Archipelago — Restaurant in Seattle

Archipelago's team is undeniably talented—particularly the head chef, Aaron—and the splash they've been able to make with such an exclusive restaurant (only ~24 seatings available per day) is impressive. I dined at Archipelago during winter and found much to appreciate, particularly the atmosphere and service. I told the the team I couldn't handle spicy food, and they made me a "mild" version of one of their magnificent juices. They're very kind, and very devoted to customer experience. I have no doubt that the restaurant will continue to evolve and improve.

With all that said, I found the restaurant to be slightly rough around the edges in a few dimensions, particularly for the prices they charge. I understand that they want to pay their team a living wage and work mainly with small, local farms, all of which is wonderful, but I'm guessing that the high prices are partly (mostly?) the result of the exclusivity of the meals rather than the ethics of their supply chain. You pay for the intimacy, which is a key element of the restaurant's ethos—it's fine dining reimagined as a community (read: familial) activity, with everyone crowded around a kitchen island. (One dish even came with "seconds"--a terrific idea.) While I enjoyed this, I felt that more of the cost could have wound up on my tastebuds, so to speak. None of the dishes were outright duds but some were aggressively unmemorable. (Others, I must hasten to add, were incredibly delicious.)

This culinary inconsistency was mirrored by the restaurant's politics. In addition to being a restaurant, Archipelago wants to be a concept—throughout the evening you hear speeches and see pictures related to the Filipino experience in the US (with emphasis on the Pacific Northwest). These stories were often fascinating, but were just as often only tangentially related to the food. Some, in fact, seemed to be intentionally opaque—almost academic. An example: a particularly weak connection was made between the history of condensed milk in the Philippines and Alex Tizon's excellent article "My Family's Slave"—Tizon's family immigrated to the US in the same year that the Carnation company started exporting dairy products to Asia. Aside from this chronological coincidence, there is no further relationship between these ideas, which are plenty rich on their own. I was left wondering why they were reachingly juxtaposed. Curiously over-intellectualized moments such as these distracted from the staff's generosity of spirit and the down-to-earth nature of the dishes.

The phrase that comes to mind in summary is, tellingly, an academic cliché: Archipelago is not afraid to "problematize" its menu. It is strange to find oneself attempting to suss out the delicate politics of the immigrant experience while eating a comfort food...but perhaps this somewhat alienating "work" is part of the point, especially for white patrons. I have nothing but respect for this, but I hope that with time the execution becomes more elegant, and seams in the craft don't show quite as readily. On the whole, I was grateful for the opportunity to see what this very promising...

I don’t usually write reviews, but some of the 2-3 star reviews stating they don’t think Archipelago is “worth the money” compelled me to share my perspective.

I’m Filipino-American (parents born in the islands) and grew up on Filipino food.

As others have mentioned, the service, presentation, storytelling, and atmosphere are all top notch. I had very little knowledge about Filipino culture in the PNW and Seattle area and learned a lot. For example, Carnation condensed milk, a Filipino pantry staple and a brand I few up with, was located in Carnation, WA.

For those who are complaining about the ingredients (that they’re common or low quality) are completely missing the point. Most Filipino food is based on what we think of as common staples (chicken, pork, beef, simple fish), and is defined by the unique blend of savory, umami, and tart flavors that come from combinations like garlic and tamarind. To the person who expected more “refined” ingredients like uni and lobster, that would, in my opinion feel less authentic.

Archipelago is not Filipino fusion, it is decidedly and unashamedly Filipino. My experience here mirrored that scene in Ratatouille where eating the dish brought vivid childhood memories and feelings of comfort through flavor. Each dish recalled a specific flavor, memory, or event. As a whole, the meal encompassed every flavor and texture I associate with the plethora of Filipino food out there.

My single criticism would be that my husband and I are both pescatarian and our main course (usually steak) was scallops, which were very, but was the only dish that didn’t bring back that sense memory experience. Filipino food is very meat heavy, so I was honestly pleasantly surprised that only one dish “missed”. It was still great, just not the level of flavor authenticity as the other courses.

To the person finding it awkward that they asked how hungry you were and then changed your answer to one that seemed more “polite”. That is the the most un-Filipino thing I’ve ever heard. At a real Filipino home, they wouldn’t ask you how hungry you are, they’d just keep shoving food at you. The folks at Archipelago have shifted the “Here eat more” ask from your Tita to something more acceptable in fine dining. Perhaps one suggestion would be to explain that aspect of Filipino culture so the less familiar set can understand that the “have you eaten yet” or “have you eaten enough” questions translate to “I love you, I care about you.” No need to be polite, we want to care for you, tell us how.

If you want an authentic, unabashedly Filipino dining experience delivered through story and flavor, go to Archipelago. If you want lobster and uni, you might be at the...

Archipelago is a whole dining experience and not just a meal.

Food - I think there were a total of 12+ courses and every course had a story behind it. I loved the unique plating and the flavors all melted very nicely together. They were all very unique ingredients that were seasonal and fresh and used to its best ability. I can't say I have seen these combinations elsewhere before. I just appreciated and was impressed by the creativity and the unique nature of each course. I also appreciate that for one of the courses. The chef asked us how full we were and based on the number that we gave he gave us more to eat. I really liked this because sometimes you walk away from a fine dining restaurant hungry and that is not acceptable. Even though he gave us more to eat based on the numbers we gave, some of us regretted not giving indication that we wanted to eat more, but that was OK because the chef had prepared even more food and gave us plenty more to eat and really filled our bellies before the dessert courses hit.

Atmosphere - since they only take small groups, it was a very intimate setting. I was in a group of four and we were the only group of four while everybody else was either one or two. Since it was such a small space I feel like we got a lot of attention from all the servers. They always kept our drinks full and delivered the dishes at the same time to our table. This is fine dining at its best. Service overall was just spectacular. They also added the unique aspect of storytelling to the dishes. Some of the dishes came with a little picture slide or a little history lesson and I really enjoyed that aspect of the experience.

The reason I took away a star is three out of the four of us got the juice pairing and they were $92 each. For such a price we expected the most delicious drinks we've ever tasted and it was just not it. I think we got about four or five glasses of different juices and they were honestly just juice... Things that we could've made in our own blenders. I didn't think they complemented the meal or courses in any particular way And again at the price tag of $92 I just did not see the appeal or how that was justified.

My friend who got the alcoholic beverage pairing, was really pleased with his pairing and said that was definitely the way to go.

So I would still recommend this place as peak, fine dining, but I would recommend not getting the juice pairing because it really was not necessary. If you want to drink alcohol, then the alcoholic pairing might be worth it. Honestly, I still have a hard time saying it was worth the money but at the end of the day I really enjoyed my meal and the entire experience and I don't regret...