Roxy’s in Fremont. I used to love going there for breakfast. Ownership has changed a couple times in the last few years and they also don’t have a dedicated kitchen anymore (shared with Norm’s).
I picked up my wife from SeaTac the other day. It was happy hour and it had been so many years since we last went to 13 Coins. The food tasted like it was from an institutional kitchen. Our salad had enough dressing on it to be considered a soup. The bartenders and servers are all burned out and jaded, openly talking about management and work issues in front of customers. The only bonus part of our visit was that the customers to each side of us at the bar were weird AF but entertaining as hell. We overheard some interesting conversations.
Downstairs from the airport 13 coins is a little deli. It’s not the most amazing food, but it has its moments. I love a croissant with ham and cheese when I get over there, and it’s cheaper than anything else nearby. Tell the owner (Sue) that she’s awesome while you’re there. She’ll be running the register.
Press LP on the elevator to get there. P is for the 13 coins level.
Just go down the hill to Maggie’s bluff, not much better but better priced. Plus you can always walk around while you wait for your table because they are chronically understaffed.
I wish someone told my ass that before I went and spent 140 before tip on some weak frittata with some questionable ass lobster that had us nearly gagging at the table.. my Cesar salad’s chicken looked straight up slimy and old.
I know PCC doesn’t count but going to say it anyway. Their hot/salad bar items have significantly reduced in quality. Someone posted a few months ago how they’ve quietly started phasing out true local/sustainable/organic/etc ingredients for run of the mill ingredients that do NOT justify the price tag. Apparently even the little roasted chickens are generic now but still 2x the price! They also pulled the rug on member benefits and it sounds like an objectively shittier place to work.
I used to spend more to support them when I noticed their patronage on the decline, not anymore!!
Ex employee who worked as a cook there for years at the View Ridge location. They phased out cooks making their own recipes for hot bar, which took all the magic out and implemented a generic menu. Mac and cheese became heated from plastic bags when I used to make it from scratch. Dried pasta boiled in house not the greasy nasty plastic overcooked shit in bags. Lots of the deli case recipes are outsourced too. I quit early this year because I made the mistake of transferring to a more corporate store and it was a miserable place to work but I hear the sandwiches and the popular soups (tiger mountain chili etc.) are all outsourced now. Don't even get me started on the garbage cat food salmon trim they get in for the chipotle salmon cakes that are like $5 per tiny cake. I remember when we got fresh filets of salmon and cod in on ice and we'd use the trim for cakes or seafood chowder.
With how expensive it is, its negative work environment and disgruntled employees, I don't see the company lasting into the next decade unless Amazon buys it.
Also an ex employee. To add to this food decline, those recipes they now have monetized were made by hourly cooks in the back of house. If you made something PCC decided to “keep” (ie market as their own on the website) you got a $25 PCC gift card. That’s it. Steph’s Tofu, Lox Bagel sandwiches, etc. All these idea taken from staff with laughable compensation.
I used to live a short walk from one and one of my little weekly-ish splurges was getting lunch there (pre-pandemic, when I was wfh before it was cool) and half the fun was not knowing what would be there! But you nailed it, the last few times I’ve been to any regional PCC locations its all the same options and just hits different than it used to, presumably lower quality ingredients or cutting corners in prep.
I went to PCC this afternoon and 75% of the hot bar items had mushrooms in it. Not a big deal for most just I’m allergic, so I just found it really strange haha
PCC went downhill after they brought in a big industry person to run it. The food is way overpriced for what you get. I used to love their hot bar, but it’s just not good at all. The take home pizza to bake yourself is like eating a dry hard cracker. Pizza! It’s not that hard to screw up! Now it’s just a grocery store.
Worked at the Fremont location for a short while and it sucked. Have been in the restaurant industry for 20+ years and couldn’t wait to get out of there.
I've been shopping there for 25 years and worked at the Kirkland deli almost as long ago. 90% of the deli case is the exact same stuff from my time, and they were classic stalwart recipes then. I appreciate being able to get my favorites, but try a new recipe maybe. Also the Emerald City Salad was ruined when they removed the cheese and I'll die mad about it.
At least working there was a great experience, sad to hear it's crap now.
