El Oso

Lake Forest Park, United States

3.3

20 reviews

Accepts Credit Cards
Free Wi-Fi

Contacts

QR code, vCard

Telephone:
+1 206-366-3355
Website:
elosocantina.com
Address:
17171 Bothell Way NE, Lake Forest Park, WA, 98155
at N 60th Ave
Nearby public transportation stops & stations:
1.3 miNE 205th St & 19th Ave NE
1.5 mi185th St
1.6 mi15th Ave NE & NE 160th St
Categories:
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Bussiness info

Takes Reservations
No
Delivery
No
Take-out
Yes
Accepts Credit Cards
Yes
Good For
Lunch, Dinner
Parking
Private Lot
Wheelchair Accessible
Yes
Good for Kids
Yes
Good for Groups
Yes
Attire
Casual
Ambience
Casual
Noise Level
Average
Alcohol
Beer & Wine Only
Outdoor Seating
No
Wi-Fi
Free
Dogs Allowed
No
Waiter Service
Yes
Caters
Yes

Today

Today –
Local time (Lake Forest Park) 2:37 PM Friday, November 29, 2024

Business hours

Monday –
Tuesday –
Wednesday –
Thursday –
Friday –
Saturday –
Sunday –

Description

Specialties

Pulling from all of Latin America, we take our favorite flavors and recipes from freshly prepared salsas, tacos, and burritos to empanadas, cod fritters, and The Cuban. We also carry a wide variety of Jarritos soft drinks, Mexican coke, and ice cold beers. We are NOT fast food, every meal is prepared to order from fresh ingredients. Happy hour 3 – 6 Mon-​Sat, all day Sunday.

History

Established in 2010.

After scouring cook books, online recipes, and countless kitchen experiments, El Oso was created, a sister restaurant to the already famous Honey Bear Bakery. We knew we wanted to create something with Latin flavor, but we also did NOT want an everyday Mexican restaurant. Starting with scratch baked bread for our cuban and our own unique freshly prepared sauces and sides, we want a place you can lean back, catch the game, throw back a beer, and enjoy some delicious food.

El Oso — CLOSED also recommends

Third Place Books

148

reviews

Newspapers & Magazines

,

Bookstores

El Oso — CLOSED says,

«Lots of selection, and wonderful staff.»

Honey Bear Bakery Café

125

reviews

Bakeries

,

Sandwiches

,

Cafes

El Oso — CLOSED says,

«Our sister restaurant, check out their fresh baked goods and espresso.»

Lake Forest Bar & Grill

234

reviews

American (Traditional)

,

Bars

,

Breakfast & Brunch

El Oso — CLOSED says,

«When we close our doors, we head to the Lake Forest Bar & Grill for great late night eats and drinks to wind down after the work day.»

Swirl Frozen Yogurt

53

reviews

Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt

El Oso — CLOSED says,

«Lots of flavor choices, and unlimited combinations, the perfect treat.»

