On a mobile device? Try our mobile site, optimized for faster browsing.
Category: American (New) [Edit]
Neighborhood: Queen AnneMon-Thu. 11:30 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Mon-Thu. 5:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.
Fri. 11:30 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Fri. 5:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.
Sat. 10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Sat. 5:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.
Sun. 10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Sun. 5:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.
Loading...
This is a revolving restaurant 500 feet above Seattle in the top of the Space Needle. The food is good but pricey. They have a $25/person minimum for lunch and a $35/person minimum for dinner which is very easy to exceed.
The catch is that if you just want to go up the Space Needle, it is going to cost you $15/person anyway just for the elevator ride up. The ride up is included with the restaurant minimum so when you think of it that way, the food prices aren't out of line. For instance, I had a bowl of clam and corn chowder which was very tasty but had few clams. It was $9. Then I had a crab sandwich with tomato and cucumber salad for $29. Together they totaled $38 minus $15 for the ride is $23 which probably isn't out of line for what I ordered.
Like I said, it was tasty and they place is pretty classy looking. The view can't be beat and the waiters are very attentive, friendly and patient. They are all knowledgeable on the views and eager to point out landmarks to the tourists. After your meal you can take the stairs or elevator up another 50 feet to the observation deck where they have a snack bar and mini gift shot and you can go outside on the deck and look at the city through binoculars.
For those who can swing it, the lunch will probably cost you about $40-$50/person but if you want to go up the Needle, it is worth it.
Can you say OVERPRICED!!!?? The view is of course really nice, but thats about it. its a tourist trap and the food is just alright, but seriously over priced (they lost a star for that).... but hey I guess they need to make up their $16 that you don't need to pay for elevator ride if you are going to the restaurant....
Minimum food charge $35 per guest..... WTF?
Chicken and vegies = $ 36 !!!
Ahi Tuna with rice and spinach = $44 !!!
8 oz Steak = $$ 54!!!
are you kidding?
Great view. Very cool that you rotate 360 degrees while you eat (unless you really hurry). You get to see the whole city from quite the vantage point, and that per se is very fun. The service is professional enough.
The food, though, oy. Overpriced and utterly forgettable at best. If you're at all enthusiastic about eating a great meal, or careful with your money, just go up to the observation deck and then eat elsewhere. But for a special occasion or for people who can forgive the food if the rest of the experience is neat, this is pretty cool.
Walking to the bathroom really makes you realize how much of a premium space is up here--you have to twist and turn and go up and down stairs just to walk ten or twelve feet.
When a friend of mine found out that I have never been up the Needle she decided that for my birthday she was taking me to lunch there. I had heard the food was not very good so I wasn't sure I really wanted to go but in the end I am glad I did!
The bread was really good and served with 2 types of butter - one was a maple lavender and boy was that yummy. I liked it so much I forget to try the hazelnut infused dipping oil!!
I had the Waldorf salad which had apple, cucumber, candied walnuts, dried cherries and chicken with a Greek yogurt dressing. I had the dressing on the side and didn't end up using much of it. It was ok but I think I prefer the more traditional dressing for a Waldorf salad. But hey, props for trying something different Sky City.
My friend had the Cobb salad. She said it was good - but really what can you do to mess up a couple of salads?
Obviously the reason you eat here is for the view and that view is what makes the $70 price before tip worth every cent.
At first I was bummed it was a cloudy day but quite honestly the view was still spectacular. We could see all of the mountains clearly and I enjoyed being able to point to my building while up there! =]
I went out on the observation deck to see the view that way as well and I have to say that I am really glad I had the dining experience.
It is a bit on the pricey side but I seriously recommend everyone trying it - whether you live here or are visiting. Overall a very cool experience!
Visiting the Needle is one of those "must-dos" when you're in Seattle. During my visit, they had a promotion for lunch and dinner.
With your $25 entree (all lunch entrees were at least $25 anyway), you get to "pick 2 with your view." That meant you get either a glass of wine from their three house choices; chowder, Caesar salad, or soup of the day (butternut squash); and dessert (seasonal cheesecake, seasonal fruit cobbler, or fresh fruit sorbet). Apparently, not everyone gets this coupon although there are promotional advertisements about it everywhere. I got mine when I purchased my ticket at the box office downstairs.
