The Lower Tavern was the first place my husband and I stopped to eat when we first arrived on the island. We just ordered takeout because we were tired and just wanted to eat and relax back at our room. The bartender who greeted us was super friendly and allowed us to sit at the bar while we waited for our food to be done. We also were able to order a glass of wine and a beer while we waited. We ended up ordering the chicken and veggie burgers, sweet potato fries along with side salads. The food was done very quickly. Our food was really yummy and crispy. It was just what we needed after a long day of traveling. We would definanly recommend! read more

Stopped here for a late lunch after a long tiring hike. The service staff was very friendly and genuinely nice. We ordered some burgers and fish n chips. Cod n Chips - They serve two small pieces of cod that absolutely do not justify the price. They were really nice but the portion size was tiny. The coleslaw was terrible. The fries were really good. Southwest Burger - The burger itself tasted nice and was cooked to a perfect medium rare. However the tomato slices were ridiculously thick as were the onions and the bun was a complete disaster. It was too soft and not toasted and completely disintegrated making the burger a big lumpy mess to eat. The same thing happened with my wife and friend for their burger buns too. Salmon Burger - My friend really liked this. He took out the oversized tomatoes and onions though and had to resort to a fork after the bun gave up. Grilled Chicken Burger - My wife got this but didn't like it. The chicken was under seasoned and everything was kind of bland and mushy. Not a very pleasant sandwich. Overall the burgers were ok, wish the buns were better. The fish was a rip off. The service was excellent but wasn't backed up by great food. Probably won't stop here again. read more

I love coming to the Lower. I don't drink but even just to get some food and get out of the house, it is a nice, mellow vibe.

Salads and French rosé being available on the menu for a tavern??? FIVE FULL STARS. However, for the rest of it we'll just be honest and take away a half a star. Sadly Yelp won't let us rate 4.5, but that's what we want to say. The food was pretty freakin good overall. It's a pub for God's sake. You're not going to get elevated food nor the most refined experience on the planet. The staff was incredibly friendly and mostly efficient (save for one server's apparent lack of experience with the POS, creating a pregnant wait for our bill once). Yes, we said "once". We ordered food from these fine folks 3x whilst cavorting on the island. Why? Consistent quality, always open (which was the biggest challenge). Whole-heartedly recommend. read more

Fries are delicious! Atmosphere is your typical pub, but I'd say the food is a step above the typical pub fare. How should I put it? Healthier? The stuff is just well cooked vs. sopping in grease grub. Our waitress was great. Attentive, but not over the top always at our side. Liked that. Bf loved the grilled chicken burger and I liked (but didn't love) my salmon burger. If I came back I'd go for the chicken burger. Or a burger. But whatever I decide on the fries must stay! I skipped eating my Kaiser roll, but did eat a bite and it was really good. Just rather have the fries. Good ranch dressing. Yummie tartar sauce. The MRF Salad is great with the arugula and really yummie tomatoes. I didn't mind paying the little extra to get the better veggies than the regular romaine. If you're looking for a quiet place. Ummmmm... wrong spot on the island. :) read more

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We're visiting from out of town and granted the are still under Covid restrictions somewhat. We waited 35 minutes after we ordered our food, the place was very slow so no reason for the wait! then the power went out so we had to wait to pay our bill. Very disappointing when you're a paying customer and they give more priority to their take out orders read more

We were on Orcas again last week and ate at the Lower four times. The patty melt and the reuben are delicious, and the sweet potato fries (waffle cut) are the best I've had. Plus, this time we tried the daily dessert special, which the chef makes by hand every day. The mint marshmallow ice cream sandwich, and the brownie ice cream sandwich with milk chocolate ice cream were the bomb. Our servers were #500 (super friendly and welcoming) and #600 (also wonderfully friendly and helpful). This was our best experience yet. Thank you! read more

We were completely satisfied with this hometown feel of a good dive bar. The food we ordered was better than we wanted it to be (we had the southwest burger èwith fries - huge, juicy, and absolutely mouthwateringly delicous... and the ruban with slaw, which can always be a hit or miss - this was a hit!). BEST FRIES EVER!!! The people working were so friendly, it felt like I had known them for a long time. I am only in town for the weekend, but already trying to maneuver a way to make it back here before I leave. (The only downside was they only serve beer and wine, so we didn't get the bloody Mary we were looking for... but their great tap list made up for it!) ...so good we came back the next day for another Southwest Burger!!! read more

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Solid local bar. No frills. Good food, good atmosphere, good prices, friendly staff. Visiting from out of town and living on the island for a month, I felt comfortable going in on my own to sit and read a book, or meeting up with friends after work to play pool and have a drink. Definitely the standard dive bar ambience, but clean and no nonsense...best bar in town imho. read more