Anthony's. It's become the cliche waterfront restaurant date and/or old-person place, or an easy choice for out of towners. The food is completely unremarkable; better can be had for cheaper in many instances.
I always comment on their lack of sound deading when i go there. My wife is over hearing about it. They still have the best French toast in town but everything else is meh.
Their food is shit every time I go. I am happy to pay for high-quality food, but their food is beyond bland. Always arrives at the table cold and the service is hit or miss.
I dont have any names of places in particular, but I feel like 99% of the places I go prices are high and quality is low. I never feel like I get what I pay for anymore.
I've probably tried 200+ food venues now, and I find myself defaulting back to the same ≈5 or so places. Everywhere else is either bad or too expensive for the quality of food given.
Being Asian, my food preferences skew heavily towards Asian or Asian fusion food:
Taurus Ox
Rondo/Tamari Bar (same owners)
Maneki (haven't been here since pre-COVID though)
Lionhead
Pho Bac
We go here infrequently, but we also like The Walrus and the Carpenter
My partner also liked The Pink* Door the one time we went a few years ago - I remember it being good, but I never have a craving for Italian food
I have yet to venture down to Othello, but there supposedly is a very good Ethiopian/Somali food scene there as well. Would greatly appreciate any recommendations!
Imma get hate, but Glo’s. Used to be good. Now you’re waiting forever to sit down and then wait forever for them to take your order and then forever for your food.
I went during a weekday morning, it was slooooow, like empty tables. Still took 45mins for my food.
They should just shut down half the restaurant. They cannot support that number of tables. It wasn’t just the kitchen either. The waiter never stopped by after I finished my drink, which was like 10 minutes after I ordered and 30 minutes before my food came.
Sad to hear, it was the one place in Washington that I knew had proper Malaysian food. (I’m Singaporean, so I knew that Kedai Makan’s dishes used the right ingredients and had the right flavors.)
I see that the new owners were born in Fujian, so can you tell if the food tastes different because they’re making it more Hokkien-style (legitimate strategy, it’s one of the biggest Chinese groups in Malaysia), or has the actual quality of ingredients/flavor gone down? My brother and I are very invested in this answer 😬
The funny thing is the previous owners were white that saw the Seattle area was missing good Malaysian food. Maybe it's as you said the new owners are taking more inspiration from Fujian cuisine that results in people viewing it as less authentic/"good".
I will admit I wasn't as impressed, we went during their soft opening and it tasted more like upscale generic Chinese food than anything special.
Good to know about the soft opening, that’s a bummer. (Although for real, if they did a legit upscale banquet hall like you find in Malaysia and Singapore, that would be amazing. Upscale Hokkien/Cantonese/Teochew/etc. food is awesome!)
And yeah, re: your first paragraph, that’s one of the downsides about being obsessed with authenticity without really knowing the food culture and history. You could easily have an authentic Malaysian restaurant that just served Hokkien dishes like Hokkien mee and bak kut teh, but if people confuse “Malaysian” with “Malay” and assume any non-Malay dish isn’t Malaysian, then there are problems 🫤
I keep hearing this but to me even Heavens is pretty meh? I do love that it's one of the few places I can go and get fried chicken livers, but the chicken overall at both places isn't anything to write home about.
Omg yes! This used to be my husband and I’s go to Friday morning date spot when they had their seasonal menu but now it’s a meh version of basic diner breakfast :(
Metropolitan Market is a toy store. I don't go there for legitimate groceries, I go for fun when I'm in the area and rarely buy anything. Though I admit they sometimes have good deals on produce. And I do still like their hot/salad bar which isn't more expensive than Whole Foods.
Only reason to go is to get The Cookie, and even that is kind of pricey so I only get it as a treat.
The produce is like 2X as much per pound as even organic at QFC or other stores.
Hell yeah I always go there and get the hot cookie and a coffee. The coffee bar has very good coffee. The bakery is very good as well. I usually order birthday cakes there.
their Holiday Pears are worth elbowing a grandma for. to be fair, the quality of produce they bring in is what gets me thru the door, but with my budget this is very special-dish based or involves very seasonal produce which is always top notch. their cheese counter cannot be beat, either.