Solo dining for lunch makes it a minimal wait, but I would recommend reservations for dinner for sure. A bottle of local hazelnut oil already sits at your table as the bread and butter arrives. (I actually had to request for bread and butter since I noticed other tables had it already.)
For my three choices:
* Seattle Clam and Corn Chowder "Creamy New England style, razor clams and Yukon Gold potatoes" - It was served with crinkled cut potato chips and the soup was quite rich. A very true classic New England-style chowder.
* Dungeness Crab Melt "Warm Dungeness crab salad on toasted sourdough with vine-ripened tomatoes and dill havarti" - Two fist sized crab cakes and melted cheese laid nicely on toasted bread. You can tell there was real crab meat in there, not a lot of breading to fill it up. A tomato salad complemented the dish. I could only eat one crab cake because it was so filling and rich. I looked forward to the leftovers!
* Fresh fruit sorbet - A trio of flavors (blackberry, raspberry, and mango) along with fruit compote. A perfect ending to heavy and hearty lunch. (Their cheesecake is a NY cheesecake with seasonal berries.)
After my mid-day meal, I was stuffed and needed a nap! It's definitely a leisurely meal, since it takes 47 minutes for the restaurant to do a complete rotation. The view is great and pace is relaxing.
Sometimes when dining along, you get sub par service. Yes, you do get ignored, or you don't get the whole 'customer service package.' For example, I noticed how my waiter and busboy made of point of introducing themselves to my fellow diners, but I never got that personal service. Another waiter did come by to offer any tourist information if I needed it though. I did have to wave down the staff for more water and a to go box.
They made a big deal about taking your ticket (for the Needle) since it's considered part of the coupon. They said it's because they don't want you to reuse the promotion. (If you like to keep your ticket stubs, hopefully your waiter will work something out so you can have the memento.)
For dinner, it's a $35 minimum for the special, but all dinner entrees are at least $35 anyway.
Overall, Skycity at the Needle is a restaurant for tourists. It is and can be pretty expensive, so look out for those promotions!
One of a kind place in a one of a kind building.
Yes, the food is expensive. But, think about having to haul everything up on the elevator. What a pain.
The food is pretty decent. Can you get better food elsewhere? Most definitely. But you won't be able to beat the view and the atmosphere.
You must make a reservation in advance. When you have a reservation, you don't have to pay the $16 fee to go to the observation deck. As noted by many other reviewers, the dining room revolves once every 47 minutes so you get a spectacular view of the city. There are no bars or screens on the windows, like there is on the o-deck, so the view is actually better, in my opinion, than the o-deck.
I have eaten here 3 or 4 times, and have loved every time. If you can swing the prices, then it is a great place to go.
It's not bad food, although anywhere else it would seem totally over-priced, but you're paying for the view, and it's a view worth paying for. Definitely insist on a table by the window though!
I'm going to give this place 4 stars for the brunch I had there. Here's why:
-they have the 2nd best view of Seattle from up high and they rotate you so you don't even have to. I may have found the spinning mildly disorienting but otherwise, it's kinda a weird thing you do once. Revolving restaurants aren't too common so why not try it? That's why I did.
-I've heard that their dinner was not worth the money but brunch seemed to be reasonably priced. It was like $45 for three courses.
-Service was attentive and friendly. I didn't feel like I wasted my time or money when I went there.
I wasn't expecting much from this restaurant since from the reviews, it seemed like one of those touristy places that are known more for their view than their food. We wanted to have lunch there but when we got there, they said their earliest available time was at 7:30 later that night. We just left and figured out what we were going to do for lunch. I told my loverman that I still wanted to go to SkyCity. He didn't feel like walking back in there so he called to make reservations for that night. He asked again when the earliest available time was and they said 1:45! Very strange.
We walked around the parks and whatnot to kill two hours and then we went back to the Space Needle. You should arrive their earlier because it takes forever to get up to the restaurant. The elevators rarely come and even if they do, you might not be able to get in. Our table wasn't ready yet so they sent us up to the observation deck. Then the buzzer went off and we walked down the stairs to the restaurant.
