04/21/09

Good tapas but noisy

by ptcrpsnt

The food is good but this place is usually packed and impossible to hold a conversation in w/o yelling. Also, the outside seating is horrible. There's nothing between you and the street - not even a divider.

• Pros: Yummy food
• Cons: Noisy, crowded, outdoor seating bad

04/15/09

My New Favorite Restaurant!

by urbantwentysomething

This is one of my new favorite restaurants! Can't say enough about the food (served family style which is great for groups of four or an intimate date), the atmosphere (it's loud, but so urban) and location (great for Belltown pre-funk or all-night dining destination)!

Can't wait to go back! Would go there more often if they accepted the Passport Dining Card.

• Pros: Value: Family Style Dining
• Cons: Parking: Always an issue in Belltown

04/09/09

Dissapointing Glass of Wine

by mopow

Promptly seated, wine showed up after a slight delay. Bouquet was straight oranges. Not oranges you want to see from your Douro or your Cotes Du Rhone. This was orangina or freshly peeled oranges. Its helps as a bartender, sommelier or just person that pours wine if you don't do your twists for martini's or slice oranges within range of the glassware that you serve wine from. All in all quite dissatisfied by the experience. If you tout yourself on wine service figure the little simple things out.

• Pros: Reasonable Price
• Cons: Inability to Serve Wine properly

12/27/08

Great food, rude waitress

by vbalencia

As a someone that lives in Manhattan and eats out ALL the time, I must say that I do agree with some reviews when they say Black Bottle could literally be a restaurant in NY. I can imagine BB being located on Prince and Elizabeth in Soho. A thumbs up to the understated trendy atmosphere and the sweet/attentive hostess. The hanger steak with daikon was one of my favorites as well as the mussels. However, I found our unkempt/undressed waitress to be very rude and pretentious for no apparent reason (maybe it was the 20% automatic gratuity for parties over 6 that made her lazy). Whatever the case may be, she put a damper on our evening with her attitude. The only other thing, aside from our moody waitress, was that it was VERY loud in the restaurant and could not hear much of what anyone was saying at the table. I guess that could be a good sign that people were having a great time as well. Just a personal preference thing, I guess. I give BB 3 stars because I've experienced better in Seattle-better service/better food.

11/18/08

Great food, good wine, sincerely friendly staff, warm ambiance...all at a very reasonable price. Who would have guessed there was such a place in Belltown.

by hlavin

After hearing good things about this little Belltown gem I felt it was time to see it for myself. I went with three friends and we were all impressed. The wine list has a nice selection. The food was really good. A couple of us had the lamb skewers served with pita slices and very generous sides of hummus, Tsatsiki & an unusual but very tasty lentil spread . We also had a wonderful plate of roasted seasonal vegetables & steamed clams served with a fabulous dense bread perfect for dipping. We ended our evening sharing a piece of chocolate cake between four of us. The servings are generous. The prices are shockingly reasonable. The setting is warm yet urban and sophisticated. All the employees were sincerely friendly and helpful without being overpowering. I really wish Black Bottle was in my neighborhood. Its the kind of place you want to go back to again and again. And we will.

• Pros: Food, Service, Wine, People, Setting, Reasonable prices
• Cons: Parking is scarce. Pay lot is next door.

08/25/08

Perfect dinner to start a Ladies' Night Out with

by myriamgp

Twelve of us had a fabulous dinner here on a Friday night. Should definitely make reservations, as the place fills up. We arrived about 8:30pm, and it was packed. They gave us a long table in the back, and we got started right away with drinks. The waitstaff was very attentive and friendly, and everything seemed to come in a reasonable amount of time. The ambience was cool--urban, hip crowd, minimalist, brick walls. My favorite thing was the menu, though :) Everything was an appetizer, so we all ordered a couple of things, and it seemed like plates just kept arriving one after another, each one with something tasty and interesting. Everything was about $8-$13, and was generously portioned. A really fun way to eat, because you get to try so many things on the menu. My favorites were the octopus with cilantro pesto, the artichoke hearts with goat cheese and proscuitto, the hanger steak with daikon shiso, and the caramelized onion tart. The cocktails were well-poured, and they had a great wine list to choose from. After all we ate and drank, even with the 18% gratuity automatically added on, it came out to $40pp, which I thought was a crazy good bargain! I will definitely return.

07/07/08

Best Wine List - Awesome Service

by Malanna

We live at the edge of Belltown and when my roommate turned 21, we decided to make a rule that we had to try somewhere new anytime we wanted to go out to dinner. The first time we went to Black Bottle, the food was great...they make a slammin flat bread. But the wine list was amazing. Great wines from all over the world, including the often ignored South America.

I think the highlight of our first visit was our waitress, Laura, who was extremely attentive and knew the wine list down pat. She was able to describe the flavors and tones behind the wines and found a few that my roommate and I just loved. She has since never forgotten who we are, even waving when we walk by with the dogs.

All in all, we find it hard to stick to our pact and instead prefer to go back to Black Bottle over and over again.

• Pros: Amazing Wine List, Great Ambience, Friendly Service

05/16/08

Good food and atmosphere, Bad Service

by KendraES

I love the food at Black Bottle (my fave is the laab gai) and the drinks are not too bad. The atmosphere is kind of mode chic, classic brick walls, generally a more well established mid-30's crowd after 5 and 6pm. I am 22 and still love to go. But the bad service is finally making it so that not even the delicious curried potatoes or my beloved laab gai can get me to go in. The waitress's mains-well be smacking gum, and slamming the food on the table with how rude they are. Last time I went I ordered a Martini, and when the waitress came by to pour the rest of the liquid from the mini shaker they give you into my glass under her breath she said, "o well that went quick didn't it"? Then she swiped my credit card twice without informing me. Please black bottle, get new servers and waitresses. That experience was actually e step up from the last time I went.

• Pros: Unique but tasty dishes, and reasonable prices. Feels high-class.
• Cons: Bad service, and sometimes t he guys are too old.

04/09/08

WOW

by wseattlek

Let me first say that I don't like going to Belltown all that much. I live in West Seattle, work downtown, and usually head across the bridge as soon as humanly possible.

Black Bottle has changed all that. I go there as much as I can. Like once a week for the past two months. Whatever they put in that Broccoli...it's like heaven. It's amazing. The wine is also good, though I would suggest just buying a bottle if you go with friends, to save money on your eventual bill in the long run.

Can be pretty crowded, so best to always make reservations. The service is simple, the ambience is lovely and understated, and you don't have a pushy uptight server in your face when you really want to spend time with your friends and family. Great place to take your friends for afterwork drinks and light dinner.

• Pros: Good Food, Good place for group dinner, Great wine & ambience
• Cons: Lack of parking, Can be very crowded and tables are too close together

04/02/08

Busy but reasonable $ and great people watching

by foodiebytrade

I go here for the flatbreads and amazing butterbean and Portabello Mushroom salad. The wines are reasonably priced and the people watching is great. It is busy but don't forget there is a back room that often is a little less congested for larger parties or groups that want a bit more elbow room.

• Pros: Great food, People Watching
• Cons: Service can be a little slow in busy times.