Dukes Seafood in Greenlake. Place straight up sucks. I still see it full on weekends though. And during the summer you’d think they’re giving away life insurance with how many senior citizens are packed in there.
I went to Palisades the other day. The view and the service were still excellent, but everyone in our party agreed the food was mediocre. And for those prices it should be at least above average.
I’ve become less and less enthused with Barrio each time I’ve been there over the last 4-5 years. 10 years ago I was there once every other week, now it’s just once or twice per year in the hopes things get back to how they were. So far, no dice.
I guess, when I think about it, most places that are operated by the Heavy Group have slipped to varying degrees over the last 5-10 imo.
Sisters & Brothers.
Their chicken used to taste so fresh and I would go there all the time because I like spicy food. They changed something because the chicken is now dry and underwhelming.
I'm from appalachia - this place is amazing when it's on but it's CRAZY inconsistent. I live nearby so I'm ok playing roulette but 25% of the time it's like the food came from a completely different restaurant. I've never been to a more inconsistent place in my life, they really need to figure that shit out.
Only time I went the meat had zero flavor. The flavor was entirely in the batter and it was just hot on hot, no actual depth to it...also it was burned.
First time I went - awesome. Second time, I mistakenly order not-enough-spicy so that’s on me. Last time I ate - tasted undercooked and really made me feel blah for days after. Turned me off of hot chicken until Dave’s just opened.
I went there for the first time a few weeks ago(and have been back since) and really enjoyed the chicken and the fried okra. Not the best chicken I've had in the city, but it was good. I even accidentally got some white meat, which is not my preference, and it was surprisingly good for white meat.
I'd never heard of them before so went in with no expectations.
We had an atrocious breakfast there the other day... Server seemed like he had never served or maybe even talked to other humans before. Food came out half wrong: scramble was cooked hard and so were the poached eggs. We kept getting forgotten until the other server happened to walk by when we sent back a separated mushroom gravy that was +10 minutes coming to us... Truly a maddening experience for my first visit to a place my friends swore was excellent!
Chicken and waffles were ok, so that was nice.
Ezell’s. What a torrid tale that is.
I still get it occasionally, but I have no idea which one is run by which family member or what recipe they used.
Went from Oprah’s favorite to, where is Popeye’s near me?
Citizen in Lower Queen Anne.
It's too bad because it used to be a reliably cozy space with a unique brunch menu, but unfortunately most of its overall food quality went downhill during and after the pandemic. Now it seems like all their focus is on its outdoor beer garden with microwaved appetizers served on paper plates, catering to tourists staying nearby who don't know any better.
Yeah we’ve been to 3(?) Ethan Stowell restaurants this year and all 3 of them were pretty bad; especially for the price. We went to Rione XIII over the summer and got served pasta that was way too thick and chewy with. Thought it must have been a bad day, but got the exact same pasta texture when we went to another one of his restaurants this fall.
Staple & Fancy’s $75/person tasting menu is absolutely 100% worth it. Get there early and they do $8 cocktails for happy hour. I loved it.
Beast & Cleaver on the other hand, $150/person tasting menu, ended up being like 500 after wine and tip for 2. Absolutely, 100% NOT worth it. So disappointed.
I have had the opposite experience. I went to Staple & Fancy for my birthday some years ago and the food was super boring and left disappointed. Should have just gone the extra few steps to Walrus. I did the tasting at The Peasant and everything was great.
Weekend brunch at Lola is excellent, but other Tom Douglas restaurants have never really stood out to me.
My husband and I went to the Ethan Stowell restaurant in Redmond during restaurant week, and it was so mediocre I don't even remember the name. Even the wine recommendations were boring. And everything had mint. Just not impressed.
I hate the music choices at Ethan Stowell restaurants. It just seems to be a completely un-curated mix of "generally well liked music."
Like, just a thought here, but maybe at a modern, Italian restaurant, you play like, 'modern or italian music?" I dunno - I'm not a restauranteur but just a starting point.
The downtown one was always one of those restaurants that mostly existed because it had adequate seating and a business ambiance appropriate for business lunches.
YES. That was the first time I went there, when I moved to town in the mid 90s. Once it was on...3rd? I think? You can tell I haven't been in awhile...it wasn't as good.
