The Hardware Store

I ordered the chicken dinner to go. When I picked up the order and drove home it almost smelled like cigarettes and I don’t smoke. When I opened the box at home, there was a horrible smell. That smell was from the mashed potatoes. They were the worst that I have ever tasted or smelled. The savior of the meal was the chicken.

So I have been curious about this place. We went during lunch. Ordered a lunch special that had a quesadilla, soup, and salad. The quesadilla was meh. it really wasn’t as cheesy as it could have been. The tortilla was really crisp and dry in some parts because no cheese… The soup was tasty… although the clam chowder I tried was much better. The salad was a normal salad. I ordered some housemade donuts. They were nice and sweet. Great donuts! The lunch price was between $ 9-​$ 11…Very inexpensive.

I was a little disappointed that there was no happy hour and that the lunch menu was VERY limited. However, Kathy, our bartender was great and the lunch was solid. I ordered the fried chicken and field green salad and the bf got the spicy chicken sandwich. My salad should have been called the bacon and field green salad with a very small chicken tenderloin side.
Also, be sure to order the fries extra crispy, had we not, they would have needed to go back.
I was feeling adventurous and ordered the Apricot Bourbon Mule… I won’t be doing that again. There was no balance in the drink and it’s overpowering bourbon taste wasn’t to either of our liking.

Pleasant staff. So so food. McDonald type french fries and pretty bland pastries. Expected more from this menu. The Greek tower was out of proportion with a table worth of hummus and 6 olives.
Nice wine menu. Most likely just a bar stop from now on.

While staying on Vashon Island, we ate two meals here, breakfast and dinner. Breakfast was good! My poached eggs were slightly overlooked. Husband had the omelet. He said it was ok, but nothing to write home about.
For dinner, we both are off the «special» menu. Husband’s steak was over cooked and the scallops really weren’t seasoned.
The waitresses were attentive. The hostesses, however, seemed a little scattered. I’m guessing since both hostesses had the same «issues», it has to be the workflow the management has them following.
Cute place, I’d suggesting hitting them up for breakfast.

not a good place to eat for a vegan. i think that in a small community, having decent choices for everyone is important. there weren’t many vegan options, prices were high for the amount of food, and the flavors were bland.

THS Burger very good and the accompanying frys crisp and not greasy. Service was excellent even with the place packed for the lunch hour.

The corned beef hash was delicious with large shreds of juicy meat on roasted potatoes, topped with perfectly done runny eggs. Yum! Because you can tell a lot about a place by the way it keeps up the restrooms here’s the report: tastefully artsy and whimsical, clean and pleasant. I will eat here again when I get back to this island.

Such a cute place and such nasty food.
I had the teriyaki chicken which was the best of the worst but had obviously bottled overseasoned sauce and very tough chicken breast. My friend sent back her fish tacos because the fish stunk and we could all smell it. I am hoping she got a refund since they took off the tacos and brought her back just the side salad. Chicken strips were soggy with batter falling off. Calamari was over battered and way overcooked. Salmon special was way overcooked. Hubby’s burger had hardly any meat and fries were from a bag in the local freezer section. Six of us and appys and not one good dish. Step it up, owner and chefs! I want my $ 100 back! (for two of us)

I honesty have to say this place brunch tasted really good. The Joe’s special and the egg Benedict were both great.
The only thing I would like to say is the amount of flies that was near our table buzzing around. That was super annoying. Other than that, I would of give it a solid 5 stars.

The Hardware Store offers the most consistently good food, service and availability on Vashon island. From casual to special occasion meals, fancy cocktails or an afternoon coffee with their sometimes stellar beignets, they are open, ready and inviting. Centrally located in the heart of town, too. On busy weekends it pays to call and reserve, though.

If there’s one thing you need to come here for, it’s their donut! It’s like a cream puff and a malasada ran away and had a baby. Soft like a donut but with a crust and a little chewy too. As we were leaving the island, we stopped by and bought all they had left (no shame).
If there’s one thing you can do without, it’s the off putting «service» by the host. It was the same both times we are there — totally seems like you’re a bother instead of a welcomed guest. Once you get past him, service is fine. Same with rest of menu. Consistent and good (no stand outs).

We went with our parents, and our two kids. I’m gluten-​free, and figured I was resigned to a sad salad, but no! Lots of delicious GF things on the menu. I ordered the GF fish and chips, and it was very good. So rare to have gluten-​free batter for things! I also ordered the GF focaccia and oil as an appetizer, and that was also good.
Hubby ordered the vegetarian special, said it was delicious, that he’d been eating too much junk lately and this «clean food» was very good and just what his body needed. Parents were very happy with their meals, and kids did, too. We live over in Seattle, but we’d like to visit Vashon more, and this will definitely be on our lists of places to come back to eat. Service was fast, friendly, and attentive, we were extremely happy with our waitress.

