a/stir — Restaurant in Seattle

I have mixed feelings about this place. The food was pretty good. We got the tasting menu and I loved the caprese salad. The risotto was alright. It seemed strange to me to serve the entree in such small bowls as it made me feel a little cheated, but it ended up being a good amount of food and filling. My partner enjoyed the lamb dish he got, but it wasn’t anything to really talk about.

The desserts were surprising texture wise. The pistachio gelato was icy and was not at all smooth. There were bits of pistachio all throughout giving it a rough texture. It was very different from the creamy gelato you would typically get at a shop. The tahini chocolate mousse was very thick which is for a mousse. But it didn’t have any balance. It needed some cream on top or berries to balance out the bitter and sweet overwhelming chocolate flavor.

The service was shockingly bad. Our server was good with all aspects of the job except for hospitality. They remembered our orders, brought food in a timely manner, etc. But they were extremely brusque. When we arrived, they didn’t ask us if we had dined there before nor did they even introduce themselves to us. They told us nothing about the restaurant or the menu. We didn’t know how the tasting menu worked so we asked and just told us we order the first 2 courses now. When they asked us how our food was, it was super brief and they didn’t ask if there was anything else we needed which is typically also asked at this time from servers.

When it was time to order dessert, they said the options so fast and asked in a way as if we had already decided when I didn’t even remember what they were. I asked them to repeat them, which they did, but they didn’t tell us anything about the dishes to accompany it. Lastly, and most egregiously, they gave us the check while my partner was still midway through his ice cream.

As a side note, they serve water in these cider bottles which is a bit confusing. I love the idea of reusing them, but they could at least take the labels off. Especially as someone who does not drink alcohol, this felt a bit weird. The decor felt a bit weird like they weren’t sure what aesthetic to commit to. The paintings and vases were odd and did not fit with the overall atmosphere of the place.

I wanted to like this restaurant especially as someone who is gluten intolerant but I sadly will probably not be...

I feel bad doing this. I never write bad reviews for food. I know how much heart goes into a place like this but this is necessary because the owner needs to know and I’m sure wants to know when their food is just not good enough to sustain their restaurant. I really want them to succeed, as I have celiacs and need more gluten free restaurants. That being said, here we go.

First I will say the good. It’s a beautiful restaurant and very well designed. Interior design A +. People there are also very friendly. We really liked our waiter. We had the fried cheese curds and they were awesome. The fries were also really good.

The bad. My friend and I ordered the burger and my wife got the fried chicken blt. When the waiter brought the burger to the table the first thing he said is, “mind the bun as they tend to fall apart when you’re eating them”. This was not a good start and honestly, if you have to warn a customer about a major flaw in the food they are handing you, it probably shouldn’t be served. He was nothing if not honest, as these buns fell completely apart within a few bites and I was literally eating the meat by itself in my hand from there out. The reason this isn’t acceptable, even for a gluten free bun, is that I’ve had the gluten free burger at Ghostfish and let me tell you, that’s a fantastic burger with a bun that is indistinguishable from a regular bun. The second part is that we both asked for medium rare and they were both well done and burnt to a crisp. The meat was dry and tasteless. I can say the same for my wife as her blt bread was toasted to black carbon. I cannot say I will be back. I feel sad about that. Maybe their fancier food is much better? Like the Spanish steak?

I’m sorry but this all needed to be said. I really hope you improve these things and succeed. Good luck to you.

*I wanted to mention I did tell our waiter about the disappointing bun. I do realize I should have said something about the burger being overcooked and my wife’s burnt toast and given them an opportunity to correct it. I guess I was so disappointed with everything I didn’t think refiring a new burger would have helped when the bun was...

We were so excited to visit this GF restaurant last weekend during our brief visit to Seattle. Although the food and ciders were wonderful, the service was...confusing. I called in advance to make sure they were open on Easter and confirm when they would close. The woman who answered the phone said their latest seating would be at 9:30pm, so we headed out and arrived at 8:15pm. When we walked in, we were told to sit anywhere we liked, so we chose a booth. We weren't quite ready to order when the waitress first stopped by, and then it took much longer than expected for her to come back to take our orders. While we were waiting, I noticed that the side of our table closest to the wall was dirty and had lots of crumbs from previous diners. When a waiter brought our food, I asked about the status of our drink orders and he said they would be out soon (it seemed odd not to receive our drinks before our meals). The waiter said he would bring us utensils and napkins so we could start eating, but then he only brought one set for two of us. He dropped it and rushed away, without asking if we needed anything else. Shortly after that, another waitress (or bartender?) brought our drinks, and I asked her for another set of utensils with a napkin so we could both eat. As we tried to enjoy our dinner, our original waitress stopped by at least five times to ask how our meals were. It was every few minutes and made us feel rushed and unwelcome. After we finished eating and the waitress brought our bill, she was walking strangely and bumped into a stool (near the side of a wide walkway) on her way to our table. I was concerned that she seemed unwell, and maybe that explains her strange behavior during our meal. Despite the questionable service, we would probably visit again for the food and cider if we're ever...