My friends planned the most wonderful dinner experience at Bar Cantinetta for my going away party…read more I was completely taken aback by the views from their rooftop private experience. Hugo was our bartender and server, he was so helpful and friendly, helping me navigate getting everyone up to the table with ease and grace. Chef Donny made excellent food! There was an amazing chilled pea soup with crab that I cannot stop talking about. Both pasta dishes were so delicious we were basically scraping the plate towards the end. In all honesty I was sad when it all ended. If you have a reason to plan a dinner party this is an excellent choice.

Very unpleasant experience. We ate there Saturday night March 14. We had reservations for 4 people…read moreat 830pm. It started with our table not being available. Not something I blame the restaurant. However, our first negative experience, the host offered to get us drinks from the bar and said he "got them" for us. He did not. They were on our check at the end of the night. We asked him about this and he said, oh - those weren't comped. Incredibly disappointing after spending almost $400 on dinner and drinks at the table AND waiting about 30 minutes for our table. We were on time for our reservations. Next, we ordered an appetizer and it arrived with a hair in it! We were appalled by it and when we let the server know he quickly removed it and brought us a new one. It was the Fontina Fonduta. But what was so disappointing was there was no apology and no management to stop by and acknowledge or address. And it was on the bill! Lastly, our server was, it appeared, too busy with other tables and we were ignored. Waters and drinks weren't refilled often. Dishes not removed. We love the Bellevue Cantinetta location and have always had amazing food and service there. Terribly disappointed in Bar Cantinetta and hope others have a better experience. If a manager doesn't acknowledge an issue, I'd strongly recommend asking to speak with the manager. We didn't and should have. We were a bit in shock and disappointed by the experience and wanted to move on. The food was just OK too. Two had the cod and it was VERY salty! My wife had a pasta dish recommended and it was OK - small portion. I had the mushroom pizza - it was excellent! I do recommend that! For reference, we paid and departed at 11:30 pm. Normally that may be due to visiting with friends, in this case it was slow/poor service. I hope you have a better experience.

The four of us ordered 10 items in total and we were more than full! Everything was so yummy…read more Highly recommend! Would come back again Recommend items: -Paella (the rice is crispy and very well seasoned) -Croissant (perfectly crispy with well balanced tahini honeycomb sauce) -octopus (very well seasoned and tender, paired with pickled onions and crispy potatoes) -Apple pie (needs to preorder since it takes 45 mins to be freshly baked. Such a stunner. Puff pastry with stuffed caramelized apples and pork, sounds odd but u can barely take the pork just a hint of savoriness. With a scoop of vanilla ice cream on the side. Perfect way to end the dinner

I was genuinely excited to try this new tapas spot. I love Spanish food and the idea of small…read moreplates and a Spain-inspired experience. To be fair, I'm not usually a fancy multi-course meal person, but at about $75 per person, I was willing to pay for a memorable experience. Because the menu was so different, our group decided to order à la carte. We had seen octopus empanadas and expected those, only to learn the empanada in the tasting menu was actually chicken. The server also explained that the tasting menu version would only be a one-bite portion, which made us stick with à la carte. The problem was that many of the à la carte dishes were tiny; around four bites, some barely an inch across. It felt more focused on presentation than flavor. What disappointed me most was that dishes inspired by familiar cuisines didn't stay true to them. The bacalao lacked the qualities I associate with island-style bacalao, the tahdig wasn't crispy as Persian tahdig should be, and the paella didn't evoke Valencia. The octopus dish and the bread were easily the highlights of the meal. After drinks, the bill came to around $120 per person before tip, yet the service wasn't particularly knowledgeable or passionate about the food. The biggest surprise? After spending over $300-400 for our group, I was still hungry enough to walk next door and buy empanadas. This may simply not be my style of dining. If you enjoy artistic, presentation-driven tasting experiences, you may love it. For me, though, it was an expensive experience that left me unsatisfied rather than impressed.