Complimentary Bread: Their fresh bread is excellent. I like that they give you a variety of them too. I was not a fan of their butter though so I asked for vinegar to eat with the olive oil already at the table.
Spring Vegetable Gateau: I am not a fan of goat cheese but this dish was pretty good. It was a good small size and the sauce was amazing. I ate every last drop of it with the bread.
Halibut Sandwich: This was more of a burger and this dish was gigantic. The sandwich was really big and there was a huge side of thin cut fries. I thought the sandwich was pretty good but my loverman said the Halibut was overcooked. The slaw was the best part although the bun comes in close.
We were going to split a dessert and we probably should've. I wanted the White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Bread Pudding (bread pudding is my favorite dessert!) and he wanted the fruit cobbler so we got two separate ones. The desserts were way too big. I wish they had scaled it down a bit more. Both of us were about to burst and I struggled to finish my bread pudding. It was really good and it is rare that I find bread pudding that I like. I wish it weren't so dense though but it still tasted good.
You have to pay a fee to go up to the observation deck but it is waived if you eat here which I think is a much better value.
My Hubby took me here for my surprise birthday dinner and it was very nice. He timed it perfectly with dinner reservation at 8:30 so we would be there for the sunset. So beautiful too!
We were first whisked upstairs to the observation deck while we waited for our table. it was a warm night so it was perfect up there. They gave us a pager that had a REALLY annoying sound when it went off. So we had to listen to that the entire time we walked down to the restaurant. Our wait to be seated wasn't too terribly long and once seated we were on the window side.
Our waitress was really nice and promptly we were brought water and bread. There were two kinds of butter and a hazelnut oil to use with the different bread rolls. The lavender butter was really unusual but very good. Maple butter was the other selection and I would just put them together.
The drinks we ordered were really good. My Hubby's Mai Tai was the best he had aside from being in Hawaii, the bartender we learned later was from Trader Vic's so there is your answer there! I had a watermelon martini and it was a tiny bit sour for me so next I ordered something that had lemonade in it and that was really good!
Dinner arrives and my plate looks beautiful! I ordered the trio seafood. it was $44 bucks! Gulp. BUT I gulped down that food alright! Two prawns in a peanut type sauce, salmon on garlic mashed potato and asparagus, and scallops on a bed of warm apple slices with onion. All so tasty and the seafood was perfect not being over cooked,rubbery or too dry. Hubby had the lamb medallions and they were stacked up on top of a potato croquette that was to die for!
We ordered dessert since it was my birthday and I was overjoyed to see chocolate mousse on there. I hadn't had that in years and it seemed like a good time to have it. They presented it with a super tall candle I got to blow out. the chocolate was so rich I had to take half of it back to the hotel with me. There were fresh berries and blueberries and it was served in a crunchy little shell. Hubby had the trio of fresh sorbet and they were so refreshing and clean. The mango flavored one was my favorite.
I have eaten at many expensive restaurants over the years and for the added bonus of the outstanding view and service here I think we got our money's worth. I did notice at the bottom of the menu there is a $35. minimum order per person if you eat there. I think this is because you can go to the observation level as well. So don't think you can eat there and just have a drink and appetizer!
OK, the wife and I read the reviews, and frankly didn't expect much from the food or the service, but knew we would enjoy the view a lot. We made our reservation for a Saturday night in early October, and had to make it a month in advance as this place is popular!! We rode the elevator up with the crowd and got out and were seated in less than one minute. We got a window table. Now, we had an early dinner reservation, 5:15pm, so it wasn't packed yet. And fortunately we had superb weather so the view was amazing from the start to the finish. And the place goes around once every 47 minutes so you get to see all 360 degrees a couple times at least. First of all, the service was absolutely fantastic. The waiter spoke with an accent and was a little hard to understand, but he was very cool and when he served our dessert he took a photo of us with the sunset in the background. Nice! The appetizers were excellent, the Tomahawk steak was delicious, and the desserts were top notch for sure. Yes, it was expensive. But the experience can't be repeated anywhere else in Seattle, and everyone should eat here at least once. We always order a Cosmo when we start dinner at nice restaurants, and this Cosmo was as good as they get. MUCH better than Ruth Chris (terrible) and Maggiano's in Bellevue (Weak). What can I say, we had FUN here and were very very pleased that the food was outstanding. We will eat here again for sure.
