Point Defiance Tap and Grill

bad fries. good burgers. good service & environment.

Great service. Meal was ready in roughly ten minutes (& we came in at 6:30 pm). Really good and high quality food — loved their salmon burger in particular. Wide beer selection. Very quiet. Fair prices, too.

Went here for a casual date night with my husband before a movie at Point Ruston and will definitely put this in our rotation. The restaurant was busy, but the service was friendly and attentive. There was a band, but perfect volume for a romantic-​gotta lean in a little to talk– vibe. I had a hefeweizen, very yum.
We had the bacon cheese things which were homey and simple, home made bread elevated it just a bit.
Husband had the ranch burger, on point pub burger on a killer bun. I had the duck burger and I have a small complaint, for me it was too much rich on rich flavors… the mustard added a small tang… but I needed something brighter to cut through the richness, a tangier mustard? Something pickled? I’m still trying to think of what would be perfect. I enjoyed it, but I’m left still trying to perfect it in my mind.
Fries yum! Catsup woo hoo!

This just is not what you expect. It’s a real gem in a very unpretentious setting. There is a very respectable beer list with interesting selections. The menu is heavy on burgers but they are unique and very good. Service was fun, helpful and attentive. We had the pulled pork, pulled chicken, salmon burger and surf and turf burger. All were great. We will make this a regular stop on our restaurant rotation.

My favorite place to eat in Tacoma. You can’t go wrong with any of the sandwiches made with the house-​made bread, and the selection of quality beers on tap is unmatched.

Delicious food and a great selection of NW beers on tap. The menu runs the gamut with tastes for everyone. The fresh cut fries and homemade ketchup are amazing. Some of the best fries I have ever eaten.

The brunch here was delicious! I had a mimosa and the salmon eggs Benedict. The hollandaise sauce was a little lemony for my taste but it comes on the the side, so I was able to pour a little on and it was great. The potatoes as the side were so good!
Our food took a little longer than expected (they said they needed to make fresh hollandaise sauce). We waited about 30 minutes for our food. The waiter was friendly and apologetic and we weren’t in a hurry so it was no big deal.
Overall, a pretty good experience

We have been here multiple times and have enjoyed it every time. The one negative is that is it isn’t really close to anything else, so it can seem like a bit of a trek, but it is worth it!
The salads are good. My husband enjoys that they make the chicken sandwich into a salad for him. The bread on the sandwiches is always good. Last visit, I had the ½ sandwich and soup and really enjoyed it. The chicken salad had the right amount of mayo (meaning not too much!). The bread was fantastic. The eggplant soup was yummy.
My dining group really enjoyed the tuna sandwich. They have had it a few times and liked it each time.
The beer selection is great. Local beers on tap. We can be «those people» when trying to decide on a beer. Our server didn’t roll her eyes at all when she had to bring us multiple tasters of beer so we could decide!
All in all, good food, good beer and good service! A local gem!

Decided to give them another try. We didn’t even make it to food. Once we were given menus it took 15 min to get a return to our table. It was 2ish in the afternoon and only one other table of two… we decided on lunch elswhere.

We were in the area and wanted to grab a beer and some light refreshments, so we chose this place based on good reviews which Rarely let me down. The beer selection is only okay if you love IPAs, the wine that one my fiancé got had something in it but was a decent house wine. They were out of soup so we could t have that but got the bacon and things appetizers… Which had potential based on the name but came out rather sadly as meager pieces of bacon with scant melted cheese on rustic bread, I didn’t realize something with bacon could be so bland. Won’t be coming here again. Positive was the friendly waitress.

