Whiskey by John Howie

Best cheeseburger in the area, beautiful drinks, and amazing service. Vibes are 10/10.

Awesome drinks and food. Our hostess was great. Very reasonably priced happy hour. Will definitely be back.

Great whiskey selection for WA state, Ryan behind the bar really knows his stuff. Glad the "425" has a great whiskey bar again.

John, has now served us twice. Above and beyond! Can’t wait to do it again!

Fun new experience in Bellevue. Fantastic Whiskey menu, comfort food and friendly service.

Absolutely my favorite spot in Bellevue. Have been here 20-30 times and have never been disappointed!

Fun upscale place with a cool, relaxed vibe. Yummy food & drinks.

Food and drinks are amazing. They had ran out of a few things we specifically came here for but found alternatives.

Great atmosphere, excellent selection of drinks, really good food and great service!

Brisket flatbread not to be missed. Great whiskey selection.

Great happy hour and a half!

Great happy hour. Food was great.

Had a good choice for whiskey and bourbon

Good drinks and excellent service.

Exceeded expectations

This is one of my favorite places to visit. Coming from Texas I'm quite familiar with whiskey and John Howie's has quite the selection to choose from and the food is delicious. 😃 Highly recommend if visiting or just looking for a new place to tryout.

here’s another rare review. This location is the peak high end area of Bellevue. You won’t find a better steak restaurant in the state. Believe me I travel every week for work from Texas and try out as much as I can. Anyway, the bar (whiskey by John howie) is in a secluded lounge and their whiskey collection serves 1000+ bottle. John (the main bartender) is going to take really good care of you by offering private barrel whiskey that can’t be found anywhere in the country. Go between 5-6:30pm for happy hour. Bartender gave me 6 free flights of top shelf , a crash course on whiskey, amazing service and solid food preparation (get the Nashville chicken and the cheese burger) hands down some of the best I’ve had surprisingly. Not to mention I had 3 old fashions on top of this after a long day at work. My bill somehow came out to 90$ for food and drinks , but I was there for 3 hours and felt included and respected. Conversation was great with the other travelers and locals who come there for dinner or happy hour. If you ever see John or the main chef there, make sure you take care of them on the tip, and they will make you feel like Bellevue is the best city in the USA. I’m 100% going back next week with my team.

Brussel sprouts was good. Overall, good place and nice atmosphere. Worth to try

Booked the 2 Pours, 2 Bites experience through Open Table. The bar is small with intimate booth seating which helped to keep the noise level down. We did have to ask for the experience menu but there was a wide selection of whiskeys and a decent number of food options. Both our drinks and food were delicious, would definitely return to try more.

My daughter dragged me here. And thank goodness for that! I have never had a better time. The service was outstanding. The food was non-pariel. I felt so special. I recommend everything! Especially the bartender Chapel. He makes absolutely awesome libations. You need to come here. I know that I’ll be back.

The cauliflower steak is delicious! I'm so happy they have a vegetarian option! The service is always amazing. They're always kind, attentive, and really helpful explaining the menu options. It's one of our go-to places for special occasions.

Whiskey by John Howie is my go-to spot for whiskey in the Seattle-Bellevue area. Ryan provides top notch service and recommendations, and the food is outstanding. I honestly can't pick just one thing, as literally everything on the menu that I've tried is so good. Not only do they have some of the hardest to find whiskeys around, their private barrel selections are unique and amazing. From Willett to Stagg to Weller, I can't pick a favorite. Their Sazerac 6yr Rye also makes an insane old fashioned. Prices are also reasonable considering the quality of the spirits that they offer. Run, don't walk!

Amazing food and drinks. Huge whiskey selection and a great atmosphere. Very cheap food and drinks during happy hour and "Funday Sunday" was great. They were offering an $11 whiskey and oyster pairing. Staff was friendly and helpful. We will definitely be back often.

Restaurant Week... first visit, good food, nice drinks included. The nachos and shrimp were tasty. Kudos to the Chef! Good flavors, worth trying again. Service was good, not exceptional or great but did what was needed.