The view was beautiful. We had a leisurely lunch and got to enjoy looking at the the whole 360. Helicopters flew by at our height and below us and we got to watch the sea planes take off. All in all a great do once event.
Lunch for 2 was $70 and the valet parking was $8 for 4 hours.
Being the geeks we are we also loved the Sci-Fi Museum!
I want to give 3 stars for the food in this restaurant, but definitely will give 5 for the view. Let me discuss in details on each of the experience I had
Food:
Ask for fresh bread for your starters- They have the freshest bread every, it was perfect with the rosemary butter and hazelnut oil.
Meal was Okay- I would give 3 stars- just because I found nothing special in the menu. I had tried the seared tuna, seafood pasta (not too bad), Kobe Beef, 3 seafood trio, stuffed crab with shrimp pasta- they were all okay. You can definitely get a better food at other steak house.
Atmosphere:
5 Stars. The atmosphere was PERFECT. In fact I don't mind going here again just for the view. My engagement event happened in this place, so it holds special place in my heart.
Location:
4 Stars. If you dine at this location, you should definitely let parking hassle free by letting the valet team take care of it.
I went here the first time last week and loved it! I had chicken with mashed potatoes that were delicious. For dessert I had sorbet which was very good. Our waiter was very friendly and helpful enough though I was with a group of 8. I would tell everyone to go at least once even though it may be a bit pricey, but the experience is fun. You also get a free ride up to the top so you can enjoy the view. I definitely would recommend going at night time because the view is amazing with all the city lights. I thought I would be sick from the movement but I could barely tell the floor was rotating.
Spinning restaurants in the sky are always something to be wary of. Usually way overpriced and under-delicious. I can't really say that I would ever go eat here just for the food, but I would definitely eat here again if the opportunity arose.
There were a couple definite food standouts. The potato croquette that was served with my nicely cooked, but underseasoned lamb, was delicious. The wife's seafood trio was nice as well and you can't go wrong with a Mai tai made by an actual Trader Vic's veteran. On the down side, the sauces were weak. The ones with my lamb were fortunately on the plate and not over the meat. The red wine reduction tasted like bottled hoisin sauce and the pea puree was flavorless. The vegetables were completely unmemorable.
Our server was attentive and genuine. She brought the birthday girl a candle in her dessert without even asking for it! If you're gonna go blow a load of money on a special occasion, I can't really recommend a better place in Seattle.
Great view of the city from above. On top of that, I had a great crab cake dish that was so good. If you're ever in Seattle, you should definitely check this place out. It was so nice having lunch with a good friend and enjoying a nice meal in a brand new city. Washington is one of my favorite states. Great memories.
Yes the view is great, but the food is basically bad wedding food and the rotating restaurant is nauseating. So even if the food was good, you would still be nauseous from rotating. My group had to get the dessert to go because we were all so nauseous we couldn't take it any longer. The food had been sitting under a heat lamp for who knows how long before we were served. I would recommend just paying the $15 and going to the observation deck.
Sky City isn't too bad, food-wise. It's something to munch on while looking at the view. However the price tag makes it a pricey tourist trap.
I don't remember much about the prime rib dinner I had. It was acceptable but nothing memorable, apparently. It's just a so-so experience overall. The one fun thing is customer interaction via the spinning dining room. The last time I went there, someone was celebrating a birthday and sent round a card and pen for everyone to write on.
I hear there's a new chef so the food is supposed to be better. I wouldn't mind hosting an out of towner here.
The view was nice and it was a pretty good deal considering you get admission to the observation deck with a $25 dollar per person purchase. The observation deck is $16 per person by itself!!! The food was not great. It seemed like three star food in a five star atmosphere. The best thing we ate here was the crab mac n cheese which was pretty good.
