Danube Bistro

 

0

5

Aragorn K.

Redmond, WA

the service was slow.(even though there were only 2 other tables occupied).
I enjoyed the food ( the dumplings were great) with the following caveats:
the potato pancake (Bramborak) was so oily that i could have poured the oil off of the plate it came on. It also seemed odd that it says pancakes on the menu, but we received only 1.
the portions were small
the food was expensive.
the amount of dill they put on my Beef Stroganoff overwhelmed the mushrooms and even the onion on my dish.

The food was ok but not worth the price or the poor service

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3

10

Steve P.

Seattle, WA

Took my dad here for father's day.  Not knowing what to expect for portion size, we ordered calamari for an appetizer.  Not really Czech, Slovak or Hungarian for that matter, it sounded good and indeed was.  As it turned out, we could have done without it, as the portions of the mains were quite adequate.  We picked the two most quintessential Czech dishes for the mains.  Dad had the svickova, I got the vepro, knedlo, zelo.  These were both delicious. Dad, being raised in the former Czechoslovakia could attest to the authenticity of these tasty plates.  Dad's only criticism of the svickova could have used a bit less carrot in the sauce, but he still enjoyed it thoroughly.  The service is a bit slow and we had to ask for more knedlky (dumplings) as my plate had 4 while dad's only had 3.  My biggest complaint is that the seats and chairs were awkward to sit in/at with my 6'4" frame.  The food was outstanding, we will be going back, but we'll be sitting inside next time.  

What I really want to know is how so many reviewers labeled the attire as "Dressy".  I wore jeans and a polo and was better dressed than any of the other clientele.  Is this what "Dressy" is in and around Seattle?

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0

20

drie C.

Seattle, WA

my b/f & I randomly chose a place to eat, and we came across this place so we decided to try it.
What a hidden gem!
Food selection was unique; The appetizer (goose patte) was really good, and so was the Halusky.

I'm really glad I found this place since European restaurants are hard to find :)

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13

20

Jason A.

Seattle, WA

This is a short "booster" review to keep the momentum going on this great restaurant.

My better half/ball-and-chain and I are both of Polish ancestry. While Polish cuisine is very different regarding seasonings than czech or bosnian, many of the basic ingredients and even recipe concepts are very similar (potato pancakes, sausages with garlic, stews, sauerkrauts, etc). So we felt  true kinship with this cuisine as a variant of our own.

WONDERFUL food. WONDERFUL service.

We had the lovely owner, Lubos, choose a complete meal for us. He did a great job.

The halusky, in contrast to Julia Z.'s review, was perfectly salted and had crispy, smoked bacon, and was just perfect soul-food. I could see myself eating this as a satisfying last meal, as it touched upon a lot of notes of my childhood eating hearty Polish food.

I'll write a more in depth review update later. For now, I highly recommend this restaurant and suggest you patronize it right now...Seattle is very, very, sadly lacking in central european restaurants (WHY!!???). I'd hate to see this one close up for lack of publicity.

Go, you'll love it. If you love hearty, sometimes intensely garlicky food, this will hit a home run with you! The service is some of, if not the best, we've had in Seattle.

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Elite '08

189

444

Julia Z.

Bellevue, WA

This fancy new Czechoslovakian bistro (in the space formerly occupied by the hit-or-miss Ascada Bistro) opens tomorrow and I'm going to be among the first to check it out! The menu is gorgeous. Everything is home-cooked and authentic, according to the owner, whom I spoke with today. He and his wife co-own Andiamo across the street, so they are not novice restauranteurs.

LUNCH on opening day!
The bread is delicious, fresh and stout, clearly homemade.

We started with the garlic potato pancakes from the dinner appetizer section. They were lovely with lots of fresh roasted garlic. We had to all try them so we could keep talking to one another... maybe it's not "date food".

Then we tried the grilled portabella mushroom sandwich, the New York steak sandwich, the beef stroganoff, the halusky (handmade Slovakian pasta with sheep cheese and smoked bacon), and my boss and I both had the lecho (sauteed onions, red and green peppers, spicy tomato sauce, with sausage) served with rice.

Everything was delicious! The owner and his wife are hosting and serving; he is Czech. The chef was delightful, smiling, and very friendly. He came to check on us personally (we were a table of 6, and there was another table of 4 while we were there, their first day open for lunch). The chef is also Czech, I believe, and is probably 50; things seemed calm and orderly and everything was brought out very hot, so he must have some experience.

I asked him on the way out if he would make stuffed cabbage, and he said that's one of his favorites and he can definitely do daily specials... Nancy (the owner's wife) said please call a few days ahead, make reservations, and make special requests. So perhaps you can get them to make your favorites.

The space is clean, bright, and pretty in burgundy and cream. They have about 50 seats total (they took out the bar so there is now more room for tables).

They offered us the wine list and the dessert menu, but being a business lunch, and then being stuffed to the gills, kept us from partaking. Another time. All the food was fresh and homemade. Lovely!! I can't wait to go again. This place really deserves the five stars I've given them.