Excellent place for any meal of the day or snack. Large seating with fast service. The ambience is casual and great for groups, kids and dates. We ordered biscuits and gravy and the red fannel hash. Both were delicious and we finished every single drop of food. The only feedback would be less salt as we did think it was a bit too salty for us. Serving size is average to large, we were definitely very full at the end of the meal which was a waste as we would have loved to try their desserts. The bill came in a cigar box and they give good mint chocolates at the end with the bill. Lovely! Much of their food is purchased through the local farms and local community coffee or wine folks. They had a art exhibition towards the end where the restrooms are and on Saturdays, like today, farmer market stands were being set up and you could see the action of the market through the windows. We were lucky to get a window seat. Lovely place with a rich history, we will definitely be back here for their lunch and desserts in the future.

I eat here (because the options on an island, on a Monday are limited, at best) about once every 3 – 4 months on average, and almost every time I am disappointed. Not in the food particularly, or even the service (except that one time) but in the overall experience.
See. I feel like if I order, for instance, prime rib (which tonight was listed at a bargain — 35 $!), I should actually GET prime rib. And if the menu says «comes with au jus» then it should actually come with au jus. I know. Picky picky. At the very least, if management is going to pull something (like au jus) they should be responsible enough to inform their waitstaff of the change. I would not have ordered prime rib had I known that it was NOT in fact prime rib, and it didn’t come with au jus. But of course, I was not given the opportunity. I was however given 20% (rounding out to about 7 $) off of the dish (not my meal) because I had the audacity to actually say something — this was of course AFTER the poor waitress had gone back to the owner (not the «manager». The OWNER) and was finally thrown a bone with the discount.
Now, my steak (because that’s what it was) was good. The cook did a fine job on it. But even the best of chefs cannot make a ribeye into a prime rib. Prime rib does not go on a grill. Little tip. But it was good. And my service was spectacular. I took the 7 $ I saved and gave that to the waitress on top of the top she would have gotten anyway.
I have left comment cards (they give them to you with your bill) every. single. time. and NOONE has ever contacted me. This is the first time I have been offered a discount of any kind by management, and finally I am Unilocaling it.
Basically: you can’t expect your wait staff and your kitchen to «fix» the problems that aren’t their fault to begin with. And it’s shitty to try.

The breakfast is amazing. The potatoes, bacon, and eggs are literally perfect.
A really cool touch was delivering the check in an old cigar box.
I would take the ferry to Vashon just to eat here. Can’t wait until next time to try a burger and the corned beef hash.

Our firs time on Vashon, we drove into town looking for a place to grab a bite. After we parked, I looked over to The Hardware Store and noticed people sitting and eating. I told my husband, let’s go eat there and he gave me a weird look. He thought it was a hardware store. Haha. Anyway…
It was a gorgeous Sunday morning and we figured it would be packed. We walked in and people were waiting for tables, but the bar area had a bunch of open tables, so we sat there. My husband ordered a Bloody Mary and I got the Spicy Chix Sandwich on GF bun.
Food — My sandwich was so-​so. Not too flavorful, but it was huge and filling. The GF bun was sort of corn meal-​ish, just okay. The fries were good — kind of McDonald’s-ish, which is my fave — if you don’t like them, you’re lying to yourself. My husband ate them all, but I forgave him. He loved his Mary, especially the pickled carrot.
Service — Great. I think that’s why I gave a ⁴⁄₅ stars since the food was just so-​so. Everyone was friendly and service was quick despite it being a busy Sunday morning.
Great overall experience. Nice, big restaurant. I would return again if we are in the area.

A bit expensive (of course, we are at Vashon Island) but pretty tasty. We had a brunch there and we were very satisfied. I have to say that hey have one of the best Eggs Benedict ever. All the other meals like Crab cakes or Morning 3-​Egg Omelet were very good but Eggs Benedict were delicious.
Service is nice and I really like the enviroment. Just don´t sit in the front part when it´s cold outside. You feel like in freezer everytime when someone opens door. And I also found out that wines from Vashon Island or Washington generally are not something what I wanna drink twice. But if someone likes sauer wines than you will love it :-)

Located right in the middle of Vashon Town, the Hardware Store is centrally located to just about everything. It has to be because there’s nowhere else to go. It’s an island, after all.
The greeting was pleasant and prompt and very tolerant because we asked to be moved twice. Even after that she was nice so that’s bonus 1.
Ok I’m not one for sweets but our host for the day took the liberty of ordering the donut holes, which were very good. Very delicate with a center that tasted very much like fresh cooked egg. Only a small bite of the sugar coating was plenty. If you want to have one, just split it with your neighbor. There is no need to have a whole one.
The egg white and tofu scramble was excellent served with my choice of gluten free bread and home fries. The veggies were plentiful and included cauliflower and carrots as well as other assorted veggies. Just keep the coffee coming and I’ll be happy. He did.
I’m not sure about other places in the vicinity so I have nothing else to compare it to. Next time I do breakfast out on Vashon, this will be the go to.

This was our first time on Vashon and after a trip to the Tacoma ferry when the Seattle ferry had a 2 hr line we were famished. There was a very small line when we got there, the hostess was very friendly. When we got to our table the waiter was slooow and minimally attentive. The bonus is that there is a team of folks helping with water and questions. The food is filling but taste is nothing special. Portions are good.
Positives: full bar, large light seating area, good team when the waiter is busy or something. I would try the donuts next time, if there is a next time