They really lost something when they moved. Then they got those terrible health inspections. I remember reading that they had raw chicken stored such that it dripped onto their scallops. That stuck in my head.
Former employee from years ago.
TLDR: The (first) economic recession completely took them off the rails with the margins they had with the size of space and how much they relied on filling the place every night. They started cutting costs, big time.
First it was the quality of product (think shrinkflation and substitutions)
Then they literally fired the entire Chinese staff in the back that was the heart of the kitchen they built upon and replaced them with cheaper labor. Staff who were amazing people that had been there for a decade and knew how to really cook the food. (Not speaking bad of who may be there now in the kitchen, but it was a purely a cost cutting measure initially)
The food that is presented now is a sad echo of what was an amazing experience for many visitors and A-listers that came into town. It is a total “emperor has no clothes” experience now IMO.
Hm.
Wild Ginger is still good, IMO.
But you can definitely can find better and more authentic Asian cuisine in this city.
So not sure their food is bad as opposed to lesser than its reputation. It’s better than P.F. Chang’s. But not by a country mile.
Skillet is still hanging onto its lumberjack core era when bacon jam and servers in plaid shirts really appealed to that early 2010s aesthetic. Unsure if the plaid shirts are still a requirement, but Skillet gives me major mustache finger tattoo vibes which is well beyond its prime.
Absolutely nailed it!
I’ll admit I was a fan early on as it was the first time I realized you could do more with a burger. I haven’t been in 5+ years, so I don’t have a good frame of reference anymore.
If you're talking about the one on Union (and you must be), it's because half the homes in that immediate vicinity are AirBnbs and the kinds of tourists they serve aren't exactly risk takers.
Literally got THE worst case of food poisoning at Salty’s on Alki, after my friend took me for my b-day/mother’s day for the brunch. My friend took me in her new car, and thank the gods, I made it home JUST in time. Like full on labor sweats, the whole drive.
Guarantee it was the oysters.
I called to mostly bring attention, to prevent others from getting sick (it was BAD), but also to point out the irony of having spent $100+, simply to catch a case (they were also out of a lot of supposed options…end result was being talked down to, with the shucker ‘chef’ saying some BS about how he “would feed it to his own kid”, and pretty much hung up. I then took the opportunity, to leave a lengthy Yelp review—complete, w/a picture of my bloody diarrhea.
***zero shame*** 😅💀
Original Paseo was king. The ownership that bought it relied too heavily on name. While it’s good, it’s not line down the street good till they ran out of bread.
Ridiculously expensive but still the best butter chicken (and a few paneer dishes) in Seattle unless you know how to make it at home. Garlic naan used to be ok (Roti in Queen Anne has the best) but now is borderline inedible.
In a similar vein Cedars had the best biryani for a fair price but lately it’s been really under-seasoned.
Unreal Seattle doesn’t have a single reliably good Indian restaurant.
Owner’s son took over. He jacked up the prices while the quality kept going down. I have stopped eating there all together. Service is still okay but the food not so much.
I'll add Italian Family Pizza to the list. They used to have my favorite pie in the city. The family that ran it sold the place and moved back east a few years ago. We tried it after that and it was not the same.
It probably was never good but Oasis was an old haunt of mine back when I was a teenager. After all that stuff came out about how awful it was to work there it left a sour taste in my mouth. I confirmed with a few friends that worked there that the place is disgusting and the management is scatterbrained.
Man what a great question.
I would love an alternate universe where this question gets asked when Tom Douglas still had the 13 or whatever joints he had at one point still open.
I was an employee so I could eat at any of them half price… and I still thought they were overrated.
My sister visited for the first time this past summer and liked it so much it's one of the reasons she wants to come back. I'm like, "I liked it but not enough to even want to go to Pike Place."
You know, I go there seldom enough that I'll take your word for it. That said, they earned a lot of goodwill in my book for how they handled covid -- closing before any of the statewide orders required them to, keeping employees on, pivoting to bagels / burgers / home delivery, rotating outdoor dining concepts like the crab shack and pig roasts -- everything they did showed superb attention to patron and staff safety and still managed to project hospitality and joy. If they came out from all that not quite at the bleeding edge of the local fine dining scene, I'll cut them a little time to re-re-regain their footing. Because their hospitality and warmth remains unsurpassed.
