The Harvest Vine — Restaurant in Seattle

I am writing this 3-star review reluctantly, because I really wanted to love this place.

It started like this: my boyfriend made a reservation here for my birthday. I love Spanish tapas and the reviews were raving! It was going to be the best night ever! Walking in I immediately loved the decor - beautiful stone walls, warm wood, tasteful paintings, moody lighting...way to set the stage!

We ordered 5 dishes plus bread:

Pimientos de Padron (fried galician style green peppers with sea salt). Good texture! I liked the sea salt adding a pop of savoriness. Very comparable to the blistered shishito peppers at Terra Plata, except Harvest Vine charges a premium of $13 instead of $9.

Jamón Serrano (dry-cured serrano ham). A bit more flavorful than the sliced ham you'd find at the deli, but nothing special. Again, charging a premium at $14!

These two dishes were both tasty, but...simple. Simple ingredients prepared in a simple manner. Definitely felt they were priced too high - I was expecting something more interesting or impressive, and was sorely disappointed.

Vieiras (seared scallops with hazelnut romesco & spring onions). These were awesome! Two gigantic scallops, you can taste the quality. The sear was perfect, just the right texture. Not a fan of the hazelnut romesco though.

Vaca (grilled beef shoulder with sauteed morels and red wine demi). The beef was a little chewy, but the morels were excellent. Loved the texture and how they soaked up the delicious sauce.

Conejo (jamon wrapped rabbit tenderloin with confit foreleg & porcini bomba rice). The tenderloin was really tender and tasty, but the foreleg and rice was way too salty.

So the food was a little hit and miss, but overall better than average - not enough to justify the also higher than average prices though.

But sometimes you are happy to pay more to get that extra bit of magic in your dining experience, namely in good service. Unfortunately, that was true for only one out of our three servers that night. The other two were apathetic at best. They would drop off our food, recite the name of the dish, and walk away without a smile or an "enjoy your meal!"

The bread was served on its own (without butter or olive oil or anything else). When I asked for butter, the server gave me a blank look, answered, "we don't have butter", and walked away. This made me feel like I somehow committed a huge faux pas by asking for butter - maybe I should have asked for olive oil since it was a Spanish restaurant? But maybe she could have been a little friendlier in...

In general very good food and service, but it is expensive and the food items can be very hit or miss.

Good: Atmosphere and service are great. Staff and server were very attentive, pleasant, professional and knowledgeable. Place has a very nice and cozy atmosphere and makes for a nice date night. The Cheeses, Tortilla Espanola, Berenjena, Pulpo A La Plancha are all very good and I would get again if I returned. The Octopus dish tender and very well seasoned, and the eggplant dish was a welcome surprise, as I didn't think I would like such a simple dish as much as I did. The eggplant is also very tender and the sauce very flavorful.

Average: Iberico De Bellota and Jamon Serrano. They were fine and there was nothing wrong with them, but I would not order again and would try something else if I returned.

Bad 1: The bread and oil...don't get it (unless you REALLY want bread). They are charging $4 for a cold/room temp thin sliver of a baguette that they don't even bake themselves (It is bought from Grand Central Bakery). For an extra $3 they will give you a tiny ramekin of olive oil. It's honestly a waste of money and calories. In fact the table next to me, I guess, didn't read the menu and was shocked when they were charged the $7 for the bread and oil and disputed it with the server (and I kinda agree with them). It did add some entertainment for the night which could be a pro. If the bread was warm and homemade, that could maybe justify what they are charging, but in this case it is neither so I would just recommend eating some good bread w/ olive oil at home before coming here.

Bad 2: Gambas. This was probably the most underwhelming dish (besides the bread) I ate here. For $26 you are getting the smallest portion of Paella I have ever seen, with four small shrimp sticking out. The flavor was mediocre, and the whole time I was eating it I was wishing I had ordered something else.

In general very nice date spot if you are looking to splurge. Good atmosphere and service. Food can be very hit or miss so I would do some research on the menu before...

Our friends recommended this restaurant as part of a discussion about whether Spanish cuisine is underrated. I firmly believe that Spanish food is underrated—it offers a wealth of incredible dishes and innovative tapas. Unfortunately, this place left us deeply disappointed, and I can't say it did Spanish cuisine any favors.

From the start, the experience felt underwhelming. The aperitifs were more water than drink, and the food, while presented as high-end, was basic and at times overly salty. The venison lacked flavor entirely, the jamon serrano was literally pieces of the meat on a plate and not appealing to eat (and I love Jamon among all prosciutto) and I never thought it was possible to ruin quail, but they somehow managed it.

What really frustrated me was the pretentiousness of the place, especially considering the price point. For a restaurant located in a prime spot on Capitol Hill, Seattle, you’d expect a polished experience. Instead, they nickel-and-dimed us, charging separately for bread and olive oil—even with meals costing over $100 per person. It’s hard not to feel like they’re banking on customers not knowing better and settling for mediocrity.

Overall, it’s a disappointing experience, especially for those unfamiliar with Spanish cuisine. If you’re looking to explore the richness of Spanish food, this isn’t the place to start. It left us with nothing special to talk about, aside from its overpriced and underwhelming offerings. Definitely not the best way to support the case for Spanish food...