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20 reviews of El Oso

No registration required
Place rating: 3
Kent, WA
I went here a few weeks ago with my family, since my dad loves their Cuban sandwich and he wanted my boyfriend to try it out.
We started off with chips and salsa, which was a bit disappointing. The chips were good, but the salsas — which were all supposed to have varying degrees of spiciness, were all quite bland. The best result we had was mixing the red salsa with the chipotle, but even then it wasn’t really that great.
I had the chicken tacos, which were fine, but nothing to write home about. The flavors were fairly good, but they were pretty standard tacos. The rice was a bit overcooked and clumpy, but the beans were fine.
Everyone else seemed pretty pleased with their food. My boyfriend and my dad loved the Cubans — and I’ll admit they looked pretty good, even though I am not a fan of ham.
Portion size is pretty great here for the price. My brother had the burrito and it was the size of a baby. His boyfriend had the nachos and they were literally two times the size of his head. Really impressive.
The service leaves something to be desired. The woman at the counter was pretty prickly, personality-​wise. We also had a huge gap in the delivery of our food. Granted, it was two different orders and it is just counter service, but my boyfriend and I had our food for at least 15 minutes before the rest of my family.
I might come back here, but it wouldn’t be first on my list of places to go.
Place rating: 5
Seattle, WA
Great little place in an unexpected location. LFP Town Center?! Well, don’t let the location fool you. El Oso is great. Staff so happy to see you .They are very attentive about food allergies and special requests. (Thanks!!)
Our favorite meal thus far is the cuban sandwich. I’m pretty sure my teenager even has dreams about them. They are amazing. Also of note are the tacos. Great flavors and presentation.
Oh! Also there’s a happy hour. Two beers on tap and loads of beer in the bottle from south of the border. Wines available, too.
Thanks for spicing-​up this little corner of the world!
We shall return.
Place rating: 3
Seattle, WA
Love the friendly service!
The Cuban sandwiches were nice and tasty, I would definitely recommend them. The tostones were a bit bland, but it might just be the time of year. The service was a bit on the slow slide, but very friendly.
As far as food court choices go, this is not a bad choice
Place rating: 4
Seattle, WA
In the past two weeks I’ve been to El Oso twice for lunch, and I’m looking forward to going back. The food is very good, the entrees are generously sized (I’ve had tacos and a burrito), and the service is quick.
Is it the best Mexican food I’ve ever had? No – but in this neighborhood, absolutely, YES! Which is why I keep going back.
I was sad to read the reviews about people having a bad time here, because I’ve found it to be consistently one of the top two places in this food court. And yeah, it being in a food court ain’t the greatest, but their enclosed dining room helps keep the noise to a minimum so you can have a conversation with the person you’re there with.
Now if only they played something other than hip-​hop over the speakers, we’d be golden.
Place rating: 2
Seattle, WA
Are you just too stoned to make my food? Seriously. It took way to long for us to have to go back and ask if you had our dinner ready. «What did you order? oh?»
Place rating: 2
Seattle, WA
The food is really absolutely wonderful, delicious and fresh. The wait for food is usually pretty long — unless you come at a time that isn’t a common time to eat. The manager is totally rude and condescending. The food is quite good, so I will occasionally still got there because of the convenient location (near my office). But I wish the management would be polite. Don’t know why he is so completely rude. Food would get 5 stars if the experience wasn’t so bad.
Place rating: 5
Seattle, WA
I’m not sure how I JUST tried this place, seeing I live really close. Enjoyed it so much with some friends last week, that two days later, I told my husband he absolutely had to go with me also. Their food was great! And the portions are huge, with very reasonable prices.
El Oso’s in the Third Place Books food court, so it’s food-​court-​style seating, except they also have their own private area for seating (required if your are consuming alcohol). I’ve tried the nachos (tip: order a half size, not on the menu, it’s still plenty of food. especially if you had meat, it’s MORE than enough food), and love it. I’ve also had a wet burrito (warning: large serving, be prepared to share this).
They have three delicious salsas to choose from, and unlimited chips while you’re waiting for food to arrive. This is my new favorite mexican restaurant in Seattle.
Next thing to try: the cuban sandwich.
Place rating: 2
Seattle, WA
