seastar

[reesek]

hi all,

i'll be in bellevue tomorrow (in my own personal hell, actually - trying on bridesmaid dresses). i'm dragging a friend to lend moral support. it's always better to have someone laugh at you when you fall than to have to avoid eye contact while you pick yourself up in silence.

we're going to have some dinner afterwards. i've been dying to try udupi but she doesn't like indian food. we talked about i love sushi and i also suggested seastar. i haven't eaten there, but it's in the building where my home loan officer works, and i've had wine to calm shaking hands there - seemed ok - if a bit "eastside." i did a search on this board, but i haven't seen a peep about it in ages - has anyone eaten there? the menu looks good...

any other bellevue ideas? i'm going to be tired and (potentially) depressed...nothing like positive thinking, right? so i'd like somewhere where we can drink wine, snack and be well cared for.

many thanks in advance

[ScorchedPalate]

i also suggested seastar. i haven't eaten there, but it's in the building where my home loan officer works, and i've had wine to calm shaking hands there - seemed ok - if a bit "eastside." i did a search on this board, but i haven't seen a peep about it in ages - has anyone eaten there? the menu looks good...

Cam and I have eaten there a couple of times in the last few months. As I mentioned in this other thread last week:

Seastar is good, but I'd be there a lot more often if they came in at 60-75% of the current pricetag. You're not so much paying for the quality of the food/drinks as you are for the convenience of not having to drive to Belltown to get it.

The service there has been very nice, both times, as have the cocktails, wine, and food. It's a credible Eastside riff on Downtown food.

~A

[robyn]

My husband and I ate at Seastar a couple of times last year when we were staying in Bellevue. Ate at the raw bar both times - and let the chef just "do his thing". Not cheap - but excellent food both times. Robyn

[girl chow]

One of my favorite places to eat in the Seastar neighborhood is Pogacha. Much more affordable and casual than Seastar, but great in its own way... it's a place that has built its entire menu around Croatian style flat bread... they have pizzas and a wood-fired oven that creates all kinds of scrumptious concoctions. It's an unusual restaurant, quite good.

Not a good place if you're doing low carb. They will bring you endless baskets of the bread.

Just thought I'd give it a plug.

[ScorchedPalate]

Pogacha ... It's an unusual restaurant, quite good.

I'll second that. I've eaten at the Pogacha in Issaquah with work friends, and we all enjoyed it.

[LEdlund]

One of my favorite places to eat in the Seastar neighborhood is Pogacha. ... it's a place that has built its entire menu around Croatian style flat bread

I've only eaten at Pogacha once, and it was years ago, but I can still taste that wonderful bread.

[reesek]

ok - seastar sucked. i have added pogacha to the list of places i'd love to go...it wasn't ever really going to be an option for my friend...and since she was doing me a favor, i wanted to go somewhere that we might both have enjoyed.

here is my review of seastar

1) meyer lemon drops. these have thyme leaves in them. that rocks. the bartender, however, said "do you know what that (thyme) is?" prompting my friend to dig her nails into my leg. meyer lemon drops are very good - a good reason to stop at seastar, if you have $8.95 to spend on a drink in bellevue.

2) we split 3 appetizers. first a scallop and pear tartare with meyer lemon (hmm...), thyme (double hmmm) pinenuts and truffle oil. scallop + truffle = good, except that there was no truffle...and no pear either come to think of it. and there were too many pinenuts. scallop was nice and fresh, but conisdering it was likely one diced scallop pressed into a ring mold - and it was again $8.95 - i dearly wanted my truffle oil. second - curried mussels - these were definitely not fresh - i should have sent them back...gutless! fortunately, we're both fine today - but they were definitely a little long in the tooth, as my dad would say. third - seared ahi encrusted with black pepper and sesame - very standard dish, but i'm glad we got it - it was excellent. and nice to eat something that was better than what came in the bread basket.

i won't be back.

but pogacha and udupi...those sound like reasons to cross the pond again.

[robyn]

ok - seastar sucked. i have added pogacha to the list of places i'd love to go...it wasn't ever really going to be an option for my friend...and since she was doing me a favor, i wanted to go somewhere that we might both have enjoyed.

here is my review of seastar

1) meyer lemon drops. these have thyme leaves in them. that rocks. the bartender, however, said "do you know what that (thyme) is?" prompting my friend to dig her nails into my leg.  meyer lemon drops are very good - a good reason to stop at seastar, if you have $8.95 to spend on a drink in bellevue.

