Visiting Seattle During Twenty-Five for $25

[Dumpling Girl]

Hi Everyone,

I'm visiting Seattle for a weekend in March, and would like to have dinner at one of the "twenty-five for $25" restaurants. Here's the website:

http://www.nwsource.com/contests/restaurants/25for25_0306/

Please help me pick! Which one would you pick (and why)? All suggestions are much appreciated! If you're curious about Vancouver restaurants, please check out my food blog, Nancyland, Vancouver Foodie Fun. You can get a good idea of my taste there too.

Thanks, everyone!

Nancy

edited to add:

P.S. Location is not a problem. We'll have a car and don't mind driving if the restaurant is worth visiting.

Edited February 23, 2006 by Dumpling Girl (log)

[tighe]

I'm reasonably familiar with the Vancouver restaurant scene, and I can't say there's any place on the 25f$25 list that is going to give you something that isn't available in you home town. That said, there are some good options. Others may disagree, but I don't think any of these places are out-and-out bad, so if the menu at one of them particularly appeals to you, that would probably be as good a reason as any to choose it. That said, the best options in my opinion are:

Earth and Ocean - A severely overpriced restaurant in my opinion, but obviously not in this case. The chef was chosen one of F&W's 'Best New Chefs' last year and the desserts have a reputation for being creative and fun, if overly sweet.

Tulio - Very good northern Italian food with more refinement than you usually find. Not as good as Cioppino's.

Nishino - Arguably the best sush in Seattle, but not sure if this menu features their best. You could do the $25 menu and supplement some other dishes and make a great meal of it.

[dandelion]

My best 25/25 experiences have always been at Restaurant Zoe. What I really like is that there are quite a few choices each for the starter, entree and dessert. Each are well prepared and delicious, and I've never felt the quality was downplayed because I was picking off of the "cheap" menu. With gracious, friendly service and a great atmosphere, it's my choice.

Combine that with half prices bottles of wine on (I think) Mondays, and you've got a great night.

[kiliki]

Just my 2 cents: If you don't get down here a lot, I suggest you eat where you really want to without thinking that the 25 for $25 is such a great deal. Since the menu choices are so limited, and since you're only saving a five or so bucks in most cases, the promotion is not all that tempting to me. Be sure and look at all the links on the website to see what the menu choices are, so that you know you will actually want one of the two entrees offered.

Edited February 23, 2006 by kiliki (log)

[LEdlund]

I also want to point out that the 25 for $25 promotion runs Sunday - Thursday only. You mentioned you were coming down for a weekend, so it might not even be an option! Now if you want non 25 for $25 recommendations, just let us know. I'm sure we can come up with one or two for you

[dandelion]

Based on this thread: Went to Cascadia last night, ...and wishing I hadn't, you might want to avoid Cascadia for this promotion.

[little ms foodie]

I also vote Zoe, great food and service everytime I've gone. Monday is indeed 1/2 price wine night if you are in town too. Campagne would be my second choice, and I haven't been to Nishino yet but plan to this time!

[Dumpling Girl]

I also want to point out that the 25 for $25 promotion runs Sunday - Thursday only. You mentioned you were coming down for a weekend, so it might not even be an option! Now if you want non 25 for $25 recommendations, just let us know. I'm sure we can come up with one or two for you 

←

Yup, thanks. We knew that already, and were planning for a Sunday night dinner.

[Dumpling Girl]

Thank you all for your replies! Vancouver has a similar promotion at the end of January and beginning of February, and it sounds like it's just as hit and miss there as it is here, from the Cascadia thread, often due to the servers and staff treating people worse because they think assume they will be unsophisticated diners, cheap and tip badly. However, I managed to have a fantastic experience this year, with brilliant service and excellent food (at Parkside Restaurant), and I definitely felt like we got a bargain (in that case, we were getting a $49 three course meal for $25). We wound up spending more on the wine than we normally would, so it still wound up being a bit of a splurge. Anyway, I'm hoping that we pick a restaurant that isn't going to be snobby, so I really appreciate your recommendations. I will just eliminate Nishino right off the bat because good, relatively cheap sushi is just too easy to find in Vancouver. Oh, if anyone thinks there is a place I absolutely must try while I'm down there, and it's not a 25 for 25, I'd love to hear about it. I'll be down for a few days.