We ordered our food to-​go and sat down to wait. Thirty minutes later, after only about 5 or 6 orders come out, people who ordered long before we arrived start to approach the counter to ask what’s taking so long. The guy working the counter unapologetically announces to everyone waiting that he only has one cook in the back, and a backlog of 20 orders. He then takes several more orders from people who were unaware that the wait would be 40 min+. In this situation, he should stop taking orders or at least warn customers who order food at a «fast-​food» place that the wait is going to be longer then usual. It seemed to me like they were so desperate to make the sale that they didn’t want to risk scaring off a single customer by being honest about the wait time.
After another 10 minutes when I approach the counter he tells me our order is next. So we wait a while longer and finally the food comes. We’re about to leave when I check the contents of the bag. It’s not the right order. At this point I’m so fed up and hungry that I just ask for my money back. He’s polite enough about it and lets us keep the food.
For all the wait the food was meh. Not just because of the wait, but because it just wasn’t that great. The burrito had lettuce which got all wilty (not sure who puts lettuce in a burrito…).
I will add that the guy making the food in the back was clearly working as fast as he could manage and I don’t fault him for the situation. He’s the only reason the place got two stars. But I still won’t be back.
Place rating: 2
Kenmore, WA
OK now that I’ve been here twice I can officially say «Meh.»
If I were back in my middle-​of-​nowhere Ohio hometown this place would get a solid 4 stars and I’d be back frequently. As it is, there is just too much good Latin food around here to bother going back. Had someone cooked me these meals at home I would be psyched but everything was just too bland for good quality $ 10 a plate food.
So far I’ve tried the tacos, tostones, and tostada. The meat in all 3 was underseasoned. The tortillas for the tacos were not heated through enough. The tostones were also underseasoned and overwhelmed by the cheese and chicken on top of them. The only highlight in a whole lot of «meh» was that they had fresh guacamole that was decent. None of their salsas had enough kick to them, even the supposedly «hot» chipotle salsa. None of this food was terrible, it just definitely wasn’t worth $ 10 a plate.
If you want good tacos go to El Rinconsito in Lynnwood, if you want amazing tostones hit up La Isla in Ballard. I hear they have a cuban sandwich but c’mon, we’re in Seattle why would you go anywhere but Paseo.
Place rating: 1
Kenmore, WA
I’ve been here a couple of times and the first time it was very good. The food quality was good, but the service was fairly slow.
The second time I went IT WAS THE WORST EXPERIENCE EVER. The person claiming to be the manager served my food to the wrong person and then tried to serve it to me. I asked to have my food remade, the manager grabbed the plate and stormed off to the kitchen, saying to the cook «A f***ing lady wants her food remade…» Not only did I hear the fbomb but so did families with young children.
After this exchange I simply wanted my money. The «manager» seemed to struggle with the register to refund me– it took 7 minutes.
All I can say is please DO NOT GO HERE because they do not know proper health code policy and have terrible costumer service.
Place rating: 4
Seattle, WA
I tried El Oso last night for the first time and it was really good!
I wouldn’t have heard about it if Groupon wasn’t featuring it on one of their «Now Deals». I decided to try out Groupon Now and El Oso at the same time so it was an evening of firsts.
The restaurant is located in the Third Place Books food court.
Pulling the app up on my phone and redeeming it was super easy. The woman helping me was friendly.
I had the Cuban sandwich and the guacamole and chips. The Cuban was really really good! I was pleasantly surprised how delicious it was. The sandwich was $ 9 and I could only eat half of it. The bread is from Honey Bear Bakery across the food court. Their bread is very tasty.
The guacamole was also great and obviously fresh. Good chips, too. I think the guacamole was $ 4.
The prices are reasonable in my opinion and my meal was great. I would definitely go back. I’m glad I gave it a shot!
Place rating: 2
Seattle, WA
I’m so mad at this place. Before I was going to a party on a Friday night, I came here with my hubbie and kids to get a quick bite. We thought we’d try the local place in Town Center. We waited quietly for 20 minutes for a menu. Then 45 minutes and no food! Everyone else was served. Hint to El Oso: when you see a couple come in with three small children, don’t ignore them! They are hungry, the kids get restless, and everyone gets pissed! My kids behaved pretty well for sitting there for an HOUR and not being served any food! When I got up and went to talk to the guy, he was just busy and confused. We left hungry and ended up eating peanut butter sandwiches at home. I mean, what the ?
I will never go here again, despite it’s proximity. Jalisco in Lake City is our usual option and we should have just gone there. We could have gone there, eaten and come back in the time it took not to be served!
Or we could have just gone to our usual great place, Honey Bear.
Don’t recommend at all — unless they get their act together and advertise better service.
Place rating: 1
Seattle, WA