My fiance and I decided to spend our early weekend getaway in beautiful Seattle. With it being our first time there, we had to get the full tourist experience. I had booked reservations for SkyCity a month in advance. I wasn't sure how long all of our tours from the day would take and we ended up getting there an hour before our reservation. They took us in immediately with no questions asked.
We had the absolute best waitress ever--EVER! I say that yet I forget her name. I think it was Briana. She has red hair and was amazing.
It was super busy, being a Saturday night and she allowed us to take our time with the menu, recommended excellent appetizers and wine pairings, gave us little anticdotes about Seattle and even grabbed a map for us and told us the fastest and most affordable way to get around the city.
We had the spinach and artichoke dip to start and split the stawberry spinach salad. I really appreciated how she split the salad before she brought it to us. It was a huge portion for each and we didn't have to go through the trouble of dividing the salad ourselves. I had the smoked salmon--delightful and my fiance had the seafood platter (a sample dish of salmon, muscles, prawns, etc).
We had a wonderful experience for our first night in Washington thanks to our perfect waitress.
How to have an affordable meal here:
1) Sign up for the Celebration Club on their website
http://spaceneedle.com...
2) Don't send their monthly emails to your junk folder
3) Print your coupon for buy-one-entree-get-one-free (their offering for celebrating an anniversary, good for one full month)...or any of the other great deals they offer
4) Reserve your special occasion meal for a Tuesday night and get half price bottles of wine and champagne. Tuesday nights during the summer are also boat race days on Lake Union, so keep your eyes peeled for masses of sailboats twirling around the lake.
5) Tip your server on the full amount because chances are, they're pretty awesome.
I'd been here for dinner as a tourist about 3 years ago, and just remember remarking, "I guess we were just paying for the view." The food wasn't memorable, but it was an enjoyable evening. Just really expensive.
They must have gotten a new chef, or some kind of philosophy overhaul, because the food was pretty incredible this time. Piping hot bread came out with lavender maple butter and sea salt butter, and hazelnut oil was already at the table for dipping.
Delicious Penn Cove mussels with spicy asiago crostini to sop up the herbed buttery mussel sauce for appetizer.
Seafood trio for dinner--all amazingly flavored, and I've never been so excited about potatoes before, but my roasted heirloom potatoes with sea salt and beurre blanc was to die for.
We didn't have enough room for dessert, but who needed it? The dinner was perfect.
Another noteworthy service element: our car was waiting for us when we came down, and they added our valet bill ($8) to the check, so it was totally hassle-free and worthwhile to valet for the special occasion.
I came here for my birthday, and the [expensive] food wasn't all that great.
It wasn't nearly anything special, and I would have rather gone to a less expensive, non-rotating restaurant anyday. If anything, I recommend the dessert. There is one dessert that uses dry ice to make a Ooh-Aah effect, but besides that, the food overall is not recommended.
I do admit it was quite the experience. The views were gorgeous, and the rotating scheme was pretty cool.
Simply outstanding. My husband took me to SkyCity as a belated Mother's Day present, and it was amazing. From the bread to the salad to the filling entrees, it was one of the best meals I have had. The menu is very Seattle-centric, from seafood to steaks to pastas. The crab cakes were particularly good, as was the salad with local apples and bleu cheese and the seafood pasta.
I was particularly impressed with the service. Our waiter was very friendly and prompt. They were more than willing to substitute the seafood I didn't want for additional prawns. I had signed up for the e-club and when I mentioned to our waiter that I was upset that I had forgotten the e-voucher for two free desserts, they let me print it out on a computer there so we'd still get to have them. And wow, was it worth it. I had amazing cheesecake with a berry compote and my husband had the signature dessert of ice cream over dry ice. All in all, a great evening.
The food here in no way justifies the price. You are just paying for the view. I found the rotation of the restaurant moderately annoying. If you want to see the top of Space Needle, eat somewhere else first.
We originally went up to the Needle for the view BUT...
When we arrived they were handing out coupons for the restaurant beneath the observation deck! We decided to make use of the coupon and made reservations when we hit the ground. After reading reviews here (post-visit), I guess that was a good thing too!