2) we split 3 appetizers. first a scallop and pear tartare with meyer lemon (hmm...), thyme (double hmmm) pinenuts and truffle oil. scallop + truffle = good, except that there was no truffle...and no pear either come to think of it. and there were too many pinenuts. scallop was nice and fresh, but conisdering it was likely one diced scallop pressed into a ring mold - and it was again $8.95 - i dearly wanted my truffle oil. second - curried mussels - these were definitely not fresh - i should have sent them back...gutless! fortunately, we're both fine today - but they were definitely a little long in the tooth, as my dad would say. third - seared ahi encrusted with black pepper and sesame - very standard dish, but i'm glad we got it - it was excellent. and nice to eat something that was better than what came in the bread basket.

i won't be back.

but pogacha and udupi...those sound like reasons to cross the pond again.

I don't think it's fair to judge a restaurant on the basis of a "meal" that consists of 3 appetizers split between 2 people (that's more of a snack than a meal) - particularly when the menu looks like this. Like I said - my husband and I went to this restaurant twice during a trip to Bellevue last year. We returned for a second meal because we liked the first one so much. We ate one meal at our hotel - Bellevue Club - which was ok. And another at an Indian restaurant which I won't name because it was an unfortunate choice on our part.

We ate at the raw bar both times - and asked the raw bar chefs to do "omakase" - i.e., chef's choice - for us. The food didn't compare with the best raw seafood we've eaten say - for example - in high end sushi restaurants in Los Angeles. But it was very good - and a lot cheaper. And everything was very fresh (perhaps there are better and worse things at the raw bar at this restaurant - but - after we put ourselves in the chefs' hands - we never saw anything that we would consider "worse"). We just kept eating dishes that the chefs prepared until we were almost full - and then we split a dessert.

The service was professional and friendly.

I will note that on both occasions - our bills - exclusive of tax and tip - were about $125 - including a couple of drinks and a couple of glasses of wine. This was in line with what you'd pay at a restaurant with similar quality of food and similar design (the restaurant is lovely) in a medium city (like Seattle or Jacksonville FL - where I live). I will also note that $9 is about what you'd expect to spend at a nice restaurant for "novelty" drinks or exotic martinis in similar cities. You can expect to spend more in larger cities. For what it's worth - in Los Angeles - it's not unusual for us to to wind up spending $100-150 per person on food alone at a really high end place. Depends on how exotic the seafood is.

Perhaps we had an unusually good couple of nights - or you just had a bad one - or perhaps the restaurant isn't as good as it was last year. Still - I would never say a restaurant "sucked" after eating only 1 1/2 appetizers there. Robyn

[heyjude]

I was sure I had posted an ugly review of Seastar last year, but it didn't come up on search. Anyway, I had nothing good to say about a lunch which included some of the worst restaurant food ever. The waiter tried, but he recommended food that he obviously hadn't sampled like "signature" desserts that were less welcome than a forged check. After reading some decent reviews, I thought I'd give Seastar a second chance just to be kind. I think you've saved me a trip, reesek. I do think we should let them know how we feel and not just stay away mad.

[Abra]

Well, it's good to know that I can skip Seastar, and good to hear that Pogacha is still going strong. I haven't been in about 6 years, and I'd heard they slipped after a change of ownership about 5 years ago, but evidently not. They used to make a magical dish called Dobar Chicken, and they're who taught me to drink Kiona Lemberger, for both of which I'm eternally grateful.

[robyn]

OK - I have to ask all of you people in the Seattle area. Have you eaten a meal in your general area that costs $75-100 a head that you think was worth it? I know there are many people where I live who think that *no* meal is worth that amount of money - which is why our restaurant scene - in general - to repeat a word - "sucks". But I always thought of Seattle as being more sophisticated than Jacksonville. Perhaps it's just a cursory impression based on a few afternoons in furniture stores. Maybe they are just 2 grunge cities on opposite coasts? Or maybe computer geeks don't like to spend money on food? Or maybe young people in general aren't used to spending a lot of money on food? Got me.

So who of you have spent that much money on a meal in the Seattle area and enjoyed it? What restaurant(s) did you dine at? Robyn

[MsRamsey]

I suggest that you start a new thread on that worthwhile subject, if you're actually interested (which I can't tell based on the insulting tone of your post).

[Foodie-Girl]

Cascadia

The Herbfarm

Mistral

Minimum of $100 per person at each restaurant for some incredibly satisfying meals.

