The Beardslee Public House, despite its size and location on the side of a hill off I-405 in Bothell, certainly has something of a traditional “pub” atmosphere. Though the ceilings are high and the space is expansive, the walls and floors are warmly designed with autumn colors. Diners are able to sit comfortably and relax at booths and tables long enough and wide enough to seat King Arthur’s court.
The wide windows surrounding the dining areas bring in light and air, with outside dining for warm days and a glowing fireplace inside for chillier afternoons and evenings.
There is a full bar and wine list, but the main focus of the public house seems to be its home-brewed beers, stouts, and ales. The food appears to have been designed as simply side accompaniments to the star of the show: the delicious brews. The menu offers interesting salad choices; burgers; and house-made charcuterie, including a juicy bratwurst, hot links, and chicken sausage, which are all served on the most amazing house-made breads. They also have thin-crust pizza with lots of crunch, made with local ingredients and unexpected toppings, such as chevre, cremini, and capocollo.
We started the meal with the Grilled Kalbi Pork Meat Candy. The name of it alone was intriguing, and the dish did not disappoint. We sometimes like things on the super spicy side, and the meat candy filled the bill. It was a dish of dry slices of grilled pork, glazed with sweet-hot kalbi marinade, and dotted with flecks of chili pepper that teased your tongue into wanting more brew. I had ordered the Sidewinder Stout, and though the pairing may seem strange, it worked out just fine. The stout was just the right temperature to cool the fire of the candy, smoothly tasting of hops, dark and delicious.
The pizza we ordered was the “Speck & Egg,” which was absolutely charming. It had fresh arugula sprinkled across the top, surrounding a soft-centered egg, of all things. You could call it a breakfast pizza; the flakes of speck scattered among the leaves was as crisp and snappy as Sunday morning bacon, with an unexpected smoky and tangy flavor that made the pizza potentially premier to any other more ordinary pie.
Other brews in their long list of temptations include the Greenleaf IPA, with its delicate bitterness, and the unfortunately named Widow Maker Wit. The citrus in the wit came across tastefully and fragrantly, as did the spice of the milky Belgian-style brew.
As I am constantly on the lookout for the perfect burger, I thought I’d better try the pub’s standard to see how it fared in comparison. I ordered their Prime Beef Burger and was surprised by the creamy-sweet Beardslee-brand smoked onion spread slathered across both sides of the baked potato roll.
Our dessert choice was the Crème brûlée, mainly to test the crackle in the crust, and it was light and not overly sweet.
No reservations except for parties of 10 or more and private dining is available. Prices for entrees range from $10-18. A growler can be had of any brew for $18.
Mary Charvat is a restaurant reviewer with the Reporter Newspapers group.
