10th Anniversery Special Dinner out

[kathyp17]

Where would you recommend in the Seattle area for a special occasion? This will be a Saturday night and we will be staying in a hotel in downtown Seattle. Does not necessarily need to be super fancy though we are certainly open to that. Our favorite food is Ethiopian, we love wine, seafood, the works....nothing we are adverse to.

We don't make it up to Seattle often but we have been to: Wild Ginger, the Herb Farm, the Georgian Room, Elliots, Chez Shea, The Metropolitan Grill, and Damon's

Not really looking for a Steak House I guess. I have been searching and am having a hard time narrowing things down. Would appreciate any input. Thank you!

[rudyhux]

Matt's in the Market!

[cocktailhour]

Based on where you have been and the scale it seems you are looking for, I would go to Rover's. My other suggestion is Crush. They are among my favorites for high end dining.

[PAO]

If you were willing to go to Kirkland, I'd highly recommend Cafe Juanita as well.

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Cafe Juanita
Kirkland, WA, Kirkland, WA

[PAO]

Most Ethiopian places aren't the type of place for such an occasion! But Cafe Soleil is nicer than most I've been to and serves Ethiopian in the evening (the owner is Ethiopian) (pay no attention to any brunch reviews you read, because those aren't for Ethiopian food). No website, but here's a helpful link. http://www.yelp.com/biz/cafe-soleil-seattle. Other chowhounds may have other Ethiopian places with the right ambiance that I've never been to.

If you want to stay in Seattle proper, I'd suggest Cascina Spinasse. www.spinasse.com. Fabulous pasta and really good entrees and appetizers as well. Rover's is also a special occasion place, but very expensive, but heck, you've already been to the Herb Farm. http://thechefinthehat.com/rovers/. If you don't go to Cafe Soleil, I'd go to Spinasse.

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Spinasse
Seattle, WA, Seattle, WA

Cafe Soleil
1400 34th Ave, Seattle, WA 98122

Herb Farm
14590 NE 145th St, Woodinville, WA 98072

Cascina Spinasse
1531 14th Avenue, Seattle, WA 98122

[kathyp17]

Thanks PAO. We were looking at Rover's or possibly Canlis. They seem similar price wise. I do want it to be a bit fancy at least. I have not been to Cafe Soleil. We are trying to make it to all 15 ethiopian places in Seattle eventually....I just let everyone know we love Ethiopian to let them know we are willing to try anything/like interesting foods :) I will investigate Spinasse further, thank you.

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Canlis Restaurant
2576 Aurora Ave N, Seattle, WA 98109

Spinasse
Seattle, WA, Seattle, WA

Cafe Soleil
1400 34th Ave, Seattle, WA 98122

[tsquare]

15? Got to be more than that. I have not been to Habesha - Ethiopian, downtown. More of a date place than most, from what I've seen.
What about Poppy? Or Joule or Revel? Nishino?
Or one of the new places that have opened this week or will next week. Lots of talent on display on QA, Capitol Hill, and downtown!
And please, what is/was Damon's? Does not ring a bell.

[kathyp17]

Thank you very much tsquare for your recommendations. We have been to Habesha. It is swanky for an Ethiopian place for sure but not the best selection of dishes and a bit over priced. There are probably more than 15 now. This was years ago when I was looking to see how many there were and search engines were also not what they are today. I am sure many have popped up that we have not been to but we have tried: The Blue Nile, Meskel, Lalibella, Mesob, Kokeb, Saba, the aforementioned Habesha, and Assimba. All of them decent. We seek it out sometimes when travel so we have had it in Washington DC, Spokane, CA. So far in Seattle none of them as good as our favorite place in- Tempe, AZ. Still trying to reach that ideal. If I had to pick I'd probably say Meskel is the closest.

About Damon's I meant Daniels. My fingers get ahead of me sometimes.

I'd rather not go to a completely brand new place for such a special occasion. As for Poppy the thali concept while interesting and I do want to try, I am just not feeling on this particular date. If it is going to be almost like a tasting menu, I'd like it more formal.

Joule and Revel are owned by the same people correct? I will look into those more. A friend of mine went to Revel and said she thought it was expensive for the portion size. I have not heard of Nishino...but we love sushi.