The best way to describe the food at this place is it's off the beaten path (alley?)…read moreThe meats here are not something you can find everywhere else. From the most prized (foie gras) to the more normal (frog legs) to the odd (beef liver). And there was what I had - the rabbit kidneys on toast. I love the inventiveness of this place. It's so easy to just serve the same cuts of meats everyone else does - the prized, fatty parts of each animal and call it a day. But when there's a place that decides to dive deep (literally) into an animal and produce its organs and put that on a plate for you, it's just very cool. When you see a rabbit kidneys on toast dish on the menu - you can't not order it. The dish was pretty much exactly what you would expect - a bunch of rabbit kidneys on a slice of toast, over a cream sherry sauce. I had no idea what to expect in terms of kidneys, but these actually tasted quite normal. The best way to describe them is they had the texture and shape of larger beans, but had a bit of a meaty taste to them. Nothing over the top in terms of flavor or anything - just solid. They seemed to have been grilled. There were also a good amount on the piece of toast. The piece of sourdough bread it came on was quite good. The edges were crispy, and certain parts were perfectly lightly charred without being too burnt. The best part was the inside - which was super soft. What really tied this all together though, was the cream sherry sauce. This was outstanding. Certain parts were above the bread but a lot of it was below, and just tasting it I was blown away by its richness. It was on the sweeter side, but complemented everything so well. The way it soaks the inside of the bread is perfection - eating that was my favorite part. For dessert I got the foie gras ice cream. This was also really damn good. When two very fatty things come together, you'd expect there to be a full blast of flavor, but this was actually milder than I expected. It's still slightly salty, and very rich, but the added wine helps make it a more normal dish. I could still absolutely have a full scoop of this though. The one thing to know here is the portions are VERY small. The rabbit kidneys on toast dish is literally a single slice of bread with about 10 or so kidneys on top. The foie gras ice cream is truly miniscule - it's the smallest ice cream you've ever seen. The server did recommend 2-3 small plates per person, but I didn't particularly feel like paying a ton this night. If you were to come with someone (don't recommend groups here - the seating is very small), I'd say you could share a bunch of plates and feel pretty happy though. I wanted to give a shoutout that this place has the price inclusive of tipping. It's just so rare to see that, and absolutely wonderful when it occurs. I ended up paying around 38 for my two dishes. Overall, while not quite truly special, this place serves inventive, delicious mini-dishes that are certainly worth a try. 9/10

Everything here is delicious. These reviews saying otherwise, well. With all reviews, consider the…read morereviewer. If you're someone who cooks, and has said recently that everywhere you eat it costs a ton and is just okay -- like, you can make better at home? Come here. Because with few exceptions, I don't think you can. I've been here three times now and two out of three times everything was perfect. Absolutely. Perfect. I've recommended it to others and heard similar back from them. I think it's one of the more exciting restaurants in Seattle, and while the observation about cramped quarters is spot-on, I would imagine they'll likely evolve beyond that venue at some point, and that will be a pity, because having them close by in Columbia City makes me very happy. So book the patio if you want shoulder or elbow room, and enjoy a meal al fresco. And yes, it's a more expensive place, portions are small. It's a fine dining approach, and I think that's fairly clear up front. If you want a big pile of slop somewhere, there are a ton of options to fill up more cheaply. But if you want demi-glace and pan sauces that are perfect -- PERFECT! And meats you might normally not find compelling, like rabbit livers and kidney and, well, offal -- suddenly made succulent and delectable, try this. The only thing I felt was sort of not worth the bucks was the rabbit skull. Just not much in it and getting to it was a semi-feral process. Everything else, including the delicious salads, has be exquisite. Love this place.

Came here for the Monday's pasta special (2 pastas with a bottle of wine for a cheaper price) the…read morefood was good but omg the portion size is made for a toddler lmaoooo. For the price...girl you can't be serious lol. Like pasta is something I can make at home and this is all I get Also the service was sooo slow. Took so long to take our orders and the dessert came out in such a long time. Were they making the dessert to order or what??? (Mind you we got tiramisu)

We came for the 2 pastas and a wine bottle for $47 on a Monday evening. Starting with the bread,…read morethat was delicious and came with a great seasoned ricotta spread ($5). The appetizer offerings didn't pop for us. So we moved on to the pasta; the short rib francobolli with rosemary & parmigiano. It's essential mini raviolis and it's great. The sauce is awesome and the pastas itself is a real treat. There just isn't a lot of it. Artusi has a good business model w the bottle and pastas and the restaurant is cozy. Worth coming back for another Monday :). The person I ate with thought there was too much Parmesan, he's wrong.

