Aqua By El Gaucho

(206) 956-9171

2801 Alaskan Way # 70, Seattle, WA | Directions   98121

47.614815 -122.355064 View Website
Recommend this business?
?
83% 100 81
47 Votes

Aqua By El Gaucho view & upload
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Neighborhoods:
Downtown, Belltown

Price:
$$$

Cuisine:
Seafood

Categories:
Seafood Markets, Restaurants

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Restaurant Special Features:
Dine At The Bar, Fine Dining, Business Dining, Group Dining, Waterfront Dining, Live Music, Outdoor Dining, Happy Hour, Quiet, View Dining
Payment Methods:
MasterCard, Visa, American Express, Diners Club, Gift Certificate

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Aqua By El Gaucho

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Copper River Salmon is here! Chef Cain is preparing the first catch for service tonight. http://t.co/ihTklAWMiu Reply Retweet Favorite 5 days ago
 

What Our Expert Scouts Say

May 09, 2013

Such a dynamite space, this seafood palace couldn't be any closer to the water. Warm weather means the outdoor deck is open, with the salty scent of Elliott Bay stirring your appetite for oysters, salmon, halibut and much more.

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Aqua By El Gaucho
September 30, 2012

What used to be Waterfront Seafood Grill is now Aqua. Same owners, though - the venerable Mackay family, known for their expansive, "go big or go home" restaurants, and Aqua is no exception. It looks mostly the same, with splashes of bright blue and rust thrown in to give you the illusion you might be on the Mediterranean. You're not, although the seafood is just as fresh.

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Tips for Aqua By El Gaucho

1.0
June 19, 2010

Very disappointed. A restaurant we have wanted to try for a some time. We dine out once a week and like to try new restaurants to us. WSG was participating in a Seattle promotion for a set price dinner which we took advantage.

The food was tasteless, not worth remembering. You would think a restaurant participating in a promotion would put their best foot forward. WSG failed. We will not return. The service was good as you would expect in a place like this.

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3.0
April 23, 2010

Elegant Atmosphere, Amazing Food and Slow Service. Well it is Restaurant Week in Seattle and Waterfront Seafood Grill was on the list to participate in the “3-course meal for $25” offering. This is not the place to go if you are on any kind of timeline. The food was amazingly presented and delicious, but the dining experience from beginning to end took 3 hours.

My reservation was for 7:30p and we were not seated until 8p. Everything took longer than the average restaurant and seemed to be on purpose, as if this was the intentional ‘pace’ of the service. Bottom line…awesome food, incredible view and elegant atmosphere, but luxuriously slow service.

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2.0
February 12, 2009

Your strange but rich uncle. You know that uncle who seems to have great taste and is so worldly when you're young but them when you get older you see that his smoking jacket is worn and his books are fake? The Waterfront Seafood Grill is a great example of what marketing truly is. Average seafood dishes prepared blandly yet described as somehow worth their outlandish costs. Even with a coupon the total will b l o w your mind. A small portion of the same macaroni and cheese you could find at any pasta joint with a few bits of frozen crabmeat IS NOT worth nearly 20$! A small piece of tuna served on (probably canned) white beans IS NOT worth nearly $40. Apparantly, stuffed shrimp are designed to rip the customer off another $40 for WET BREADCRUMBS. One is inclined to believe that one is on camera for the amusement of the staff. The Baked Alaska, while spectacularly presented and large, is freezer burned, flavorless and covered in toasted whipped egg whites. It's all for show and mostly for either tourists or new money. The piano player, however, is genius. And I do have to give a shout-out to the staff, who are quite well mannered and eager to please. The chefs, I'm sure, do their best, but something is way, way off...

