Artemis Cafe & Bar

09/19/2008 Posted by jakoye

Went there for a special New Year's Eve dinner. Arrived a little early and they made us wait outside in the cold while they finished setting up. Not a good start. When we got inside, the restaurant smelled like, cat p***. Perhaps it was the seafood soup they were cooking, but I can only tell you what it smelled like to me and my girlfriend. The dinner was a disaster. Our waiter was sllllow and inattentive. Everyone in the restaurant was getting the same 5 course meal, but for some reason, we always got our courses last. In fact, we were entirely skipped when it came to the salad course! I guess they just completely forgot about us. My soup was pedestrian at best and both our main courses were equally tepid. But the worst part was the constant waiting, especially as we watched other patrons being served courses while we were ignored. It was certainly not the experience I would've expected considering the price of the dinner. To their credit, they ended up giving us our bottle of wine for free when we expressed our strong displeasure, but after such a horrendous experience, I will not return to this restaurant and cannot recommend it to you.

Pros: I suppose the view is pretty good. It's hard to think of positives though.

Cons: Incompotent service, so-so food, the odd smells...

07/21/2008 Posted by katrim

Artemis is doing this new thing where they stay open as a lounge til 2:00 am after their regular dinner hours. The music was good and the food was awsome! Waygu beef burgers at 1 in the morning was just the thing after two very dirty martinis. I don't know if I can go back to fried chicken strips at a bar now.

05/23/2008 Posted by realseattlegirl

My husband and I had a peak dining experience at Artemis. It was an anniversary dinner and we had very high expectations. It far exceeded our hopes in every way. The entire staff went so far out of their way to make it a special evening that we jokingly wondered if they had mistaken us for celebrities or food critics. We went back a second time with a group of friends to make sure it wasn't a fluke and it turned out to be just as memorable. The staff are incredibly friendly but also very efficient and competent. (The Chef even came over to our table and explained how to make the tasty salsa that was served with the parchment-paper cooked halibut.) We'll be regulars from now on.

Pros: Beautiful space

Cons: Parking can be difficult

05/05/2008 Posted by Gloria2anderson

Went to this restaurant twice when it first opened in Nov 2007 and was happy with the food, atmosphere, and great views. Visited again 2 weeks ago and it didn't seem like the same place. The manager was casual and smart-alecky. Waitresses were sitting at the bar and one at a table looking bored and unhappy to see customers. We saw the menu had changed for the worst. High prices, unimpressive dishes, nothing we wanted to eat. It was a long time before we could put in a drinks order which the manager made. When they came they were mediocre. We waited a while to order food and then called a waitress over. She was snotty and snide and downright bitchy and at that point we decided we'd had enough and got up to leave. We didn't pay for the drinks and although the manager ran out to talk to us, we were done and told him we'd never come back. It's probably no more than a matter of weeks before this restaurant closes down. The owners are away and that's strange for new business owners. By the time they come back Artemis will probably be a distant memory. I'm writing this to warn people to stay away.

04/09/2008 Posted by cristalla

Last night my wife and I went to Artemis for the first time. It's a gem. I'm going to chalk the poor reviews on here up to growing pains. They've worked out the kinks. The space is gorgeous. The food was excellent, and VERY resonably priced for the quality. The service was great. The whole experience was top notch, and we'll definitely be going back. I'd recommend the place to anyone. And there is one incredible view if you get a table towards the back. I spoke seperately to the owner, to the chef, and to the floor manager to say this: I've been to many, many GOOD restaurants recently, but our experience last night was truly GREAT.

Pros: Ambience, incredible food, reasonable prices, great service.

