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This Was My Kind Of Joint. It Was So Quaint And European, One Could Easily Fall Into The Backdrop And Become Engulfed In Ones Surroundings.
Simple And French, It Was Excellent Comfort Food Worth Savoring And Extending Into A Two-Hour Meal.
We Started With A Wonderful Busty Pinot Noir From The Willamette Valley (Every Thing From That Region Is Divine). For A Snack, We Ordered The Pumpkin Tart, Which Came With Apple Slices And Roquefort Cheese. It Was So Delicious, I Could Have Had Two More.
The Pork Belly Far Exceeded The Pork Belly I Had The Week Prior, Across The Street At HTCAWolf (Minus The Delicious Salad It Was Paired With At HTCAWolf).
For Our Entrees We Ordered The Cassoulet And The Sea Scallops. The Smokey Cassoulet Came With A Perfectly Roasted Duck Breast, Sinfully Moist And Seasoned To Perfection. Everything Melted In My Mouth.
While The Scallops Were Seared And Cooked Perfectly (Again With The Mouth-Watering Melt-Worthy-ness) The Potato Risotto Was A Slight Lack-Luster In Comparison To Everything Else.
A Near Perfect Meal And Night, I Simply Cannot Wait To Enjoy It All Over Again.
I was a bit disappointed when the regular bartender is not at the restaurant when arrived. I was preparing for the worst. As expected, the service started pretty rocky.
When I inquired if the waiter could ask the chef for tasting menu of the day, the waiter responded that chef creates the menu at the moment and there is no way she will know what she will cook. I mean seriously?
I decided to take the risk and ordered the tasting menu since I have being there several times. I am glad I did. The sweet chilled corn soup with scallop drizzled with 25 years old balsamic vinegar has nice balance of sweet and sour. The duck confit with farro topped with quail egg is rich and delicious. The yellow fin tuna seasoned simply with salt and pepper is just OK (I don't like seared fish) and the dessert is just too rich to finish in one seating.
One last thing about the waiter, he told me that I can order anything on the dessert menu as part of my tasting menu. I ordered the chocolate cake and my friend ordered peach tarte tatin. When the bill came, he charged us for my chocolate cake rather than my friend's peach tart. Granted, there is only a dollar difference between the two desserts but I don't think he should mislead me that I could have anything on the menu as part of my set meal (not mentioning paying the difference).
I was prepared for an expensive night out and told my husband that I "accidentally" left my wallet at home. To my husband's surprise, the menu was pleasantly affordable. We didn't see anything over $20 (except the daily specials) and their wine-by-the-glass was around $6.
The place is quaint (aka tiny) and we were immediately seated in a window nook. The menu is laid out so that the top half-ish are their smaller plates and the bottom couple are their larger "entree" sizes.
I ordered their scallops and potato risotto - 3 huge scallops, perfectly seared and placed on top of creamy/buttery potato bits the size of risotto grains.
My husband ate their halibut special. One thick slice of halibut over leeks, lobster mushrooms and cherry tomatoes. The halibut was soft, flaky, and had a perfectly crispy pan seared skin.
We also shared a glass of the viognier wine (it was quite a heavy pour) and ended the night with a slice of their chocolate flourless cake (not too sweet) and pear tarte tatin. The dessert was *mwuh* delicious! I would come back here for the dessert alone!
To make our night even sweeeeeeeeter, the waiter decided to pour us a glass of port b/c he "thought [we] would like it." He he.
With amazing staff and amazing food, this place was on the verge of 5 stars UNTIL . . . I spotted a ninja spider hiding in his web just below the window still and within 2 feet of my food. I was sure he was after my flourless chocolate cake, so I kept a close eye on him. He never moved . . . I think he was in a food coma . . . much like me.
I gotta be honest, sometimes I'm waiting for a table across the street at HTCaWolf and I gaze over at Portage, at the happy couples laughing over wine and steaming dishes fresh from the kitchen, in an uber-quaint French romance setting, and I think "wtf am I doing waiting for a table over here?"
There's a bar. It only has four-ish seats, but you're welcome to them. The very small, and very efficient, and very friendly staff is happy to serve you as many courses as you'd like while you're bellied up.
They try very hard to accommodate walk-ins. I know this for sure because I've been one more than once. The space is tiny, maybe even smaller than it's across-the-street neighbor? But good lord is it comfortable and inviting.