We're fans, and have been coming for several years now! I remember hearing about the great burgers and beers when I was a teenager coming up to the island with my family and glad I can experience this low-key local's favorite place for myself now with my husband. We like sitting out on the back patio on a sunny afternoon and splitting the veggie tray (always fresh and never disappoints), wings and a burger. Their chili is really tasty too. Generous pours of red wine. Lots of beers on tap. The perfect place to relax after a day of adventuring on the island to watch whatever game is on the many TV's. We look forward to returning again! read more

Typical bar food with good service. Fun atmosphere inside and nice that it is 21 and over only. read more

Great place on the island to grab a burger! Went here on Friday night and we were seated right away. They had a beer special going on for Sierra Nevada that was $3.50 for 16 oz. Our waitress was very sweet and attentive. We both had the Southwest burger yummmm. I got fries and boyfriend got coleslaw as his side. Boyfriend didn't like his coleslaw and neither did I. It tasted like they used celery salt? Neither of us like celery lol. It's a tad pricey. You're gonna pay around $14-$15 for a burger, but that's island prices for you :) Very laid back vibe too. Lots of guys and girls in their tall rain boots haha. I was glad that we didn't have to throw on nice clothes after exploring all day to eat dinner! read more

The Lower Tavern - Southwest burger with cheddar instead of pepperjack yummm - American Near Me - Eastsound, Washington

This place is definitely where the locals go. When we came here for dinner around 6:30 p.m., we got sized up by the patrons. We definitely felt a little uncomfortable because people were staring at us. It definitely did not feel comfortable. Despite this, we still sat down. The waitress wasn't particularly friendly. I took a bottle of water out because I was cleaning my bag and she came by and immediately asked me to put it away because it was suspected as alcohol. What??? This has never happened to me before at a restaurant. Why would I be smuggling alcohol when they were serving alcoholic beverages at affordable prices? Also, she had checked my id beforehand so I don't see the legal ramifications. Not a good feeling when the waitress implies that your water is really "alcohol." We ordered the Santa Fe Burger and a side salad with chicken for dinner. The food was okay. I wouldn't say that the burger was the best that I've ever had. It was above average though. I liked that there were ample amounts of cheese on top. My salad tasted okay. The chicken was a little dry and not very well seasoned. My two major qualms with this restaurant was that 1) there was only one waitress and a bar tender. Even though the place was under staffed, the waitress stepped out of the restaurant for a good 5-10 minutes. After serving our food, she disappeared. My friend wanted to get extra dressing and she was no where to be found. We looked outside and there she was. I thought this was rather unprofessional, especially when you are the only waitress on staff. I think it is understandable that people step out but to be gone for 5-10 minutes is a while when our mealtime lasted for only 30 minutes. When we left, she just stared at us. No goodbye or thank you. The service was awful. My second issue with this place was that they charged my friend $1.29 for a tiny cup of extra dressing. Really? The side salad costed about $5 and to add chicken was another $4. Her entire meal cost about $10-12 including tax and tip. Keep in mind that this salad is really dinky/tiny portion size. For a salad at this price in respect to portion size, you'd think that a little extra dressing would not have to cost an additional $1.29... what a rip off. I could go across the street to the nearby supermarket and pick up a bottle of dressing for probably $4. They probably gave about three small squirts from the bottle of dressing. Ridiculous... I guess with the bad service on top of the $1.29 charge for the tiniest cup of dressing, this left a really unpleasant impression of this restaurant. read more

A clean tavern with great food, prices, and service. Mix of locals & tourists. We were treated great by our friendly waitress. The place was about half full & it did not take long to get our drinks and food. I had the Southwest burger with roasted green chilis and onion rings on the side. Both were amazing! Very nice beer selection too. Best bang for your buck in Eastsound! read more

The Lower Tavern - Southwest burger with rings - American Near Me - Eastsound, Washington

Ordered for takeout. Pretty good Bar food. We ordered burgers, popcorn shrimp and French dip. All of the food was good. Not the absolute best but good, solid bar food. I am not wild about breaded fries but my kids liked them. We would order from them again. read more

I must admit to a bit of a snobby pallet. My preferences run to the fresh, simple, let the food shine, approach of California Cuisine. And I was a bit disappointed by the food on Orcas. Until my last night eating at the tavern. I've had a lot if gourmet burgers, but the burgers at the tavern would beat most of my favorite gourmet burgers anywhere else. Great beef, fresh toppings, fries were spectacular and beer was good. Great, friendly service. Nothin' fancy, everything was just done right. And the price...couldn't beat it. Best dinner on Orcas. read more