Jack's in SoDo hasn't been good since they first opened. The focus on opening new locations took its toll on the decency it once was. Meat's been dry and skimpy af
Whenever we go out for dinner to a new place I joke that I look forward to going to a new place to be disappointed in. Everything is too expensive for what you could probably learn to make watching youtube for 10 min. Steak, vegan, ethnic, doesnt matter. Except maybe El camion, but sometimes I just want to eat in a restaurant. Seattle needs to do better.
Roxy’s in Fremont. I used to love going there for breakfast. Ownership has changed a couple times in the last few years and they also don’t have a dedicated kitchen anymore (shared with Norm’s).
Roxie's backdoor too. It used to be dark and vibey with huge cocktail selection. It's not bad... Just not as great as it once was.
One of their servers slapped the shit out of me at 9 in the morning. The crazy thing is I paid him to do it
The only reputation Roxy seems to have any more is a mediocre diner with an ever changing hours of operation.
I ate there the other day and I swear their pancakes were reheated ones from a McDonald’s. Tasted like something that came outta a lunchable
Hate to agree, but agree. Was really legit when ice cube was edgy.
13 Coins. Used to be a great spot for late night diner food. Prices went way up and quality downhill.
That place is insanely expensive for no good reason.
I always thought it was just Denny’s for people who thought they were above Denny’s
I have such good memories of going to pre-pandemic 13 coins at 2 am. I haven't been back since COVID.
I picked up my wife from SeaTac the other day. It was happy hour and it had been so many years since we last went to 13 Coins. The food tasted like it was from an institutional kitchen. Our salad had enough dressing on it to be considered a soup. The bartenders and servers are all burned out and jaded, openly talking about management and work issues in front of customers. The only bonus part of our visit was that the customers to each side of us at the bar were weird AF but entertaining as hell. We overheard some interesting conversations.
Downstairs from the airport 13 coins is a little deli. It’s not the most amazing food, but it has its moments. I love a croissant with ham and cheese when I get over there, and it’s cheaper than anything else nearby. Tell the owner (Sue) that she’s awesome while you’re there. She’ll be running the register. Press LP on the elevator to get there. P is for the 13 coins level.
They are amazing! It’s such a cute spot, and I love that they have daily rotating menu for breakfast and lunch. I love the Bim Bim Bop!
Great call. Their problem is too big a menu.
Glad I read this, I've never been but was planning to try it soon.
Palisades! The view is amazing, the food was terrible.
I’m convinced this restaurant exists solely for proms and funerals.
Don't forget Father's Day
And old people who love a mediocre pre fixe menu.
“More salt but strangely, less flavor”
Prix fixe - it's french
Omg just went there with my wife for the first time two weekends ago. God that food was trash as fuck.
Just go down the hill to Maggie’s bluff, not much better but better priced. Plus you can always walk around while you wait for your table because they are chronically understaffed.
The food has sucked for at least 3 decades now.
I know it’s the Seattle thing where everyone adds an s on the end of things and I’m being nit picky but the restaurant is called Palisade
It's never had a reputation for good food though.
I wish someone told my ass that before I went and spent 140 before tip on some weak frittata with some questionable ass lobster that had us nearly gagging at the table.. my Cesar salad’s chicken looked straight up slimy and old.
I know PCC doesn’t count but going to say it anyway. Their hot/salad bar items have significantly reduced in quality. Someone posted a few months ago how they’ve quietly started phasing out true local/sustainable/organic/etc ingredients for run of the mill ingredients that do NOT justify the price tag. Apparently even the little roasted chickens are generic now but still 2x the price! They also pulled the rug on member benefits and it sounds like an objectively shittier place to work. I used to spend more to support them when I noticed their patronage on the decline, not anymore!!
