afternoon we were there during. Unfortunately, the umbrella fell off and onto the table. It didn’t hit us thank God, but they gave us a free appetizer card (we had already paid when this happened) to make up for it.
The dinner menu had some dishes I was interested in but I thought it was overpriced. I’d come here if I were in the area for drinks. I don’t know how often I would come here for hh food because they didn’t have a lot that I, as a pescatarian, could eat. I feel like I would keep ordering the butternut squash flatbread and calamari and that could get old.