Hunt Club-Sorrento Hotel

Doesn't Recommend

Bonnie Too

Joined 2 years ago

Sadly Disappointed. 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.

Recommends

ginos

Joined 5 years ago

Rich ambience, excellent food and drinks. 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.

Doesn't Recommend

JenLambert

Joined 4 years ago

So disappointing, I don't know where to start. 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.

Recommends

jennnn11

Joined 4 years ago

Our new favorite spot.... ...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!

Recommends

jooz

Joined 5 years ago

Great atmosphere, great new chef. 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.

Doesn't Recommend

bistecca

Joined 7 years ago

Lousy across the board. Four of us dined here on 7/10 and were incredibly disappointed with the service and food. As long time Seattleites who have dined at the Hunt Club many times over the years, it's sad to see this restaurant decline. This used to be a "special occasion" place, but that's changed. Specifics: Our waiter was unprofessional and indifferent. He did not greet us or tell us about specials or the menu. He seated us, then showed up and said "are you ready?". There were very few people in the restauarant (now we understand why), so they were not overly busy. Our wine was served in dirty/spotty glasses. We had to ask for bread and water refills. When servers showed up to deliver the courses (salad, mains and desserts) they put the wrong dish in front of the wrong person each time. The pork belly was so salty it was inedible, the venison stew was flavorful but dry, and the lamb chops were like leather. The server never came back to check on us after the food was delivered, so we never had a chance to offer feedback or ask for something else. This is a spendy restaurant - $25 and up for entrees - and there's no way they'll stay in business at this rate. There are many restaurants providing a much better experience, thus we'll take our business elsewhere.

Recommends

rgeorgettehall

Joined 5 years ago

Incredibly Romantic. I first went to the Hunt Club in college 15 years ago. It was one of my first dates with my husband. We have returned many times for special occasions in our lives as it is the most romantic spot in Seattle. We consider it a special place just for the two of us, so we always go alone. It is our little secret. There isn't a better place to enjoy an after dinner drink than sitting on the plush seats in the bar area. The food is creative and beautifully presented. I always feel happy and pampered when I leave.

Recommends

lhwalker

Joined 5 years ago

Excellent Ambiance, Customer Servicer. I think that the Sorrento is a jewel in Seattle - one of the most iconic locations in the city. The staff in the Hunt Club is friendly, unpretentionious, but attentive without being overly so. I have never had a bad experience there.

The food is very good, and I love the chips they serve in the bar - made in-house, and a nice change from your standard "mixed nuts."

I'd recommend the hotel time and again.

Doesn't Recommend

wwisewoman

Joined 6 years ago

Lunch is not recommended here, ever.. About 6 years ago I had the most disastrous lunch I have ever experienced here. The events that unfolded were comical, involving the kitchen apparently being nonfunctional but instead of that fact being disclosed by management, myself and two guests were poured continuous glasses of wine for an hour and a half until we were finally served our 2 salads and a burger (which was raw and unedible). They tried to bill us for entire meal (including the "complimentary" wine) and one of my guests, my assistant at the time, was drunk enough that we drove her home so she could pass out in private. This year I gave the Hunt Club another chance, figuring that the previous lunch must have been a convergence of bad circumstances. I met my sister there for lunch in the festive holiday ambiance, which is undeniably elegant. The good news is that this lunch was better than the last lunch! The bad news is as follows. The prices were high so we hoped the food was worthwhile.We were very dissapointed. I had two dry, flavorless crab cakes thrown artlessly onto soggy greens ($23). My sister had approximately three pieces of beef thrown onto the same soggy greens, for $14. It seemed that maybe someone had made a run to Trader Joe's up the street a couple of days prior (the greens were a little aged as well as soggy) and also thawed out some crab cakes which had subsequently dried up. We had to request that bread or rolls be served and I'm thankful that they didn't bill us an extra charge. The waiter was inattentive but in fairness seemed to be assigned too many tables. He did charge us incorrectly and it took quite awhile for him to change our bill because it seemed that he had to run everything through management. I don't know if the lunches here are always exceptionally bad or if I am just an unlucky person. In this town of fabulous food, it is a shame that an historical location such as the Sorrento should allow this to happen.

Recommends

Contributor

Joined 10 years ago

Victorian elegance and a regional menu bring an elegant spark to hotel dining.. The Scene
Beautiful mahogany pillars draped with silk curtains falling into deep folds give this hotel-based institution a rich, quiet elegance not found in most of Seattle's dining establishments. Voices--even from the staff--are quiet and pleasant; if there's a party happening, chances are it's a private affair, not a happy hour.

The Food
The seasonal menu combines classic hotel fare with a few surprising accents. A basil-accented crab cake is delicately crisp, full of sweetly pungent crab flavor. Drizzled with plenty of truffle oil, a bowl of creamy mushroom soup is generous enough to provide a filling lunch. Grilled steak swims in a rich demi-glace swirled with Bourbon; mashed potatoes taste like soft sour cream and onion potato chips. Sample the honeybee's success with a honey-rosemary ice cream.