staple & fancy

order wisely!. we went with a group of six and had no choice but to order the tasting menu (that in itself seems a little odd)
the appetizers weregreat- the pastas were not. al dente doesn't equal chewy and flavorless! the main course was branzino (deboned not so well at the table) and pork. i was surprised at those two selections as many people don't eat pork and aren't big fish eaters. dessert was lovely. my overall impression was that i would have been happier ordering off the menu. if i go again it will be with fewer than 6 people! service was good.

order the tasting menu.. they have transformed this old building into something special. the long open space with the exposed brick makes for agreatatmosphere. my husband and i were actually on the fence about ordering off the tasting menu as i am a vegetarian and he is not. but this was no issue as they didn't mind bringing separate dishes. even though there was a few of the items i didn't love on the tasting menu the anticipation it brought and the conversation it brought out discussing each dish made it way worth the reasonable $50 person for ~7 courses. our server wasn't overly friendly and it seemed he might have been a little taken aback if we didn't order the tasting menu but he was definitely efficient.greatdate night!

must order the "chef's choice family style menu". came here with a group of 5 and ordered the above. you just put your trust into the hand's of the chef. you will not be disappointed. especially impressive is the vast (and plentiful) array of appetizers. it looks like over 80% of the diners there went this route. delicious! we will do this again.


-----25 nov, 2014-----

wow!!!. we came here because we had agreatexperience at red cow and wanted to try another ethan stowell restaurant. in many respects it was even better. we ordered the "chef's choice family style" meal. there were only 2 of us, but we were treated to generous portions of 7 different appetizers (plus bread), followed by a caesar salad, a pasta dish (great spaghetti with anchovy almost like a puttanesca), a grilled protein (for us it was a perfectly seared ribeye) and a dessert (ricotta cheesecake with blueberries). the appetizers included a steak tartare, fried oysters, buffalo mozzarella, ahi tuna and speck. all were delicious and very reasonably priced. it was agreatmeal in agreatatmosphere and helen, our server, was top notch. we'll be back with guests very soon.

the atmosphere wasgreatalthough it was extremely warm. the food was ok. it was very under seasoned and overpriced for the small portions. did restaurant week menu and expected to be wowed. also, wine pairing suggestion was disappointing.

another amazing night at s&f. lucky to have gm jesse as our server and made the night even more special since he shares his passion for food, wine and service with each guest. amazing food (albacore and gnocchi our favs) andgreatwine list. can't rave enough!


-----15 dec, 2012-----

one our favorite places, we go back again and again. the chefs menu is the best value in town and makes for a leisurely dinner full of different flavors. if you go often enough, just be aware that the chefs menu can be a bit repetetive. wish they changed it up a bit more.greatdrinks!!

staple & fancy mercantile served up somegreatitalian food. i love it when you walk into a restaurant and find a seat at the bar and enjoy agreatmeal.

4 course dinner. the 4 course dinner is wonderful and agreatdeal. go for it.

well worth a visit for drinks+. sit at the bar.greatservice 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 thegreatplaces in seattle i won't be coming back.

promising but needs some polishing. excellent appetizers and entres. deserts rather less so, but then i've not got much of a sweet tooth

what needs work is service and ambience. the meal was nearly ruined by very, very loud and inappropriate music - late 70s disco at about 120 decibels. old, converted warehouse space suffers from acoustic problems to begin with, so pumping dated noise into the space produced a real downer. when ask, wait staff said kitchen staff choose the music. they may havegreatculinary taste, but they sure don't know how to create a pleasing dining experience with sound.

service, though pleasant, was a bit amateurish. wait person carelessly poured a new wine selection right into half full glasses of a different wine. profuse apologies but no comp offer to correct the mistake. a bit of service coaching is clearly in order.

i'll try again, but only once more. there are too many othergreatplaces to waste time/money on s&fs rough edges if they can't file them off soon.

three times there andgreatfood andgreathospitality!!. staple and fancy is terrific. we have been three times and each time we have ordered the pre-fix menu. really wonderful and diverse food. twice we have sat at the bar and the bartender was such a delight which gave us a fun experience. each time we have been the staff has been wonderful and accommodating. even when we showed up as a walk-in they took our name and told us they would call if anything opened up in the next 45 minutes. they called when a reservation did not show up 20 minutes later. amazing hospitality and service. quite an accomplishment as a new restaurant. what a relief that there is another restaurant keeping the same quality of service and hospitality as volterra since bastille is such a poor example of service or hospitality.

let the chef decide!. sometimes i just do not want to make any decisions and last night was one of those nights. we ended up at staple & fancy and decided to do the 4 course chef's tasting menu. everything was fresh and delicious and it was nice to not have to make any decisions on what to try from the menu. we had agreatmeal and will definitely be back to see what the chef puts in front of us next. glad to have thisgreatspot in the neighborhood!

awesome!. superb service, fantastic bartender,greatchefs! i highly recommend the menu that "isn't on the menu". it is a multiple course meal with all courses chosen by the chefs. i was so overwhelmed by the quality and care we received on our first visit. can't wait to go again!

stunning food .... it was the first friday this much anticipated addition to ballard's burgeoning restaurant scene was open. we'd snagged a 9.45pm table and were excited just to be able to get in.

let's get a couple of little gripes out of the way. we had to wait at the hosts desk a little longer than was comfortable and, along the same lines, some of the service throughout the night was a little on the slow side.

but omg, the food more than made up for. my partner's mussel brodo was an appetizer worthy of being an entree in both taste and substance. the controne beans gave it substance and the jalapeno some heat ... a delicious combination.

the chanterelle mushrooms and zucchini were sublime, topped with a beautifully fried duck egg with a generous shaving of parmesan as well. had the kitchen closed down at this point i would have left happy.

as it was my partner's halibut entree and my grilled beef loin didn't disappoint at all. with beautiful grill marks but moist and cooked to perfection, the halibut was probably the best i've ever tasted. one suspected it was undercooked until the realization that just about every other restaurant must have been ever so slightly overcooking theirs!

the beef loin was similarly tasty, grilled to a succulent medium-rare and accompanied by dried tomatoes, tiny mushrooms and pearl onions.

sadly, the wonderful food and good wines left us with no room for dessert ... but there's always next time. the prices are so reasonable for such good food that the hard part will be resisting temptation to go there often. with wine available by the half-glass as well as the glass or bottle, it makes sense to take advantage of somegreatpairings.

we look forward to many more meals at staple & fancy in the weeks ahead ...