13 Coins Restaurant

06/24/2008 Posted by FrankTheTankWSU

the reviews are back and forth on this place, but I decided to give it a shot either way. I am happy I did. Lets get something out of the way - the food here is good. I didn't have any of the problems that some of the other people reported with things being poorly prepared or less then fresh. My food came out really fresh and was well prepared. I agree that the cream based pasta dishes are probably more rich then most people are used to, I am Italian and the cream sauce was stronger then usual, but not negativley so. These dishes are prepared with rich taste and quality in mind, not being healthy. The easy solution is to order something that isn't cream based, they have such a huge menu you can find just about anything on it - and healthier dishes are included. The main issue here is the price, and most people are right, most dishes are priced higher then they maybe should be, but not by much in my opinion. The plates are pretty large, which compensates a bit for the high price, I would say. Also, if you are driving, the location has an abundance of free parking (much of it right across the street in the Seattle Times lot), which saves you some cash. The last stand out is the service and ambiance. From the chefs to the waiters, everyone is really nice, attentive and engaging without being overly so. The location is huge, super clean and well decorated. It's a really nice place and is really large, which explains the prices (in addition to the good food). If you dont mind paying a little extra for great service, good food and a sweet location - this is the place to go. Suggest you come with a group or a date you are trying to impress, if you are going to spend this kind of cash for location and service - might as well bring some friends :-)

Pros: Good Food, Good Service, Great Ambiance, Free Parking!

Cons: Pricey, Cream based dishes are really rich

05/22/2008 Posted by bekele1237

I picked out 13 Coins during a Google search for "Late Night Dining" and decided to give it a try. The ambiance of the restaurant was nice, and I was seated in a spacious booth. They waited on me immediately, and gave me an interesting snack combo of somewhat stale French bread and a mixture of olives, celery, carrots, pickles, tomatoes and salami slices. Not complaining though. The menu looked interesting, with a wide variety of stuff, but the prices were REALLY high, especially for a casual diner. With such high prices I expected the food to be amazing, and sadly, it wasn't. My girlfriend ordered the salmon pasta dish, and what arrived was a basically generic piece of salmon with some fairly bland noodles, and the entire thing was DRENCHED in buttery sauce. This was unfortunate, since she doesn't like buttery things, but the truth was, it was too buttery even for my tastes. For a nearly $30.00 entre, it was really underwhelming. My own dish was the Crab Louie, and while it wasn't bad, there was nothing exciting about it either. It was served on a bed of lettuce with a few stray olives and pickled artichoke hearts, all of which tasted old. It also had two hard boiled egg halves, which were undercooked, overexposed to air, gelatinous, and totally nasty. I've had better hardboiled eggs in the salad bar at a fast food restaurant! The entre was a solid 4 out of 10, and it cost $25! We only ate about half our food before asking for the check, and the entire meal cost over $70.00 including tip! And we didn't drink any alcohol, and I had water. I expect food of this quality to cost around $10-12 per entre, so the prices are just ridiculous. I definitely won't be going back.

Pros: Nice atmosphere, good pre-dinner snacks

Cons: terribly overpriced, food didn't seem fresh