Nancy

[little ms foodie]

Lark or Union

[dimsumfan]

I wouldn't ordinarily go to a restaurant like this, but we had a great meal at Fish Club during the last promotion. Quantity and quality both!

I'd be interested in your recommendations for cheap but good sushi in Vancouver if that's not illegally off-topic.

[skyflyer3]

I wouldn't ordinarily go to a restaurant like this, but we had a great meal at Fish Club during the last promotion. Quantity and quality both!

I'd be interested in your recommendations for cheap but good sushi in Vancouver if that's not illegally off-topic.

←

Sakae on Thurlow, right off Robson. Everyone I send there raves about it. Make sure to sit at the bar, if you can - the chefs are very entertaining. They know how much I love toro, and made an entire meal out of different kids of toro. It was a very memorable night.

[Eden]

Back on the 25/$25 list I second the rec for Earth & Ocean, but also have to plug Brasa. spanish/portuguese ala northwest cuisine. and a good cheese tray. I've always had great meals there, even during the $25/25 promotion.

[skyflyer3]

My vote's for Zoe's, too. I also liked market Street Grill's.

[Dumpling Girl]

I think we're going with Restaurant Zoe, so far.

As for cheap and good sushi in Vancouver, I really like Yuji's on W. 4th and Maple St. (just as much as for their creative cooked dishes as their wonderful and interesting sushi). I also like Okada Sushi (downtown), but you can find something worthwhile eating at very very cheap hole-in-the wall places too, like Sushi Maki (downtown, 989 Hornby). They're all over the place. For example, a great one is Matsu Sushi #204-403 North Rd in Burnaby near Lougheed Mall. When I say cheap, I'm talking $9.50 Canadian for a decent chirashi. But you can also find NOT very good, very cheap sushi is about 300 other places in town, so you have to be careful. Another good moderate one is Ajisai Sushi Bar, 2081 West 42nd Avenue in Kerrisdale. There's a couple of recommendations I've had from friends that I just haven't had a chance to try yet: Toshi's (off Main St.) and Sushi Yama at Broadway and Fraser.

[little ms foodie]

We went to Campagne last night for a $25 preview and I think we all thought it was just ok. We started with gnocchi which was excellent and pissalardiere which was good.

Mains were coq au vin which again was just ok and ravioli stuffed with braised beef- tasted like an ok beef stew put into ravioli and served with beef jus, not even a real sauce

Desserts were a creme brulee (very good) pistachio tart (great!) and chocolate gateau (very good)

Last fall's food was much better IMO

[Sue Flay]

We went to Zoe tonight for the 25-for-25, and I thought it was wonderful. The ricotta gnudi were amazing--I've had gnudi that were crude hand shaped dumplings but these were tiny (probably 1 inch) spheres of ricotta that seemed to be surrounded by very soft pasta and served with fried sage leaves and pea sprouts. The lavendar panna cotta was lovely too.

[Nana_Kat]

It sounds like there has been a lot of success with Restaurant Zoe, but at the last 25 for $25, my friends and I did not have such luck.

Our party of 4 waited 40 minutes after arriving on time for our Sunday evening reservation. The host staff did not seem really concerned about this. We did bring this up with management at the time but were only suggested to move to the bar area so we could have more room (waiting area is very small by the way and drafty). Service was pretty apathetic as well:

Server (in bored voice): So you're all here for the 25 for $25?

Us: Yes.

Server: So what do you want then?

Our dishes were ok but a little lackluster. Two of us had the Beet Risotto, which was ok but not what we had originally ordered as the 2 other dishes we were interested in, they were all out of (server came back twice to tell us they were out of something we ordered). Granted this could have been an off night, but since management was not really willing to step up, none of anticipate we will be going back.

We've had more luck with Campagne, Earth & Ocean (great desserts) and Nishino for their Prix-Fixe menus, both service and food-wise.

[Dumpling Girl]

Well, we've already made a reservation for Restaurant Zoe for Sunday night, March 19, and I hope it goes well. I'll let you all know. (I hope I don't get the same server, Nana-Kat ). I'll try to check out the other recommendations too. Thanks, everyone!