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5.0
September 17, 2008

WOW!. My husband and I were trying to find a restaurant to celebrate our anniversary at and we looked this one up. We read the reviews and saw some bad reviews so we were hesitant to go to this restaurant. Boy, am I glad that we did go. First off, we had a wonderful waitress (Susan)who was very knowledgeable and made us feel welcome right away. For an appetizer I ordered the seafood clam chowder and my husband ordered the calamari. Delicious! The food did not take long to come out and it was absolutely devine. When you read the reviews from 2 years ago you may feel doubtful about going to this restaurant but you will be glad you came and as a person who frequents nice restaurants take my advice and come here! Great job and I will be back!

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3.0
June 08, 2008

Save your money OR bring you own champagne !!!. I'm a fan of Sunday brunches in Seattle so I decided to take an out-of-town friend to Waterfront today for the first time. Although the service was very nice -- the egg benedict and seafood omelette were just standard fare at $50. The biggest shocker however was the "by the glass champagne" that I ordered that turned out to be $50. This simple little brunch ended up costing almost $200. I dine out a lot in Seattle but this place left me feeling VERY cheated. There's too many wonderful weekend brunch spots in Seattle to waste your money on this one -- even if the view is nice.

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5.0
May 23, 2008

Impeccable Service. Many times management receives emails for complaints, so I wanted to make sure the management received some kudos for a perfect hire on service.

Our table of 4 last night had Michael as our server and I wanted to let management know what Impeccable Service he provided to us. He was FLAWLESS?as was the food delightful and perfectly cooked. This is not my first visit here, as we frequent the Waterfront at least once every 3 to 4 months. In many restaurants one gets confused as to who is providing what service to us and I was happy to see the same smiling face every time we were approached, with the exception of the Sommelier, Michael was there every step of the way, never abruptly interrupted and even found a way to set the silver with my mates hands flailing about in discussion.

The food was fabulous. We had the Bacchanalia for two which was a feast but we didn't have to choose what our palate was desiring as it had all the main seafood choices and vegetables with it. It was a lot of food. Well prepared and brought with our guests meal as well.

Thank you for a lovely night!

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5.0
March 15, 2008

Wonderful food and great for a date. The entire experience at this restaurant is wonderful, from the friendly valet, to the greeting at the front door, to the very attentive service. We've even rolled in (in workout clothes) from walking the sculpture park just for martinis and received the same great service... but felt very underdressed! This is a great date restaurant. Just try to get one of the big round booths... very private and romantic. And the sunset view is my favorite in the world!

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1.0
December 25, 2007

Most overpriced food in Seattle. The quality of food is low; I had one of the worst salmon ever. The service is excellent, the place is ok (nothing special), they charge $16 for a glass of standard Shiraz. There are many places better than Waterfrond Seafood Grill in Seattle, like Canlis, for the same price.

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5.0
January 24, 2007

Great view and tableside service. Great location and excellent service make this a favorite for business entertaining. The view will impress your colleagues and the seafood was very fresh. Excellent wait staff that was attentive but not hovering. Adding it to my list.

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4.0
December 11, 2006

Good restaurant, but NOT a date spot. I think this restaurant is overrated. We made a reservation for two at 7:45PM on Saturday night and got seated at 8:00PM. I did not expect the restaurant to be empty, of course, but I did not expect it to be so noisy, either! The place is supposed to be romantic, but I would not recommend it as a date spot. It is perfect for a group of people to celebrate birthdays and stuff though. We had the "volcano" for dessert (because we saw it on TV). Although it was not as impressive as it was on TV (the flame was not as high as they showed it on TV), it was still a fun experience. It is an layered ice cream cake covered with meringue, and they light it on fire with cherry brandy and throw cinnamon powder into the flame so that it sparkles. They pour chocolate syrup over, making it look like a lava flow. The grand marnier ice cream was so good, and so was the chocolate syrup. The chocolate syrup had the nice, bitter cocoa flavor, which complemented the ice cream so well. They have decent food, and I loved the ice cream cake, but I will not rush to go back there. Keep in mind: it's not a plce for a couple looking for a quiet, romantic evening!

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Won for:
Outdoor Dining (2005)