The food is A++++. Every dish, every time. Once had a parsnip tarte that haunted my dreams in the very best way. Wine list is succinct and brilliant. Great stemware = happy face.
Intimate date place extraordinaire. And not just a special occasion place either - because it isn't hugely expensive. All in all, it's kind of perfect. There! I said it!
It was Labor Day and true to the holiday, I was tired and didn't feel like cooking dinner. I would like to say I'd been meaning to go to Portage and just hadn't gotten around to it, but the truth is that it was a holiday, they were open, I was hungry. My date and I decided to do the tasting menu and were completely blown away. Everything was perfect. The desserts far exceeded my expectations (and by this point the bar had gotten so high I couldn't see it anymore) and the wine pairings were fantastic.
I may never cook again.
I was a bit tipsy during my visit, so this won't be the liveliest of reviews.
The place is quite cozy and suitable for small parties, though the acoustics can make the space seem larger than it is. The two of us certainly weren't cramped.
They offer up a little basket of bread that looks homemade with a side of tasty butter. The bottom of the bread was a little overly baked but was otherwise flavorful with the butter and the leftover sauces from our entrees.
We ordered two glasses of the rose, which tasted fine but the pour was a little skimpy. I do give them props for having decent wine glasses. Yay! No fat rims.
Their menu is very reasonably priced for what looks like a hoity toity establishment. I'm guessing it's because they offer tapas-style portions. Case in point, we both ordered the off-menu specials and they came with good-sized, well-cooked portion of the main protein with some garnish. They were the perfect size to satisfy a moderate hunger. However, the specials were priced at a little over $20, which is about $5 above the average price of the other entrees and well worth it.
I had the roasted duck with huckleberry (?) demi-glace over veggies (potatoes, gherkins, squash). The skin had a great crunch to it and reminded me of a tasty fried chicken. Then the deep, earthy flavor of the duck came through complemented by the demi-glace. The sauce was fruit based but not at all sweet. The vegetable garnish was well seasoned and carmelized. I will note that the middle section of the breast might be a tad too rare for some folks, but I thoroughly enjoyed it.
The hubby had the seared tuna crusted with salt, pepper, and fennel pollen (if I heard correctly) garnished with some snap peas. The sear was perfect as was the seasoning. I only had a bite but I knew it was mighty flavorful.
Our total bill for two glasses of wine and two special entrees came to about $63, which isn't bad at all. I'm sure if we ordered plates off the regular menu, it would have come out to less money but with equal satisfaction.
I'm looking forward to trying their $40 tasting menu with $25 wine pairings.
Just a superb dining experience. What a lovely place of ambiance, decor and service. Located in the Upper Queen Anne district of Seattle, this little cozy restaurant is serving wonderful French dishes.
There is the regular menu option, and also the Chef's Choice that has 4 courses for $40. A wine pairing can be added for $25. Next time there, I believe I will try one of those.
We started with the local greens salad which was fresh and flavorful. For our main course we chose one of their signature dishes which was the Cote de Boeuf with Shallot Rosti Potato. Wow! It was cooked to perfection and melted in the mouth. Tender and with a nice glaze. The Rosti Potato was scrumptious. Both servings were generous portions. We finished with the flourless chocolate cake. Another winner. For wine, we had French Sancere with the salad, and a recommended Washington state Whitman Narcissa Red meritage with the beef. Both complimented the dishes well.
The place is small and only has about 8 tables inside, and two outside. We sat in the "window' seats which were cozy and comfortable and almost private.
Service was superb. Our server was Karri who gave us excellent advice on the menu and wine pairings. Her congeniality and impeccable service complimented our meal.
Decor was light tones French with soft and soothing music playing throughout the meal.
Portage is a solid 5-star restaurant with food, sercive and ambiance to make for a memorable meal.
Wonderful place for a special occasion or romantic setting.
Highly recommended!
The food was excellent overall. We had the mussel soup (ate every drop); the scallops; the cassoulet; and chocolate flourless cake. None was wasted and the meal was reasonable affordable. Our only complaint was the service -- there were multiple points of miscommunication and forgetten requests.
