Hunt Club-Sorrento Hotel

08/18/11

Sadly Disappointed

by Bonnie Too at Citysearch

My husband and I are staying at Inn at Virginia Mason, and passing this restaurant we decided to try it. It was a little after 5, so we think we were the first ones there for dinner. The antipasto was a VERY limited selection, with a small salad (really?) included, and took about 20 minutes to arrive. My husband ordered cippino, which was to have clams, shrimp, and scallops.--2 shrimp and 1 scallop and about 12 clams in this large bowl. So, we order dessert. While my chocolate cake was tasty, it was also a little burnt on the top. My husbands burnt creme (key word here creme) was solid-he ate about 2 bites. So, needless to say, we will not be returning.

03/19/11

Rich ambience, excellent food and drinks

by ginos at Citysearch

My wife and I decided to splurge for Valentine's day and stayed at the Sorrento Hotel for the weekend. The atmosphere at the bar and the lounge near the lobby is very warm and rich, with deep leather couches and dark wood.

Dinner at the Hunt Club restaurant was amazing. The scallops with bacon and canteloupe (!) were a great surprise. I was very impressed that the chef, Ivan, came out to greet the patrons and discus the menu. We went with his suggestion for food and wine pairings, and they were fabulous. It turns out that he is new to the restaurant and this was the first weekend of his new menu. I see some not so favorable past reviews here, and I can say that any previous problems at the restaurant have been fixed. I know we'll be back to try more of Ivan's wonderful creations!

I highly recommend the Hunt Club for a fancy dinner on the town.

12/19/09

So disappointing, I don't know where to start

by JenLambert at Citysearch

It's hard to know where to start with my disappointment with the dining experience. It starts with the fact that I had made an online reservation and specifically noted that we were celebrating my parent's 40th anniversary. There was nothing that indicated that they knew that, particularly when they handed my dad the bill at the end of the meal. It took forever to get the bottle of wine we ordered at the start of the evening and when it came it was the wrong bottle...twice. My husband had to ask 4x for the ice tea he had ordered. I sent my soup back because it was lukewarm and then when it came back piping hot I had to season it (I NEVER add salt to my food at a restaurant). My entree was similarly underseasoned. The half chicken my husband ordered looked more like a half sparrow. The potatoes gratin that accompanied my father's steak were delicious but distractingly undercooked--I'm not a fan of crunchy potatoes. The coffee that was served at the end of the meal tasted like it had been sitting on a burner far too long. To make matters worse, our waiter was AWOL for most of the night. At one point we wondered if he had walked off the job. When he was there it was in body only. Neither his head or heart seemed engaged. The list of disappointments and service gaffes just never ended. We kept asking ourselves, "are we too particular?" No. It's not too much to expect that a restaurant that holds itself up as a fine dining establishment provide attentive, prompt service and that the food be memorable for it's quality instead of its blandness. I will not be back.

• Pros: Beautiful setting, lots of ambiance
• Cons: Service was apathetic, food was mediocre to poor

11/30/09

Our new favorite spot...

by jennnn11 at Citysearch

...when it's time for Dine Around Seattle, that is! Otherwise, we flat-out can't afford it except for very special occasions. The Hunt Club is of course the restaurant in the Hotel Sorrento. Both are beautiful - a very well-maintained old building with character and lovely decor. We were there at Christmastime and the Christmas decorations were beautiful. We had lunch today, and my companion took advantage of the Dine Around Seattle promotion and had a green salad (very fresh greens, delicious vinaigrette), the "Hunt Club" (delicious club sandwich on fresh bread from Macrina bakery), and cinnamon panna cotta (absolutely to die for). I went for the crab cakes, which were perfectly prepared and paired with some sauteed greens. The portions are kind of small - a person with a larger appetite would definitely want an appetizer along with their meal. Personally, I really like their style of not automatically bringing bread to the table - it's free, you just have to ask for it!

The one negative was the valet parking. I'm not sure if it's always like this or if they were short staffed or what, but there were no valets! I ended up parking in the parking circle and bringing my keys to the front desk of the hotel. When we were ready to leave, we again had to go to the front desk. When the woman at the desk asked the valet to get our car, he snapped that we were "just gonna have to wait." Given that it hadn't been moved, we grabbed our keys (and paid our $7!) and got outta there.

It lost a star for the overly expensive food and parking and rude valet. However, we will definitely be returning to the Hunt Club in March for Dine Around Seattle!

• Pros: great food, excellent service, beautiful atmosphere
• Cons: Too expensive all around

08/05/09

Great atmosphere, great new chef

by jooz at Citysearch

We had drinks here, those turned into dinner and I have to say I was impressed with the new menu/chef at the Hunt Club. We had kind of a preconceived notion that the place was snooty, but that couldn't have been farther from the truth. Tasty app's and a casual atmosphere were great.

• Pros: Excellent Food, historic setting
• Cons: none