[Blue Heron]

I was sure I had posted an ugly review of Seastar last year, but it didn't come up on search. Anyway, I had nothing good to say about a lunch which included some of the worst restaurant food ever. The waiter tried, but he recommended food that he obviously hadn't sampled like "signature" desserts that were less welcome than a forged check. After reading some decent reviews, I thought I'd give Seastar a second chance just to be kind. I think you've saved me a trip, reesek. I do think we should let them know how we feel and not just stay away mad.

heyjude, I found your review on Seastar from last year : Seastar reviews including heyjude's

[robyn]

I suggest that you start a new thread on that worthwhile subject, if you're actually interested (which I can't tell based on the insulting tone of your post).

Well - perhaps the person who wrote that the restaurant "sucks" deserves something more than a pat on the back.

I had never looked up the reviews or the history of this restaurant before dining there (it was very new when I ate there) - or after. But I took a look tonight. Among other things (including very good reviews) - I found this - namely that the chef/owner of this restaurant was honored last fall by the James Beard foundation as one of the great regional chefs in the country. I don't know enough about the Pacific Northwest in general to say he is "one of the greats" there. After all - I live 3000 miles away. I just know I had 2 very good meals there.

But I would think that anyone living in Seattle would want to at least give this place - a place which has received national recognition - the benefit of the doubt - at least give it the chance to put together a complete meal or two for one's enjoymentl - before trashing it in public. In my neck of the woods - I try to nurture such places - and emphasize the positive when I find it. If those of us in smaller cities don't do that - all we'll be left with down the road is mile after mile of mediocre chain restaurants. Robyn

[tighe]

OK - I have to ask all of you people in the Seattle area.  Have you eaten a meal in your general area that costs $75-100 a head that you think was worth it?  I know there are many people where I live who think that *no* meal is worth that amount of money - which is why our restaurant scene - in general - to repeat a word - "sucks".  But I always thought of Seattle as being more sophisticated than Jacksonville.  Perhaps it's just a cursory impression based on a few afternoons in furniture stores.  Maybe they are just 2 grunge cities on opposite coasts?  Or maybe computer geeks don't like to spend money on food?  Or maybe young people in general aren't used to spending a lot of money on food?  Got me.

So who of you have spent that much money on a meal in the Seattle area and enjoyed it?  What restaurant(s) did you dine at?  Robyn

It's easy to drop that much or more per person for dinner in Seattle, and several places where I've found it to be well worth it. There is certainly some significant element in Seattle that is as you describe, unwilling to spend that kind money on food, period, but I think they are becoming endagered.

I've never been to Seastar, so I can't comment on it. I know that I've heard enough negative things about from a variety of sources (eG and otherwise) that I wouldn't make a point of going but also enough positive comments that if I was looking for a higer end place in Bellevue for some reason, I would be willing to give it a try. I don't think you, or anyone else here, is fabricating their feelings about it, I think there is probably some difference in tastes and even more likely that the restaurant is plagued by inconsistency.

Edit to add:

I believe there may also be a definitional issue in play here, as in, what is meant when someone says "this place sucks". I would use that to describe a uniformly bad experience or a situation where there was some dramatically horrid event. Maybe reesek's Seastar experience would have met my "suck" definition and maybe not, but it certainly met hers....

Edited May 2, 2004 by tighe (log)

[reesek]

Well - perhaps the person who wrote that the restaurant "sucks" deserves something more than a pat on the back.

thanks for your feedback robyn. i can't speak for all "us people" in seattle - but i do stand by my opinion about seastar - and i'm happy to defend it.

i didn't have a huge meal (nor, i think did i imply that i did) but a seafood restaurant (with accolades, no less) should not be serving elderly mussels. as i mentioned in my initial post, i should have said something, but i didn't. and someone in that kitchen should have known. (that sucks)

with respect to the 2 other dishes - one i was very excited about that turned out to be missing both it's promised truffle oil and the pear...too many pinenuts and not enough seasoning left the scallop bland and uninteresting. (sucked) i'm happy to pay $9 for one perfect scallop - but i think i have every right to be a little bitter when it's not even good.

i eat very well in seattle - we have tons of great restaurants that offer quality, consistently inventive cuisine and great atmosphere. seastar, in my opinion, is just not one of them.