I always wonder why it is so hard for finer restaurants to serve wine at the right temperature and why servers have no idea how to chill wine. (Portage is not an exception here but just an example). We had a Beaujolais needing to be slightly chilled which turned out to be way too much work. All it needed was five minutes in an ice water slurry. Instead we had to ask twice; it was put in ice alone (which doesn't cool wine very fast), we had to ask for it back and sat waiting to eat our already delivered meal until we got a still too warm wine bottle back.
Party of three went last Friday night for dinner. We all got the Chef's Choice and my wife and I got the wine pairings to go with it. Pretty well priced at $40 per head for the Chefs Choice and $25 per for the wine addition. Only issue was that they force the entire table to do the Chef's Choice if anyone wants to do it. I'm not sure I understand why.
First: Corn soup with watermelon chunks (small) and balsamic vinegar. Really good, nice summer cold soup
Second: Pan seared scallops over (I think) avacado and fava beans
Main: Pan roasted duck breast (excellent) with green beans and something else.
Dessert: Flourless chocolate cake. Way too thick, none of us could finish.
The wine pairings were a chardonney for the first, voigner for the second, an Oregon Pinot Noir with the duck and some dessert wine that I don't remember.
Everything was great. Loved the food and the service was excellent. Will officially make this my Seattle french restaurant.
I had dinner there with a group of friends on a (slow) Sunday evening. I had the tasting menu which on that day included a tomato salad, creamed corn soup, grilled salmon with mushrooms and chocolate cake. The service was attentive, the presentation was nice, the food was average. The 'salad' consisted of 3 or 4 tomato slices and a couple of salad leafs; the vegetables were fresh, the dressing - light and well-balanced, but the salad portion could have been a little bit larger to actually resemble a 'salad'. The corn soup had nice sweet flavor, but I didn't like its texture - it was gritty, as if they mixed some sand into it. My guess is that maybe they blend the corn but don't strain it afterwards to remove the bits of bran; you can taste every bit of it in the texture. The salmon especially was a disappointment, because it was completely dry and overcooked. The chocolate cake was rich and moist, but a little too sweet. Overall, in my opinion the food is overpriced and mediocre. For a special evening, Matt's in the Market is still my first choice.
I honestly don't know why Portage isn't more popular ... maybe because it isn't a celebrity chef or because of its unassuming Queen Anne location ... but for whatever reason, this restaurant seems to fly completely under the culinary radar.
Portage does simple, classic French bistro food. It's not unlike Le Pichet. I had a lamb pot a feu that was outstanding. The meat was fork tender, vegetables cooked just right. It had a slight gaminess to it but that's expected in lamb. My dining partner had a perfectly cooked medium-rare steak dish. For appetizers we had some oysters that came with a pear vinaigrette. Just enough to add to complement the brininess of the oyster without overwhelming it (I never understood people who drench oysters in cocktail sauce). We also had the pate which I would say was good but not anything special.
While it's true this place isn't cheap, I wouldn't say that the prices are out of the ordinary for this type of food. Prices are on par with Le Pichet and definitely cheaper than Campanile. You can expect to drop about $30-$40 per person (drink, tax, tip included). The portions were also just right. I know some people here complained about the portion size but I don't get that. I'm a big guy with a hearty appetite and I was more than satisfied with my appetizer and entree. Sure, you can get bigger portions (for less) at the 5 Spot down the street but that's a totally different type of restaurant. I love the 5 Spot but I go there when I want hearty comfort food (like fried chicken or hot turkey sandwiches). You go to a place like Portage for something more nuanced.
The size of this place makes it a bad choice for large groups but if you're out on a date night or out with just a few people, this place is great. I've walked past this place a hundred times and kept telling myself that I really should check this place out and now I'm glad I did and plan to go back again.
Portage is a treat. With the $40 "tasters" menu for dinner, you get four fancy courses, plus $25 more for a wine pairing that's well worth it. I don't remember all the fancy French names, so I'll just describe the dishes:
Course 1: Heirloom tomato salad dressed in balsamic vinaigrette.
Course 2: Corn puree with mushrooms surrounding pork belly.
Course 3: Sliced Duck over potatoes in wine sauce.
Course 4: Creme Caramel -- like a flan.
The tomato salad, corn soup, and creme caramel were delightful. The duck was good, but not as tender as I'd like it. But it was generously portioned, and tasted nice. I did not leave hungry, nor thirsty from this meal.
Service was cordial, and good, but there was only one server this Monday night, so he did a good job taking care of 10 customers at the same time -- as well as he possibly could, anyway. No complaints with the service.