It's a rotating restaurant, full 360 in about 40 minutes. The coupon was choose one dish in 2 of the 3 following categories: Appetizer, Dessert & Wine. for free! (with purchase of entree)
I must say my experience at the restaurant was worth it. Given you're going to pay $16 for a ride up, spend $30-40 instead for a nice meal with the same view, and you don't even have to walk around to get the view!
My dish was the seared ahi tuna with a strawberry sauce with a soy sauce based sauce on the side. Cooked well, I'd even venture to say decently well. All the other dishes were cooked decently well too!
For dessert I got a triple chocolate thing with currant berry sauce. The sauce was delicious! The cheesecake was nice, nothing spectacular, but there was a berry sauce drizzled in the shape of the needle. That was cool!
Given my one time experience, if I ever head back up to Seattle again, I'd like to give this place another try.
We made reservations for a late lunch here as soon as we got off the plane in Seattle. Eating lunch here, we didn't have to pay the fare to go to the observation deck and we still got the amazing view in addition to filling our tummies. To be honest, I don't remember much about the food, but our server was super nice and great about taking our pictures.
Also, major bonus for us: it'd been raining and a rainbow appeared while we were there! So, we spent a good ten minutes trying to take pictures of ourselves with the rainbow in the background. Since the place was pretty much empty, we had the restaurant to ourselves and kept walking back to keep the rainbow in the shot to the amusement of the workers (they really didn't seem annoyed at all).
Chasing the rainbow. Good times!
Kind of expensive. But you don't have to buy tickets to the observation deck so that makes up for it somewhat. I had the roasted chicken and it was delicious. Very tender and the sauce was excellent. The host in front was nice enough to take a group photo of us, and that probably bumped up my review to 4 stars. The only thing is if you are prone to dizziness this may not be for you because the whole restaurant spins as you sit at your table. It's not that fast, but its def noticeable.
See Review for Space Needle.
We had the V-Day brunch here at SkyCity. Before we were seated, they took us up to the deck of the Space Needle to take in the view. I wish I would've brought a burger and enjoyed the view from there. It would've saved me $100 bucks and an upset tummy.
I ordered the steak and poached eggs with hollandaise sauce and the bf ordered the prime rib breakfast. The presentation looked great, but as soon as I took my first bite, I almost hurled, seriously. The hollandaise sauce with thick and the texture was overwhelming in a bad way. Ekkh, it was the most aweful thing I've ever eaten. The steak was dry and tasted like a whiskey and soy sauce marinade mixture.
There are so many places in Seattle to eat. DO NOT GO TO SKYCITY! Even as a first time visitor to Seattle. If you must, just go enjoy the view at the Needle, but plan to eat before or after elsewhere.
I've been here three times. NOT DELICIOUS, view great.
Every time, my server has been completly condescending...listen B**CH, I know what it means for a steak to be medium rare, that's how I like my steak, so when you bring it to me medium-well I will be unahppy, especially after she gave me a lecture ("now ma'am, medium rare means it is cooked with a warm red..."). Conversely, we ordered a kids steak cooked well done, and it took them THREE TIMES to get it right. The first time, we cut into it, it was cooked medium - the put the same steak on the grill and gave it back to us - it had the exact same cut through the middle. The second time, it was so charred it actually flaked and black chunks went all over the plate and linens. The third time it was cooked propertly but by that time, the kid had eaten off of everybody's plate and was full. They wouldn't take the kids meal off our bill.
The view - awesome when it's nice out. When it's cloudy and you can't see anything, a $60 steak with the quality of Denny's is less appealing. I would say it's worth going to at least once. The food is okay, expensive for the quality, but if you consider people pay $14 to go to the top of the Needle, it becomes just SLIGHTLY more reasonable. The dessert is kinda cool, we had the ice cream that smoked (dry ice). Cool presentation. Since the last time I ate there, I heard they had a new chef, so maybe they have taught their cooks about steak temperature.
The food was trying to be fancy, but it didn't taste impressive. Our table got various dishes. The halibut and crab mac n cheese were winners, the filet mignon and prawn omelet were NOT. The meat was dry with a strange marinade that was almost bitter. The egg was too fluffy and the sauce was too sweet. The dessert was good - tirimisu, bread pudding and cheesecake. But the food was mediocre and the spinning room was really unnecessary. It was annoying to have the bathroom move from 10 feet away to the opposite end and it made me dizzy towards the end!
