Pink Salt Restaurant & Lounge — Restaurant in Seattle

In my quest to find, “The one” I go on so many dates that I struggle to find new ideas. After a nice day walking around Discovery Park with a wonderful lady, I needed to come up with something good for a second date. While I struggled for an idea, she suggested that we go with a classic - a nice restaurant dinner. I went online to find recommendations and was surprised to find Pink Salt. I had never heard of the place and I was intrigued to give Peruvian food a try. The wonderful lady knew the place and eagerly agreed to join me. Getting a reservation was no problem on a Sunday evening. I waited impatiently for Sunday to come around. Finally the day came. I took care of all the usual date night preparations before driving to Magnolia. Google Maps did a great job of getting me there with time to spare. I found parking on the street not too far away and played games on my phone until it was time. My date showed up on time, looking great. We hugged a little closer than I do with most second dates (I like this one), and headed in. There were almost no other customers inside. I mentioned that I had a reservation, but it didn’t matter. We were waved to a table where we were handed menus. The restaurant is tastefully decorated in dark colors. There are two rooms for indoor dining and an outside seating area. It was quiet inside and we had one of the inside rooms all to ourselves, which was great for a deep personal conversation. I learned that a Pisco Sour is the national drink of Peru. The brandy based drink featured a topping of whipped egg whites that they painted with a drawing of a llama. It was yummy. Next, we picked a tenderloin steak for me and yellowfin tuna for her from the menu. Each dish came with a different version of risotto. I really like chimichurri and their version was great. My only complaint was that I would have liked more of it. Also, it was paired with pesto risotto. For me, pesto and chimichurri are a little close to each other to be served together. The wonderful lady offered me a taste of her tuna which was perfect. For dessert we ordered a parfait sort of thing made from a fruit called lucuma. It was a nice finish to the meal. We sat around talking for quite some time until we noticed that we were the only ones keeping the staff from finishing their work and going home. I paid the bill, which was about what you would expect for a nice place like this. We went out into the summery night, determined to see each...

TL;DR: Both my dining companion and I vomited after eating here.

I love Peruvian food and the reviews of Pink Salt were amazing. I was excited to try this place out... and we almost immediately walked out after we walked in. We should have left.

The restaurant's décor is a pleasant, upscale affair with Andean touches on simple dark wood furnishings in a comfortable space. The service is attentive and friendly. And the place seemed clean. But as soon as we sat down, we were both overwhelmed by the vile odor of a really, really stinky cigar. The two of us looked at each other as we were turning green and both asked each other if we should get up and leave.

We decided to stay as the smoke dissipated. That was our mistake and we're both paying for it now.

We ordered the Yuca Rellena, Tallarin Pasta con Pollo, and Arroz con Pollo. The yuca balls were absolutely delicious, with properly prepared yuca. I was a little put out that for $12 we got only four pieces, but I chalked that up to current inflation. Still, it was four fried balls of starch and cheese on an undressed bed of arugula.

My dining companion asked the server about the spice level on his Tallarin Pasta con Pollo. "It's not spicy. It's pesto." replied the server. This was a lie. The chicken was coated with chili peppers. Which is most likely what made my friend sick. Worse, the pasta was undercooked. Not al dente, undercooked. Even worse than that, the pasta was swimming in a lake of oil - as you can see in the photo below. There was no emulsion to the pesto. It did not look or taste appetizing.

My Arroz con Pollo should have been a simple dish of rice and chicken. It's the sort of dish that allows you to see a chef's skill with the basics. Unfortunately, it was unnecessarily complicated, with tough overcooked chicken and undercooked (again) rice. Al dente is NOT a thing with rice. My guess is that's why I'm sick now.

I had to rush my friend home so he could be sick in his own bathroom. I've been sick since yesterday. We will...

Was here yesterday with my Family for Mother's Day, my sister had gone the day before and had said the food she ordered was good and she was very excited to have tried ice cream made of Aji Amarillo, my mom had been intrigued and wanted to go. The atmosphere is nice, the waitress was very attentive, the food was not that good, not authentic Peruvian taste and the kids menu was limited to a type of Alfredo pasta or fried chicken/fried fish and french fries. The fries were partly burned the fried chicken was off shapes and over fried to the point of being chewy, my children mostly ate fries and rice. I ordered a chicken lomo saltado, the taste was bland, portions was small, I got two wedges of tomatoes, it was very nicely plated like a lot of their dishes but the taste was just not right. Order also chicha morada it tasted like the powder mix, I asked for no ice and got a thinner glass than everyone else. So they limit the portions. It felt like a lot of their attention was on presentation on plating and decor. My kids lemonade was actually the best part, no joke they got that right 👍🏼 so $90 dollars for 2 plates and 3 drinks. I don't know what it was like when it first opened but as of now it needs a lot of improvement. I got to try some of my other family members dishes and not that great, the octopus, yuca rellena and a lot of dishes were put on to go boxes. I really appreciate the waitress she was very attentive and kind. We were a big group and she did great 🥰

A quick suggestion, on the bathroom paper towels garbage bin, please use a different one instead of that weaved basket that was folding over and is too small, I didn't like having to reach down there, straighten it up, since it was folding to the side just to throw away my paper towel.

Also Parking lot is on the street, if your lucky you'll find a spot.

Btw am from Peru so I know my authentic Peruvian Cuisine 🥰

Hope this restaurant improves, I will wait until then to...