SkyCity

Great View + Great Food + Great Staff. I’ve been to the Space Needle occasionally throughout the years, but my most recent trip showed a number of delightful changes that now make this place undeniably the ultimate do-not-miss Seattle dining experience, definitely for out-of-town visitors, but also for us locals. There were so many new things to discover, that we asked, and sure enough, within the last couple of years a new head chef and new management were added.

We started with some appetizers, including the Dungeness Crab Cakes, and the Grilled Rustic Flat Bread with goat cheese and pesto, followed by Grilled Wild King Salmon and Seafood Fettucine. They were perfect. The scallops were butter-tender. My husband said the salmon ranked up with the best he’d ever had.

While we ate, our attention was divided between the constantly-changing view of the city, as the restaurant very slowly rotated around, and the dramatic, huge desserts that passed by our table. We really wanted to try one of them, but just had no room.

Dinner guests get to go up to the observation deck, and you’ll want to. Here’s something new – they’ve solved the problem of having guests’ Seattle view photos less than perfect due to weather. You have your photo taken in front of a green screen downstairs, then upstairs you have the choice of different great shots to be in, and a digital image is produced that you can e-mail right from the top of the Space Needle. There’s no charge for this. They also added a bar for the adults and a deli snack bar for the kids.

We’ve had out of town guests come in over the last few years that we haven’t treated to the Space Needle for dinner. We won’t omit this stop again.…

can't wait to go back!. I have lived in Seattle all of my life, yet had never gone up in the Space Needle, let alone to the restaurant. I'm sorry that I missed this until now!! The service was first-rate, the view was spectacular, and the food was superb. Please try the flatbread and crab mac and cheese. I can't wait to go back!…

Great Experience. We recently dined at SkyCity for my son's birthday. We went mainly for the view and after reading other reviews I wasn't expecting much else. But we were pleasantly surprised by the experience. First, the place was full yet we were seated 10 minutes ahead of our reservation. All of the hostesses were very pleasant from downstairs to the elevator operator and the reception desk in the restaurant.

Once seated our server, Barbara warmly greeted us and took our orders. We had a bit of trouble deciding on the full meal and she had to return twice to get our order. She showed no annoyance what-so-ever and instead came across as helpful and desiring to meet our needs. Throughout the evening she was very attentive, warm, and very interested in us having a good time. I could see that the other servers were interacting with their tables as well. It appeared to us that they enjoyed working there. So many times "touristy" restaurants have that industrial assembly line feel. That was not the case here.

One of the reasons we had trouble ordering was that there were several items on the menu that looked irresistable. We ended up with the smoked prime rib, lamb loin, seafood pasta, and oven roasted chicken. All of the items were nicely presented and very tasty. All four entrees were also served at the same time by two servers and at just the right temperature and doneness. The smoked prime rib was extremely good and the lamb loin had a terrific beet puree/red wine reduction that complemented the meat perfectly.

One criticism of the restaurant is that it is expensive. I didn't find that to be the case in this sense. The appetizers, cocktails, and even the wine list are no more than any other decent restaurant in town. The entrees are high but don't forget to subtract the cost of just going up to the observation deck which is included with all meals ($17.00 per adult and $9.00 per child.) When those are taken out it actually looks pretty reasonable for a fine dining restaurant. My $44.00 lamb loin comes down to only $27.00. So the evening as a whole was fairly expensive but we got a lot for our money--Terrific view, express elevator service, time on the observation deck, nearly 4 turns around the Needle, attentive gracious service, great food, appetizers, drinks, and desert.

It is very clear to me that they are working hard at SkyCity to make every visit there a special experience.…

That was great!!!. We had a wonderful time last night at Sky City/Space Needle. It's very cool with the restaurant rotating. My wife loved it too. The view was great and are meal was equally good. A little pricey but that keep the riff-raff out.…