A glass of wine came with each course, all nicely paired with the courses. Two wines were quite good, and two others were just ok. But the server gave me an extra mini-glass when the main duck course took a little longer than expected, a welcomed gesture.
While sipping on my extra wine, seated at one of the two window tables toward the sidewalk (there's 2 really cute but very small tables outside, too), I noticed the cars coming and going from street parking on the Portage side of Queen Anne Ave. N. Out of about 10 cars on this side of the street, I couldn't help but notice that 5 were later-model BMWs, 3 were Mercedes, 1 was an Audi, and one was... a Hyundai -- but with a Cornell sticker on the back window, proudly displaying Ivy League status -- very sensible. Clearly the other side of the street was the "ghetto" side, populated with old Yugos, or Pintos, and other such nonsense. These crappy carriages (the CORRECT, FULL word for "car", mind you) came from the direction of the "other" side of town -- the dreaded LOWER Queen Anne. I was comforted in knowing that I was in the "right" neighborhood (on TOP of the Hill), and over here on the "right" side of the street for dinner -- forget that "How to Cook a Wolf" nonsense on the "other" side, where the riff-raff park.
Portage is a wonderful place to take a date to a fancy meal, where you can also guarantee a full dinner experience at only $65 per person (which is less than half of other fancy French places in town). And that INCLUDES plying your date with wine all night... oh yes! Even though the date was me. But I still got me in the mood. Right up until I braved crossing to the ghetto side of the street, waited until nobody was looking, then ducked into my Yugo and crept away, sneaking home to lower Queen Anne.
PROS: Cute, fancy, French place -- nice date restaurant for half price of other places like it.
CONS: Not quite the attention to detail you'd find at those "other" places, but still very good.
Went here for a birthday dinner and it was fantastic. Small space was really romantic and all of the food was excellent. The lamb shank and the peach tarte tatin were highlights.
Very good food. Service was good, but a tad on the slow side. It's a very cozy little restaurant, but almost too small and cramped. It does, however, have a very nice atmosphere. It's not annoyingly loud, good music playing in background at just the right volume, etc....
Don't expect to have that great food and atmosphere at no cost though....expect to pay for the privilege. This isn't a cheap stop at a whim restaurant. It's mostly by reservation and very pricey.
This place is overrated.
The food is pricey for the portion and quality.
The wines are so-so.
Our server kept on with a fake french accent that irritated my wife. Lady- if you're French- that's fine. If you're not but you work in a loosely French themed restaurant- talk normally.
I had a Halibut Cheek special that was close to $30. One medium sized cheek was all I got.
Apps are absurdly expensive. $15 salads make no sense.
I left hungry and broke.
There are better restaurants at the top of the hill at a lower price point. If you can get into How to Cook a Wolf accross the street- do it.
Great french food in the heart of Queen Anne.
Started my evening with plans on going to How to Cook a Wolf, with my parents and wife. The wait was over 1.5 hours and we were way to hungry for that. So it was up to me to find a good restaurant and find it fast. I fire up the yelp app on my iphone and Portage is the first place that pops up. I quick glance for through the reviews and the next thing we know all of us are waling across the street to the former home of my favorite Tex-Mex place Barbacoa (RIP).
We were nervous when walking in the front door as there was only 1 person sitting at the bar counter and the rest of the place was empty. Relief came after we asked for a table of 4 and the host had to check their reservations. I glanced and saw that they had a full book for that night (Saturday). We did not have a reservation but they did sit us.
The menu is the perfect size, not too small so that you feel like there is nothing that fits, but not too big so it is not daunting for non-french regulars. Service was very friendly but the speed of service varied. It started out great, the appetizers came out quickly as did the entrees, but as the place filled up it seemed that they were understaffed and things slowed down and water and wine glasses ran dry for awhile.
As for the food itself, I found it great. Everything that was ordered was perfectly cooked and seasoned. My dad went with the lamb shank, my mom the scallops, my wife the chicken, and I had the char special. Now this is french food so you have to know what you are getting into because the meals were very rich and heavy. It would be hard to eat here on a regular basis.
The only thing that is keeping me from giving Portage 5 stars is the slowdown in service (we waited over 40 mins after we were down to have our plates cleared get our check) and my first entree had a large black hair on the fish. Now I know that these things happen, its a part of human anatomy, our hair falls out, but it should have been caught on the pass by the chef. The hair incident nor service will keep me from coming back or recommending this place.
