Saltoro — Restaurant in Seattle

We live very close and have come here for years for some menu standbys like their truffle fries or the lamb burger, or to celebrate special occasions. It's been a good, reliable convenient neighborhood joint even if the price point seems a bit high. The place is always packed as it's a favorite local place. However, my husband and daughter brought me for Mother's Day brunch today and every single aspect was disorganized and disappointing, from the service to the food quantity and quality and everything in between. I hope it was just an off day, but I feel compelled to share our incredibly disappointing experience. Instead of making the experience special, it had the opposite effect.

First, we were ignored from the first moment we walked in the door. My husband had made reservations and we were barely acknowledged and had to flag down the overworked hostess (no one was stationed at the door to manage people walking in), and we had to wait for seating, without trusting they had us on the list because there was minimal communication.

Then, once seated and after ordering, we had to wait one hour and a half for our food with no one checking on our table, letting us know the status, or offering coffee refills, etc. When the server finally brought our food, there was no apology for how long it took, and didn't notice we had no utensils or napkins and had to ask for them, which seemed to be an inconvenience. I watched another table near us with two older folks even attempt to get their own coffee refills themselves.

The waiter then forgot my drink order, (and he was already one foot away from the table as I was ordering it). When the food finally arrived, the dishes were cold and just okay, plain/underseasoned, and the portions were ridiculously small. They also forgot to include the fruit my dish was supposed to come with (as stated on the menu).

I don't know if they were understaffed or ill-prepared, but looking around, almost no staff/servers in sight, or if I spotted someone, our section was ignored. I noticed a table in another section repeatedly being told they were running behind schedule and reassured. Our table? Nothing. Not once were we asked how things were, apologizing for the wait or forgetting items, or letting us know when our food would arrive.

The waiter was unfriendly with an attitude. Zero effort to please. I'm sure he could tell I wasn't happy, but never once gave me the chance to engage since he essentially rushed away and disappeared. We were left for over an hour with literally no one checking on us.

When my drink finally came a considerable amount of time after the food came and I had to remind the waiter, he had forgotten what the drink was. After finishing the unimpressive small meal that seemed more like appetizers, the waiter finally brought the drink, and says, 'do you still want it? It's okay if you don't.. ' Again, no acknowledging he forgot the order, and no offering to comp it. That just seems like bad business.

Finally, we had to wait a significant amount of time after attempting to flag someone down for our check. Again, no asking how our meal was, no thank you, no niceties. We left hungry.

It makes me sad to leave this review, but I am very...

The other day, the social media group for my community discussed the best places to get hamburgers. Some of the suggestions were ones I agreed with (Good Burger) and some I disagreed with (Dick's). An interesting suggestion was for Saltoro. I drove past there from time to time and put it on my list of places to try when I am in the mood for Italian food (Saltoro is Italian for Jump). I was not sure what an Italian burger would be like, but I was ready to give it a try. Last week, I was driving up Greenwood and I was in the mood for a burger. It was a bit early for lunch, so I prepared myself to have to settle for breakfast food and pulled in. There is plenty of parking with about half the spaces full on a Sunday morning. The building is well maintained and surrounded by nice landscaping. When I went in, I was impressed by the interior design. I started to worry that this was a higher end place than I expected. I was offered any table I wanted, so I took one that looked quiet. It had a nice view of the bar which looked cozy and well stocked with a wide variety of liquor. I got a good chance to look around since it took a long time for the menu to be dropped off. The brunch menu included a bacon cheeseburger, so I didn't look through it much. I set it aside and waited for someone to take my order. And waited, and waited and waited… I was told twice that someone would be right with me. Eventually, I was asked for my drink choice. I asked for coffee and went back to waiting. The coffee came along with cream and sugar on the saucer. The cream had slopped over on the saucer. I had time to clean up the cup so that it would not leave rings on the table. I made my order and was excited when the waiter asked how I wanted the egg cooked and the temp for the burger. I really enjoy a slightly runny yolk over a pink patty. Again, there was plenty of time for anticipation to build while I waited for my food. My coffee was long gone by the time I saw the waiter again. He filled my cup and disappeared for another long interval. I was ready to just leave when the burger showed up. The plate was beautiful. The top was off the burger so I could see the egg and a fan of avocado. The small pile fries were shoestring sized. I moved the avocado so that it covered the whole burger and put the halves together. The first bite was a mixed experience. The burger was well seasoned and the toppings were fresh and flavorful. Unfortunately, the egg yolk was solid and the burger was way over cooked. It is times like this that I wish I was the kind of guy who sent less than perfect food back. Instead, I swallowed my complaints along with the disappointing burger. I had been done for quite some time when the waiter came back. He cleared the dishes, spilling cream all over the table. More waiting as the cream spread out. When he finally came back, I had my card out and asked for the check. I guess $26.50 is not too bad for a burger these days. I added 10% and got...

We have been here for dinner a couple of time but went here for brunch since they just re-opened for brunch again on the weekends. Great to see another option for brunch/breakfast because there some seem to be enough places around and the restaurants that are open for brunch are always packed! We took my mom along so that we could try a variety of items. We started with the sausage rolls. These are amazing - sausage pieces are wrapped in a puff pastry and drizzled with a sweet and spicy chili glaze. We LOVED these! So many layers of flavor going on.

My mom had the eggs Benedict with short rib - the short rib was tender and decadent and oh so perfect with the creamy hollandaise sauce. I thought the bennies had the right amount of sauce - I hate when the bennies are doused or barely have a drizzle but they really nailed it on the right amount of sauce in my opinion. The eggs were cooked to perfection on the Bennie as well.

I had the biscuits and gravy which was really tasty. The biscuits were moist and buttery and again they had the perfect amount of gravy much like the hollandaise on the bennie. The gravy was flavorful and full of sausage. I enjoyed the breakfast potatoes because they are crispy.

My husband had the breakfast burrito. It was quite large and filled with sausage, eggs, cheese, avocado, bell peppers, and onions. I enjoyed how fresh the peppers tasted in the burrito. The only thing I wish is that the burrito was a bit spicier but I know that is a bit of a personal preference.

Overall great experience. The staff is always so friendly here. I look forward to coming back for brunch to try the strawberry tartine and the chimchurri steak and eggs!! I am also looking forward to sitting out on the patio as the...