DINNER UPDATE: We went last night (11/10/07) for dinner and there are some trends we can report now. First, the bread is lovely and homemade as I guessed at our first visit. Second, the service is excellent. Third, there are still some minor glitches. Our table, a 2-top upstairs, had insufficient lighting for a pair of 40-year olds to read the menu. Given that we are probably the target demographic, slightly more light might be more pleasant. LOL The wine list is extensive and selections were clearly chosen with care.

Most of the food was great. The garlic potato pancakes appetizer is for those who LOVE fresh roasted garlic.... otherwise, they might be overwhelming. The Czech and Hungarian sausage and cheese appetizer was a great assortment of two cheeses and three sausages in generous portions. However, I wanted some thin slices of toasted bread or crackers -- it would have improved that dish.

The owner-recommended Hungarian beef goulash was fantastic. The asparagus was fresh and crisp, the stew was heavenly, rich, and complex without overwhelming, and the dumplings were a perfect texture contrast, light and springy, and were just gorgeous smeared all over with gravy.

The dinner-entree size halusky was much less of a hit than it was at our first lunchtime visit. First, it might not be what you expect... it's not a stuffed pasta like a ravioli or even a pierogi kind of thing; it's little bits of pasta in a cheesy sauce. Last night, it was a little too salty, and the bacon bits seemed to be mostly fat, and they weren't quite crispy enough. So it wasn't the favorite dish on the table last night.

The delicious lecho (letch-oh) is only offered at lunch. Bummer.

Dessert was on the house to thank us for attending their first weekend of dining. They have an off-site French pastry chef, and the lemon tart was perfection, pretty AND delicious. I usually ding places for bringing in dessert from other kitchens, but the kitchen at the Danube Bistro is smaller than the one in my house... they don't have ROOM to make all the gorgeous home-cooked hot food AND to make several different desserts. Play to your strengths... keep the home cooking coming on the apps and entrees... and don't worry, their pastry chef is really talented.

It's hard for me to say how authentic the food is because I'm Polish, not Czech or Hungarian, but it's tasty and served with care taken at each step. :-) It's definitely worth a try, and you might just love it like we do!

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1

5

Miriam K.

Bothell, WA

This Czech Restaurant is absolutely fantastic!!!! I was born and raised in Germany by Czech parents and I am used to eating real home-made Czech food and I have to say that Danube Bistro made me feel as if I were eating my grandma's food!
We ordered the Bramboraky, which my husband likes to call 'hash brown pancakes', but they are so much more than that. They were delicious and definitely made from scratch, because that's the only way to make them.
As our entrees we picked the two most typical Czech items, Svickova and Vepro Knedlo Selo. As soon as we saw those we knew what we wanted and didn't even look at the rest of the menu. I did see some items though that I wouldn't consider to be Czech food per se, like Fillet Mignon, but of course it is something that Czech people eat, too. If you want a typical Czech and very common Czech meal, you should definitely try the vepro knedlo selo. It is pork roast with sauerkraut and dumplings. The sauerkraut is not your regular cold American hot dog sauerkraut. It is usually cooked together with the roast and cumin, a little garlic and onions are added, which gives the sauerkraut a unique flavor and consistency. The juices from the sauerkraut also help make the pork roast soft and tender. The dumplings are 100% home made, because they are very unique and you can't buy them in stores. I've attempted to make them myself before and I had to throw them out, so I am glad to have found this place.
The Svickova is my husband's favorite dish and it is dumplings, beef roast and a creamy vegetable sauce. This sauce is very time-consuming when making it from scratch, because all veggies have to be cooked first, then mashed up and so on and they actually make it from scratch. In Czech you can buy this sauce in little packets, but it is different, because the veggie pieces are missing. This sauce was definitely not out of a packet.
As a dessert we had the palacinky, which is originally a Hungarian dish, but Czechs have adopted it as one of their own. I would describe them as thinner than pancakes and thicker than crepes. I don't know whether the other desserts come from somewhere else as it says in the other review, but these came straight out of the Bistro's kitchen. They are fairly easy to make and only take a few minutes to make and can only be served fresh of the pan, so it is pretty safe to assume that they are home made as well. One of them came filled with 'quark' ( I believe Americans use this German term for it, too) or sweet cheese as the waiter described it to my husband and the other one with apricot marmalade. Both were topped with whipped cream and chocolate syrup and were absolutely delicious. The quark must have been either bought fresh from some kind of European deli or been home made. I believe the latter was the case.
The service was quick and all staff was very polite and careful not to disturb us. I briefly talked to the server as I could tell he had an accent and he told me he was from Slovakia. I asked him if the cook was Czech and he said that today's cook wasn't, but that the chef was Czech. I told him compliments to the chef for training his cooks well.
So even if you go there on a day the Czech chef is not there, you will still get authentic, great food. Trust me, for I am Czech :)
All in all this was a great experience and I am stoked to have found this restaurant. I am glad I can get a little bit of home here on the other side of the world. It is a little pricey, however I have no comparison of what other classy restaurants in Bellevue charge. I do imagine that it would be around the same in any nice restaurant in that area. We paid 80 dollars for two glasses of wine, an appetizer, two entrees and a dessert. and it was worth every penny of it. We'll have to make this a monthly tradition. Go try it! Dobrou chut ( Bon appetit)!

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