We will definitely go back again.
Eh? Ok. Nothing to write home about. It sells itself as a nice restaurant, but I rank its food as mediocre. Nice place for an intimate meal but the meal is on the Ok side. Save your money and head somewhere else. How to Cook a Wolf is more expensive and not as good but for you $'s worth head to Marrco's or Zoe.
It was 9:00 on a Friday night and it's a tiny, trendy little place. So maybe it was optimistic to think we'd get a table, but still, my heart sunk when we were turned away.
And then I saw the glow of a humble little star, shining through a window across the street. Behold: Portage.
We were greeted with gracious, attentive service and practically within seconds, our first cocktail. Then a delicate salad, perfectly dressed, and a delicious (and original!) beet timbale.
Our main courses were timed perfectly: diver scallops with cauliflower risotto and a stuffed lamb chop with carrot mousse. While the scallops could have used a bit more gusto, they satisfied without overwhelming (and left room for dessert!). The lamb chop stole the show with a perfect medley of flavor and intrigue.
The only thing I didn't like was hearing the closing till run before we were finished with dessert. Though I can relate to a server's plight, there's nothing like that sound to shoo you out the door. Still, the menu looked so good we'll be back soon to try other offerings, which seem well worth the expense.
Whoa! I had absolutely no idea that the chef was from Portage, MI! That's where I went to HS...I approached the chef Vuong and told him that I went to Portage Northern High School and he couldn't believe it! Well, I couldn't believe it that he knew what street I used to live on.
What a small world...and what a coincidence!!!
Okay, now about the food...
I was with two foodie friends of mine and we all loved everything we had. Quail salad, foie gras, raw oysters to start, then we had scallops and hanger steak as our main courses. YUM!!! The rich sauce that accompanied the steak...to die for! You will need lots of bread to clean the plate with.
The dessert (a pear pastry thing with vanilla ice cream) was also heavenly! I am definitely coming back soon.
Any Michiganders out there? Try this place and say hello to the chef!
Newly opened Portage has taken over the intimate space formerly occupied by Barbacoa, and despite my affinity for heaps of molten Queso Fundido, I am pleased with the change. The atmosphere remains much the same, bright and simple with outdoor seating reminiscent of a Parisian cafe on a lively street.
The food itself was exceptionally well prepared, particularly the items in the first and second course such as the rich Roquefort Coulet or the delicate lamb and mushroom fricassee. The main course, though still good, was almost twice as expensive for similarly sized portions. I highly recommend sharing a salad, a bottle of wine, and getting a few starters.
In a conversation over some excellent and affordable wine recommended by our friendly server, my wife and I decided this was the most "French" food of all the French restaurants we have tried in Seattle. While others will be more complex and certainly more expensive, Portage had that simple elegance that epitomizes an exceptional evening of food, wine and friends in Paris.
****Update January 2007****
Three visits now and three OUTSTANDING meals. I haven't yet had a dish that wasn't original, fresh, and just downright tasty. They have straightened out their dinner menu and it now is comparable to the starters menu. The chef is one of the nicest guys I've met (though a bit shy on his restaurant walk-throughs) and has a great future ahead of him. We keep getting the same waitress and she has yet to steer us wrong on wine!
Have eaten there many times--food is excellent and beautifully presented--the wine list is good, but a bit overpriced.
Just went back--a new serving crew--much much improved--
Food again, excellent--wine again pricey but the food compensates
Definitly a good meal--but not cheap, but good food takes time and takes talent and takes expensive ingredients
This place is really tiny and located across the street from How to Cook A Wolf. It must only seat about 25-30 people and we were crammed in at the table, which was kind of surprising since there were quite a few empty tables.
Staff was quick to get to us and we opened up with a bottle of pinot noir. Then the work phone calls started pouring in and I spent the next 20 minutes outside the restaurant fielding calls. I returned a frown from my friend, who was patiently waiting for me.
I had the potage, which was pretty good and she had the chiogga beet timbale, which was excellent. Scallops and roast chicken were our entrees. Good, but not great.
Dessert was the apricot tarte tartin. Once again, good but not great.
To be honest, I was a little disappointed. I had heard a lot of good things about the chefs and had expected alittle more. They kept wandering the dining room, but weren't very friendly. That made the small confines seem even stuffier.
