iconiq — Restaurant in Seattle

Just. Amazing. Dare I say even the best bites I've had in Seattle? I had booked a private dining even for my husband's 40th and Chef Kawai has surpassed all expectations. He catered the menu according to our preferences and every single bite was just phenomenal.

Our first course was a Vichysoisse. Now, I'm not usually a cold soup kind of person but I can eat a whole gallon of this. It's creamy as a vichyssoise is supposed to be but the truffle vinaigrette that was added ensured that it never got heavy. It was then topped with a delicious parmesan foam that not only added even more flavor but added an almost airy texture.

This was followed by a pork belly confit that is everything you want in pork belly. The crunch, the richness which is then balanced out by pickled cabbage and soy honey mustard, and the asparagus puree that just ties it all together.

After the heavier pork, he followed it up with a summer risotto and he did NOT skimp on the truffles. Every bite was just delicious crisp, truffle-y flavor that is complemented by the creamy risotto.

Now the lobster mac and cheese. It definitely wasn't what I was expecting. He had pea coulis and micro shiso that just made this dish a light course, then he topped that up with a togarashi tuile that gave it some crunch. Just delicious.

Last course before dessert was a filet mignon with a saikyo-yaki foie gras. He topped the foie gras with some white miso sauce that was chef's kiss and then added some crispy maitake mushrooms and perigourdine sauce. I wasn't able to take a photo because I inhaled the whole dish before I knew it.

Dessert...oh the dessert. I could eat it all day. It was an absolutely amazing palate cleanser after the steak. The Yogurt Blancmange with the raspberry yuzu sorbet were just the right amount of tart and melt-in-your-mouth, this was beautifully surrounded by marinated berries and a red wine foam that was just...wow. If I had the superhuman kind of metabolism, this is probably something I would eat everyday. I would eat this whole entire meal everyday.

We've gone here before the pandemic and even then I remember how amazing his dishes are. I just can't say enough good things (and I know I've said delicious several times...because everything really is) and I think he needs more recognition for his talent. Brava Chef...

The restaurant is cozy and small, which actually surprised me. There's only one server/busser in the dining area; the bar was empty. I assume that in an ideal world there would be two people serving the diners.

SERVICE

That turned out to be negatively impacting our dining experience. Because it's short-staffed, it took us long enough to get our food ordered. The server was courteous, but a few things I'd like to point out:

1. When presenting the menu, tell us what's sold out already. It's a waste of time and annoying to be told that they ran of truffle, after waiting for 5 minutes to get the server's attention, only to be having to make another decision about what to eat when the server is standing next to us. The server could've saved the time and told us beforehand

2. The dining area was apparently short-staffed, as another chef ended up helping the diners when we were done eating. If that's the case, just stop asking if there's anything you could do for us every time after passing the dishes to us

FOOD

Food is okay, and as I mentioned in my other reviews, I'm losing hope in Seattle's restaurants.

The fried squid was on point. The texture was great, and the veggies set aside were a good complement. The octopus was a bit heavy, so maybe the veggies should be lighter.

The cauliflower trio was not bad either. I wonder if making the boiled floret into biting size (instead of sliced) would make it easier to eat.

Foie gras risotto - it's fatty, yes, as expected. Maybe the risotto, as a result, should be lighter with less butter? I'm not an expert on risotto, so this could be my personal preference.

Filet mignon had a lovely plating. I love it. The fried sweetbread was very innovative. The steak itself was not as tender as I would expect unfortunately. Maybe the temperature of the grill was not high enough to sear the surface? The other stuffs in the plate overshadowed the steak, and overall it was still a stunning dish.

BOTTOM LINE

It made me wonder the target customers of this restaurant. It has the potential to be a upscale restaurant that serves great experience and delicate food with high profit margin, or just attempt to cater to more people by making everything more average. It's a struggle for sure to serve Seattle. Or maybe I'm just...

Post-vaccination, after more than a year in intense lock-down, this was a MAGICAL dining experience. First of all, safety protocols were great. Advanced reservations were required, there was hand sanitizer readily available, and only one other party in the restaurant.

Secondly, and most importantly, the food was INCREDIBLE. 1. I do not like pork. I think it tastes weird and have always avoided it. But my partner ordered the pork belly and so I gave it a try and OH. My. Gawd it was DIVINE. As was the Nicoise salad.

I had the steak as my main, and it blew me away. It was perfectly cooked, medium rare and served with the most gorgeous wine sauce. The mashed potatoes were creamy, and the mushrooms were an absolute treat. It was quite rich, and a larger serving than I expected, so I genuinely didn't think I could finish it—but it was too tasty not to finish.

Post-meal, I usually don't bother with dessert. I don't like sugary stuff and because I'm celiac, my options are usually creme brule (WAY too rich after a meal like this one) or a chocolate brownie (I don't like chocolate). But the dessert they were offering was unlike anything I'd ever seen and absolutely like something I'd want: wine soaked fruit with a yuzu-raspberry sorbet, yogurt, and wine foam.

I have eaten in Michelin star restaurants in the UK and France and I have NEVER had such an amazing dessert. It was dreamy! And again, despite how incredibly full I was, I managed to finish it because it was just too damn good not to.

It's clear that the chef loves to cook, to play with flavours, and to bring joy and delight with food. Iconiq is a hidden treasure and one I will definitely be...