Veil

06/05/2008 Posted by MoeLovesFood

Veil has potential, but I got the sense that they have lost focus. We arrived on a weeknight. It was not very busy. We had to wait 10 minutes to be seated in the bar. While we sat there, no one offered us a drink. Odd. When were seated, we noticed the restaurant was almost empty. It turned out that they did not print enough menus, so they could not seat us until they had printed two more. The service through the entire evening was excellent. Our server went the extra mile, but unfortunately the food was a comedy of errors. We ordered the mini lamb burgers. They came out completely raw. We sent then back. I watched into the kitchen as they cut into one and were shocked as well by how raw they had been sent out. We tried their highly regarded Fois Gras. The peanut butter and jelly sauces were excellent, but the kitchen had burned the Fois Gras and the toast it was served on. You don't serve bread that is completely black on one side. We ordered the scallops. They came out with a ton a bacon as this turned out to be one of their major ingredients. But they had left this out on the menu. Ugh. It went back as well. Some dishes were fine. The Mac and Cheese and our starter soup were excellent. Overall a disasterous meal and incredibly expensive. Even with the restaurant comp'ing most of our food the bill was stil $125 for two. Not a terribly good value. It was so much potential but the it seemed that there was some organization / focus that has been lost. We had a disasterous meal where they had to almost re-make each dish that was served. The waitress was excellent and tried

Pros: Service

Cons: Food

05/30/2008 Posted by marcsch

We went to Veil for Mother's Day brunch, and it was without a doubt the best brunch I've ever had. I highly recommend the Duck Confit Hash, and the Eggs Benedict was also amazing. We tried a few of the cocktails, and I highly recommend the Meadow (champagne with lavender infused honey) and a Bloody Maria (spicy bloody mary with tequila instead of Vodka). The food was so great, we went back the next weekend for dinner for an equally amazing meal. The food was great, and their pastry chef, Dana Cree, makes the most sublime desserts ever. I haven't had any bad service experiences at Veil, and on the contrary, both of the hostesses I've met have been funny and helpful, and the server we had both times was knowledgable and had a great sense of humor. Half of the positive experience was based upon how comfortable she made us. If you go to veil, ask for Mima. She rocks.

Pros: Awesome Food and Amazing Service

Cons: None

05/12/2008 Posted by Foodz1

Once a month a group of us get together and go to different restaurants in the area, Veil was my pick and not a good one. I had high hopes though, the owner/chef had said he would be there and would come out and talk with our group before dinner to make recommendations and offer options. Upon arriving we found out he had left for the evening. The server was very nice but very slow because they were short staffed. Some liked their food, some did not the best part was the dessert. It took forever to get our drinks and the entire experience for 11 people took almost 4 hours which was entirely too long. The website made the appearance of the restaurant look very cool and modern, when you arrived it felt a bit cold and not as inviting as we would have liked. An unfortunate experience, I would stay away from Veil until they can get their overall customer experience at a better level all around.

03/10/2008 Posted by victamra

really enjoyed the evening at Veil. The decor looked better on the website than in person but the staff is attentive and the food is surprisingly good. It was a rainy Wed night when I was there but the place was busy! Will go back again and try a couple of other dishes!

Pros: service, food

Cons: can be pricey

03/06/2008 Posted by misha71

We dined at Veil over Valentine's Day weekend. We had an 8:00 pm reservation on a Saturday night. The bar was empty and the restaurant was about 2/3 full, which we thought was odd for such a small restaurant that generally gets good reviews. We noted the couple to the right of us had arrived just before us and had ordered and were enjoying their drinks as they perused the menu. The couple to our left were impatiently waiting for their check. Our waitress was slow to arrive at our table and when she did arrive she asked if we were ready to order. We would have liked to have started with drinks - which is the normal expectation - but our waitress appeared anxious so we placed our entire order. Our food was delievered timely but our drinks were empty and our dinners nearly eaten in their entirety before someone else came over to ask if everything was okay. We made a point of saying that she was the first person to ask and that we would both like another drink. We waited quite awhile for our second drink to arrive. Meanwhile, we noticed that the couple to our right were never given bread and a woman seated elsewhere in the restaurant was complaining rather loudly about the wait for their dinners. It's really a shame Veil can't get a better wait staff because the food is really good. With the price you pay for dinner, service should be exceptional.