I enjoy John Howie so I definitely wanted to try Whiskey. I loved the food, the drinks, and the fact this is a small cozy restaurant. Family friendly: No Parking: Yes (shared at the Braven) Pet friendly: No FOOD: - HH Parmesan Truffle Fries (Parmigiano Reggiano, black truffle salt, truffle aioli) $14: 5 STARS - Some places dont provide enough parm or truffle but this is on point! Also usually most place reduce the size/quality between the HH and regular price menu. They give you a VERY good size with so much Parmigiano ! It made me super happy. - HH Wagyu Steak Flatbread (Monterrey Jack and gouda cheeses, white sauce, tomato confit, caramelized onion, roasted garlic, Maker's Mark BBQ sauce, arugula) $18: 3 STARS - I really wanted to love this because its pretty much a pizza and wagyu but I was kind of disappointed. They had a decent amount of the wagyu, cooked just right, and spread out enough that you get a piece of beef with every other bite. The problem is there was too much BBQ sauce. That it was all I tasted. I may get this again but had them omit the sauce. - HH Cheeseburger (2 prime chuck burger patties, American cheese, double thick bacon, drive-in sauce, caramelized onion, dill pickle, house baked buns, French fries) $18: 5 STARS - I think this is actually better than the burger at John Howie. It was super tasty, very moist so good fat ratio in the burger. I normally LOVE Sauce but I will say they probably went a tad overboard. DRINK: - HH Manhattan $10: Not sure if its was the price but the Manhattan was really good. The cherry inside was very sweet and didnt really taste like alcohol so may its not the ones they are pre-soaked in alochol. - HH Dealer's Choice, Whiskey neat or rocks $10: Honestly I cant remember what brand they provide but it was not great. I will say between rocks or neat, rocks was the way to go. - HH Lemon Drop $9: Normally not my drink of choice but it was made well. RESTAURANT: I really like that it was a small restaurant. The customer area (again small restaurant so its kind of everywhere is the customer area) was done nicely. There are a few booth that I would say hold 4 people comfortably and 4 tops that can expand to 6-8. The did an amazing job on the bar but a lot of the things seem very make shift, like they just opened even though its been a while. The kitchen was very small, like there was a couple of flat top and prep space but they didnt have a lot of room since they had a portable heating cabinet. They also had folks carrying extra items through the restaurant from John Howie. SERVICE: Service, like John Howie, was great with the exception that they seemed short staff. With every table filled, they only had two wait staff. It took probably longer to either put drink or food order and receiving. I'm sure someone will say thats the normal ratio but when you start questioning where the waiter is so you can order drinks or food, you know its been longer than it should be.

Great steak, didn't have the full menu as it was an organised event but the food we could order was amazing.

Incredible nachos, cheeseburger, and whiskey selection.

Tried the Rye Manhattan and cheeseburger and enjoyed it. They also validate parking if you need one.

Stopped in for the best whiskey selection on the Eastside (IMHO) and had a wonderful experience. Ryan, the bartender, was incredibly helpful in recommending whiskeys and cocktails based on my taste preferences. The general manager, Tim, was equally engaging and shared upcoming whiskey tastings/classes that could expand my whiskey tasting journey. Ordered the Wagyu Steak Nachos which were incredibly delicious and the staff were very attentive and prioritized making my entire experience a great one. Highly recommend to anyone who is looking for a hard to find whiskey or are starting their whiskey journey and needing inspiration. Plus, there are wonderful cocktails and wine, which makes it a great date night option.

Great drinks although you will pay 20$ per drink. Service fair not great. Food B- and very pricey . Atmosphere bit cold and hard.

It was fun to get out and the ambience is pretty good. The prices were exorbitant

Was a great place to hang out and have a good happy hour! The truffle fries were some of the best I have had. My only issues was the surprise at the end. Our bill was given to us and our waiter said “there is a 20% service charge added to every check”. Upon inquiring, there is a 20% gratuity no matter the amount of people or service rendered. We were a group of 2. The waiter stated that the owner added it because (quoting the waiter) “people were spending over a thousand dollars but not tipping appropriately.” It should be marked and known before being seated. It is very sneaky. Won’t go back or recommend to others.

