Grappa — Restaurant in Seattle

Context: Went with one other person for the Christmas Eve dinner at 7:30 PM or so. They had a 4 course Christmas menu for $95 per person, which looked like it consisted of normal menu items but smaller and fitting a set menu.

Course 1: Appetizers We got a winter salad and lobster bisque. The lobster bisque was more like lobster soup with some chunks of lobster. I don't think it actually contained cream, making it watery, but the lobster flavor was intense, and it was good overall if you like briney things. The winter salad was comparatively stingy, consisting of berries on arugula with a vinaigrette. The vinaigrette was salty and tangy and probably the best part of the dish. The berries and arugula were tasty, but sparse. For example, there were literally two blackberries and a pinch of julienned apples in the whole dish. The blueberries and pomegranate seeds were a bit more abundant, but the arugula itself was meager in portion. Kind of disappointing for the beginning of a nearly $100 meal.

Course 2: Small bites/Hors d'oeuvres We ordered their caviar and smoked salmon crostini and American wagyu bites. There were two nonuniform crostini with a small piece of smoked salmon, goat cheese(?), and caviar on top. The salmon was so strong as to overpower any nuance or delicacy of the other components of the dish. Overall disappointing (the salmon was tasty, though). The American wagyu bites were a lot better. Chunks of grilled beef came in a soup/sauce with a piece of grilled bread on top. Everything about the dish was fantastic. The sauce was some kind of (tastefully) spicy tomato-based sauce that was flavorful without being overwhelming. It was almost bowl-licking good. If they have this in their regular menu, I would highly recommend it. The beef was tender and flavorful, with some char for contrast. Even the bread was delightful and the grill marks added tasty intrigue (did that make sense? In any case, it was good). The meal started to turn around at this point.

Course 3: Main course We got a pan roasted half jidori chicken and a Maine lobster risotto. They were both great. Even a half chicken (wing, thigh, leg, and breast) was a decent amount of food. The breast was a little dry, unfortunately, but the rest of the chicken was flavorful and juicy. It looked like they marinate their chicken with a layer of yogurt or goat cheese between the skin and the meat, which added a nice punch to an already decent chicken. I honestly couldn't tell that much of a difference between a standard supermarket chicken and this Jidori chicken, but it was good in any case. The other garnishes were nice, but I must give a shoutout to the cipollini onions - so tasty. The risotto's texture was not quite chewy and not quite crunchy, but just right. The primary flavor was that of tarragon and lobster. They were generous with the lobster chunks. It was filling and never tiring - a great entree and experience.

Course 4: Desserts We got the pistachio gelato and Mama's tiramisu. We were actually debating between the flourless chocolate cake and the tiramisu, but were told that the cake was quite sweet and the tiramisu is less so. The tiramisu ended up being the right amount of sweetness to balance the bitterness from the chocolate and coffee flavors. It was unlike most tiramisus I've had and more like a cake in its textures and layers (no lady fingers or biscuits). However, it was great. Each layer was distinct and tasty. We were told that they use Bailey's Irish cream, so just a warning to those who might be sensitive to alcohol.

Miscellaneous: Service was excellent and servers were attentive. Food came out fairly quickly for a busy day. There was a service fee and a mandatory gratuity that were calculated on the post-tax total. So the 3.5% service fee was actually 3.9% and the mandatory gratuity (if applicable) was 22% rather than 20% as listed. Reasonable but shady, I thought. Even for Seattle, I'd probably not want to pay more than $75 for what was served here taking into account quality and (lack of)...

Atmos: Great. Fantastic date night vibe. Low lighting, a "buzz" in the air. There is an upper and lower section. The upper felt maybe a little more intimate and a little warmer to be able to take your coat off if you run cold ;)

App: Crab Ravioli: Good but unfortunately dry. It was supposed to have a little brown butter sauce on it but sadly it was so little that it was dry and "cakey" in the mouth since the delicious crab inside was also dry. The flavors were great! I just wish it had a little more moisture either on the outside or inside.

Main 1: Pappardelle Bolognese: Only ok. Overall, too sweet and really dry as well. I have tasted about 15+ house made Bolognese/Ragus around Seattle this year and this didn't wow me like others. I can say fresh Pappardelle is tough to do and they did it better than other places, but the sauce was a turn off. It was way too sweet for a Bolognese. I can't tell if it was too much of the herb (maybe tarragon?), or too much wine that didn't reduce down or something else. My friend didn't like how sweet it was either. I wish it would have been a little more savory. Also, the meat % was really really low and maybe only got 4 very little crumbles in the entire dish. The sauce to noodle ratio was good (but just not the core flavor) in my personal experience.

Main 2: Spicy Sausage Fettuccine: Great! This dish was much better. Their noodle texture was better and the sauce was moist enough to maintain enjoyment the whole time. There was a healthy amount of the meat (as opposed to the Bolognese) and the flavors were well balanced. As a person who cannot tolerate spicy food, this was not scary spicy and instead was a well done flavorful spicy.

I give food 3/5 stars since 2 of the 3 dishes were a miss for me. But it has potential over other Italian places in town depending on what you order I think.

Service: Great. Very friendly, professional, didn't bother us, good pace of attention, clear communicator.

Street parking was still fairly decent despite it being a...

We went here to celebrate our anniversary and everything about this place was great! The staff and service was top notch. They got us in early for our reservation (we ended up on that side of town earlier than expected), checked in on us at the perfect times, and everyone was so friendly. The place was packed (even for a 9:15 pm reservation) so I would recommend calling ahead if you can. Otherwise, stop by, put your name down, and take a stroll down the road while you wait…it’s a beautiful neighborhood. The ambiance was perfect, dimly lit, candles, cozy, and comfortable. I regret not taking photos of the food because it was fantastic. We ordered the house focaccia and meatballs (which are technically sides) as starters. The meatballs were SO good and the focaccia was good, but they need to rethink their method of oil and vinegar pairing. It was mixed together in a dish; we dipped our bread and only got the oil. My partner is Italian and was reluctant to try the gnocchi (lamb ragu) because it wouldn’t be as good as his mom’s, but he ordered it, and started to tear up. It was that good. I ordered the seafood risotto and it was delicious. We will definitely eat here again the next time we...