Goldfinch Tavern — Restaurant in Seattle

I confess to being an unabashed fan of Joe Ritchie’s cooking. I first encountered Chef Richie’s talent when he was running the kitchen at Mkt., Ethan Stowell’s small 28-seat restaurant in Tangletown. Mkt. quickly became one of my favorite places to eat in Seattle, along with the likes of Altura and Spinasse. Ritchie’s creations are noteworthy for their carefully focused flavors that don’t overwhelm the main ingredient, but embellish it with subtle, balanced and elegant grace notes. His dishes often surprise me with lovely details that are like opening unexpected gifts. It’s the kind of cooking that produces “ooohs” and “aaahs” and much eye rolling. Word of Ritchie’s wonderful cooking spread quickly and Mkt. became one of the hot tickets in the Seattle restaurant scene, making it hard to get a reservation at the small restaurant. When I learned that Ethan Stowell was moving Ritchie to a new restaurant in the Four Seasons Hotel downtown, I was disappointed and apprehensive. Not only did it mean that I would have to endure the longer drive to downtown with its congestion, traffic, and expensive parking, but I worried that the corporate hotel influence of Four Seasons might drown out the unique personality and innovativeness of Ritchie’s creations, which had wisely been given full flower at Mkt.

Last Thursday, my wife and I were downtown in the afternoon and decided to check out Chef Ritchie’s new venue at the Goldfinch Tavern in the Four Seasons Hotel. We started with some excellent and interesting cocktails and learned that Goldfinch had the great good fortune to hire Hideki Anpo, the former bar manager extraordinaire at Poppy. Since my wife and I arrived during happy hour, we decided to take advantage of the Goldfinch Burger on the happy hour menu. We both like our burgers cooked “black and blue” with a nice char on the outside, but rare on the inside (which requires the use of very high quality beef). It is almost impossible to find a restaurant that will consistently cook a burger like this, the Sand Point Grill (another of my favorite Seattle restaurants) being a notable exception and our previous gold standard for a burger in Seattle. The Goldfinch Burger was not only cooked perfectly to our specification, but was absolutely delicious, thanks in part to the coarse-ground Wagyu beef from Mishima Ranch. It was the best burger my wife and I have had in Seattle. We also had the hamachi crudo graced with small touches of Taggiasco olives, horseradish, red onion and chervil. Beautifully balanced and swooningly good. On my next visit, I won’t be able to resist ordering the hamachi again, but am excited to try other things like the beef tartare and the beet & Dungeness crab salad. I’m hoping that, in time, the menu at Goldfinch will expand to include more of the innovative small plates (like the hamachi crudo) that were what made Mkt. such a special experience. My wife and I sat at a table by a window overlooking Elliott Bay, and we liked the look, feel, and acoustics of the new space at Goldfinch. Service was excellent – informed, attentive, and friendly. Our very positive experience was especially impressive considering that Goldfinch was just finishing its first month...

Update 9/6/25:

The general manager Kash reached out to me after my post. Not only did she want to speak to me about my experience, but also offered a full refund. We had a conversation about the experience. She ensured her staff would be properly trained, also reviewed the incident with the team, and asked various questions to see their gaps in knowledge. I have never had such a follow up from a restaurant in my life!

Original post:

If this is their typical level of customer service, I’d recommend giving them a try. I will be going back when I’m in the area.

I dined on 7/17th during a flight layover for dinner following my spa treatment at the Four Seasons. Believe me, I travel the world and appreciate great food. I read the reviews and chose the restaurant over one that was further and it seemed amazing! I'll start with...I truly want a refund. This is not something I typically do. The service...5/10. I sat at the bar and eventually was greeted by a young lady (didn't catch her name but believe she was from Colorado). I'll just say I did not feel special nor did I feel I was a patron about to spend money at the establishment. She didn’t offer any information on specials etc. I had to ask all of the questions and for the price, you'd expect attentiveness. I spent over $200. I can't but help to think there was some bias that led to the lack of care or professionalism. She even served me a smoky old fashion and never removed the glass top...delivered it and walked away! Now, another server (red hair) was great! Somehow she stepped in and became the one to assist me with the other never returning. She offered me snacks while I waited which was never presented by the other server. I would have given the service a zero if it weren't for her. Now, let's be clear. I had a goal to treat myself and didn't hold back on what I ordered. I got excited to see Salmon Tartar. I have celiac disease and I don't eat land animals. They told me they could give me gluten free toast in place of focaccia. Perfect! Well...not exactly. Zero flavor in the tartar! I was shocked. I thought maybe that's why it's typically tuna tartar. I didn't eat it...so not like me. They asked how I liked it and I told the truth. Not an offer to bring something else or to remove it from the bill. Nothing! Next, the raw oysters. Well, I was in Seattle and those did not disappoint! So, I was hopeful. The fish of the day...$65 of blandness. I couldn't believe the lack of flavor. I ask for a sauce or something. They obliged and proceeded to bring me a sauce that added some. When I told the server the fish still did not taste well, she mentioned they did not provide me the original sauce because it had gluten. Well, I wouldn't have ordered a pricey dish if I couldn't eat it. Why not tell me. I asked her what happened to the salt, pepper, any seasoning? She laughed. I tend to be gentle with my critiques. I regret that I wasn't in this case. I left feeling disappointed and taken advantage of. I’m a mother and wife who was in business travel. This wasn’t the dinner to...

Absolutely Phenomenal Food, Service, and a View to match. I went with my roommate for a nice night out, a roomie date night. We had our socks entirely blown off.

We were sat at a sweet little booth with a view of the sound. The atmosphere was great right off the bat, the music was at the perfect volume, the lighting was bright but not intense, we felt like we had sat right down in our most comfy pajamas despite being all dressed up for the occasion.

Our server joined us quickly and presented the specials, made some recommendations and left us to consider. I started with the Calliope and the Bruschetta he had the fruity blackberry mocktail and the quinoa salad as a starter, we were both very satisfied and ready for mains.

For our mains I went with the duck, I'm a sucker for a well done duck entree, and he had the salmon special. We also got second drinks to go with the main course, he got a carrot juice mocktail that tasted like a sweet kick to the immune system, and I got a traditional gun martini with Plymouth, slightly dirty and standard olives and I gotta admit, it was the best martini I've ever had! Perfect portions. Back to the entrees, the salmon literally fell apart in a buttery flakey melt in your mouth flavor explosion, my duck was crispy and full of flavor served with some mustard greens and tiny baby radishes that carried the savory sauce the duck was sitting in extremely well.

We were both feeling full and happy after dinner but that's no excuse to let a good desert go to waste so we indulged in a cheesecake and chocolate raspberry cake respectively. I've not had such a light and fluffy cheesecake in my life, I'm way more used to NY style dense cheesecake but I have to admit it made me feel like I'd been missing out until now. His chocolate cake was denser but not heavy, and the raspberry sauce on both desserts was light but punchy and enhanced both desserts.

All in all, we had a fantastic time and I can't wait to go back. I wish all my meals could be as filling and tasty as...