I really like this place and I can walk to them too, which is a bonus.
So the North /​West-​end is really starting to grow up and finally seeing some good food come to our area and this place is one of those places. The expansion of the Ruston waterfront is definitely having a positive effect on the area.
Anyhow the food here is very good from the cheesy things to their lamb, duck and grass fed beef burgers. The wine selection is very good, but their rotating taps are amazing and now ever 3^rd Thursday they host a Brewer’s Night and have guest taps. Definitely what this area needs!
The place is not crowded yet, but I would expect that to change shortly once they rest of the area starts opening up more places and the word gets out. It is cozy inside and have a restaurant side and then a small bar area with room for about 20.
So if you are in the area definitely give them a whirl, you wont be disappointed.

I love this place! It isn’t too crowded and the food here is excellent! I love their hamburgers, french fries, salads and soups!
In the back of the restaurant they have a tap room which is nice and cozy! They don’t make any of their own beer but they have some good guest beers!
I have no complaints about the place. It’s quiet, no crowds and is near Point Defiance where you can take a stroll after you eat. Love it!

OK !!! Very good !!
We had excellent beers: a kolsch from Bainbridge Island and Pike Red from Seattle.
Dinner was very good mushroom soup, lamb riblets (great for a hard-​core meat eater), fries and mussels.
Nearly all the ingredients are locally sourced; many of the accompaniments are made in-​house (bread, pickles, ketchup, etc).
Just a terrific evening meal.
I think they forego ambiance (wall art, musak, short skirts w/​net stockings, …) in favor of good chow.

This place is a secret weapon. The duck burger was amazing. The fries were fantastic, and even the ketchup was house made.
I would come here all the time if I lived here.

This place has become a regular stop for us on our training hikes. Great food and service. Excellent beverage selection.

This place is wonderful! My husband and I have been so glad this place opened up in our neighborhood. We love it so much that we are working hard on becoming «regulars.» My personal favorite is the lamb burger, but the salmon chowder is also fantastic, actually everything I have tried has been tasty. There is also a great local beer selection.
Also, the servers have always been kind and attentive. Overall, it is a wonderful addition to the Ruston/​Point Defiance area!

I went to have a lovely late lunch with friends at Pt Defiance Tap & Grill… and now I’m back home, making myself some lunch.
We hadn’t been there yet and wanted to try it. Good location for all of us. I like the set-​up and décor.
I ran into two significant problems. First, my food was bad. Seafood roll. I’m not picky; I made my friends taste it, too. It was dry and grainy and like a patè gone wrong.
Hey — this happens. The food my friends ordered was awesome!
The waitress never checked back. Our water was empty. Our wine and beer glasses were empty. Their food was long gone. Then the waitress reappeared to give us the check. I told her that my sandwich wasn’t great, and she said she’d take it off the bill. One of my friends asked me (loudly) if I’d like to order something else, since the waitress didn’t ask. I said no, as we’d already been there a long while and everybody else was done eating.
Nothing was comped — not a glass of wine, not an appetizer. We were never asked if we wanted another glass of anything. She vaguely mentioned «dessert or anything» while taking the payment.
Overall, weird timing. Bad service — the waitress was very sweet, and mostly absent. She did pop back by to let me know that she «tasted the sandwich, and it really wasn’t good.» Yes, yes, I agree. Which is why I didn’t eat it.
So — their servers need some training. The seafood roll needs to go. Otherwise, nice place. Hoping another try, another day, will turn out better.
I’m gonna go finish making a sandwich now…

Met some friends here last week. The place was super busy but we got the last 4 top in the place. Our waiter wasn’t exactly going out of his way to serve us but since it was busy, I could understand.
I ordered the short rib grilled cheese and the wife got the duck burger. It took a little time to arrive which, again, they were busy so I guess I understand. When I bit into mine it tasted like a pizza sandwich. It was really terrible. They’re was very little cheese and the sauce on the ribs basically treated like marinara.
My wife’s burger was horribly over cooked and dry. Anyone with duck on the menu should know how easily it dries out but apparently not our chef. The saving grace was the Macrina buns.
Finally, at the end of the night, the waiter brought us one check instead of asking if we wanted it split. No big deal, we just gave him two cards and told him to split it in half. Next thing I know, I have a $ 90 bill on my card. Then, five mins later, I get a $ 45 charge on my card. The waiter comes back 15mins later and hands us the two bills without saying anything. I ask if he’s planning on giving me the voided receipt so I can dispute any charges that might go through. He looked surprised I was aware of his error.
Overall, this place is priced way too high to be this bad. If they are still in business in a year, I might give them another chance. Until then, I’ll just go to Two Towns down on the water.