Pros: Great Food

Cons: Terrible Service

03/03/2008 Posted by shoebug

I consider myself quite experienced with happy hour - and this is my new favorite. You cannot beat the high quality, tasty appetizers for $7 each! You definitely have to try the lamb burgers, and the risotto is to die for. I was there last with two friends and my mother, who is quite "frugal" and she even gave the thumbs up. We tried almost everything on the menu - and it was excellent! The only thing I wouldn't order again is the plate of olives. They were tasteless and very oily. This is a great place for a first date or that first "lets meet for a drink". Great atmosphere and despite what others have said in these reviews, I have never been treated rudely or been ignored - regardless of how busy the restaurant was. Highly recommend you try out Veil!

Pros: wonderful food

Cons: tough to find

02/02/2008 Posted by financial_foodie

A fantastic dining experience was had by all! My partner and I dined here last night for the first time with another couple who had also never dined here before. We enjoyed everything. No disappointments whatsoever. FOOD: Much to my and my partner's delight, they served amuse-bouche; a small spoon of chick peas with a sliver of anchovy lightly doused in chorizo oil (fantastic as it was, I could have done w/o the anchovy). I started with the Malted Parsnip Mousse w/ Dungeness Crab and Rosemary Streusal. To say this appetizer was spectacular would be a drastic understatement. Everyone at our table agreed as I shared samples with my party. The main course for me was Crispy Duck Confit served with a root vegetable hash and carmelized vegetable sauce. As my partner agrees (since he ordered the same thing) it was certainly the best duck confit we have ever had. Tender, yet with a delicately crisp skin full of flavor. The vegetables were done to a perfect al dente all in a sauce that begs one to lick from the plate. We of course enduldged ourselves in desert after such a spectacular meal. I much highly recommend the Honey Mousse that comes with a wonderful array of flavors to combine with the sweet treat. LOCATION: A little off the beaten path but certainly worth seeking out. ATMOSPHERE: Room for large parties and small intimate groups. Even a romantic evening with your sweetheart would be well spent here. Unless of course you're not a fan of ultra-modern decor with lots of glass. All in all, a meal to be remembered and most certainly revisited!

01/20/2008 Posted by ace1870

we have just arrived from there - the food Portions were tiny , the prIces are STEEP and the serive was horrible. we read the reviews and hoped we're gona enjoy but were SUPER Disappointed Stay away from VEIL!!!

Pros: None

Cons: service ,portions

11/12/2007 Posted by latenighteater

Our group of old friends had an excellent time despite inexplicably rude, really preposterously bad service -- things I had never experienced in a good restaurant (well, in any restaurant!). I called to say we were about 15 minutes late because of traffic around Mercer and Seattle Center and was told thanks, but we had to be out within two hours of our reservation because they had booked our table to another group. This, despite the $50 per person guarantee if we cancelled within 48 hours of the reservation, but no mention of a table time limit! Turns out most of our group arrived on time, but once seated, we were told by the hostess that we now had one and a half hours to eat. Without going into excruciating detail, the service was rushed start to finish. Food and drinks were placed at the wrong setting. The staff had to find out what the soup and risotto stock consisted of (ok most places, but this restaurant had its nose in the air about the food). Staff hovered constantly, removing every plate, utensil or glass a nanosecond after it appeared to have been used. No coffee or tea offered at the conclusion of the meal. We continued chatting in the bar after paying, and found it ironic that there was only one small group of four or five at the long table we had been using. Really, it all seemed foolishly irritating and silly. The group tip is 20%, higher than most restaurants for an automatic gratuity, but not objectionable to me, though not for such atrocious service. The food itself? Pretty good, some excellent (beet salad, risotto, abalone elf mushroom), some so-so (including the highly vaunted peanut butter ice cream). Overall, we felt so unwelcome! Somebody should tell the head chef that his excellent preparation is being undermined by arrogant staff.

11/03/2007 Posted by chefdan26

Well.......A friend of mine and I have been aching to visit VEIL for quite some time. Just so happened that That my 21st! Birthday was comming up, so we got a group of 8 together, dressed up to the occassion and went to Indulge~ We first walked in and had a round of champagnae for everyone until we were seated, and yes! it was nice! After being seated I took a look at the menu and was completely blown away from what Chef Shannon was offering~ After a very carful debat between this and that, I came to a conclusion of trying it all!...hehe. Well my roomate and I descided to go with the Tasting menu that he offers, which is 4 coarses. I was a little tossed by this time but I was ready for dinner! We were just having the best time and the atomosphee at VEIL is incredible...............We could not get enough of enjoying eachother as well as our service that was ever so GREAT! I hope I wasnot annoying Shannon too much by the amount of times I went and said " It is unbelievable".....hehe. " simple is good.....but fancy is ever so nice! VEIL was an ultimate Birthday and dinning experience!!!! " Thank You! Shannon!!! again and again.....and again~~~~ Sincerely, Daniel

Pros: Top to Bottom and all around!~

Cons: none here!