Good food, classic tavern ambiance, and surly service. Not too bad. We arrived at The Lower both hungry and thirsty, and left satisfied on both counts. The path from A to B was not a straight line, however. Our waitress, apparently the only one working on a busy Friday afternoon (of a holiday weekend!), made it clear that she was not having a good day from the moment we set foot in the place. Maybe this person *never* has good days; how the hell would I know? What I *do* know is that she was snappy and short-tempered to the point of being rude right from the get-go. Oh well, we were happy enough once we got the food and drink that we ordered, and she seemed to calm down a bit once she had a chance to suck down a couple of smokes in the beer garden. The special of the day on Friday is chili, which can be ordered several ways. I went with the chili burger: a big open-faced mess of a sandwich smothered in chili and topped with shredded cheese, onions, and sour cream. It was pretty damn awesome. I asked for an order of fries on the side-- turned out that would have been a meal in itself. The fries (also quite tasty, btw) were piled high on their own plate; plenty to share. The prices here are quite reasonable; in fact I was kind of expecting to pay more just due to the fact that we were visiting the second busiest tourist destination in the San Juans during peak season-- and on a holiday weekend to boot. The beer list here isn't extensive, but they do have some really good brews available. Ninkasi Total Domination IPA really hit the spot. Really, other than our cranky waitress this was a really good dining experience. I'd certainly stop in here again, if only to get another one of those chili burgers! Oh yeah, there's a pool table inside and they do karaoke at night, too. read more

The Lower Tavern - Chili burger- YUM!! - American Near Me - Eastsound, Washington

This place gets five stars because for bar food it is some of the best anywhere. We've been coming here forever (we remember the building when it was the medical clinic) and there are two important reasons: The service is prompt and friendly and the food is really good. There are very few taverns that actually cook their food as they do here. Most places take some controlled portion out of the freezer and plunk it in a deep fryer. These guys actually take ingredients and prepare food from them. The result is tasty and much better than other bars in Eastsound. We usually get a burger but the sandwiches, fish and the salads are consistently good and the soups well made. The staff is welcoming and will take requests for modifications in stride. Come for a Seahawks game and you will get an impression of Orcas which is different from any other! read more

The Lower Tavern - Game day! - American Near Me - Eastsound, Washington

Fish and chips : over cooked and no flavor of halibut Southwestern burger over cooked, burnt bacon, avocado no flavor, green chili undetectable. Asked for side of rancho and BBQ sauce. Extra .99 charge for each. read more

Very good option for quick meal while in Orcas. I was able to place an order over the phone when the ferry landed and it was ready by the time we drove to the restaurant. The food was good, enjoyed the fried halibut and sweet potatoes tater. The burgers were good too. The claim chowder was authentic. They do get busy in afternoons so you have to order well in advance ( for dinner) read more

Good food, especially the fries, fish and chips, and tartar sauce. The outside patio was a great atmosphere to eat. The service was amazing! They were super busy and understaffed, but our server was on top of it and so friendly! If you're looking for water views you'll need to go to another restaurant. But if you want a place with a great drink selection on tap and good bar food, this place is for you! read more

Maybe the food is good but we didn't even get a chance because they don't allow minors even though they serve food. And simply asking if minors are allowed during the day is apparently a joke to them. So 1 star for not even allowing minors in a tourist town. read more

Amazing food, great service and atmosphere. No dogs or baby's which is a obvious plus but onion rings were soggy, great burgers would recommend the barbecue dip. read more

This place has great food! We went here twice during our trip to Orcas. Their sandwiches and burgers are delicious, and yesterday I ordered the buffalo chicken salad. I requested extra chicken and bleu cheese crumbles, and they really didn't skimp--they piled it on! Atmosphere was casual and unpretentious. We will definitely return when we visit Orcas again. read more

Nice to have a place open on a Monday. 21 and over only and it looked like they had some nice outdoor seating. My buffalo chicken burger was ok. It was messy but hit the spot. Not a ton else was open so it was fun to find somewhere serving food. read more

This place was our go to spot when we wanted "hot lunch" during our honeymoon on the Island. Never experienced a huge wait, the serves were nice, and the food was great, and the prices were comparable to back on the mainland. Fish and chips are the best on the island. Unlike some of the other reviewers I didn't feel like we were treated poorly by the locals, honestly it was the complete opposite, compared to other places we tried. We met some cool locals and had a great time. Thanks for being our home away from home hang out. read more

