mistral kitchen

for the mips. my first experience at mistral kitchen was great. because we go to the theatre quite a bit, this was a perfect choice again for us. i made reservations in advance. the restaurant accepted the reservations. i later got a voicemail that the reservation for a table was to be turned into a reservation for a spot at the sit up bar because they were overbooked. arriving at the relatively empty restaurant, we were accomodated and given a table, albeit, right at the front of the restaurant with staff swishing by the table constantly. the other "reserved tables" that sat empty during the entire course of our meal next to the windows were for mip (i.e. more important people) and not us. ok, fine, but lets get to the food. the cheese selection was quite nice. the fazzoletti was absolutely and utterly tasteless. it was lukewarm, no just room temperature. the desserts looked more divine than they tasted. the latte was not hot and quite weak (isnt this espresso?). as we were leaving, a huge tour bus of seniors were flowing into the restaurant. perhaps they were the mips, but i doubt it. this restaurant is delightfully urban with an industrial flair. but the food needs to be etched up a notch. what is it with the cooking staff also chowing down the entire time? i might taste the food in my own kitchen, but it really puts me off seeing the cooks taking tastes here and there. not that it does not happen behind closed doors, but be more prudent. perhaps they should take some more time and be more creative and spiceful in their cooking. i will move on to other restaurants before my future theater events. if i cannot secure a good table and have to eat bland food, i will leave this restaurant for the mips.


-----05 dec, 2010-----

good urban restaurant. there are two parts to mistral - the casual (open kitchen) side and the plush jewel box. having theatre tickets and being in a slight rush, we opted for the casual side. we were very impressed. the drinks were good, the food hot, delicious, savoury and unusual. the casual side is built around an open kitchen where the young chefs appeared to have great passion about their food. not like some open kitchens where a fat greasy man with a long mustache cooks. no, mistral is most definitely young, urban, hip and forward thinking. plus, the food is actually good. themenuis not your same standard fare, but offers some interesting choices. this is a great restaurant also slightly off the beaten path of downtown where one can come for a great meal. next stop on my list, the jewel box of the restaurant where the menus are fancy and are mostly tasting variety.

great lunch. had a nice ladies lunch at mistral on friday. what is awesome:

- they have a 3 course lunch for $21. a steal for downtown and for 3 courses anywhere.
- they also have a fullmenuof lunch options that are sometimes also on their dinner menu, but for less = great value.
- they can serve you a 3 course lunch in an hour (or not). so you don't have to worry about rushing, or not going here because you don't have the time.
- the food is delicious and flawless.

i can go on and on, but those are the highlights. cannot wait to return.


-----17 oct, 2010-----

must dine here. the dining room is super chic and modern. the evening we were dining, the other guests must have got the memo to dress their swankiest. the atmosphere is gorg and sexy.

we sat up at the chef counter and chef william was there. huge plus! he prepared a 4 coursemenufor us with wine pairing. 1. 3-oysters with accoutrements (yum), 2. hamachi crudo (delicious!) 3. seared foie gras with plum and croutons (unbelievably rich!) 4. crispy chicken and lamb duo (omg). for dessert we split the milk chocolate pudding with caramel and bourbon foam which put us way over the top.

the wines were spectacular. i don't think there are many places that offer you grand cru chablis, 1993 sauternes and 1999 torres for your wine pairing.

truly a grand dining experience and we loved dining at the bar. you must dine here.

ps: i loved it so much friday, that i came back monday for cocktails and snacks. if you're a bourbon person, have the chasing rachel. the presentation alone is worth the $12.

it's no big fish and seattle is no small pond. mistral feels like the kind of restaurant that, in a smaller market, would be king of the mountain. i mean who amongst us hasn't thanked their lucky stars when encountering some fine dining establishment when the only other choices were taco bell and red lobster. the thing is, seattle isn't a small market and mistral is up against exceptional talent.

to be fair the food was very good. the kitchen delivered well prepared dishes: delicate scallops, crisply seared foie gras, and melt-in-your mouth spare ribs. but none of them really stand out; they were technically well executed yet indistinguishable from preparations you might have in any other fine dining restaurant. and absolutely every dish was accompanied by the same sides: quinoa and some kind of grapefruit-like citrus (you can see both in the attached picture). by the time the desertmenucame around we were worn down by our own indifference; nothing was really that impressive so there seemed little reason to continue.

mistral kitchen's real fail, though, is service. our server seemed to avoid us for extended periods. ti took ten minutes before i got water. another ten before i got a drink - and it was prepared incorrectly. food runners were helpful and polite but our main server never really seemed to care if we were being taken care of. she was, however, fast on the bill.

finally, the environment is not uniformly cool. the main room is nice but we were seated in the back and it both felt and looked like a spare room. there was an unused prep station, replete with boxes of foil and other debris. there was the server station with a peeling countertop. there was the noisy espresso machine. and, of course, the large party next to us that talked shop - loudly - all night. if it weren't for the nice view onto westlake i'd say there are sbarro's with more ambience.