**UPDATE** I've upped my stars from four to five for Portage. The dining experience always feels luxurious, the service is attentive without being overwhelming, and food continues to inspire us.
My husband and I are delighted to find this treasure just a short walk away from where we live. We dined at Portage last night on a whim and we're already planning our next meal there.
Chef Vuong Loc delights the palate with his delicate and flavorful preparations. Between us we shared the air-dried duck breast (so flavorful and light! yes, light!), a salad with ash-goat cheese and slivered almonds, and the mushroom brioche. Our entrees were the lamb shank and the diver scallops. We oohed and ahhed over every bite. And then there is the wine list - short, and packed with selections that are selected for their specific compatibility with the menu. The wines are primarily from French regions with some Oregon Pinot Noir. One previous reviewer mentioned wines as over priced, our take was that the mark up was probably a bit high, but the purchase price is not expensive and the wines are intriguing and not the run-of-the-mill offerings found on other wine lists around the city.
We agree whole-heartedly with the reviewers who said that Portage would be at home in SF or New York. For a price point that is comparable to Crow, another Queen Anne local, or Stumbling Goat in Greenwood - a meal at Portage is a bargain for the quality of food and the overall experience. In short - all of the flavor, and then some, and none of the pretensions. We give Portage our enthusiastic applause and look forward to returning!
i went only once a few months back. it was good food but not good enough for me to make the trek to Queen Anne for this...my friend's fish came without any salt & when she mentioned that to the chef, he shrugged it off & said that he typically puts salt only on the skin side (which means it never got absorbed into the fish)...lame excuse if you ask me.
loved everything about it! started with the oysters topped with a light pear vinegarette. YUM! I ordered a dirty martini and get this- they put a kalamata olive as their garnish! Its the only way I want to have my dirty martini now! For my main course, I got the hanger steak, medium rare, and it was cooked to perfection. I LOVED the pumpkin creme brulee for dessert! Its served inside an actual pumpkin! so cute! I also thought it was a nice touch for the chef to come out and greet us. Such a great dining experience!
I brought my parents here for their anniversary and had a very nice time. The food was excellent, though I can't speak to its authenticity as I know little about French cuisine. We had a nice dry bordeaux blanc with dinner. I had their baby lettuce salad, roast chicken and pear tartin for dessert. The "flourless" chocolate cake is almost overwhelming--it's basically a big decadent wedge of fudge.
great dinner! i had a mussle tart with salad and an amazing aioli... farrow with morels, fiddle head ferns, cheve... and a great goat creme caramel. for $30. thats right- 3 courses for 30 bucks. get in this place, if you haven't, your missing out. great food, great service and in a comfortable relaxed and intimate location, this is one of my new favorite places to grab a bite and lucky for me it's even close to home. how to cook a wolf is not the only destination restaurant in upper queen anne anymore and if you don't believe me, go to portage on your next night free, you won't be let down!!!
The food is excellent. The stuffed lamb chop is amazing! This place has the right combination of French authenticity and injections of other flavors (like the cumin in my lamb chop) to keep your taste buds happy. Like most French restaurants, portions are moderate, which gives you an excuse to order your own dessert. We had the pear tartin, which is fantastic. The menu is small, but everything is well crafted. The wine list offers a decent selection of French and American wines. I highly recommend it.
note: this review was originally posted in my personal blog in november of 2006.
"saffron mussel vol-au-vent, billi-bi soup": i had no idea what half that crap means. still, it was excellent; 3 fat-ass mussels hanging out on a large raft of puff pastry docked in the middle of the rich, creamy soup.
"quail caesar, white anchovie, paremesan tuile": i have no idea what a "tuile" is but the scott seemed really happy with this dish. a pile of romaine hearts (topped with the freshest looking anchovy ever) accompanied by a smaller pile of quail parts. the couple of bites i took were very good despite what i felt was mayonaissy thing going on in the dressing. scott liked it though & he's The Caesar Guy.
"roasted wagyu beef hanger steak, potato escargot-mushroom terrine, basted egg, a la perigourdine": looked like a really good breakfast. yeah, i'm off eggs at the moment so it was meat & potatoes for me. i was slightly disappointed in this. the meat was perfectly cooked & very tender but i felt like it wasn't dressed properly. it was a meat version of that super hot chick who's wearing a baggy, polyester pants suit; there's something good under there, if only she knew how to dress. see, the sauce was nice, but lacking in style. the potato thingy was okay but, again, i was expecting something rich & exotic tasting.
