Lampreia

01/24/09

Fabulous meal, excellent service, warm and friendly.

by SanFranFoodies at Citysearch

We went to Lampreia with some friends who also relocated from San Francisco and recommended this restaurant highly. In San Francisco, we made a point of visiting the Chronicle Top 100 restaurants, and frankly we have missed that standard of quality in restaurants here.... until visiting Lampreia. Our meal was sublime! The service was friendly and without the pretense mentioned in the Seattle reviews. All four of us ordered the eight-course prix fixe and we were delighted. For those who truly love food that transcends time and place, Lampreia will not disappoint. Each course seemed to supersede the last! If you love great, imaginative and delicious cuisine, do not miss Lampreia. It is truly an experience you will never forget.

• Pros: Innovative cuisine and excellent service.
• Cons: Parking.

08/21/08

Great special occasion restaurang

by Waltho at Citysearch

I'm glad to read the last two reviewers in July had a great time, as did we. I had read several of the bad reviews. Fortunately good friends took us to celebrate their birthday, and we enjoyed being with them as well as the unique and excellent food. I'm a comfort food, enjoy my own soup or stew at home guy, which means when I go out, I'm looking for a special experience. Of course, the presentation is very arty, but each course tickles different taste buds. The veal chop was especially excellent. The service was friendly, informative, and helpful without being intrusive, even when I asked a dumb question (about salads--they don't serve them). And the chef showed none of the bad humor that some of the earlier reviewers mentioned. We had a friendly visit about an earlier experience we had shared. If you eat out lots of nights, and have become too jaded to have a unique dining experience, go somewhere else. For a special occasion, we found it excellent.

07/28/08

great food

by foodieanonymick at Citysearch

Best restaurant in seattle hands down. Proffessional and informative sevice, beautiful great tasting food, what more could you want. Obviously this isn't an every night restaurant but I nly say that because I would get the five or eight course everytime. Also great wine selection.

• Pros: food, decor, service
• Cons: the crowd in bell town late at night

07/16/08

perfection

by averagejoe101 at Citysearch

Well I honestly don't know how anyone could give Lampreia a bad review. It was one of the most memorable dinners I have ever had. I took my girlfriend for our year anniversary and decided to go with the chef's five course. Since we didn't know what we would be having I had one of the knowledgable waiters pick a bottle of wine to pair with the whole menu. We told him that we wanted something foreign and interesting. The waiter picked a chardonnay by domaine serene which paired beautifully with our dinner. First we started off with crab wrapped in melon. It was a an interesting light and refreshing way to start. After that we moved to another exquisite dish. A hard boiled egg marinated in beet juice filled with salmon roe and creme fraiche. It was definately the most beautiful and tastiest deviled egg ever. After that we had a corn soup with rhubard and salmon dumplings. The aroma of the soup as it was poured in was a tuning fork for the soul. And then the main course was bass accompanied with whipped potatoes done with pequillo pepper. Simple but great. Dessert was one of my favorite courses as well. Pistacio ice cream with strawberry sauce and caramel. The chef was actually friendly and said good night to me at the end of our evening. The waiters were perfect and attentive but not in a somerthing way, great choice of wine by the way, and the experience was extremely memorable and romantic. I highly recommend Lampreia for special occassions or even every day. It's fairly affordable and worth every penny and more.

06/24/08

Poor ambience, poor service, average food

by gourmandechezelle at Citysearch

I know chef Scott Carsberg through a business connection, and on more then one occasion had to listen to him swearing violently at the receptionist in our office because he was unhappy about something or other. No apology, no realization that the receptionist probably wasn't going to be able to help him for whatever problem he had, just angry, diva syndrome and foul language.

The experience at Lampreia mirrors the chef/owner's attitude. The interior is stark and cheerless. The food was definitely "arty" but I can't go so far as to say it was delicious or wonderfully memorable. The waiter was exceedingly cloying: no sooner had we placed a forkful of food in our mouths did he scurry over inquiring after how we were enjoying our "first bites." And he did this at the beginning of every course! He surely meant well but the service was not the discreet attentiveness that a fine dining experience demands.

This just isn't a place where you leave feeling good. The service, food, attitude and above all the mean chef just leave a bad taste in your mouth. Visit Canlis or Rover's instead. Or even Red Robin for a better experience!