black bottle

well done, thanks stephanie. a chance encounter, while in downtown bellevue, led to an amazing dining experience! wait staff (stephanie) was on point, kitchen kept thefoodcoming at the perfect temperature. nice selection of microbrew. a wonderful close? then the check came, and we break into a happy dance! a wonderful dinner, sharing laughs with our daughter while she wonders how she didn't know about this place, what amounted to a five course meal and drinks for 100.00$ (sans tip)

we ended up loving this restaurant so much that we ate here two nights in a row. all their food is made from scratch using local ingredients when possible. all plates are for sharing and they are affordable.plus, they have happy hour everyday from 3-6 pm. we tried everything on the happy hour menu and i liked everything.

great social eating. small plates meant to be shared make for great conversation. i have allergies to gluten & dairy. i was impressed that they had a separate menu that listed all gluten free, dairy free, nut free, and vegan items. most restaurants do not go that far. i was even able to eat a dessert. tried the dry rub house-smoked wild boar ribs, pork belly & kimchi, seared duck breast cranberry port compote, seven spice shrimp, salt & pepper crispy calamari, broccoli blasted, and octopus spanish chorizo hash with marcona almonds. you have to be okay with yourfoodcoming out in waves. if you like that then it's a fun social event where everyone gets to try and talk about the communal food. i would definitely go back.

disorganized;foodwas ok. we had a 10:30p reservation several nights ago. the reservation was made a number of days in advance and confirmed on the day that we would be dining. when we arrived at the restaurant, there was no one greeting customers; we waited at the door. when a staff member approached us, he seemed not to understand the concept of a reservation. several staff members became involved, and then we were told that the hostess had left and that no one could find the reservation list. meanwhile, no table had been held for us, and only undesirable tables were available. after some wait, a table was cleared. this was not a good start.

on thefoodfront, things were good, not great. the baby artichokes were a big disappointment: not "baby" artichokes, but more mature, tougher artichokes.

this outpost of the black bottle has work to do.

fantastic!!!! thefoodhere was simply wonderful!! we came as a party of 4 with one vegetarian and were worried about all of us eating. the veggie options are fantastic, the the eggplant/chickpea dish was the best! the atmosphere was busy and non fussy, the servers were casual and did not rush us. our meals came out one at a time because that how tapas restaurant work! duh! if i wanted all of our meals at once then i'd go to a traditional place. i want to eat and linger and enjoy conversations. we had the eggplant chickpea meal which had something like a fry bread or sopapilla on top. it was heavenly spiced, creamy and smooth and just made your entire mouth happy to eat it! the wild boar ribs were as smokey as a campfire and incredibly tender and juicy. the fried olives with romesco sauce were heartier then we imagined, stuffed with cheese (mozzarella?) and the sauce was spicy and tangy. the 7 spiced shrimp were hot and flavorful, but could have used a little acid to balance it out. maybe a squeeze of lime? they were served in their shells but split open and bathed in the hot spices. then we had the pork tacos. they are the size of two bite street tacos, but were stuffed with so much pork that they were three solid bites. they each had a lime and avocado slice. the pork was crisped at the edges and the tortillas were soft. they were awesome! we also had the beet and gruyere gratin. it was pretty good-and the veggie was happy, but not my fav. i wish it was used with golden beets instead of regular ones. came across a bit messy. we also had a plain flatbread. we had 3 desserts: the earl grey panna cotta. it's was a typical panna cotta, well made, soft, and the earl grey was wonderful in it, but if you love earl grey you will find yourself wishing it was a bit stronger. then we had the chocolate mousse with the pistachio brittle. the brittle here was the star of the show. it was as toasty as anything could get before it burned. the person making this has the timing down to an art form. the mousse was fantastically delicious-soooo soft, smooth, and creamy. finally we had the cappuccino gelato and apricot pastry. the gelato was a wonderful way to end the evening. soooo coffee-y! the pastry was meh. thick, soft instead of flakey and dense. out picks: eggplant/chickpea dish and chocolate mousse (specifically to get the pistachio brittle). we've already decided in reservations for our next time there. 4 people, 2 beers, 6 martinis, 7 tapas, 3 desserts, 3 hours: $145 without tip. totally worth it.

love it!. this is going to replace my latest favorite place for a while until i find something new or get sick of it! :)

the cocktails were good, but thefoodwas even better. our bartender was great and provided excellent service. really enjoyed the prosciutto and bechamel flatbread, and had it been the only thing i had it would have been a favorite but i had two dishes even better than that. highly recommend the pastrami bombers. those things were legit.

also, though it's "tapas" style thefoodportions are generous and the pastrami bombers will be more than enough for 7 bucks.

lastly, being korean i'm always hesitant when i see "kimchi" on the menu at any restaurant that is not a korean restaurant but the pork belly and kimchi were ridiculously good. a little on the sweet side with the sweet chili sauce they drizzle over the pork belly and kimchi skewers but i was impressed that the kimchi actually tasted like kimchi. fantastic.

will be going back often.