Decor - 7
Value - 8
Taste - 8
Cuisine- Tapas (Spanish)
Taberna del Alabardero, what's with the long name (and the signage sucks too!)? I'm not a huge fan of tapas either. Off the bat, Taberna scored two strikes for being pretentious. The crowd is a little older too.
Now that I got all the negatives out of the way, Taberna has a great happy hour menu and the Sangria is the best deal in Seattle. Like I said, I don't like tapas, but the happy hour selection and pricing won me over. Because of this, I give Taberna high ratings for value. You can't go wrong with any pick from the tapas menu either.
As for dinner, the pricing is a lot higher. There's a lot of selection for paella dishes, and it offers a good value, although Taberna requires two people to order paella. I tried the suckling pig, which was dry and not very tasty or filling.
There's a lot of seating and the decor is nice, standard. Getting a seat for happy hour may be an issue though.
I highly recommend Taberna for happy hour tapas. The bar is pretty decent too. Definitely order a pitcher of sangria!
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Black Bottle Review
Decor - 7
Value - 5
Taste - 6
Black Bottle is a wine bar with a modern American food menu. The food is trendy and not completely filling. Other than the flatbread (basically a pizza), the food doesn't really stand out. There isn't a happy hour either, so value is slim pickings.
As a wine bar, I'm not fully convinced either. The wine selection does not stand out, and the per glass choices are not of high quality.
Black Bottle is usually very busy. Either I'm missing something, or maybe there's not a lot of capacity in the restaurant.
I recommend Black Bottle if you want to reserve a private room (one of which includes a private bar). Otherwise, it's a good place if you're in Belltown and want to grab a glass of wine or if you're on a date. There's not a lot of other wine bars in Belltown, so it's good for that.
Value - 5
Taste - 6
Black Bottle is a wine bar with a modern American food menu. The food is trendy and not completely filling. Other than the flatbread (basically a pizza), the food doesn't really stand out. There isn't a happy hour either, so value is slim pickings.
As a wine bar, I'm not fully convinced either. The wine selection does not stand out, and the per glass choices are not of high quality.
Black Bottle is usually very busy. Either I'm missing something, or maybe there's not a lot of capacity in the restaurant.
I recommend Black Bottle if you want to reserve a private room (one of which includes a private bar). Otherwise, it's a good place if you're in Belltown and want to grab a glass of wine or if you're on a date. There's not a lot of other wine bars in Belltown, so it's good for that.
Umi Review
Decor - 8
Value - 7
Taste - 7
Umi has a great location in the heart of Belltown and a solid, fairly standard Japanese menu. The decor is original and trendy and the hours are late. With all these factors combined, it makes Umi a very busy place. If you plan on going for dinner, make a reservation, and if you plan on dropping in for a drink, you will have to fight for a seat at the bar.
As for the food, it's pretty standard Japanese fare. There's a lot of variety in the sushi selection, but I don't consider the sushi as being traditionally excellent. Otherwise, it's a solid pick for ordinary sushi in Seattle. The udon is pretty good too.
Umi is a great place for drinks. This is the best place for saketinis in Seattle. I recommend the Mango or Lychee saketini. There's also a large selection of sake (Umi is marketed as a sake house). Otherwise, you can tap into their Japanese beer selection or fully stocked bar.
I recommend Umi if you want to entertain a large group of people looking for a standard sushi selection. It's also a great place to stop by for drinks. Be sure to make a reservation or expect a crowded restaurant. Also, if you need to go to the bathroom, it's hidden in the walls near the restaurant entrance!
Value - 7
Taste - 7
Umi has a great location in the heart of Belltown and a solid, fairly standard Japanese menu. The decor is original and trendy and the hours are late. With all these factors combined, it makes Umi a very busy place. If you plan on going for dinner, make a reservation, and if you plan on dropping in for a drink, you will have to fight for a seat at the bar.
As for the food, it's pretty standard Japanese fare. There's a lot of variety in the sushi selection, but I don't consider the sushi as being traditionally excellent. Otherwise, it's a solid pick for ordinary sushi in Seattle. The udon is pretty good too.
Umi is a great place for drinks. This is the best place for saketinis in Seattle. I recommend the Mango or Lychee saketini. There's also a large selection of sake (Umi is marketed as a sake house). Otherwise, you can tap into their Japanese beer selection or fully stocked bar.
I recommend Umi if you want to entertain a large group of people looking for a standard sushi selection. It's also a great place to stop by for drinks. Be sure to make a reservation or expect a crowded restaurant. Also, if you need to go to the bathroom, it's hidden in the walls near the restaurant entrance!
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Brasa Happy Hour Review
Decor - 8
Taste - 9
Value - 9
Service - Pretty good. Didn't ask me for a drink after I sat down, even though my friend hadn't arrived yet. Plenty of seating on a Tuesday night.
2007 Torres Sangre de Toro Catalunya $4 (white wine)
Paella $8
Happy Hour 5-7pm
Brasa is probably one of the best happy hours in Belltown. It ends at a reasonable time for the working folks, and has great food. The atmosphere is dimly lit with light music. The crowd was older, but sophisticated. My favorite dish on the Happy Hour menu is the paella, but I also like the fries.
The glass of white wine was solid, esp. for $4. Very crisp and light, which went well with the paella. The happy hour paella is a mini-version of the entree, but still a decent size for dinner. Probably best to get one other side dish to be filled up. This time there was a large scallop included with the traditional rice, chicken, clams, mussels, chorizo, onions, cilantro and lemon. I like that the paella here is a little Americanized and has big chunks of meat. Comes out on a hot pan.
Also had a bite of the spanish doughnut. It was okay.
Taste - 9
Value - 9
Service - Pretty good. Didn't ask me for a drink after I sat down, even though my friend hadn't arrived yet. Plenty of seating on a Tuesday night.
2007 Torres Sangre de Toro Catalunya $4 (white wine)
Paella $8
Happy Hour 5-7pm
Brasa is probably one of the best happy hours in Belltown. It ends at a reasonable time for the working folks, and has great food. The atmosphere is dimly lit with light music. The crowd was older, but sophisticated. My favorite dish on the Happy Hour menu is the paella, but I also like the fries.
The glass of white wine was solid, esp. for $4. Very crisp and light, which went well with the paella. The happy hour paella is a mini-version of the entree, but still a decent size for dinner. Probably best to get one other side dish to be filled up. This time there was a large scallop included with the traditional rice, chicken, clams, mussels, chorizo, onions, cilantro and lemon. I like that the paella here is a little Americanized and has big chunks of meat. Comes out on a hot pan.
Also had a bite of the spanish doughnut. It was okay.
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