[lala]

OK - I have to ask all of you people in the Seattle area. Have you eaten a meal in your general area that costs $75-100 a head that you think was worth it? I know there are many people where I live who think that *no* meal is worth that amount of money - which is why our restaurant scene - in general - to repeat a word - "sucks". But I always thought of Seattle as being more sophisticated than Jacksonville. Perhaps it's just a cursory impression based on a few afternoons in furniture stores. Maybe they are just 2 grunge cities on opposite coasts? Or maybe computer geeks don't like to spend money on food? Or maybe young people in general aren't used to spending a lot of money on food? Got me.

So who of you have spent that much money on a meal in the Seattle area and enjoyed it? What restaurant(s) did you dine at? Robyn

Seattle is not a 'grunge' city - it's 2004, not 1994. We're not all 'computer geeks'. We're not all 'young people'. While there are, as others have noted, many restaurants where is is entirely possible to drop $75+, there are many more excellent, well priced restaurants, where us sophisticated, decently dressed, non computer geeks frequently dine.

And I think that if a bartender assumes that you're too dumb to know what thyme is, and a dish is missing ingredients, and the mussels are not fresh, it's something that I would like to know about.

[Sleepy_Dragon]

Yes quite. Not to mention $75-100 can be more than a day's wages for people too.

Pat

[robyn]

Well - perhaps the person who wrote that the restaurant "sucks" deserves something more than a pat on the back.

thanks for your feedback robyn. i can't speak for all "us people" in seattle - but i do stand by my opinion about seastar - and i'm happy to defend it.

i didn't have a huge meal (nor, i think did i imply that i did) but a seafood restaurant (with accolades, no less) should not be serving elderly mussels. as i mentioned in my initial post, i should have said something, but i didn't. and someone in that kitchen should have known. (that sucks)

with respect to the 2 other dishes - one i was very excited about that turned out to be missing both it's promised truffle oil and the pear...too many pinenuts and not enough seasoning left the scallop bland and uninteresting. (sucked) i'm happy to pay $9 for one perfect scallop - but i think i have every right to be a little bitter when it's not even good.

i eat very well in seattle - we have tons of great restaurants that offer quality, consistently inventive cuisine and great atmosphere. seastar, in my opinion, is just not one of them.

Before I say anything else - I want to ask you a few questions. You mentioned that you were dining with a friend after some shopping. What time did you eat? And where did you sit? And how long did you sit there? These may sound like stupid questions - but I have a theory - and I'm curious to know if my theory might hold water. Robyn

[reesek]

we sat where we wanted to -- at the bar. it was about 7 or 7:30pm - the restaurant was full.

edited for spelling & clarity

Edited May 4, 2004 by reesek (log)

[Schielke]

I think that seastar's problem is that it fails to excell. I used to work right across the street from it back in the day.

The menu does not seem to have focus and the place just does not feel special.

Food wise, I never had anything there that was poor, but I never had anything there that was great. Most things are prepared fairly well but are priced as if they are much better than they turn out.

Ben

[robyn]

we sat where we wanted to -- at the bar. it was about 7 or 7:30pm - the restaurant was full.

edited for spelling & clarity

Well - my theory doesn't fit your facts - so - like they say - "never mind" . Robyn

[robyn]

...I think there is probably some difference in tastes and even more likely that the restaurant is plagued by inconsistency.

Entirely possible - on both counts. Also - we were letting the raw bar staff serve us for the most part - and perhaps they avoided those items they knew weren't up to par. Who can say at this point? Robyn

[robyn]

I think that seastar's problem is that it fails to excell.  I used to work right across the street from it back in the day.

The menu does not seem to have focus and the place just does not feel special.

Food wise, I never had anything there that was poor, but I never had anything there that was great.  Most things are prepared fairly well but are priced as if they are much better than they turn out.

Ben

I guess what you're saying is that in the Seattle area - there's a price point where people won't frequent a restaurant unless it's extraordinary. That is also true where I live with one exception. All the tourists/convention people etc. will drop big bucks at expensive chains like Ruth's Chris, Morton's, etc.

It's really a bit of a conundrum - because fine ingredients (as well as a lot of other things) don't cost more in Chicago than they do in Seattle or Jacksonville. Yet I find myself unwilling to patronize a local restaurant that costs $100-150 for 2 when it is merely good - as opposed to spending more - sometimes a lot more - in a big city where the food is terrific. For example - I rejected going out to a new restaurant here tonight because we would have wound up with a bill in that general price range - and it didn't have a full liquor license (I enjoy having a cocktail before dinner).

Anyway - regarding Seastar - I really like raw bar things - and I especially like raw bar things from the Pacific Northwest (e.g., love the oysters). So perhaps that's why I enjoyed this restaurant more than most people here. Robyn