Paratii Craft Bar

This place is absolutely amazing. Great service, great atmosphere, and great food.

It was a Tuesday night, so that might account for the lack of other patrons. I can't imagine any reason why this place wouldn't be crawling with folks on the weekend. The beers are inspired and brewed locally, the cocktails are unique and delicious.

Tried the trout and several small bites. Ham and cheese bites are AMAZING. This is coming from someone who dislikes cheese. Sweet potato fries are crisp on the outside and seasoned with a kick of chili and sugar.

This place is the ultimate locally owned and operated business. I can't wait to come back!

So the waitress kind of looked like Olivia Wilde. Not a bad place to start, right???

She also did a fabulous job taking care of our group (in the beginning, when I was there, based on some other reviews from that night) and had a great beer suggestion for me after we chatted about what I enjoy. I can't for the life of me remember what it was, but it was very enjoyable!

I've gotten a little particular about my food lately, and I was very pleasantly surprised by what their menu had to offer. I started with the Scheherazade Steak bites and when I found myself still hungry after, I ordered the Syrian Cheese sandwich with side salad. Delicious! I was pleased with the amount of tomato in the salad. I absolutely love tomatoes (I frequently snack on small ones!) and get a bit annoyed when restaurants have only one or two slices/pieces in a big salad.

Nice bonus: They had a piano player performing on what I think was a Tuesday night. I'm not used to that, so it was of cool.

I need to go here again...

We went here for a birthday dinner get together.

My first introduction to brazilian cuisine was not memorable.

+1 Star for the hot waitress who was on point all night. She was helpful and easy on the eyes and didn't charge me for gratitude but still gave her a large tip.

-1 Star for the mix cocktail, it was gross....sent it back...came back gross again. I just gave my drink away because I hated it but only good thing, it was strong.

+1 Star for accommodating our last group without a reservation. They allow us to move the tables around plus a comfy sofa against the wall.

-1 Star for the owner passive aggressive comments to my friends on leaning against the piano. It rub my easy going friends the wrong way...and they are very easy going.

+1 Star for having a live band playing music and my seafood crab sammie was above average. The choice of bread is hard...it should be more of a soft roll. The marinated steak was good but came with a strange salad.


Overall, the food and cocktails was just okay for me. The prices was on the pricey side and this place didn't wow me. Just because the location is in Ballard, doesn't mean you can charge a lot. It was funny because I order all tapas and my seafood crab sammie & yummy sweet potatoe fries was less than my friend's seafood crab sammie dinner. HA. If you come here....definitely order by tapas.

Tip: If you can't find parking, parking lot next to Paratii for only a few dollars. Order the Tapas verses dinner. Skip the mix cocktails and get beer instead!

This review has no information about the cocktails. I didn't try any of them, so I can't directly comment on how they stack up compared to all the other cocktails spots in town. What I can comment on is the very serious beer bar hidden inside this cocktail lounge. For that, and the food, five stars are more than deserved.

This place has a very clean and tidy aesthetic, with low, well-placed light and elegantly sleek furnishings. There's the usual ziggurat of fine spirits facing the new arrivals who come through the door. There's the classically attired barman in a vest. There's that sanctum feel that a nice cocktail lounge gets if they spend enough on nice lighting fixtures. Sam has clearly seen to it that this place feels like the right place to have a drink. Judging by the catchy names and interesting ingredients mentioned on the cocktail sheet, he's probably pleasing the city's cocktail fans. Many of the spirits in his drinks are house-infused with various ingredients, making the recipes here just that much more distinct to the house.

He's also pleasing the city's beer fans. He explicitly delineated his thinking that many groups who visit a cocktail lounge will include someone who would prefer a beer. With them in mind, he has immaculately edited a dozen tap handles, and thoughtfully assembled a bottle reserve of about 40 different labels. Virtually every beer on both lists is noteworthy to some degree, and every single one is worth drinking.

But most interestingly of all, he's extended his love of infusions beyond spirits to the beers he offers. He works with Big Al Brewing on a line of custom offerings available only at Paratii. This is where this place officially blows my mind. He has a pale ale brewed with tangerine peel and sun-dried Turkish peppers. This is a great beer. He offers a cocoa lavender porter called True Love that's 10% and not the least bit cloying or oversweet. He's about to debut an apple cinnamon Irish Red aged in Woodinville bourbon barrels--he says it is "as a woman should be...sweet, with a bit of spice." It's called Irish Lass. Best of all, he offers a sour ale brewed with sangiovese juice (just the juice, before it turns into wine) and aged in sangiovese barrels. This is called Jupiter's Blood, and I am going to drink all of it.

He and his staff are incredibly charming hosts, and they also serve wonderful food. I had the feijoada, and I will definitely be back for more of that. And the rest of the Jupiter's Blood.

