Cafe Juanita stand-in needed

[pgerding]

Hi

I wanted to take my wife to Cafe Juanita for her birthday this month but it's on a Monday which is of course a dark night for many restaurants, including Cafe Juanita.

Does anyone have any good suggestions in the Bellevue/Redmond/Kirkland area for an equal (or better!) super-good-food for a wonderful-foodie restaurant that would be open on Monday?

Thanks so much!

P

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Cafe Juanita
Kirkland, WA, Kirkland, WA

[bighound]

trellis in kirkland is inconsistent
bistro americain in carillon point-french but not fussy-favorite new eastside
pearl in bellevue is consistently good and has a nice vibe
bis on main in old bellevue has been good but the long time chef left
milagro cantina in downtown kirkland is high end mexican-quite good-run by bis on main chef

[FoodDee]

Bistro Americain is good - but definitely a bistro.
I'd consider Pearl mainly a bar scene.
The last lunch I had at Bis on Main was really bad.
Milagro Cantina is overpriced and also seems to be catering to the bar scene. I've had better Mexican food off the trucks (but I'm from SoCal so my expectations are different).

The category of special occasion restaurant is really hard to come by on the Eastside.

[equinoise]

Agree that an Eastside special occasion destination is, somewhat oddly, a tall order. SeaStar used to be a family favorite for such events, but this was always more focused on king crab, raw-bar oysters and quality fish than creative ingredients and preperations. And I haven't been lately. Pearl, to me, doesn't quite arrive where it aims to go, esp. considering the pricing. Howie Steak and El Gaucho are good steakhouses, but certainly not Cafe Juanita substitutes. Personally, I'd go with Monsoon East over the other options, but that would be quite casual.

If it's a special occasion, why not cross the bridge? Hire a car if need be.

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Cafe Juanita
Kirkland, WA, Kirkland, WA

Monsoon East
10245 Main Street, Bellevue, WA 98004

[ethereal]

How's Cantinetta in Bellevue? I've heard good things about the Seattle location, but nothing of the new branch. Did they lose something in the duplication?

[PAO]

Equal or better than Cafe Juanita? No. I like Trellis (Kirkland), which is in a hotel, so I presume it's open on Mondays, but it is not equal to or better than Cafe Juanita.

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Cafe Juanita
Kirkland, WA, Kirkland, WA

[FoodDee]

Trellis is open on Monday and runs a 3 course for $29 special with 1/2 price wines. its a great deal and usually quite good, but not Cafe Juanita. There really isn't anything else on that level on the Eastside

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Cafe Juanita
Kirkland, WA, Kirkland, WA