Thinking back on it, the food really wasn't very good - but it's the experience that counts. And at the time, I was pretty happy with my choice to dine here.
SkyCity was not only my first ever meal in a rotating restaurant, but it was somewhere near my first or second "fine" dining experience w/o the parents. Yep, at the ripe age of 18 - SkyCity popped my haute cuisine cherry.
Oh, but your first is never really any good is it? For lack of comparison and having found the dining venue all by myself - I was pretty satisfied.
Would I go back? Perhaps for the view and a coffee - that's the real reason people go anyway, right? The food doesn't have to be phenomenal - you're in a rotating atrium - what else do you need? :)
We intended to visit the space needle for the view anyway and decided that based on the cost of just visiting the vista level ($16 per person) we would enjoy the dining experience for the incremental $ (which we were going to spend on lunch anyway). I had heard that the food was not good but we really enjoyed our lunch and found it very relaxing while enjoying the rotating view of the City. I enjoyed a very tasty crabcake sandwich. Yes it was pricy and did cost around $70 out the door but since we were on vacation we were fine with spending that.
The Sunday prix fixe three-course brunch was fabulous!
Let's start with the fact that the breakfast juices are bottomless. Compared to many fine dining locations, this is a big point in favor! J started with the fruit & yogurt and I had the Clam & Corn Chowder. The chowder was warm but not hot, and had a milder flavor than I am used to. Still, it was very tasty.
For the main course, J had the Classic Eggs Benedict and I had the Malted Belgian Waffle. What a treat! A perfectly flavored waffle (Malted is the way to go!) with fresh strawberries, real whipped cream, real butter, real New-England maple syrup, and sides of perfectly cooked bacon and chicken & apple sausage. It was perfect all the way through.
For the finale, J and I both had the Snickerdoodle Apple Cobbler. I'll give you one guess what the crumble was made of. Again, a wonderful flavor combination with fresh vanilla ice-cream.
The only things keeping this from a 5-star review were the lack of steam coming from my soup and the fact that our waitress was a little slow on two occasions. The food was fabulous, the view was fabulous, and the experience was thoroughly enjoyable.
You are paying for the view.
Lets say your already planning on going to dinner/lunch, and also going to the Space Needles observation deck, its $16 a person just to go to the observation deck - or free when you are eating at SkyCity. With that in mind, it does help... but its still expensive.
As for the food, I've been 5 times to eat (and have had brunch, lunch, and dinner) and I have never been very impressed. However, the service, the cleanliness, and the atmosphere is all wonderful and does make up for cost (oh, and you can't forget the gorgeous VIEW!)
reservation is a must so that you dont wait forever.
$8 for valet parking
taking that elevator up to the 60th floor - awesome.
we were seated right away w/ an awesome view at 7:45pm when the set is just setting. we sat there in awe of the view for at least a good 5 minutes as the restaurant rotate slowly.
bread was served w/ two kinds of butter in addition to oil/vinegar.
food was ok nothing great - american food and quite pricey. 4 adults, 1 child w/ a bottle of wine and 2 desserts, bill came to a bit over $300.
but again, nothing beats the view w/ good company.
thereafter, you can go to the observation deck, stay inside and have some hot cocoa and ooohh and ahhh again over the city of Seattle.
Spectacular view of Seattle.
My friends and I came for the brunch, $45 for a three course meal, it explains why we had 3 hour brunch! The cost also includes the fee for the observatory deck...which ends up being worth it because there is a ridiculous line for the elevators from ground to the observatory deck (you can also take the stairs from SkyCity to the observatory deck).
My friends and I came here for Saturday brunch on a recent trip. For I believe $45, we had a three-course meal and an express elevator to the top of the needle.
The food was fantastic. We all got different things and all 4 of us were beyond satisfied. It was just a LOT of food and we felt like we were in a slight food-coma afterwards. I think we spread out our meal over 3 hours!
The view is also awesome, and not having to stand in line for the observation deck was also a big plus.