This is for Whiskey by John Howie; not John Howie itself. My wife and I went here this weekend to get a couple drinks and a bite to eat. We sat at the bar for 15 minutes and were completely ignored. Several staff and the bartender saw us. They directly looked at us. But they never served us. We walked out without being served. Very rude and felt incredibly disrespected.

Ordered at 7pm with a group of 7. Ordered a few apps and burgers, came out 1.5 hours later. Nachos were burnt, burgers undercooked. Horrible service and food experience. At the end of it they did the mandatory service charge that they wouldn’t take off given our experience.

Came with some friends, waited over 1 hour for appetizers to come out, one of which was burnt, when the main courses came out some of the burgers were undercooked and raw. Not a good experience at all.

Hidden 20% Automatic gratuity is absolutely nonsense, causing customers to accidentally double tip. Shady business practice. I recommend avoiding businesses that do that.

Mandatory service charge…can not recommend.

I am writing to share my disappointment with the experience my husband and I had during our visit to your whiskey bar last Saturday night 10/25. We were celebrating his 55th birthday, which I noted when making our reservation. Unfortunately, there was no acknowledgment of the occasion at any point during our visit. Our evening began with a less-than-welcoming greeting. Upon entering, we were met with a curt “How can I help you?” that felt more inconvenienced than inviting. After confirming our 6:00 p.m. reservation, we were shown to our table, where menus were placed in front of us before the host promptly walked away. Our server arrived shortly after to take our drink and appetizer orders. While the appetizer was delivered promptly, our drinks did not arrive for over 15 minutes—long after we had started eating. It would have been nice to enjoy our cocktails alongside our appetizer. When our entrées arrived, only my meal was brought to the table. We waited, expecting my husband’s entrée to follow shortly, but after about ten minutes, it became clear there was an issue. By the time our server returned to check on us, my meal had become cold from waiting. He immediately noticed the missing entrée and brought it shortly thereafter, but it appeared to have been sitting for some time, as it was not served at the correct temperature. What should have been a special celebration turned into a disappointing experience. At the end of the meal, I inquired about using the rewards program I had recently signed up for, but our server seemed unfamiliar with it and made the request feel like an inconvenience. After paying a bill of nearly $400, we returned to our car only to find that parking required an additional $15 fee—something I understand should have been validated by the restaurant, but was never mentioned. We chose John Howie based on its reputation for exceptional service and fine dining, and I had hoped to make this a regular spot for us—especially since my husband is a whiskey enthusiast and your whiskey bar seemed like the perfect fit. Unfortunately, the level of service we received fell far short of what we expected from an establishment of your caliber. From the initial greeting to the lack of coordination and attention to detail, the overall experience was deeply disappointing. Even my husband, who rarely comments on such matters, remarked that the service felt subpar. What was meant to be a memorable evening instead felt like a regrettable splurge.I wanted to share this feedback in the hope that it helps ensure future guests receive the quality of service that John Howie is known for. I sent an email on 10/26 with no response to date. Even more disappointing.

Wow this place is terrible in every aspect. They don’t respect reservations. We made a reservation in advance and they gave our spot to another party who came right before us so we were forced to wait for 20 minutes. Also the food is terrible - the steak was tough, the truffle dressing in the salad just didn’t work and the pizza was burnt. The drinks tasted very bland. Also the waiter forgot our order twice, brought out the wrong food and then brought us the correct order 30 minutes later. The restaurant itself is very crammed and cold. There’s a lot of tables that face the shopping mall so you feel super exposed. Avoid this place at all costs

I came here with a few friends because we heard of the new restaurant in the bellevue area backed by John Howie and we had a horrible experience. We waited over an hour for 3 appetizers and they were all over cooked and the meat that came with the appetizers was even burnt. When the main dishes came out they came out very undercooked and my burger was raw in some places. We expressed our frustration about the bill and they wouldn’t even give us a discount let alone the service charge at the minimum. I wouldn’t recommend this place to anyone who wants a quality dining experience.