In this past year, so many Seattle restaurants have gone out of business, its got to a point where you’ve got to call and check if your favorite restaurant is still open before making dinner plans. Some of those restaurants had it coming, but it was the biggest shock ever seeing a few others in that list. I guess the restaurant industry is so volatile and their profit margin is so small that surviving in this economy is pretty darn tough. The good news is that in place of every …

I don’t think I’ve had real Venezuelan food before. I am sure there might have been a few Venezuelan (most likely fusion) dishes in other Latin American restaurants we’ve been to, but the first time I actually paid any attention to the cuisine was at Meza Latin fare in Capitol Hill. Meza is a cozy little restaurant on 14th Ave serving Venezuelan, Cuban and Spanish comfort food. It is open till 3 am on weekends, so it makes the perfect place to grab a cheap bite after drinking and/or dancing …

I haven’t been doing many restaurant reviews lately, there is no other excuse than just my laziness. Sometimes I forget my camera, sometimes I forget to click pictures but most times the pictures just sit there on my camera forever!  Anyway, as I was doing some PC housecleaning today, I found a few pictures from List, the not-so-new-anymore Belltown bar. It is one of our favorite places in town, so I want to get as many people in there as I can before another good place goes bust!
List is …

It’s been a while since a restaurant has really knocked my socks off, but this cozy little French/Spanish restaurant in Capitol Hill has managed to do just that! Olivar is owned by chef Philippe Thomelin who has worked at some notable local restaurants like Cascadia and Harvest Vine before. The interior is quite charming, though the Russian Murals on the wall really confused us. Apparently it is a historic building which was decorated by renowned Russian artist in 1931 so they kept the original decor on.
Though it is a tapas …

Looks like Tapas are the latest trend in Seattle! I remember a time when we had only a couple of good Tapas places, but looks like there are quite a few restaurants popping out around the area. I am not complaining though, I have professed my love for Spanish food in this blog many times. I’d just say more the merrier!
One of the latest hotspot in town is Ocho, looks like entire Seattle is talking about this place lately, and of course we had to find out what the excitement …

idbit bistro is a casual European restaurant in Capitol Hill that serves Spanish and Italian comfort cuisine. Where Madrid meets Napoli is their slogan. The food is unpretentious, simple and extremely delicious, ambience is casual, staff is friendly and the prices are very reasonable – a perfect place to sit back and relax with a bunch of friends on a summer evening.
Tidbit has been on our wish list ever since it opened last year, but somehow the stars never aligned right for us to make that trip. Then Ms.KewlKat suggested …

When we heard that the Harvest Vine folks opened a new restaurant in Belltown last fall, we were jumping with joy. Harvest Vine is one of our favorite restaurants in town and we love Spanish food. Then I came to know that Txori is a pintxos bar. Pintxos are the Basque version of Tapas, a culinary delight we discovered during our recent trip to Spain. When we were feasting on Pintxos in Barcelona, we kept wishing how great it will be to have such a place in Seattle. As soon …

Ever since Vessel opened to much fanfare end of last year, we’ve been meaning to check it out. So yesterday when our dear friends called up to say that they have a babysitter for the night and wants to come over downtown to hang out and would like to have dinner at Benihana, which is on the same block as Vessel, I was so eager to suggest meeting at Vessel for drinks first. After Seattle P-I’s restaurant critic linked to my blog, people started listening to my restaurant suggestions- now they …

If anyone asked me to name my favorite restaurant in Seattle, my first response would be Harvest Vine. Once I say it out, I might start blabbering and throw some more names out and start categorizing by cuisine, prize, ambiance etc. because that’s just my nature, can’t really commit to anything, except to Siv of course… . 
Harvest Vine has been our favorite restaurant for a while, serving up authentic Basque cuisine and Spanish Tapas to the hungry foodies in the tiny crowded space in Madison Valley. The only reason why …