"seared tuna special with, um, stuff" (can't crib from the online menu):
seared ahi is a really common dish up here in the great northwest but usually it comes "crusted" in something. that sounds nasty but is actually very good. this dish? not crusted but still pretty good. i didn't try that much of it but i think his sides were more successful & complementary than mine.
"decadent chocolate flourless cake, caramel anglaise, creme chantilly": this thing was huge. this was more of a "share" sort of dessert but how were we to know? not only that, it was dense as brick. it needed twice as much of the chantilly crap to really balance out the denseness of the cake. the caramel anglaise was innocuous. having had a gazillion (much better) incarnations of this, i don't recommend this version.
another special so i'm just gonna call this "the puffy pear": sliced & spiced poached pear on a puff-pastry pad, topped with ice cream. nice but not gonna win any awards from me.
the service was pretty good (the hottie asian host didn't hurt) &, given the tiny space, the new, modern look was an improvement.
overall, it was a pleasant dinner with nothing really wowing me, which made me a little bitter about the price. the only reason i would go back here (besides the host) is to try the scallop dish instead.
( I went to this place about 5 months ago and am just getting around to the review so I don't remember all the details)
I love love loved this place. I was out with my husband and we were trying to decide where to eat. It was between this Thai place and Portage. We looked at the menu and everything sounded so delicious. The price was a little more then we had left the house ready to spend but we decided to go for it. We were kind of on a budget so we shared an appetizer and salad. My main course was the roasted chicken with spinach and potatoes. The chicken was so heavenly. (My rule of thumb is if the restaurant can make even the most mundane of meats taste amazing the rest of their menu must have the same great deal of attention paid to it.) I believe my husband had some sort of roast that had been marinating all day with lardoons. We decided we are not fans of lardoons but everything else was very tasty.
We had full water glasses all night. We were seated at the little table by the window. It was cute and we could see the street and all the people but my husband is 6'3 and that little space down not fit him. It was also pretty chilly. I plan to go back to this place because I was so pleased.
Portage has that classy, relaxed elegance you find in these small, delicate places. Everything was classic, with attention payed to the smallest details. I enjoyed the straightforwardness of the menu, ambience and service. Everything was executed flawlessly.
These are the reasons I am giving it a 4 out of 5. Nothing threw me head over heals. Everything met my expectations of a place like this, and I will try other places of similar pricing before heading back.
This is a small gem of a restaurant. The first time we ate there, we were under its spell. Incredible salads, chicken, diver scallops, even whitefish, were all perfect. The service was very attentive, and when a pear tarte tatin was sent back for being undercooked, the chef came out to apologize and offer another dessert.
Last night on a whim, (and cabin fever from the endless snow), we had another wonderful experience. Our waiter was knowlegeable and helpful. The oysters with pear verjus mignonette were among the best I've ever had, with the mignonette already on them, instead of as a dipping sauce. I could have eaten dozens! My husband had the fennel potage with mushrooms, which was incredibly salty, and the mushrooms overpowered the fennel flavor.
We had to have the chicken again, and as the diver scallops hadn't been delivered, because of the snow, we ordered the special of monkfish with lobster nage. The nage was good, but the fish was overcooked, and the pommes puree underneath was also oversalted.
We enjoyed our wine, and the waiter suggested a Banyuls dessert wine that perfectly complemented the yummy orange chocolate pot de creme.
Overall, a wonderful Christmas Eve dinner, and I do feel the prices are very fair. Just hope the overcooked fish and that salty thing doesn't happen again.
OK, so these 5 star reviews are getting boring, right? No. I am just picking my favorite places.
Yes, and the restaurant owner comes from Portage, Michigan, my home state and his family is from Vietnam, my recent travel destination. This does not make an excellent restaurant but the food sure does.
I was treated to dinner here by Seattle friends who always find the new special spot or take me to the tried and true classics. I am forever grateful for their sophisticated, on the spot palate.
Gee, where to start with the food......... All exquisite. Caramelized delicate squash with frisee, almonds and goat cheese, baby beets with nicoise tapenade and roquefort and OOHHHHHHHHH! those sweet diver scallops on a bed of tiny cauliflower pieces with preserved lemon for melt in your mouth buttery goodness.
