Cynara Restaurant & Lounge

We recently discovered Cynara and love it! They have amazing craft cocktails and a great happy hour burger with the skinny fries for $5 and their bread pudding is so good with NO raisins. The servers are friendly & efficient. We dropped in on Valentine’s Day in a he afternoon for a drink and they were all booked up, but the manager let us sit at the bar to enjoy our drinks. We were not rushed at all and had two amazing cocktails. We love the Athena’s Chalice (vodka) and Nisqually Ghost (rye whiskey).

— Deb B.

I truly enjoyed my time at the restaurant. The staff were exceptionally kind and welcoming, which made the experience even better. The food was delicious, though slightly on the pricey side. That said, the drinks were outstanding and absolutely worth what we paid. Overall, it’s a lovely spot for a date! 😊

— Samantha

I heard about Cynara from someone who’s lived in Olympia for 30 years, so I thought it was worth checking out. However, as someone who moved here from Russia, I have pretty high standards when it comes to both food and service. When I heard this place had been recommended by someone local, I thought it must be good enough to give a try. We decided to share two appetizers and one main dish, knowing that American portions can be huge. I believe it’s totally reasonable to order one dish to share when the portions are so large, and we weren’t starving either. We ordered the artichoke hearts, lamb skewers, and duck in pomegranate sauce, which was priced at $48. When I order a dish for $48, I expect it to be excellent. I didn’t want to risk trying the $60 steaks or filet mignon because I wasn’t feeling confident about the place. The cocktail I ordered didn’t impress me much either. I typically enjoy cocktails, but this one didn’t stand out and didn’t make me want another. The food itself was fine—nothing special at all. The dishes looked as plain in photos as they tasted. As for the duck, my husband didn’t like it at all. The texture didn’t appeal to him. Personally, I’ve eaten duck at several upscale restaurants, so I know it was cooked to a good medium-rare, with a nice sear on the skin. However, I believe the sauce should not have been poured directly over the duck—some people might prefer to have it on the side. The pomegranate seeds were probably the best part of the dish, and the sauce wasn’t bad, but overall, it didn’t feel like anything memorable. I’ll give credit where it’s due—the service was great. The staff, especially the hostess who seated us and our server, were friendly, attentive, and made an effort to provide good service. But despite the nice service, I didn’t enjoy the meal, and I don’t feel compelled to return. The overall experience didn’t live up to the hype. If you’re expecting a “high-end” place, I’d say this restaurant doesn’t quite deliver on that front. It’s an okay spot, but not remarkable. One more thing—I love seafood, and I was surprised that the seafood offerings here were limited to a soup, pasta, and salmon. Given that the restaurant is located by the harbor, I expected to see fresh oysters or some other unique seafood dishes, but there was nothing like that. The artichoke hearts were fine, but again, nothing special—just deep-fried artichokes on a plate. If you’re looking for something truly outstanding, Cynara might not be the place. All in all, it was a decent experience, but I won’t be rushing back anytime soon.

— Les Herrera

We had brunch here and it was delicious. Definitely underrated. This please should be full of brunchers but I don't think everyone knows about this place. We will continue to come.

— Angie

Cynara was a second choice for valentines day dinner with my husband. We were excited to try a new place, even though the price point was a bit higher than we think was appropriate. The food was good, I had the filet with a lobster tail (totaling over 100 for one entree) and husband had the ribeye, which left something to be desired. The shrimp appetizer was good, but our server was very strange, and very slow, and made us feel pretty awkward. We saw two other tables who were seated after us receive their entrees before us, and it took over an hour to get our entrees after ordering. All in all, probably wont be back. I would consider trying again on a non-holiday, but the price point was pretty high for a meal we could have made at home.

— Rae