Carrello absolutely delivered for our anniversary dinner. We did the feast for the table and…read morehonestly it was the move. Everything just kept coming and every single dish landed. The patio on a perfect Seattle night made it feel special before we even took a bite. Focaccia, burrata, cured meats, gnocchi with crispy sage, a gorgeous seared fish... it was a lot and somehow nothing felt like filler. The service matched the food too. Warm, personable, never hovering. Dessert closed it out strong with cannoli and an olive oil cake that I'm still thinking about. Food: 10/10 · Service: 10/10 · Atmosphere: 10/10 If you're celebrating something, come here and do the feast. You won't regret it.

I don't often get to enjoy an aperitivo, given my work hours, but if you can, get yourself to…read moreCarrrello for their aperitivo hour! They actually do this every day that they're open, so you can enjoy this on a weekend like I did. My friend and I enjoyed their abinamento, which is a six-step pairing of snacks and half-cocktails. The cocktails were impeccable, and paired so well with each dish. Hilariously, they accidentally gave us the Garibaldi with the second course (kampachi crudo) instead of the third course with which it's meant to be paired (lamb ribs). But I actually felt like the Garibaldi paired better with the second course than the third course! There was such wonderful variety with the cocktails, and every single one was great in its own way. My favorites were the Garibaldi, the Greek Melon Punch, and the Mezcal Milk Punch, but we loved them all. The cocktails were also paced well. I'm not a big drinker by any means (I probably have one drink every two weeks) so I am definitely a lightweight. I was a bit worried that I'd be wasted by the end but the pacing was such that I finished with just a pleasant buzz, not stumbling out of there like I was afraid of! The food was lovely as well. While each snack is definitely snack-sized, I still feel like I got a really good taste of each one. I actually got to really savor each course and its unique flavors. My favorites were the smoked kampachi crudo and the squash blossom, as I felt like these had the most punchy yet balanced flavors. The lamb ribs were also incredibly crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside. I feel like I would've preferred the octopus grilled rather than fried, which is just a matter of personal taste. We also had the upside down chili cheese tripe fries, which were delicious. (This is part of the aperitivo hour menu but not part of the tasting flight.) The fries are done in home fries style and are done perfectly, super crispy on the outside and fluffy and cloud-like on the inside. Service is excellent here, both via our main person Daniel, who was warm and hilarious, as well as the other members of the team who helped out with running food and clearing things away. It really seem like they work as a team and everyone was so kind. They helped us have a great time and we loved the laid back environment at Carrello. Overall, I think Carrello is definitely worth visiting. Now that I've been to aperitivo hour, I am plotting a return visit for their "feast for the table" and will definitely be back for happy hour again.

4.5 overall. For years we had only one go-to-more-than-once restaurant in Seattle; we now have two…read morethanks to our dinner experience at Iconiq. FOOD: 4.5 - 5.0: Filet Mignon with Foie Gras. Melted in our mouths. - 4.5: Tempura Morel Mushrooms Risotta. The tempura coating was not as light as what we were used to in Japan, but excellent nonetheless. Wonderful cheese. - 3.5: Vichyssoise with Smoked Scallops (appetizer). Very good, but we would have preferred a more generous scallop quanitity. - 4.5: Soy sauce ice cream (dessert). Unique taste that was surprisingly good. We are glad we had it, and will be ready for this taste again in 6 months. DRINKS: 4.5. The owner's recommendations were all spot-on. In addition to a bottle of rosé, we had: - 5.0: Plum wine from Japan: Izumibashi Umeshu Yamada Juro. Pricy but the Japanese person who adores umeshu rated it very highly. - 4.5: A dessert wine from Italy that the owner recommended as pairing well with the soy sauce ice cream: he was correct. SERVICE: 5.0. Excellent advice and very attentive. AMBIANCE: 4.5. Comfortable. We had window-side dining table seating, which provided a nice west-ward view over Seattle.

Decided to book dinner at iconiq last minute and so glad we did! Everything was delicious - no…read moremisses at all. The service was excellent. Note that the cadence of the meal was very relaxed - I.e., this isn't the spot for a quick meal pre-something-else. Plan to be here for 2 hours, relax, and enjoy it!