Cons: Zero parking

02/26/2008 Posted by sarahvangieson

My husband and I came to this resturant with high expectations in mind. We read really great reviews and we loved the website. We made a reservation, and ended up having the worst experience ever! Upon arrival we watched the bartender and waitress argue about who was going to take our table. Finally, the waitress came over wearing 6 inch stilletos. Her face was wincing in pain, my guess is going to be from the shoes maybe. She takes our order and everything is fine until the soup arrives, the service goes completely downhill from there. I had to go to the bar and order drinks twice, and ask the bartender to clear our soup cups. I see our waitress icing her hand and it turns out that she has spilled hot coffee all over it. Maybe it could have been because of the instability of what was on her feet I don't know. Then she proceeds to come out and tell all of her customers about her painful experience, which to me is unprofessional. The food was ok, it wasn't that great. Our bill arrived and our tab was almost 300.00 with gratuity included. Why would gratuity be included on a two top? This was absurd! I have no problem paying that much for dinner when the food is amazing and the service impeccable. When you are paying that much for dinner the service SHOULD be impeccable. I feel these people are amateurs asking for MUCH more than they deserve. I will never visit this restaurant ever again!

01/13/2008 Posted by johnlcable

Really fun and cozy atmosphere, a really cute place. The service was just OK, but I'll forgive them this first time given it is new. Apparently (according to our waitress) it was one of the owners who seated us, he told us the soup was borsht, I got all into it (I love beets!) and then it turns he was wrong. No biggie. Bartender wanted me to close out instead of transfering my tab, odd in an upscale/small/botique place. Waitress seemed distracted at first but was much warmer/engaged later in the evening. Decent (but not great) wine selection. The food was h|t and miss. Burger and fries were good, beet salad was good, but the spice in the chicken tagine was a bit overdone, and the anice in the tuna tartare was off-putting. Trying a bit to hard perhaps? So while I didn't love it as I hoped I would, I'm hoping these are new-restaurant jitters: I look forward to checking it out again in a few weeks in the hope that it improves and hits its groove.

Pros: Ambiance, Atmosphere

Cons: Service and food still have some kinds to be worked out.

01/13/2008 Posted by caitberry

I was really excited when I heard Artemis opened in my neighborhood. It's my favorite type of place... small, cozy and inviting. I went there with a group of 4 on a Friday night. We were told that the wait would be about 45 min. The bar was full, so the owner engouraged us to go to another place to have a drink, and he said he'd call our cell as soon as the table was ready. An hour and a half went by with no call. Finally, we wandered back to Artemis and he told us we were still on the list, and it would be another 15 min. No big deal, it was Friday and we weren't in a hurry. Still, he clearly sat other people before us and never intended to call us. When we were seated, we ordered a bottle of champange. It came, was poured and the bottle left on the table. They didn't have an ice bucket to keep it chilled, which seemed odd for an upscale restaurant. Next, we ordered food. We got several small plates and a couple of large plates to share. We really wanted to try the frites, so asked if we could get a side order. (they come with the burger and the steak). We were told that just wasn't possible. Again, really odd since they had them there, but just wouldn't sell them to us. We went ahead and ordered the burger. It came with blue cheese and I can't eat blue. I asked for it without the blue, and was told that the waitress really wasn't sure it was possible. (now, the cheese was on TOP of the burger, not mixed in). I was really shocked that it would be a problem to not put the cheese on top. She said she'd see what she could do and that was the last I heard of it. Until the burger came. With blue cheese. She told me she'd told the kitchen and gave a little, uh, sorry. No offer to take the burger back and fix it. Many of the dishes were great,(meatballs, beet salad) but on some, the spice was way overdone (chicken tagine and seared tuna). All in all, a nice place to spend an evening, but they REALLY need to pay attention to the details or they're not going to make it.

11/14/2007 Posted by josefiend

I love this place! The atmosphere is cozy and alluring -- much like the food and the wine. It's great for dates, for evenings with friends, or for a glass of wine before going home. They had some service hiccups in the beginning, but that's not unusual for a brand new restaurant.

Pros: atmosphere, food, wine list

Cons: likely to be discovered by the belltown hootie mama crowd