This place is pretty good. My husband and I like to go out to Orcas to unplug for a weekend. On the island it can get really hard to find unpretentious and affordable places to eat (or do ANYTHING) We found this place a few trips back. It's a typical bar, but it's clean, has plenty of seating and the waitresses are pretty nice. It can get pretty loud and crowded after about 6PM but hey, it's a bar! The food's pretty good! They have your standard pub sandwiches and a nice variety of burgers and chicken sammies. The burgers are always cooked well and have an assortment of toppings for any taste. All of the fries/sides/apps are pretty consistent and always come out hot and crispy. It all tastes fresh and isn't overly greasy, LT is a good place to pass through for a laid back dinner. read more

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Really good burgers. We had Southwest burgers. Good hamburger, bacon and avocado. The pita fries are really good, too, if you like the idea of mildly hot peppers and cheese on fries. Busy so call ahead if you are going takeout. We couldn't eat all of the food which we felt bad about since it was so tasty. We could have easily split a burger and fries. read more

The lower tavern has some excellent burgers but I think they are a little over priced with there menu, I ordered the southwest burger which was like almost $15 . The burger was delicious but the only thing that botherd me was that the burger kept falling apart and they need to work on there fries. but overall the place was great. read more

Great local hang out with good burgers and great grilled cheese sandwiches. Fun place to be especially when the community has turned out for a football game or karaoke. read more

The Lower Tavern is a great restaurant in Eastsound. The food is surprisingly good and the service is fantastic. I visited a few weeks ago and had the fried cod sandwich, which was awesome. I also tried a few oysters because they were on special and they turned out to be delicious. The interior isn't fancy, but the views of the water are fantastic, especially sitting at the bar in the back corner of the restaurant. I highly recommend the Lower Tavern if you're looking for a relatively quick meal with great views of the water. read more

We stopped by today on our way out of Orca's island and we were pleasantly surprised. They have a fantastic menu. The jalapeño poppers were the best I've ever had - so much cream cheese. Yum. Our server was a total sweetheart and the service was great. Portions were large and they had lots of drink options as well! Highly recommend, we will return the next time we are out there :-) read more

The best little bar in town, "The Lower" is spacious and welcoming, run by great staff, and hosts fun themed nights every week! They offer a rotating tap, so many bottled and canned options, as well as wine and bar food. The owner and staff are friendly and enjoyable, they really take care of their patrons. Friday night karaoke is always a fun time and trivia nights with friends are carefully curated and a great way to spend the evening. This is the best place to go for a cheap beer and relax in a very no-judgment, no-stress atmosphere. read more

We went over the weekend for carry out and loved it! My husband had the Barbecue Dip and I had the French Dip. Both were delicious and will definitely return! read more

Great sweet potato waffle fries! The southwest burger was also good! One of the few places opened late at this time.

Our ferry arrived very late to Orcas Island and we went on the hunt for some good food and a beer. The options were slim at 10 pm but we found the lower tavern and were delighted!! The food was great and the local beer on tap was even better. We love a good dive bar and will absolutely be back! read more

It's a lifesaver to find a place open later for dinner (and drinks) with decent food when you're in an unfamiliar territory. The staff are friendly and even though the place have your usual tipsy/buzzed kind of loud people, I felt pretty secure that they have everything under control. read more

Never had a BAD time here, Pool table is mostly free, food is great! Staff is always very nice and a great place just to have a cold one! I am a regular patrond here and food is ALWAYS great! A nice place in a local small town on this wonderful Island, Eastsound is a great place just to just "hang out". It's just across the parking lot from the local market too. read more

My wife and I happened to notice a lot of people walking into the restaurant/tavern. It is a really a local hang out. Might be the best prices for food on the island. Fish and chips were delicious. Reasonably priced place. read more

We went to this establishment based on the yelp review. Our experience was nothing like the other reviews. The waitress was impatient and no friendly. The bar itself was clean and good vibe except for the 2 idiots playing pool near our booth. One of the pool players almost hit us because her cue was too close to the booth. Don't sit in the booth near the pool table. First bit of advice. I ordered the cod fish and chips based on the photos. I received 3 burned pieces of fish that had an under cooked piece. The cole slaw was disgusting, no flavor. I left the fish and slaw on my plate. When the waitress finally came over (service is slow) she asked how things were and I told her about the fish...she then asked if I wanted a box to take it. Not sure what she was on but clearly her ask made no sense. We paid , they removed an appetizer from the bill which was a good gesture but the least they could do after the horrible food. They do have a great selection of beer and evidently the best burgers in town...doubtful. I'll never find out because we are never going back. read more