I agree that everyone should try this out at least once on a trip to Seattle. I recommend brunch because it's cheaper than dinner and you can spend quite a bit of time lounging-- no one tries to hurry you up.
I have mixed emotions about this place. First, I am not one for heights but went here for a birthday party so I sucked it up. If you're afraid of heights, bum rush the elevator and stand against the wall. Trust me, you'll thank me later.
The food was mediocre-good at best. For the price, I would say that there are at least 10 other places to go for the equivalent or better food. I had a roasted chicken dish and it was decent. I actually ended up taking home a box with some of the food, but possibly because the rotating was making me a little less hungry.
The rotating, I would suspect, is hit or miss for people. Personally I spent the first rotation trying not to feel a bit yicky from it, but eventually that went away. Luckily, I was with a rather large group and in coordinating ordering and everything I was feeling ok by the time my food came.
That being said, I was with a party of about 15-18. Despite that, our service was pretty fabulous. Our waitress talked quietly, but she was attentive and with all the shuffling of people and moving around to talk, things didn't get messed up at all.
Would I eat here again? Maybe if it was really for the experience of the view. Chances are I'd just go up to the observation deck. The perk of the restaurant is free access to the observation deck before or after your meal though, which is nice.
Overall, I'd say it's something everybody should do at least once. Rotating restaurant, great view of the city, good service, and probably a good time (even it does make that wallet/purse a lot lighter).
We came, we rotated, we ate...
I guess I wasn't really sure what to expect. It was New Year's day and we thought we would do the tourist thing and check out the Space Needle. I figured since we were going to pay the price to go to the observation deck, we might as well spend a bit more and get a meal out of it.
Well, we spent A LOT MORE!!! Evidently, since it was a holiday, they were only serving the brunch menu - which just so happens to be $45 per person. Ouch!
The views were amazing - the rotating of the restaurant took a bit of getting used to. I had to switch seats with the BF because he was rotating backwards and it was making him feel a bit motion sick. (I wonder how many people actually get motion sick up there?!).
The food: NOT worth the price we paid. It was decent - I ordered the King Crab legs, which were delicious, but the vegetable they served it with was a bit off. It was some sort of potato au gratin. The BF had the prime rib, which he seemed to really like.
The service was really good. Our waitress was really nice and very attentive.
Overall, I guess it's one of those things that I can say I did in my life. Would I go back again? Probably not...
Hubby and I decided to plan a tourist day in the city for one of our dates. We came here for lunch/brunch on a Sunday and then took in the sights upstairs on the observation deck. We picked an awesome day to be there...the view was GORGEOUS and there isn't a bad seat in the place. We made sure to take our time so that we could enjoy the 360 view. (It takes about 45-50 min to rotate all the way around.) In my opinion, the weekend brunch/lunch menu was disappointingly limited. You pay a $45 flat fee (tax+gratuity not included) and you choose from their selection of starters, main courses, and desserts. The choices included breakfast items like fruit parfait to heavier items like steak. We felt silly paying $45 for breakfast so for our main course hubby had the Flat Iron Steak Oscar and I had the Crab Mac and Cheese. They were ok. The portioins are pretty decently sized and we ended taking most of my mac and cheese home. It wasn't very good leftover. Service was ok...our waiter was pretty bleh. I think for the prices they charge you can definitely go somewhere and have way better food but you really can't beat the views here. I think it's definitely worth doing once, just not sure that it's worth a repeat visit.
Oyster Hour Weekdays 5 -7pm!
Neighborhood: Columbia City
Thanksgiving Day at Sazerac
Neighborhood: Downtown
Neighborhood: Queen Anne
Category: Local Flavor
Neighborhood: Pioneer Square
Category: Toy Stores
Neighborhood: Downtown
Category: Seafood
Neighborhood: Queen Anne
Category: Amusement Parks
Neighborhood: Central District
Category: Spanish
Someone asked if I'd ever gotten ROTD and I said…
Being on vacation is always the best opportunity…
You don't have to be a dirty hippie or an emo…
Husband and I were here for 6 weeks... working…
Some of my favorite dining destinations in the…
Besides the rain, the volcano, the space needle,…
These are places I deem pricey but worth it...IMO…