One of the Yelpers recommended I give this a try, and I finally made it in! I grabbed a couple of friends and we scheduled a HH time to gather.

One of my friends was sitting there patiently waiting for me in this large open space. It had an area up front by the window for a band, and a couch sitting off on the side for comfy seating. The bar was in the back, with a large spread of alcohol goodness arranged, backlit to show what could be. Somehow, I felt the only thing missing was a fireplace.

There were a couple of people sitting on the couch and it did look inviting, but less functional if you were going to do some eating. They had to keep scooching up to get to the table for their beverages, but they were really there to sit and catch up with each other.

When my other friend showed up, we started with some cocktails and then grabbed some eats. Adored the yucca fries and actually ordered another plate of them. We ordered some steak bites and the feijoada. I could have kept going on the feijoada! Tasty.

We signed out after another round of cocktails, opting to try something different this time. Staff was really enthusiastic about getting us to try different things and were very attentive.

I was pretty surprised at how quiet the place was. Considering that we were there several hours, we only saw a few other people venture in. So, get up and go. Keep a great, local place in the money.

Memorable meal with pleasant brazilian music quietly playing in the background.
The food is delicious; beef appetizer, mango salad, "brazilian curry" and pave were especially enjoyable. I wouldn't let go of the extraordinary homemade chili souse, and mr. chef was very kind to wrap it up for us to go. The beer selection is surprisingly good. They have a trappist and a sour beer on tap besides other things.
Service was friendly and knowledgeable. Charming gentlemen who owns the place came by to check on us a few times, completely captivating my mother-in-law.
Solid.

Props for the decor and the friendliness of the staff. They are pretty awesome. I didn't try the food but will have to come back for some small bites during their Happy Hour, which is daily from 5-7pm. I'd also like to see the live music, which is on Mondays and Thursdays. I had a delicious Gluten Free beer (Green's Discovery Amber Ale) on recommendation from the staff that actually tasted like beer...a bit hoppy with a sweet effervescent finish.
I will say that the service is slow (we were sitting at the bar) but that could be due to the fact that the 'tender was mixing up some craft cocktails on the other end of the bar for a good 10 minutes. To be expected when your signature drinks are extremely complicated to create!!!

2.8 stars, rounding up for novelty.

Had been curious to check out Paratii since its opening buzz Fall 2011. Was sadly underwhelmed. Place was deserted on a weeknight, minimal ambiance. Couldn't get over the oddness of the decor...potentially nautical theme feels more like jumbled odds/ends.

Kitchen was nothing to rave about - yucca fries were spot-on, shrimp was tasty but exceedingly tiny, and the kitchen may have forgotten the spiced cashews in the mango salad which was seriously bland. Tried a bar serving of the Motapá, which is essentially Vatapá topped with Moqueca - the dish is intensely flavorful and quite rich, so 1/2 the bar serving was plenty.

- Vatapá (bread, cashews, shrimp broth, dendé oil and coconut milk topped with sautéed shrimp and fish)
- Moqueca (bell peppers, onion, coconut milk, and palm oil served with Brazilian rice)

On the upside, the drinks were tasty and the Flowers of Eden is gorgeous.

Poor signage makes the venue hard to find.

I guess I should write a real review when I've tried the food too, but I thought the drinks were awesome and I'm really excited for this restaurant in general so I'm writing NOW!

I don't quite remember the name of the drink I ordered but it conjured about thoughts about sailing away...obviously I did because I can't quite remember all the ingredients either! Cachaca, coconut juice and some other stuff...tasted like heaven and was served in an adorable glass. My man got the Sam's Cuba Libre and it was also gorgeous and a delicious twist on a classic. Again, nice serving glasses.

The bartender was top notch--you can tell this guy is serious about serving drinks.

We were hoping for happy hour foods, but the menu isn't quite there yet, however the entrees were intriguing. We were thinking that it would be a great date night spot and I'm sure we'll be back.

I'd been a regular at The Chai House which was in this location for many years so it was interesting to see what they did with the space. I had not been to the supposed Ballard's Best BBQ joint that had opened after The Chai House vacated...

In any case, the room is much more spacious and light, the walls are already filling up with some nice artwork and I adore the maritime decor. It fits in well with Ballard and the Brazilian theme. I can't wait to see this place hopping on a Saturday night. I think it will come in time.

Press your lips to the velvet petals of a newly opened flower..inhale the fragrance of life, sip the nectar of spring and only at that moment will you know what the Flower of Eden drink tastes like.

The sincere warmth of the service and authentic Brazilian favor is a testament to how real & yummy this soon to be Ballard favorite is.

Thank you for lavishing a couple of ladies in vibrant flavors, attentive care & potent creative cocktails...I really really needed the TLC.

You may save a seat at the bar & my tushy will be there to warm it!