[tsquare]

I suggested Nishino because it is more an older money type place (though welcoming to all) and has some unusual options. M likes the fois gras and seared tuna, for instance. And I'm happy, especially in autumn, when someone offers chawanmushi.

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Nishino
3130 E Madison St Ste 106, Seattle, WA 98112

[pusherman]

Joule is absolutely one of my favorite places in Seattle, but while it is a very nice restaurant, it seems to me more on the neighborhood side than on the fancy-special-occasion side. Revel I haven't made up my mind on yet.

Of the places mentioned, I can definitely recommend Spinasse, I haven't been to Canlis. I like Rover's, but don't love it for the cost. Have you thought about Staple & Fancy, which has gotten much love on this site recently and is great? Also, I went to Lark for the first time in like 2 years the other night and was instantly reminded about why it is one of my fave Seattle restaurants.

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Canlis Restaurant
2576 Aurora Ave N, Seattle, WA 98109

Spinasse
Seattle, WA, Seattle, WA

[christy319]

I would choose Canlis over Rover's. I just don't find the food that special at Rover's (fine, well executed, but just not delicious), and the ambiance is more Grandma's house than special occasion, IMO. Canlis is expensive but snazzy and truly special occasion feeling (down to the valets who mysteriously always have your car ready when you exit). If the menu looks good to you, I'd do that.

I agree Joule is more neighborhood-y and casual than this occasion warrents.

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Canlis Restaurant
2576 Aurora Ave N, Seattle, WA 98109

[dagoose]

There are definitely more than 15 Ethiopian restaurants in Seattle! Where did you pull that number from?

[kathyp17]

dagoose- read my response above :) Perhaps there are 15 on Cherry street now?

[dagoose]

Yup, saw that. I'd say in terms of the best, the big one that is missing from that list is Dahlak, on rainier, if you are looking. Meskel would be my second choice.

[kathyp17]

Oooh have not been to Dahlak. Thanks for the tip. I will have to try that out. Do you know if they have the green beans and carrot dish (fasolia)? So many of them here do not and it is my favorite. Also I have yet to find a Seattle Ethiopian restaurant that has both a vegetarian and a meat combo. I like to have some of the chicken, lamb, beef and fish and it is not practical (financially or portion wise) to order separate meat dishes. Most of the ones we have tried have at the veggie combo at least. Also one of my pet peeves is when they use white flour instead of teff (or at least some teff) in their injera. Some of them are doing that now for "american taste" which is terrible. I learned to make the injera at home so I can have it whenever I want but it is a lot of work and I love to go out to a good restaurant.

[tsquare]

You mean a combo that has a meat dish or two, plus assorted vegetable dishes? That's what we always get. So Dahlek must have that. Usually doro wat or something - theirs is served in a separate heated dish so it doesn't mix in with the vegetables. They have lots of club activity, so if you don't want live music or dancing, be careful what time you go.

We used to go to Fana's Cuisine quite a bit - no alcohol served - but they keep trying different things and sometimes the menu just hasn't worked well for us. Sometimes it has been our favorite (the dried beef dish GENFILFIL is crave worthy.) Not fancy, but very nice people.

[kathyp17]

At our favorite place in Arizona and at Kokab here in Seattle (at least last time we went) they had a meat combo which was 3-5 different meats in much smaller portions that you can order along with the veggie combo and get a little taste of almost everything on the menu. Rather than just one meat. Most of the Seattle restaurants we have tried do have the veggie combo which is nice. I just can't imagine ordering only one or two dishes when you go...the flavors are so fabulous and so fun to mix together. Thanks for the tip on the music. We are not too old to enjoy that but it is good to know ahead of time. I will have to try GENFILFIL at Fana's...sounds fabulous.

[dagoose]

I seem to remember them having a meat combo like that, and this post from Culinary Fool agrees: http://culinaryfool.com/2005/05/27/da... also, the dried beef is always amazing--they call it Qanta firfir at Meskel, and I believe at dahlak too.

[kathyp17]

Thank you thank you dagoose! I remember drove by this place the last time we were up in Seattle and wondered how similar Eritrean was to Ethiopian. It does seem from that article there is a meat combo and be still my heart in that picture I spy my beloved green beans and carrots! I am doing a little dance of joy right now.