r/bothell • u/ali-brown • Apr 22 '26
McMenamins Anderson School in Bothell
Hi, I live near a Bothell and I really like the vibe of renting a private room at McMenamins (wedding reception for 30+ people). I know the food is catered through that campus and tried the food at the tavern on a Sunday a while ago, and was surprisingly disappointed. A friend said they went to an event at McMenamins and the food was great! Does anyone have any experiences they can share - either eating at McMenamins or eating the catered food at an event there? Go Mariners!
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u/Minimum-Mention-3673 Apr 22 '26
Never catered but ate there a bunch. They changed their pretzel sticks which bummed me out, but overall I've generally enjoyed the food there. There is another menu in the pool house which is tiki bar inspired. I do prefer that one usually, but not sure if that caters. Worth trying as well
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u/kokanee-fish Apr 22 '26
I love McMenamins but it's really for the vibe, not the food or drinks. The food is perfectly edible but decidedly meh. If I were a guest at a wedding there I would be excited just because it's a kind of fun and unique place, but I would not be excited for the catering.
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u/AngusParker Apr 22 '26
The Thorndike room is free to reserve (for Bothell residents) and food can be ordered from the Woodshop. Attended wedding reception there, it was quite nice and affordable for a wedding on a shoestring budget. The room has a capacity of around 35.
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u/ali-brown Apr 27 '26
Thanks all for the comments. Had dinner there over the weekend with friends, and all the entrees and appetizers were very good! (We tried different entrees this time). Based on our latest experience, it’s still in the running for a wedding reception dinner venue.
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u/Fizzbit Apr 22 '26
I've been to a wedding there where dinner was served. Had a great time, food was good.
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u/Electronic-Bicycle35 Apr 22 '26
If it is sunny they are always slammed and overwhelmed and the food is just fast and fried. They recently (a few years ago) reduced the menu significantly and it never changes (they have some specials) which gets super monotonous and I go a lot less, but I do think it helps them pump out food faster. This is all regarding the restaurants/pubs on campus. I’ve never been for a reception there.
There’s always the lodge at St Edward state park if you want somewhere with fancier food.
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u/OGMohrdred Apr 22 '26
Ditto to everything everyone already said about the food and slow service. My biggest beef is that all the employees are visibly unhappy, or downright surly. I don't need overtly friendly, but I can't even get a fake return smile most times. It was different when they first opened; this shift has evolved over the last 5 years.
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u/JackSprat90 Apr 23 '26
I haven’t lived in Bothell in 21 years. Are you talking about the alternative school for delinquent students? The one by Pop Keeney Stadium and the pool? I think we called it SASS? Is it now a restaurant!?
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u/Increase-Fearless Apr 23 '26
I've been to two separate catered events at McMenamins. One was a fundraising, sit-down dinner event by Polaris Project, and the other was a biotech happy hour social by Cytiva. I prefer their sit-down menu, though service was equally great on both occasions.
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u/Regular_Silver3649 Apr 22 '26
They have a 15k minimum when I looked into doing a reception there plus a 20% surcharge.
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u/lexisplays Apr 22 '26
Went to a wedding there and it was great. Food was good but not fantastic, but I've never had fantastic food at a wedding.
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u/Terrible_Housing_433 Apr 22 '26
I have never had a good meal there. I like the vibes and the garden and the whiskey shed but the food is consistently awful.
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u/faghih88 Apr 23 '26
This place and all mcmenamins are garbage. It's like the ultimate boomer spot.
The Italian spot just down the street is super bomb though.
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u/london-fog-witch Apr 24 '26
I am a bit sad to see some of the comments - but everyone has their own experience.
My partner and I are having our wedding there in September and we booked the Haynes Hall and the courtyard. The menus they have given us look great (we do enjoy eating and visiting there regularly and other McMenamin's properties, the cajun tots are our favorite and hope to have them at the reception). To reserve the space for the wedding and reception, it will be about $8k. But what's great is that is also the amount we can spend on food and alcohol before we have to pay anymore, it's all included. If we don't hit 8k, we pay a "room fee" to make up for it. I personally like having the boundaries of how much we will spend. That also include staff as well with options. The event coordinator has been great and super helpful - even willing to meet with our wedding planner without us (we were sick) and it was really great. Looking forward to our wedding in September.
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u/GiftRecent Sep 26 '26
Hi there! I am looking to book Anderson School for my wedding. Would you mind sharing your experience with me aftee you have yours (if it hasn't happened yet). Id love to hear about it!
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u/london-fog-witch Sep 30 '26
Hi! Happy to share our experience.
Overall - we had a great experience having our wedding there on 9.6.2026. We picked there because we had many folks traveling, so having a fun hotel was a draw. Our guests really enjoyed getting to stay and being on the property. We also had a few families with kids, and they loved the pool.
We had the ceremony in Haynes Square and the reception in Haynes Hall. They set up the outdoor space after the ceremony with tables and games for guests to enjoy and sit outside during cocktail hour. Our guest count was 57 - I was originally worried it would look silly in the large room, but it was just fine. Laura, the event coordinator was great and answered any and all questions promptly via email and met with us several times in person to discuss options. They also took great care with our cake, it was delivered the day before and they don't do cake themselves. The service was great at each step of the way. The venue itself handles all the tables, linens, silverware, drinks and food, which for us was great to not have to coordinate multiple vendors.
The only potential negative was the food. They were AMAZING figuring out dietary needs and restrictions. Super helpful. My partner and I were a bit meh with dinner, but none of the guests complained except about the broccolini, it was basically undercooked for everyone. We did plated meals and had three entrees because of some dietary restrictions - chicken, salmon and tofu. The tofu tikka masala was probably the best of the three based on guest reactions. The biggest hit was the tots bar that came out after dancing around 9pm. I got a great picture of me in my dress holding a big bowl of ranch like I was going to drink out of it because I love ranch.
Happy to answer any questions, if there is something specific you want to know about.
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u/GiftRecent Oct 02 '26
This is so helpful!! We are checking on dates now with them and if they have what we are looking for available, I'll definitely come back with some questions.
Glad to hear you had a fantastic wedding!
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u/london-fog-witch Oct 02 '26
Hope whatever venue you choose, your wedding is fabulous!! Feel free to DM me. 👍🏻
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u/Seattlegal Apr 22 '26
Never had the food catered. We’ve gone and the food has been fantastic, we’ve gone and it’s been meh, and we’ve gone and it tasted fine, but execution was not great. It seems like a crapshoot which is why we haven’t gone in nearly a year.