john howie steak

great salted caramel and chocolate ganache tarte. the ambience was good, and the tables by the window were much better than the tables along the wall for conversation. not much of a view of the 405 and the roads, but weather (rain) help masked highway and roads and it turned out great!

the wait staff was very staff knowledgeable and friendly. water glasses did not get re-filled.

the grey goose martinis were good.

the smoked salmon bisque shooter was exception.

the appetizer, fried calamari and artichokes with garlic-lemon aioli was marginal. breading was too heavy, not enough seasoning, and served warm not hot.

the french onion soup was exceptional; however the crab/shrimp chowder was marginal.

the variety of beef is great; however the american wagyu new york strip was not my favorite. i prefer the usda prime 28 day custom-aged new york strip.

the maine lobster mashed potatoes were ok, but could have been made better.

the asparagus spears with meyer lemon hollandaise were exceptional.

i would have preferred heat plates and food being served hot and not warm.

all the desserts are fresh and created in house. the new york style cheesecake and flourless semi-sweet chocolate volcano cake were ok; however nothing to rave about.

the salted caramel and chocolate ganache tarte were exceptional. the salted caramel ice cream was incredible and complemented the ganache and caramel.

the french press illy coffee was great.

the truffles serve with the check was a great added value.

john howie, a great job on the smoked salmon bisque, french onion soup, and salted caramel and chocolate ganache tarte!

great choice for lunch!. really nice lunch options for the gals--- a steakhouse wasn't on the radar, but we had heard lots of good things... wonderful service, fab selection of breads to start, and nicely priced for those of us without expense accounts. the philly sandwich was amazing if you don't care about calories. they bring out a signature selection of salts, but beware: everything was already at the max threshold for salt. i've just finished my third glass of water.

the guy we blame is mark hipkiss. according to the emroidery on his white coat, he's executive chef of john howie steak , the culinary pride of bellevue's tony bravern complex. chef hipkiss was apparently not content serving dainty deviled eggs alongside

amazing happy hour food deals!. i recently stopped in at john howie's bar for happy hour with some friends and might have found my new fav on the eastside. the discount price appetizers on the happy hour menu are amazing to say the least. we tried tempura king crab & asparagus, tempura fried kurobuta bacon, bacon cheeseburger, and spicy habenero butter shrimp shared amongst the four of us. the bacon and king crab are worth the price of admission alone! i'm looking forward to going back for steak dinner very soon.

you may have noticed we've been posting less frequently here on the main alaska food & wine site. why? we're down in the pacific northwest - specifically bellingham, bellevue, and seattle - exploring restaurants and sampling the local cuisine. in addition

average overall. this an upscale steakhouse in the bravern complex in bellevue that stll can get better. i took my wife here for her 60th birthday dinner and she very much enjoyed herself as did i and we'd probably come back some time.

the ambience is typical steakhouse and done tastefully and we had a nice window table with a great view of i-405 and 112th ave. ne. so don't go there for the view!

the food was very good expecially the steaks we had. my wife had the combination plate of wagyu and real japamese kobe beef. she had never had this before and contunually raved about how good it was, as was my wagyu filet. the table side ceasar salad was pretty average for a restaurant of this caliber and it had too much mustard in the dressing for our taste. the morel mushrooms and english peas we had as a side dish were very good. we brought our own bottle of wine and they charge a $25 corkage fee, which is pretty typical of an expenside restaurant. the bananas foster at the end of the meal was also quite good, but certainly not the best we've ever had. the service was also very good!

bottom line: if you want excellent kobe beef this place is a good choice, but if it's regular prime beef you're after we would suggest the el gaucho in bellevue is the better choice. it has better service, better ceasar salad and the steaks are also wonderful and the food is presented in a better manner. for either restaurant bring money and lots of it becasue you're probably going to drop around $200 plus for just two people for dinner.

if you're looking for a quick steak, this is not the place for you. but if you have the time and money o spare, this is a great place to have a nice, leisurely dinner from appetizers through dessert. the selections are plentiful and the service is just attentive enough without hovering.

food drunk. i knew i was in for a treat. and i was not disappointed. the service was excellent! the food was astounding. i had the 4oz usda prime filet & 4oz american wagyu filet combination, and it was absolutely mouthwatering. both were very tasty in there own respects. the french onion soup is to die for and then we finished up with the table side cherries jubilee dessert. it was an explosion of sweetness and tart perfectly combined. i recommend this for everyone, but be prepared to spend a little more than usual. it all worth it though!

fantastic bar food. both food and drinks are fantastic at the bar. it's just too bad the bar ends up being filled with msft employees who feel the need to "dress-down" and scream over each other reasons why they are still single. take a wild guess.

not worth it.... well, the wife and i went back to this restaurant after not being happy with things the first time, we wanted to give them a second chance... so this is an updated review.

again.....the ambience was great, wait staff knowledgeable and friendly, but that is really where it stopped for us.

a lesson from the first time around, order your steaks with less seasoning if you don't want it to taste overly salty, we did this and the steaks were brought out as ordered and were very good.

now onto the not so good...

we ordered the mac and cheese and asparagus on this side. the mac and cheese had a great flavor, would have been amazing if it were hot! asparagus, the same way, not hot!

ordered the table-side caesar, we talked with the person making it about how we really loved anchovies in the salad, we ate the salad and noticed not a single anchovy to be found...

so, disappointed yet again. we aren't food snobs, but i know what a good meal is, and at best this meal was decent. for the money we spent it should be phenomenal, how do you spend $200 for a meal and not get your food hot? it's inexcusable and there are better places to eat if you are going to drop that kind of money.

sorry john, we really wanted this to be great the second time through and it was just average.

i will say going for lunch or happy hour, the burgers are excellent, but i won't be ordering a steak or a full dinner again...

best happy hour in town. that is of course, if you can find a seat. drinks are perfect, bartenders and both personal and extremely accomidating without being over the top or fake. we almost went next door to brennan's place, but decided that the wait would be well worth it, it definitely was. we will be back soon and regularly. nice work mr. howie!!

disappointing. the service was spotty--our waiter appeared to be overburdened by the number of tables he had, which is inexcusable considering the price tag. the food was very tasty and the wine list excellent, but i have certainly had much better meals for less money--at $200 for dinner for two i expect extraordinary.

1st time to jh. dissapointing... first class bourbon list. has any member of the staff/management sat at a table in the bar? there is four inches of clearance between the bottom of the table and top of the chair seat. big price tags don't gaurantee great food or service. my overall experience? nothing remarkable except the reinforcement of my opinion that bellevue sucks!

tempura bacon!. yes, the name says it all. it's bacon. tempura battered and fried. i know, does it get more glutenous than that?

i have to say, i thought it would be greasy, limp and instantly make me feel sick upon eating.

my experience? nothing like i anticipated. it was light. crisp. delicious.

now it isn't something i would eat on a regular basis but i was very happy i tried it.

fabulous lunch!. i took a work friend there for lunch and we both loved it! great atmosphere and great waiter. i had their grilled wild alaska salmon for lunch (i know, it's a steak house; but i figured the chef/owner of seastar would be sure they did great fish, too) and it was wonderful!