Ship of Fools

Based on a special Easter brunch, I’d say the Captain Whidbey Inn dining room (no longer Ship of Fools) delivers well prepared food in a stunning setting. This operation has had ups and downs, though the prices are never down. I live in Coupeville and have not spent $ 35 for brunch since I lived in SoCal.
I received an email promoting Easter brunch the day before … and wondered if this was a last minute idea or just late marketing. Not having eaten at the Inn for more than five years, I called to make a reservation.
The front desk clerk/​hostess offered the dining room or tavern, but when we were led into the tavern the waitress indicated that we should not have been offered that option. We were the second couple in the dining room, getting a nice window table. This is the end of a string of blue sky /​puffy cloud days and our view across Penn Cove included a clear view of Mt. Baker (fully snow covered) and a great blue heron sunning on driftwood in the cove.
Since we live here and routinely enjoy such views, we didn’t fail to also notice bread crumbs on our tablecloth. That put us on alert.
The server brought us our glasses of pedestrian «Champagne» and said she’d have the menu printed for us at the front desk so we relaxed and listened to Ray Charles on the sound system. The owner of the inn visited with the other couple, obviously friends, but did not come over to greet us.
The fixed menu included a choice of ham or French toast so we were able to taste everything.
A party of 10 and another couple were seated, which seemed to tax the server but things never got painfully slow. We just felt that we got a little less attention than we expected for the price.
All of the food was well prepared and most was served piping hot. Salmon with raspberry sauce was tender and moist. Ham was good quality (served cold). No complaints about the potatoes au gratin and green beans. The hot crossed bun was average, with correct flavor but made with craisins rather than the traditional currants.
A small serving of French toast was exceptionally flavorful. They shared a plate with home fried potatoes and eggs Benedict. The latter was well prepared, though with the same ham as served earlier and an overly thick slice of it.
An indication that the server was taxed was the fact that she took my first plate, with knife and fork, and failed to replace the utensils for the second half of the meal.
The menu (and email promo) mentioned dessert but when we asked the server she said that was an error. As we left she was having the hostess fix that on the menu.
In summary, the setting does add value and the food was actually quite good. But a few service shortcomings kept the experience from being over the top.
UPDATE: June 30, 2015
Delightful experience on the deck with friends included fruits de mer, blt, crab cakes scallops with prosciutto, grilled romaine. Every thing was good or better. Great ambiance.

Had dinner here on Sunday night, and it was delish! Crab dinner was as fresh as it gets, pen cove mussels are a must, and the salmon BLT was also fab. The prices are reasonable for the quality, and the setting can’t be beat.

We enjoyed a truly great Valentine’s Day dinner at the Ship of Fools this weekend. It was a set price four course meal, which included dessert.
The food was excellent– several choices for each course, including vegetable and meat selections. My boyfriend had the scallops with apple and fennel, plus a sea bass entrée. I had an artichoke soup and a steak with potatoes. This was after have beautiful and fresh crab salads. There was chocolate mousse and a custard for dessert.
Everything was very rich and prepared in a French style. On normal evenings (Thursday through Sunday, I think), the restaurant offers a «normal» menu of salads, starters, and entrees. It appeared that some of the same choices for the special four-​course dinner were on the regular menu.
The service was very good, especially considering it was some of the wait staff’s first night on the job. They were are very friendly, and competent enough.
It’s a real treat to have the restaurant open again at this historic hotel. It has been closed for who knows how long… but I hope that since the food is of such good quality that it will bring an even longer life to the Captain Whidbey.
From what the front desk person said, the restaurant is often completely booked for Saturday nights.

I’ll start by saying that I’m giving the 4 stars rating for the food, but the atmosphere was totally killed by the lighting in the restaurant. The Ship of Fools is located at the Captain Whidbey Inn. This place is historic and over 100 years old. The electrical is most likely the original so they are unable to install dimmer switches. ;-) The grounds and deck are beautiful and probably is much better to go in the summer months as the view of Penn Cove is wonderful.
They harvest most of the vegetables from the Inn’s garden. We started with the roasted pumpkin and squash soup with blue cheese which was fantastic. Next was belgian endive with walnuts and blue cheese and finally the Lamb Shank braised in red wine and served with parsnip purée. The meal was excellent, but the wine list wasn’t spectacular. They do change their menu with the season so we’ll be going back in the spring and summer months. The Tavern which is located inside the restaurant is a great place to stop for a drink and some appetizers.