MKT Restaurant Review

Ethan Stowell's new restaurant, Mkt, is a great addition to the chef's portfolio of Seattle restaurants.  Situated in the weirdly named 'Tangeltown' neighbourhood in Wallingford (N 55th St), you would easily miss it if you didn't know it was there.  With just 28 covers, this is a sliver of a restaurant, with an open frontage that works well on a summer's evening and tables running back to the gloomy back area that houses the restroom.  You don't really want to be back there.  We visited on a Thursday and got a reservation for 8.30pm.  We sat in the middle of the single row of tables.  It was hot and noisy.  The kitchen is right next to all the tables so you can't escape that, but it makes for a buzzy atmosphere.  Oh, and you're close to your neighbors, so don't come here for privacy.

But do come here for the food.  All the plates we sampled were very good.  The food is served family style and there is a good selection of meat, fish and veggie options.  Starting at the top of each section, the plates get progressively more expensive and bigger.  Average plate cost is around $10-$12.  For the quality, the prices were reasonable.

You can check out the latest menu here.

Aragona Restaurant Review

Location: Downtown
Food: Good
Service: Excellent
Ambiance: Good
Overall: Appetizing
Comments: Aragona Restaurant opened up just before Christmas 2013, right opposite the Four Seasons Hotel in downtown Seattle.  There is a lounge/bar to the left and a relatively small restaurant to the back.  We turned up on time but our table wasn't ready so the greeter offered us a glass of bubbles on the house whilst we waited.  That was a nice touch, especially since we only had to wait 5 minutes, so was unnecessary.  Service overall was excellent.  The restaurant decor is quite European, but not hugely inspiring.  The menu feels the same. There is not a huge dish selection, but what there is on offer sounds very good. The food tasted great too.  The wine list was very interesting and well priced. Lots of great Spanish options.
Aragona Restaurant website is here

BeachHouse Bar and Grill in Kirkland

Location: Kirkland
Food: Good
Service: Excellent
Ambiance: Good
Overall: Appetizing
Comments: Right on the water, next to a playground and small beach. Nice fire roaring when we turned up for lunch on a cold day. Excellent service, pretty waitresses. Massive menu selection from burgers to decent seafood entrees. My fish and chips was good but tartare sauce was old. Prices good. Kid friendly.
Beachhouse website is here

Beach Cafe in Kirkland

Location: Carillon Point, Kirkland
Food: Average
Service: Good
Ambiance: Very Good
Overall: Unappetizing
Comments: Great views.  Nice walks nearby. Child friendly. Friendly service.  Menu is mainly burgers, sandwiches, salads, soups.  Nothing fancy.  Salmon tacos were small and average.  A little pricey for food quality but worth a trip for the location alone.
Click to go to Beach Cafe website

Rock Creek Restaurant Review

Location: Fremont, Seattle
Food: Very good
Service: Very good
Ambiance: Very good
Overall: Appetizing
Comments: Older crowd. Excellent cocktails, Excellent good.  Good service. Buzzy. Tables close together. Interesting menu. Mainly seafood/fish.
Website here

Loulay Restaurant Review

Location: Downtown, Seattle
Food: Very good
Service: Good
Ambiance: Good
Overall: Appetizing
Comments: Next to Sheraton. Buzzy brasserie French/American fusion. Nice booths. Mezzanine. Good food and service.  Chef also owns Luc in Madison Park.  Child friendly.  A keeper.
Website here

How To Cook a Wolf Restaurant Review

Location: Upper Queen Anne, Seattle
Food: Good
Service: Very good
Ambiance: Very good
Overall: Appetizing
Comments: Tiny place. Ethan Stowell restaurant. Usually everything great.  Pasta not so great this time around. Sharing dishes.  Reasonably priced. Fun atmosphere.  Not child friendly. Small bar for walk ins.
Website here

Lark Restaurant Review

Location: Capitol Hill, Seattle
Food: Excellent
Service: Excellent
Ambiance: Very good
Overall: Appetizing
Comments: Pre-ordered the suckling pig dinner for eight people.  Whole suckling pig, perfectly cooked. Appetizers, starters and desserts all came with it, no decisions required. Everything excellent.  Can bring own wine for $20 corkage,
Website here

Blue C Sushi Downtown Seattle Restaurant Review

Location: Downtown, Seattle

Food: Very good

Service: Very good

Ambiance: Very good

Overall: Appetizing

Comments: Conveyor belt sushi but good quality.  New menu, better pricing. Child friendly.  Great Japanese videos on walls. Separate bar.  Booths by door very draughty and cold in Winter.
Website here

Joule Restaurant Review

Location: Fremont, Seattle

Food: Very good

Service: Good

Ambiance: Good

Overall: Appetizing

Comments: Located next to Whale Wins, open plan restaurant; had Sunday brunch which is $17 fixed price for one main dish and help yourself buffet.  Child friendly.
Website here

New Year, New Blog

Well, not quite new.  This ole blog of mine still gets a ton of traffic, but I don't have a lot of time for writing reviews nowadays, so I'm going to try something a big different...

On this Seattle Appetizer blog, I will summarize my dining experience using a standard format (which I'll revise depending on feedback), in addition to continuing to use Twitter as my main 'outlet' for my restaurant reviews.

Let's see how we get on...