Welcome to the Vortex. I have never seen or experienced such horrible service in my life. We frequent El Oso and spend quite a bit of cash here. Tonight I purchased a groupon to use for dinner but ended up overpaying just to have the brilliant folks in the kitchen cancel my entire order (after 40 minutes of waiting). The young lady behind the counter could not handle what was happening and at one point left the area and a line of people with the register wide open for anyone to grab.
El Oso advertises with Groupon but does not train their employees to use it. My family goes without dinner tonight thanks to the $hit show at El Oso.
Place rating: 4
Seattle, WA
Increasingly nice place. Good Service and now a perfect small beer selection. Love that they have Georgetown Brews on tap (Manny’s and Lucille) and their Cuban Sandwich is seriously one of of the best sandwiches I’ve ever eaten. Especially great with BEER! :)
Love the Batata selection too.
The table service is a little rough around the edges, but they generally try hard to make certain you’re happy.
Place rating: 4
Singapore, Singapore
Advertised as el oso = latin fusion, couldn’t really figure out the fusion part, but still, not a bad place to grab a bite at the Third Place Commons, which has got to be one of the oddest places for a food court. Tried the carne asada, which was decent — I mean the food tasted very fresh but a bit under seasoned. The plate came with two tacos and two sides, which was plenty of food. Loved that they had three different types of salsa which you can try and plenty of hot sauces. Next time, I will have to try the Cuban sandwich, which they advertise as the best in North Seattle. Overall, while the asada was so so, I’ll bump it up a star for freshness and the salsa, which was very tasty.
Place rating: 4
Mountlake Terrace, WA
I love this place the food is so delicious and filling. Oh and the prices are great. I usually stop there on my way home from work on Sunday.
Love, love, love their burritos, quesadillas and platains. This by far one of my favorite food court spots; oh and the food proportions are HUGE!!!
Place rating: 4
Seattle, WA
For a food court, even the well above average Third Place Commons, El Oso is a delight. Portions are ginormous (most things could easily be shared by two hungry people) and tasty, and everything about the food is fresh.
Like its sister restaurant, the Honey Bear Bakery, service can take as long as a sit down restaurant, so don’t expect to get in and out in 10 minutes. So bring your appetite, bring a friend, and dig in!
Place rating: 4
Bothell, WA
The short: Great food, friendly customer service, and fresh salsa so good I could drink it. Not super fast and seems a little on the expensive side, but I will absolutely return to try other dishes.
The long: For anyone that visits this shopping center to have a meal, you’ll notice that Honeybear bakery seems to be the number one lunch spot and the other restaurants are more of an afterthought. I’ve been told that El Oso is owned by Honeybear, so the same greatness you come to expect now has a Spanish influence down the hall.
Upon looking over the menu, they had things like tacos (including halibut tacos I believe), burritos, rice, beans, roasted pork, grilled steak, and a Cuban sandwich. I got excited when I saw yuca fries, but they were «coming soon» at the time so I couldn’t try them. I ordered the Cuban sandwich which was very good. It didn’t have authentic bread, but was still soft which I find much more pleasant than the hard baguette at Paseo. The slow roasted pork was amazing and is exactly what I would expect in an authentic Cuban. While I waited there were free chips and a self-​service salsa bar, which was awesome. The guy was nice enough to bring my food out when it was ready, which was also nice. My next plan of attack is the fish tacos, and hopefully yuca fries. Gracias El Oso!
Place rating: 5
Seattle, WA
This review is based on the wonderful Cuban sandwich. This is definitely the best sandwich in North Seattle or Shoreline.
The restaurant is inside the Lake Forest Park Towne Center and is a great find for mobile workers, locals, and Third Place Book event visitors. This is a substantial sandwich that can feed two moderate eaters and would survive a trip home as a tasty dinner.
The Cuban sandwich is easy to get wrong, but El Oso has input the right balance of roast pork, ham, and cheese, and the crisp crust on the grilled roll is perfect. Traditional or not, the spicy cilantro sauce tastes very good on this.
Place rating: 5
Seattle, WA
This place is a breath of fresh air to the Lake Forest Park area!
They have sort of a Latin American-​thing going on with their menu… and everything I have tried has been EXCELLENT. The batata (sweet potatoes, onions, etc.) burrito is big enough to share between two people, but I somehow managed to scarf the whole thing down myself! I know it sounds strange to have a sweet potatoes in a burrito but try it and you will not be disappointed.
Their salad is my favorite — it has grilled veggies, black beans, and other yummy stuff with some sort of orange vinaigrette dressing… absolutely to die for! Everything tastes very fresh and delicious — which is a welcome change from the restaurant that used to be there!
I hear their Cuban sandwich is great too, but I am a vegetarian so I haven’t tried it. It sure looks good though!
I will definitely be going back for more…