in the end the front-of-house experience didn't justify a $100 per-person ticket. there are many exciting restaurants that deliver the goods at similar price points and, ultimately, we just aren't impressed enough to consider coming back. perhaps, like so many other touristy or corporate venues, that's something mistral kitchen simply doesn't care about.

great anniversary dinner. my wife and i celebrated our 11th wedding anniversary in the jewel box. we were delighted with themenuoptions where you just specified the foods you liked and the ones to avoid and the rest was a surprise. each entree was beautifully prepared and served. we especially liked the sashimi plate (see photograph). we got the wine pairings, which was a really great experiences. the wine steward gave us a great background on each wine - the austrian wine was a real highlight. i would definitely return to mistral kitchen!

disappointment after disappointment. here is an email i wrote to the general manager of mistral kitchen which i never heard a response to:

hi patrick,

i wanted to write you back to let you know about my party's experience at your restaurant on friday night. as someone who has worked in the industry i know how important it is to get feedback, both good and bad. first off i think the restaurant interior is beautiful and you've done a great job with the space. the kitchen and service however is something that needs drastic improvements.

generally our server was very nice and attentive (she was a girl with brown hair). our evening started nicely and then quickly turned into a night full of errors and disappointment after disappointment. here goes:

-you were out of clams so we chose the smoked salmon instead which was well over salted
-we ordered the foie gras mousse and were given the sauteed foie gras. when told we'd get the mousse and not be charged for the sauteed one, the server still forgot to bring the mousse and we had to ask for it.
-you only had 1 steak so our diners had to fight over it. when he got it it was pretty much blue rare and chewy. he even likes rare steaks. he was never asked how he wanted his steak cooked.
-you were out of duck. we were offered a few options and ended up on duck confit however with all the confusion the rest of the diners got their entrees and the girl who ordered the duck confit was presented with pork shoulder she didn't want. she had to wait another 10-15 minutes for her food until her duck arrived. the rest of the table was finished by the time she got hers.
-the diner who didn't get steak got lamb instead. what arrived were 2 medallions of lamb that could have passed for an appetizer. not sure what it was on the bill but it was either $24, $26 or $32 and totally not worth it. he was still hungry even after the 7 appetizers we all shared amongst us. we were never told the price of the lamb before it was ordered
-one of our pescetarian diners ordered the salmon and it was covered in bacon or some form of pork - this was not on themenuas far as she could remember or she would have asked for it to be removed
-the server was consolidating bread on the table from a few plates and touched our bread with her fingers

in the end the servers knew what a terrible mess the evening had been in terms of the food/service and we were given desserts and dessert wine comped which was nice. it was odd however that we weren't asked if wanted them or asked if there was something we wanted off the menu. we were also never asked if we wanted coffee before the bill arrived.

seeing as there are only 5 options for entrees on yourmenui would hope that you would have enough of the ingredients in the restaurant. the restaurant wasn't terribly busy either.

so overall it was quite a disappointing evening and we have never had so many issues in one sitting. i would expect much more from a restaurant of your calibre. i'm happy to talk further about this but i really hope that the restaurant improves.

best regards,
dinner club

excellent food. ate at mistral last night and had the tastingmenuand it was extraordinary. i will definitely go back.

i've eaten at misteal kitchen 4 timed now, twice for lunch and twice for dinner and each time the food has been wonderful. portions are what they should be, quality not quantity. the first time we went fir dinner we had to wait 15 minutes for themenuto get printed but our server was very nice and apologetic and brought us an appetizer on the house. it was a couple weeks after they opened so i understand things happen and they handled it so professionally. at my first lunchtime visit i was with a friend who has some dietary restrictions and they went above and beyond to suggest or substitute items for her. i really love this restaurant and it has become one of my favorites. good ingedients prepared perfectly!

typical seattle pretentious ripoff restaurant. really? those prices for that service? they were out of items on themenuby 7:00pm. they were out of a wine on the menu, but were happy to offer a $20 "alternative" for a glass. we said "no, thank you" for a glass of wine, but it came anyway. we said "yes, please" for a glass of wine that we had to ask for again. there are so many reasons not to go here, but if you have to try it, the space is interesting, the food is good, but be prepared to beg for your supper (you might get somebody elses) and pay dearly for it.

near perfect brunch. the house was quite sparse on the weekend morning we visited, so consider making mistral a preferred eggs and carbs destination before the masses latch on.

themenuis simple, a short list of standards done up with a slight twist. we had the fritatta, topped with goat cheese and prosciutto, a layer of spinach within; and the brioche, sprinkled with flakes of apple sugar. both were executed and presented perfectly. the portions were moderately hearty--a very welcome change from the grotesque plates offered at your average seattle brunch stop. the blood orange mimosa was crisp and not-too-sweet. coffee is offered in a french presse (i ordered a short latte without knowing this and it was up to par). the only element that was not 100% satisfying was the fresh orange juice, which came in a lowball packed with crushed ice--kind of a hotel bar presentation that would conceal a canned concentrate, so make sure say "hold the ice," unless a meager fruit slush appeals to you.

the service was very professional if slightly over-attentive, which we might expect on a slow morning.

$60 tab for two.

highly recommended.