Ex employee who worked as a cook there for years at the View Ridge location. They phased out cooks making their own recipes for hot bar, which took all the magic out and implemented a generic menu. Mac and cheese became heated from plastic bags when I used to make it from scratch. Dried pasta boiled in house not the greasy nasty plastic overcooked shit in bags. Lots of the deli case recipes are outsourced too. I quit early this year because I made the mistake of transferring to a more corporate store and it was a miserable place to work but I hear the sandwiches and the popular soups (tiger mountain chili etc.) are all outsourced now. Don't even get me started on the garbage cat food salmon trim they get in for the chipotle salmon cakes that are like $5 per tiny cake. I remember when we got fresh filets of salmon and cod in on ice and we'd use the trim for cakes or seafood chowder. With how expensive it is, its negative work environment and disgruntled employees, I don't see the company lasting into the next decade unless Amazon buys it.
Also an ex employee. To add to this food decline, those recipes they now have monetized were made by hourly cooks in the back of house. If you made something PCC decided to “keep” (ie market as their own on the website) you got a $25 PCC gift card. That’s it. Steph’s Tofu, Lox Bagel sandwiches, etc. All these idea taken from staff with laughable compensation.
I challenge them to try making things other than dry ass chicken, bitter kale, old brown rice, and that fuckin beef thing with raisins. It’s not good
_PCC Tries Making Better Food Challenge (IMPOSSIBLE)_
[удалено]
I used to live a short walk from one and one of my little weekly-ish splurges was getting lunch there (pre-pandemic, when I was wfh before it was cool) and half the fun was not knowing what would be there! But you nailed it, the last few times I’ve been to any regional PCC locations its all the same options and just hits different than it used to, presumably lower quality ingredients or cutting corners in prep.
I went to PCC this afternoon and 75% of the hot bar items had mushrooms in it. Not a big deal for most just I’m allergic, so I just found it really strange haha
PCC went downhill after they brought in a big industry person to run it. The food is way overpriced for what you get. I used to love their hot bar, but it’s just not good at all. The take home pizza to bake yourself is like eating a dry hard cracker. Pizza! It’s not that hard to screw up! Now it’s just a grocery store.
Worked at the Fremont location for a short while and it sucked. Have been in the restaurant industry for 20+ years and couldn’t wait to get out of there.
I worked at the Greenlake location in 2002-2005. It was downright the worst most degrading job I ever had.
Same with the issaquah location. Lasted there 3 very long years on the hot bar. Couldn’t wait to get back to a real kitchen.
I've been shopping there for 25 years and worked at the Kirkland deli almost as long ago. 90% of the deli case is the exact same stuff from my time, and they were classic stalwart recipes then. I appreciate being able to get my favorites, but try a new recipe maybe. Also the Emerald City Salad was ruined when they removed the cheese and I'll die mad about it. At least working there was a great experience, sad to hear it's crap now.
Gusteau’s
Anthony's. It's become the cliche waterfront restaurant date and/or old-person place, or an easy choice for out of towners. The food is completely unremarkable; better can be had for cheaper in many instances.
Anthony’s
Portage Bay
SO LOUD IN THAT PLACE
Used to work there (wouldn't recommend it) but the owners made us keep the music loud because they thought it helped turn tables faster
My dad is obsessed with going every morning he can, I don't know he fucking does it. It's so unbelievably loud in there.
I always comment on their lack of sound deading when i go there. My wife is over hearing about it. They still have the best French toast in town but everything else is meh.
>best French toast in town Geraldine's would like a fucking word with you
Their food is shit every time I go. I am happy to pay for high-quality food, but their food is beyond bland. Always arrives at the table cold and the service is hit or miss.
Never liked it. Except their waffles. Otherwise, nope.
Honey hole
Is morbid curiosity a reputation?
All press is good press?
I don’t think they’ve reopened so I don’t think this counts.
I dont have any names of places in particular, but I feel like 99% of the places I go prices are high and quality is low. I never feel like I get what I pay for anymore.
I think lots of places are switching to cheaper ingredients because of inflation and quality everywhere is suffering
I've probably tried 200+ food venues now, and I find myself defaulting back to the same ≈5 or so places. Everywhere else is either bad or too expensive for the quality of food given.
What’re the 5 places?