[little ms foodie]

Dumpling Girl they have some very nice cocktails at Zoe, if you want to go early and have a drink at the bar!

[Sue Flay]

Dumpling Girl they have some very nice cocktails at Zoe, if you want to go early and have a drink at the bar!

←

I really like the Green Line cocktail at Zoe, which is pear-flavored (from Clear Creek pear brandy) and slightly pink, but not particularly sweet.

[dandelion]

Went with some friends to Serafina for their 25 for $25 last night. The restaurant was packed when we got there at 8pm for our reservation; I’m not sure what it’s normally like on a weekday, but we did have to wait for about 15-20 minutes for our table.

There are 3 selections for each course (view menu). For the starter, I had mushroom soup, which was a generous, well-flavored portion. It’s creamy and smooth, not too heavy, and still has some texture from the mushrooms and herbs. A couple of my friends had the goat cheese and leek tart, which looks like a mini quiche on a bed of standard mixed greens. Judging from the tiny nibble I had, it was good.

For the entrée, 3 of us had the lasagne, which I thought was really good. It’s a vegetarian dish, but it’s made right, with plenty of sauce and cheese, and just the right amount of chard and mushrooms to make it interesting and flavorful. One of my friends had the chicken, which she said had a good flavor from the spice rub, but was a bit overcooked and dry.

We shared a bottle of Dolcetto di Dogliani Einaudi, which went well with the food, and was good but not excellent.

Dessert was also a winner. The olive oil cake was really delicious, not too sweet, incredibly moist, with (I think dried) apricots poached in a simple syrup. The semifreddo had an adorable presentation: just a tiny scoop in an espresso cup with a wee biscotti. The lemon flavor was really nice and clean.

Service was good, although somehow our table turned into the Mystery Spot, with wine glasses shattering, several forks and knives falling on the floor, mysterious food we hadn’t ordered appearing, and our bill actually getting larger after I pointed out a mistake on it. Nevertheless, a good time was had by all, and I’d recommend it to anyone.

[scarlett]

I agree with this article...instead of the usual mediocre 25 for $25 offerings, hit Union for their bar menu. Okay, if it wasn't so refined, you'd call it Happy Hour. But from 5-7 and 10-Midnight, everything on their bar menu is $8. They've just uncovered one of my favorite deals in Seattle....

http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Content?oid=31128

Did I mention I'm incredibly biased??? I love the food at Union...the soups are positively incredible. And if you get a chance to try the rabbit loin...you won't be sorry! The menus changes daily (including the bar menu), so there's always something new to discover...

[laurenkusa]

I agree with this article...instead of the usual mediocre 25 for $25 offerings, hit Union for their bar menu.  Okay, if it wasn't so refined, you'd call it Happy Hour.  But from 5-7 and 10-Midnight, everything on their bar menu is $8.  They've just uncovered one of my favorite deals in Seattle....

http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Content?oid=31128

Did I mention I'm incredibly biased???  I love the food at Union...the soups are positively incredible.  And if you get a chance to try the rabbit loin...you won't be sorry!  The menus changes daily (including the bar menu), so there's always something new to discover...

←

We were in Seattle last weekend and ate at Ettas seafood during the 25 for $25. I thought the food was great. I had trout, my husband had the salmon, the appetizers were duck breast and risotto and a soup, dessert was triple coconut pie and the choclate pistachio cake. We thought it was a good deal given that the regular price of an entree was more than the special menu.

Lauren

[dandelion]

If restaurants decide to be mediocre with their 25/25 dinners, I pity their bad attitude. It really is a waste of a good opportunity to bring in new customers during March (notoriously the slowest month of the year), and show your existing customers that you have the talent to create something great on a limited budget. $25 is not a tiny amount of money.

There are restaurants in Seattle that do a good job with it (Zoe, Serafina, Nell's, and probably others I haven't tried), so I don't agree with the blanket statement that "Twenty-Five for $25 is bullshit." Opening up the field to new restaurants would be great, it does get a little stale with the same old places every time. But that does mean that restaurants like Union would have to lose the snob factor agree to participate.