Lovely service and a charming chef who was willing to appease a customer who felt she had something in common with him.
I want to return for some winter comfort and "basque" in a bowl of steaming cassoulet.
Overall, the food was good and the service excellent. The waiter was knowledgeable, polite, and attentive to the table. I apologize, in that I don't remember the names of the dishes. I especially like the potato pancake that my friends and I shared. It tasted much like latke, and done very well. For the main dish, I got the scallops over risotto. The risotto was fabulous - well cooked, and a new take with the use of potatoes. I received 4 scallops and I liked none of them. One was extremely overdone and the rest were underdone and tasted very fishy with a hint of sourness. Now, the waiter was nice enough to take the whole dish out of the bill and expressed his deepest apologies as they had ran out of scallops earlier in the day and brought them from a different supplier. My friends had the special grilled fish, the stuff quail, and the (veggi) risotto - they all thought their dishes were well done, but nothing spectacular. The desserts were well done - vanilla pot de creme, flourless chocolate cake, and the ice cream and sorbet combo (note that the creme fraiche flavor is very light and does taste like cream - almost like sour cream).
Excellent food. I'd give it more stars if I could. I've eaten here three times and each time has been fantastic. The flavors are perfectly balanced. The wine is superb. The service is excellent. Everything I've tasted here is sublime and memorable. It's wonderful for a date. It's small and intimate. Perfect.
Passion. I left here thinking wow, they are passionate! Passionate about the food and passionate about the service. The restaurant itself is very quaint which lends for an intimate experience. We arrived early and sat at the bar. The manager was quick to offer us drinks and assure us that our table would be ready shortly, which it was. FYI, definitely make reservations ahead of time. The table was right by the door, which I imagine is great for the summer, but being that it is FREEZING, the table location was not ideal. So, normally that would set a bad taste in my mouth, but no, the manager was very quick to block the cold air from our table. Every time that a patron was let out he would rush to shield us from the cold air. This was both extremely considerate and extremely appreciated. The manager also made many rounds through the restaurant to ensure everyone had a pleasant experience. Our waiter was excellent as well, very enthusiastic about the food and the chef and the experience! So, onto the actual food and drink. I ordered a pot of tea which comes from the delicious teacup next store. It was absolutely amazing, so amazing that I want to go and buy some tomorrow! We did the 30 for 30 and both of us ordered the squash salad, it was absolutely amazing!! I was just shocked by how good that it was. The flavors were spot on and the combination was delicious. I would go back just for the salad, and I hate when people lick the plates, but I almost licked the plate, almost. My fiance, he did use his spoon and finger to try and get every morsel. Next came the entrees. They are well known for their Lake Superior (yay michigan) whitefish and my fiance ordered this dish. I had a small taste and it was delicious. He loved this dish and ate it faster than I have ever seen him eat any meal. They apparently fly in the whitefish daily or every other day to ensure quality, and that quality shows. I ordered the potato lentil creation and it was also very tasty. The goat cheese added great flavor and the basalmic on the side was a nice touch as well. Then, we had dessert. This is where I must say I was a bit dissapointed. I ordered the "chocolate soup." Apparently they had no more chocolate cake and my belief is this was a last minute dish. There was a tiny merengue in the middle of a huge soup bowl of chocolate. The chocolate and merengue were very tasty, and yet very confusing. I was unclear how to eat this dessert. Do I eat the merengue and use the soup as a garnish/sauce, or is the merengue like the bread to a normal soup. I felt a bit silly eating the soup itself, so I didn't eat most of it, but my fiance definitely got in his share of the soup, so it was tasty. Lastly, although we came for 30 for 30 I was very impressed by how reasonable the prices were for the meals. I definitely plan on coming back here many many times.
This tiny place was fantastic! Food combinations were unexpected, unique and excellent and paired with a great choice of wines. Service was exceptional for us on a Friday night. I thought the price point was actually very reasonable. I'd go back any time, what a treat for Queen Anne!
Neighborhood: Queen Anne
Category: American (New)
Neighborhood: Queen Anne
Category: American (New)
Neighborhood: Queen Anne
Category: Italian
Neighborhood: Queen Anne
Category: Italian
Neighborhood: Downtown
Category: French
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