Tilth

04/20/09

food was good but the pacing was off

by apetra at Citysearch

we had a nice meal but we ordered the cheese plate to start and it came with the meal..........i was very annoyed. The serverd didn't offer to take our meal away so we could enjoy what we wanted to start with ... for the price I would expect them to know what the heck they are doing.

03/24/09

Glad we have this place around!

by Wallingfood at Citysearch

I have eaten at Tilth several times, both for brunch and dinner, and the food is always excellent. Service seems better than it used to...much more friendly and casual than when the place first opened. Cocktails are not to be skipped -- I had something with "poodle" in the name that was genius mixing alchemy. Nice wine selection too. The menu has the option to go small or large with each dish, so you can order a nice variety of things to taste without stuffing yourself silly. I love the use of the sous vide technique, which they usually have for one or two dishes. I generally don't order dessert, but at my last visit a tiny little chocolate-toffee concoction was brought on a little spoon for the perfect taste of something sweet at the end of the meal. Very grateful that Wallingford has a place like this around!

• Pros: Exquisite food, fresh ingredients
• Cons: A little cramped and noisy. Not a good for intimate dining.

02/06/09

One of the better meals I've had in a long time

by GolfGirl73 at Citysearch

My one and only experience at Tilth was a couple of weeks ago and I am still raving about the meal. A couple of friends and I had been wanting to go after reading the many positive reviews and decided to share plates. We started with the mushroom soup poured at the table over a dollop of creamy goodness, the porcini creme brulee and the crostini. The crostini with chevre and roasted hazlenuts was a favorite. If The creme brulee was wonderful and came with frisee and porcini salt. The bean cassoulet was by far and away the night's favorite dish - smoky, rich and savory. The hanger steak with brussel sprout leaves was good and cooked to order. The least favorite dish was the sablefish with chickpeas. Don't get me wrong, it was good but the fish was very pungent and a bit flavorless unless eaten with the chickpeas in each bite.

For dessert we had the Theo chocolate ganache cake and the brown butter and almond cake. Both were great but I am partial to chocolate anything.

Overall the service was very good and what I would expect from an upscale restaurant. The tables are close together so there is not a lot of privacy but overall the ambiance is quaint and cozy. My only complaint about the atmosphere is the restaurant gets very drafty when people come and go as they forgot to pull the second door shut before opening the main door. Try to sit towards the back if you can! Another word of warning, if you are going with a big appetite or are expecting large portions, you will be disappointed.

• Pros: Innovative menu, local ingredients, friendly and knowledgeable staff
• Cons: A bit cramped and drafty

01/11/09

not impressed

by tweyel at Citysearch

I recently visited Tilth and was drawn to it based on the reviews it received. I loved the atmosphere and the service, but the food left very much to be desired. I was not impressed by the menu and the fish dish I ordered was missing any sort of flavor, had an awful texture, and was paired with a heavy fried chickpea something and cauliflower! Not only but it had a wierd cucumbery sauce that just didn't make sense. I am not normally a complainer about food...but this was seriously awful. The duck sliders were ok...the butternut squash soup was fine...and the wine was blah (at least the one I had). I was so sad and disappointed. I would not go again, it was not worth it.

• Pros: cozy dining, nice staff
• Cons: disappointing food

11/14/08

Mediocre food and service

by josiebainbridge at Citysearch

My husband and I were recently drawn to Tilth Restaurant because of the great reviews it has received. However, we were really disappointed with the very very tiny portions at very very high prices. My warm prawns "entree" was underdone and cold in the middle. The pace of the service was random. The acoustics were terrible and we had to talk very loudly to hear one another above the noise in the room. It didn't help that our waiter jumbled his words and spoke softly. When I finally told him that I had a very difficult time hearing him, he seemed highly annoyed. I wouldn't go back to this restaurant. I found it unnecessarily pretentious for what it offered. There are so many great options in Seattle to eat fabulous food that has been raised by local farmers. My two cents.

• Pros: Cute setting
• Cons: small portions, bad acoustics, spotty service