This place was great! My bf and I went here for our anniversary. Overall I found this place very…read moresatisfying and each dish we got was a hit. Something to note is I found their flavors to lean more towards the sweet & sour realm. Pull Apart Rolls - the lavender butter is the true star of this dish. They should sell that butter by the tub. Rolls are average. Brassicas - it was good but this was my least fav dish we got because it was a little boring. The bread was chewy, the chutney was flavorful, and I enjoyed the broccoli hummus. Raw rockfish crudo - this was a standout dish for me! No fishiness at all. It was fresh, light, and flavorful. I'm not a huge fan of raw fish because of the texture, but I wanted more of this. The serving size is too small imo. Pork Chop - feeds 1-2. I liked it! The meat was perfectly cooked and juicy. Not dry at all. It came with nectarines I think, but I thought it was squash by the appearance. I think squash would've been better. The broccoli in the grits gave it a good texture. This dish takes 35 min to come out and is worth the wait. Miso caramel cake - I loved the crispy edges. Cake was soft and buttery. The caramel flavor really shone through. Good dish to end the night. Whatever ice cream they use on the Melon on My Mind drink is so incredibly creamy. I wish that ice cream was on the dessert menu. Grand Fenelly was a great mocktail, but very sour from the vinegar. It felt almost cleansing that way lol The dishes we got described above + 2 alcoholic drinks + 1 mocktail was $200 after tax but before tip.

7/27/26 On vacation from Hawaii where we have great food But…read more.. First of all I want to Thank Jules our great waitress So genuinely kind, service oriented n knows her food n drinks Farm to Table n I could definitely taste the difference Got to meet the chef n crew They really are working some magic w all the fresh fruits, veggies, meat n seafoods Never cared for mussels but theirs is the best I've ever had Fresh "Raw Rockfish", not the the prettiest creature to look at, but I'll never turn down Driftwood's version If you like grilled fat on your Porkchops then gnawing on the bone... "Oh My!" Tasty creative cocktails n good beer selection Not an extensive menu, which is fine, because what we ate was done really well!

I've been waiting for a year to see what ELDR was all about. I had moved to Ballard from Snohomish…read morefollowing my heart for love and one of our first long day dreaming walks in the neighborhood we stumbled across a corner restaurant that seemed to have been cherished by the community and had a menu that spoke to my heart, almost as much as my soon to be and now wife. Fast forward to a year later and my bride surprised me on my birthday yesterday with an eagerly awaited indulgence. ELDR did not disappoint! The space was cozy, the staff was exactly what I wanted concerning passion and someone who you could share a drink with and talk industry for hours. I wish we would have done better documenting our selection but that just means we'll have to go back and eat our way through the menu! I wish I would have asked if the bread service had an half order. It's a great value and the charred Onion Compound butter was next level. We shared everything as I imagine the small menu was design to do and the potatoes were heavenly. I loved the grilled cabbage dish (undocumented) and the braised pork short ribs with the Meyer lemon bbq sauce was an amazing find. The seasonality is spot on and I hope the menu follows the weather. I can't wait to see what they do for hearty cold weather at the end of the year if that's how the chef's want to proceed.

I used to come to this space when it was Samara, so I was happy to see that Eldr appears to have…read morekept much of the same setup, including the oven, Argentinian-style grill, and even much of the interior design. That was a plus for me because I always loved the charred flavors Samara produced. We came as a group of six and tried a good portion of the menu. We first asked what was included in the tasting menu and were told it would be whatever the chef felt like making. When we asked what the chef felt like making that day, we still could not get an answer, which was a little strange. We ultimately decided to order à la carte. We had the albacore crudo and grilled squid, along with the charred potatoes, gem lettuce, and charred gai lan and mushrooms. For the larger dishes, we ordered the baked crab, duck confit baguette, steak for two, and pork chop. The amount of food was enough for all six of us, and the portion sizes were generally good, especially for the entrées. The steak was nicely sliced and cooked medium rare. The duck was slightly overcooked, but still delicious. The baked crab was somewhat like a rich mac and cheese topped with crab, although the portion felt a little small. It is difficult not to compare eldr with Samara because they share the same space and cooking equipment, even though I understand that they are completely different restaurants with different menus. Samara's menu was simpler and more vegetable-forward, and I felt it made stronger use of the charcoal grill and smoky, charred flavors. I would have liked to experience more of that at eldr as well. A heads up - A 22% service charge was automatically added to the bill, and the overall meal was on the pricier side. Still, the food was enjoyable, the portions worked well for sharing, and the space continues to have a lot of character.