Joule — Restaurant in Seattle

We just had the special Veganuary Sunday Supper and it was one of the best meals of my life. I'm vegan, but the three friends who came with me are not, and none of us had been to Joule before.

It was an overall delightful experience. Manager Brandi spent a lot of time talking to us and checking in, chefs Cera and Carter told us about each course.

I got the Oh Mai, Oh My! mocktail, and it really did taste like a mai tai. Was delicious, would get again. My friend got the mocktail pairings and was disappointed by half of them, but I think that was the only draw.

Starter was eggplant unagi onigiri with black rice. I wish the eggplant had been super soft as it sometimes can be cooked, but the flavor was nice.

Then housemade cashew cheese on toast, topped with crunchy chickpeas, mushroom, & preserved lemon chili crisp. One of the highlights of the meal for me! And I don't really like mushrooms! Light, balanced, flavorful, creamy.

Then house-fermented kimchi pancake with mushroom bao. The mushroom inside looked like pulled about meat, was quite impressive.

All the portions were QUITE large, which we were pleasantly surprised by for an expensive, multi-course meal.

The green curry noodle bowl came out, with tofu katsu, and we were told that it was in a cilantro sauce, which was not on the menu. This was unfortunately, because one of my friends literally can't eat cilantro. I waved Brandi over and explained the situation, and she said she'd go figure something out with the kitchen. She brought my friend the spicy rice cake from the regular menu, but with mushrooms instead of chorizo, making it vegan. My friends were delighted! It was delicious--perfect crunch on the rice cakes, super flavorful. I enjoyed the green curry noodle bowl -- the tofu katsu was really juicy and the breading was delicious, and I'd never had collard greens pickled like that. I took most of them home though!

Dessert was the highlight for all of us. My friend was literally in her own little world while eating it, she enjoyed it so much. Only stopping to say "I love this." Banana toffee canelle (cake) topped with caramelized bananas with a perfect hard sugar shell, and black sesame coconut whip. Every bite was exquisite.

Brandi explained to me that their regular menu also has quite a few vegan options -- scallion pancake without the salmon/creme fraiche, smoked tofu, cabbage salad without the cheese, spicy rice cake (which we got to try), and the chinese broccoli & winter squash. Looking at the menu now, I think the dan dan noodle is also vegan.

I'll certainly back for a nice vegan meal in...

HOLY SHIZ. GET THE STEAK TARTARE. It's like no other steak tartare I've ever had. It's asian fusion, dressed with some sweet umami-filled soy sauce & sprinkled with pine nuts and scallions. It comes with bigger chunks of meat than the traditional steak tartare. I'm one for pronounced textures and great flavors- so this is a huge huge WIN for me. This was so amazing that I got another for take out...

Anyways, on to the full review haha. PLEASE take the kitchen-side tables. It's basically a comfy bar in front of the open kitchen, where the chefs are ferociously cooking up the dishes - and I mean ferociously! They never stopped moving! Each chef had their own station, and made specific dishes over and over again. So, it was so inspiring watching the masters at their craft.

All the dishes I had were good. The service was amazing. It was def a 5 star experience.

Steak tartare - see above.

Cold smoked escolar- It was an interesting taste. It was a great appetizer / complement to the other dishes that proceeded, as this was cold and refreshing and the next dishes coming were heavier and hot!

Spicy rice cake- OKAY. All those reviewers who were saying that they want this to be their last meal on earth are TRIPPIN. I've had it before in ktown in LA, and this tastes exactly like it. The like how the ddukboki was crisp though (like how it should be!), but I wouldn't order it again. But if you've never had ddukboki before, please try it! It's pretty cool!

4.Duck pastrami fried rice- MmMmmMm this was so good. The pieces of duck pastrami were so addicting. I wanted to scoop them up and eat them all at once. But, then I also wanted each scoop of rice to come with one. Dilemmas.. dilemmas

Bavette, sumac rub, anchovy miso, 8oz, WA- The anchovy miso enticed me. The foreign sounding name of "Bavette" seduced me. But this dish did not do the trick. The meat was hard to chew for me. The anchovy miso's intensity was not there. I expected the mealiness of the miso spread paired with the saltiness of the anchovy, but I got none of that. I say skip on this, and go with the salmon. It seemed popular that night and I wish I've gotten that.

Summer squash- MMmMm the thai basil really was an excellent addition. It was "exotic" and it was cool experience this unusual pairing.

All in all, this was a great experience and a great meal. It will be in my to-do list the next time I...

We had an excellent time at Joule. I found my food properly-cooked, profound and complex. All of our plates combined various different flavors, textures and colors, and it was properly seasoned (which is not as common as one would think). The space is minimal and the service friendly and discreet. I loved their wine selection and I think the food and wine is properly priced for the quality this restaurant offers.

We started with the Bone marrow, and the anchovy butter, the leeks and the (celery?) leaves on top created a dish that was fresh, fragrant, and balanced without being overpowering and buttery. Maybe a bruschetta or a baguette to spread the bone marrow on would have helped. Also, one of those marrow spoons seemed necessary.

The shrimp with the green curry amazed us with its quality. Properly cooked, you could smell the fresh seawater while tasting it and the curry added depth and herbal freshness.

The beef tartare was also excellent, the pine nut added texture, the Asian pear some balanced fruit sweetness, as well as more texture, and the aji amarillo aioli suited the dish well.

The eggplant wontons were very interesting as well, and I particularly enjoyed the smoked trout. I am

We had a grass-fed ribeye to share between two people and it was really an impressive dish. I never had rib eye with yellow curry and I found the combination very enjoyable, to say the least.

Our Joule box desert, unsurprisingly excellent, with the texture of the semi freddo to be spot on. The grapefruit Brule was a very interesting addition combining the fragrant bitterness of the grapefruit with the sweet bitterness of the burned sugar, and when combined with the coconut semi freddo and the roasted coconut flakes, tastes and textures all combine harmoniously.

Less interesting was Ube ice cream sandwich. I found the texture of the ice cream to be not very smooth or creamy and the flavor not very pronounced. The other components of the dish complimented it well, but its a pity the ice cream better.

All in all, I would gladly revisit, I am perfectly satisfied with my experience at Joule. I wish more contemporary restaurants that charge as much as Joule does, or more, could deliver the quality of food that...