Atlas Fare — Restaurant in Wenatchee

Close to great. I showed up around 7 PM on a Saturday night without a reservation. As a party of one, I had expected to easily get a seat at the bar. The host said that they had finished dinner service and I wouldn't be able to order anything but small plates; I thought that was weird, as the place was not full. She implied that they were between rushes; I still wondered why that limited me to only small plates, as I had my eye on their scallop entree. I asked for a seat at the bar where I could see only two people sitting yet there are eight seats. She would have to check with someone and then they sat me at the bar.

I had two cocktails, "The Modern" and a Manhattan on the rocks; both were excellent. I ordered the shrimp ceviche and the grilled Caesar salad. The ceviche was excellent and served very appropriately on shrimp chips. The balance of flavors was spot on and the knife work on the red onions and peppers was superb. It had a hint of sweetness to balance the acidity and I think I tasted some fish sauce - great stuff! I would have liked just a bit more heat. The grilled Caesar salad is a good concept, but it would have been better with a bit more grilling and a wood fire, but I suspect that they don't have wood in the kitchen. The crostini that stood in for croutons were nothing burgers; they were small pieces of toast with grated cheese. They lacked the olive oil and garlic that makes croutons tasty.

Two things detracted from my experience - the noise and the obviously stressed front-of-the-house staff. The space is lovely, but would benefit from some sound deadening; it became quite loud at times. I'm not sure why the staff was running around like chickens with their head cut off as the place was not full. I suspect it is under-staffed and the poor bartender Kristy was hustling like few I've seen before; it was drink after drink after drink for her.

Afterward, I perused the small collection of excellent cookbooks by...

This is my favorite spot to eat at in Wenatchee. I travel in often for work and plan my trips around when they're open, since it's limited days and hours. I've referred countless people here- friends, family, coworkers and clients. Yesterday, I took a couple of my business partners there, and it was the first bad experience I've had. One of them has a food allergy to mushrooms and a gluten sensitivity. All of the GF options are clearly labeled, which is great, but mushrooms are trickier so she made sure to mention both to our server at the very beginning and when ordering apps. After ordering entrees, I went to double check that her chicken risotto was mushroom free- just to be safe. Turns out it was not. Our very lovely server apologized and showed her the 3 menu choices that were safe for her to pick from. The other dishes showed up around the time she went to put the new order in. After the first bite, I realized my halibut was quite undercooked (raw fish is fine for sushi, but this was ordered to be very well done). I went to find our server again, and while I had stepped away the hostess had stormed up to our table. I couldn't make out the exact words but the sharp tone she used had carried. When I got back, my friend recounted how she had just been scolded like a misbehaved child, by the hostess for not mentioning her allergy in the beginning. This was incredibly embarrassing for her, especially since she had told them. I was mortified that this was her first experience after I'd been talking this place up to her for the past few months. Unsurprisingly, our replacement meals were phenomenal. However, I am incredibly disappointed with the behavior from the front of house. Not looking for a free meal, but there wasn't even an offer to comp one of the many appetizers or a discount after serving undercooked fish and nearly giving someone a meal full of their allergens. Definitely reconsidering sending future...

It's strangely located in an office building and hard to find at first. Once found though, it was like stepping into a magical modern spot that I did not expect! Great decorum, well lit, and everyone following COVID rules. Hosts and servers in masks, chef too. Sat down and had a couple of the most delightful beverages I've had in a long long time. Please order these, their mixologist or mixology program is WITH the program! My friend had the Lavender fog. She said it was like sipping on a dream. Completely and perfectly balanced with earl grey, lavender, cream, and vodka. I tried the Oaxaca Breeze. Perfection of that slightly smoky Mezcal with mint and lime.

When we asked the server about the size of the chowder, because we weren't too hungry (we had a late lunch), she said it was best to each order our own. As cute as it was to have us both served soup at the same time, with each of us having our own server with a double timed pour, it honestly was enough for us to have shared one. The portion was not small. I didn't totally appreciate the upsell there. The crab was tasty and meaty with bits of corn, some peppers, and dill. There was some separation of oil in the soup as you'll see in the picture, and it lacked acid. A squeeze of lime really would have brought it all together.

Salmon was the special salad, and boy was it a hearty huge piece on a giant beautiful salad. I couldn't even eat it all, as I was full of chowder. Fresh greens, large slices of avocado, watermelon radish, tomatoes, corn, and I believe it was a rendition of a tomato style pesto on top of the salmon. So so much food. I couldn't even think about dessert. Very tasty. Perfectly cooked.

I would have had another cocktail as my friend had two, but I had to drive us back to...