A locavore haven with all-​northwest craft beers, wines, & nw-​sourced farm fresh food — try the tuna melt, lamb burger, or bacon burger!
Definitely already a gem as a brand new restaurant and will surely perfect itself in time.

Had a very nice lunch here today — we just heard about it opening from a friend yesterday and thought we’d give it a try today. The building it’s located in Ruston has been vacant for some time so it’s nice to have it occupied again with what I think is going to be a quality addition to the North Tacoma dining scene.
The first thing we noticed, after the somewhat spartan but neat and tidy interior, was the fact they do not offer ice with beverages — room temperature tap water or refrigerated bottled drinks are the only options, outside of a very nice beer and wine selection. Also note they do not have any offerings of sugar-​free soda drinks which could be a concern for diabetics. But they’re still dialing things in so I’m sure this will be changed pretty quickly.
We started with a shared bowl of shredded-​chicken soup. The portion size is very generous for $ 5 and it is plenty for two people to share. It was absolutely wonderful! The seasoning was spot-​on with a strong hint of tarragon; the chicken was delicate and perfectly shredded to proportion that worked very well in a soup. What a great start to our lunch!
We also sampled the deviled eggs from the «Snacks and Nibbles» menu. We were served 4 egg halves, with a tossed arugula greens. While the flavor of the eggs was good — tangy and zesty, the visual appeal was not so much. They could really do with a garnish of the traditional paprika or parsley. Given the «straying from the pack» vibe here I can see why perhaps they’d not use the standard stuff — but perhaps a garnish of dill or similar herb just to give them some color.
For our entrés, Anne ordered the Albacore Tuna Melt and I the Herbed Chicken off the «lighter side» menu section. The tuna melt was just superb — this is not your typical «tuna fish» — this was grilled albacore tuna, shredded and tossed in a mayo dressing, all served with large slices of very firm and fresh tomatoes, all on a truly rustic home-​style bread and a light white cheddar cheese. I can honestly say this was the best tasting tuna melt I think I’ve ever had! It was also served with tossed greens in the same dressing as the arugula that came with the eggs.
My entré was disappointing however. The herbed chicken is actually a grilled chicken salad. But the chicken was very dry and overcooked. And as with the tuna melt, served on a salad of exactly the same tossed greens with the same dressing. The menu should reflect it’s a chicken salad and not as billed, as «grilled chicken breast served with fresh greens» — not a big thing, but not very clear. I unfortunately had to send the dish back — the chicken was just too far gone.
I ordered a replacement dish of the Steibers 3 Egg Omelet. It took quite a long time to arrive, but when it did it was quite tasty. Again, a strong hint of tarragon and other herbs really added to the flavor, with more fresh tomatoes and goat cheese. The eggs were fluffy and delicate and the overall flavor was well blended. Really odd to be served with yet again the same tossed greens in dressing though. But it took a LONG time to get the replacement dish.
Their beer selection is pretty broad and all local, as are the ingredients in their dishes. They have a very nice tap bar in the back, with all of their beer selections on tap in a cozy albeit very small bar space.
Our server, Sara, was delightful. Great service, with all the attention needed but not too much. She even took a minute to run a cup of water out to a big Irish Setter outside the window, waiting on his owners to finish their lunch inside.
Overall, we very much enjoyed our lunch today. I think very quickly they’ll dial in some of the bugs and rise to a full-​on 5-​star rating. We’ll stop back in again in a few weeks and try dinner — and I’ll bet the little bugs will all have been worked out.
4 Solid Unilocal Stars — Yay! I’m a fan