staple & fancy

to everyone else – if you’re in the area, you should make a point to visit staple & fancy. it’s delicious, reasonably priced, and you will enjoy your experience… and seriously, it’s delicious.

really busy. sat at the bar and service was great. food average.

4 course dinner. the 4 course dinner is wonderful and a great deal. go for it.

well worth a visit for drinks+. sit at the bar. great service and care. highly commendable in a usually busy afterhours atmosphere! barteep really professional and personable.

a bad night!. too many errors on this night to try it again. 1st the rigatoni was described with a smokey tomatoe sauce, it was nothing like the description that 2 of us ordered and were disappointed and didn't like. 2nd the chicken dish that was delivered was rare, it had to go back and was delivered 20 minutes later when the 2 of us were finished eating, needless to say she passed on it at that point. 3rd a cappacino was ordered with dessert and it came when we were almost done with dessert, it was ordered before dessert. 4th he told us he didn't charge us for the chicken and 1 dessert (the chicken was not even an option since it was rejected), we put down 2 credit cards, he had to come back and tell us he forgot to add the bottle of wine to the bill and he presented us with a new bill for approval.

the staff was nice however it just didn't make up for the problems! with all of the great places in seattle i won't be coming back.

i had the opportunity to go to staple & fancy mercantile where chefs ethan stowell and branden karow worked with bocuse d’or and world culinary cup winner chef hákon már örvarsson in developing an icelandic menu.

superb, period.. eat at this little place in ballard and you may leave thinking you've just had one of the best meals of your life.

the menu is limited, and the establishment suggests you try the "chef’s choice fancy menu: a multi-course feast of seasonal dishes crafted by ethan just for your table. willing to put your dining experience in the hands of the chef? you will not be disappointed."

we'd strongly agree with that statement. everyone at the table must choose the option; there were four of us on our visit. the meal was broken up into four courses -- appetizers, pastas, proteins (meat, fish) and dessert. the appetizer course consisted of six or so items, including lightly fried oysters, a chick pea dish, sushi and much more. the pasta course contained a seafood dish in a light white wine sauce as well as a red sauced pasta dish with pork jowl. our protein course was a roasted pork dish and alaskan salmon, and our desserts included a cheesecake and a chocolate dish with house-made ice cream.

the appetizer course was outrageous. foods were creative, fresh, tasty and well portioned. the pasta dishes were outstanding as well, and the pork jowl -- which was slightly smoky and crispy -- was a delight. the pork and salmon "meat" course were well prepared, though perhaps not as unique and original as the rest of the meal.

service was professional. our wait staff was informed, friendly and knowledgeable, but never intrusive. the atmosphere is more contemporary than stuffy, but that's fine.

overall, the experience ranks among the best meals we have ever -- yes, ever -- experienced. in any city.

food was universally fresh, original and exciting. portions were not ridiculously skimpy. this is eclectic food that is also good food. it's not fancy for the sake of being fancy. it seems every effort adds to the overall goal of providing superb food -- a superb meal -- to the customer.

if you read our reviews, you'll see we don't say this lightly. if you enjoy fine dining, a visit to seattle is not complete without a trip to staple & fancy. forget the menu. just do the fancy menu and call it a day.

highly, highly recommended.

fantastic!. wow! what a wonderful meal! and the service was impeccable! we were daring and went for the chef's menu. we highly recommend it! 4 courses for $45 and no thinking involved. we love the surprise element when the food came out. and it's all good! can't wait to try his other restaurants.

1. the quality of the food coming out of ethan stowell’s kitchen is simply fantastic. 2. $45 for that much awesome food? it’s a steal. 3. when the chef offers to surprise you, you’d be a damn fool to not take advantage of the offer.

great for the adventurous eater.. had the chef's menu that included plenty of small bites for appetizers, smoked fish & tuna crostini, octopus salad, whole roasted sardine, beef tongue, roasted pardon peppers, crudo of fish, and the burrata. some of these were a little too out-there for our taste. every time i have fresh sardine i think it will be good, but i just have to admit i hate it! it's just too strong for my taste. hubby just couldn't bear eating beef tongue. the octopus was well dressed, but a few pieces a little chewy. loved the crudo, burrata and the roasted peppers. after we got through the appetizers it was more traditional fare, but very good. pasta course was potato gnocchi pork ragu. the hint of mint gave an unusual, but enjoyable twist. the main course was an excellent pork loin, cooked perfectly. dessert was an apple crumble. service and ambience is very good. just be prepared for a vibrant scene and to try new things.

best food i had in seattle. since i only spent a week in seattle, my vote may carry less weight, but i eat out often and in many major cities, and this meal was one of the best in recent memory. i wish i had had the room to have the prix fixed menu, but alas i did not.
we shared the composed beet, avocado, egg salad as an appetizer. a tasty mix of buttery textures and flavors. my husband had the pork belly with eggplant, and i had the coulotte, which i'd wager is the tastiest most tender piece of beef you'll find in seattle. daughter had the spaghetti with clams, simple and flavorful. for dessert, the chocolate bumbino (or something like that) was a decadent chocolate pudding.
i am sometimes wary of restaurants that only have a few options under each category, but if i lived in seattle, i'd feel confident ordering almost anything on this menu.

too salty. enjoyed an excellent meal at staple & fancy. the halibut with lentils was perfect, as was the conchiglie pasta. the anchovy polenta appetizer was not right. while i love anchovies & i love polenta, ethan, they just do not go together. after the appetizer round we begged for no salt on the main dishes. somehow they did not taste bland - there was surely some salt in there - and they came with capers...that had not been rinsed! alas, we could not escape it. i recommend that you go, just ask for no salt so you can enjoy the flavors of your meal.

the cocchi deuce. delightful! who can remind me what's in this?

...we had a booth right across from the kitchen, and watched the chefs all night, trying to figure out what they were making, and which of those dishes would end up on our table!

agree with just ok :-(. we were so excited to try s&fm based on the reviews and left feeling underwhelmed. we started with the smelt - heard it was amazing - not so much, just okay and if you're not into fried whole fishes pass on this one as it won't change your mind. for our entrees we had the ravioli and short rib with gnocchi. neither were very flavorful, not bad just kinda bland and the in-house pasta was so, so. it didn't melt in your mouth like really good home-made pasta should. the two good things - our wine and the service was excellent. overall for what we spent here we could have spend the same or less and had a truly amazing meal somewhere else. what's even more disappointing is we had a similar lack-luster experience at tavolata - we were was really hoping s&fm would've have been different.