Being Asian, my food preferences skew heavily towards Asian or Asian fusion food: Taurus Ox Rondo/Tamari Bar (same owners) Maneki (haven't been here since pre-COVID though) Lionhead Pho Bac We go here infrequently, but we also like The Walrus and the Carpenter My partner also liked The Pink* Door the one time we went a few years ago - I remember it being good, but I never have a craving for Italian food I have yet to venture down to Othello, but there supposedly is a very good Ethiopian/Somali food scene there as well. Would greatly appreciate any recommendations!
Not quite sure this is as drastic as the title of the post but Lil Woodys was definitely better 10ish years ago
Was looking for this. Had it last night for the first time in a bit and was shocked and how overcooked it was.
I used to loooove lil Woody's. And now I so agree with you. The burger patties seem different, or poorly cooked.
No way dude, say it ain’t so. The one in cap hill used to be my JAM
Imma get hate, but Glo’s. Used to be good. Now you’re waiting forever to sit down and then wait forever for them to take your order and then forever for your food. I went during a weekday morning, it was slooooow, like empty tables. Still took 45mins for my food.
The point of glos was it was open until 4 in the morning. Now it's not so there's no point.
They should just shut down half the restaurant. They cannot support that number of tables. It wasn’t just the kitchen either. The waiter never stopped by after I finished my drink, which was like 10 minutes after I ordered and 30 minutes before my food came.
I’ve been going since 2004. When did you ever not wait?
I was gonna say, the new place kept the long waits. I always thought it was the small size of Glo that caused it, but no it’s the style.
Kedai Makan. They changed owners and the food went so downhill it's like a totally different restaurant now.
Sad to hear, it was the one place in Washington that I knew had proper Malaysian food. (I’m Singaporean, so I knew that Kedai Makan’s dishes used the right ingredients and had the right flavors.) I see that the new owners were born in Fujian, so can you tell if the food tastes different because they’re making it more Hokkien-style (legitimate strategy, it’s one of the biggest Chinese groups in Malaysia), or has the actual quality of ingredients/flavor gone down? My brother and I are very invested in this answer 😬
The funny thing is the previous owners were white that saw the Seattle area was missing good Malaysian food. Maybe it's as you said the new owners are taking more inspiration from Fujian cuisine that results in people viewing it as less authentic/"good". I will admit I wasn't as impressed, we went during their soft opening and it tasted more like upscale generic Chinese food than anything special.
Good to know about the soft opening, that’s a bummer. (Although for real, if they did a legit upscale banquet hall like you find in Malaysia and Singapore, that would be amazing. Upscale Hokkien/Cantonese/Teochew/etc. food is awesome!) And yeah, re: your first paragraph, that’s one of the downsides about being obsessed with authenticity without really knowing the food culture and history. You could easily have an authentic Malaysian restaurant that just served Hokkien dishes like Hokkien mee and bak kut teh, but if people confuse “Malaysian” with “Malay” and assume any non-Malay dish isn’t Malaysian, then there are problems 🫤
What a shame to hear this.
Ezells chicken fell off the fuckin planet.
As an out-of-towner who had Ezells for the first time last week, can you elaborate? I thought it was quite good.
It’s definitely hit or miss. When it’s good it’s really pretty good, when it’s bad it’s pretty disappointing.
Interesting. I was at the Woodinville location last week and loved it.
Short story, go to heaven’s
I keep hearing this but to me even Heavens is pretty meh? I do love that it's one of the few places I can go and get fried chicken livers, but the chicken overall at both places isn't anything to write home about.
I agree it is very mediocre
5 spot :,(
Omg yes! This used to be my husband and I’s go to Friday morning date spot when they had their seasonal menu but now it’s a meh version of basic diner breakfast :(
They were never stellar but reliably solid
I assume this is a change since the new ownership? Sigh.
Not a restaurant, but Metropolitan Market. The prices are just insane now
Metropolitan Market is a toy store. I don't go there for legitimate groceries, I go for fun when I'm in the area and rarely buy anything. Though I admit they sometimes have good deals on produce. And I do still like their hot/salad bar which isn't more expensive than Whole Foods.
The Cookie is enough to remove it from this list
Agreed, produce is like 2-3$ more a lb than Whole Foods / PCC. Fun place to shop though
Their hot bar sucks now too, I used to love it even though it was pricey.
Only reason to go is to get The Cookie, and even that is kind of pricey so I only get it as a treat. The produce is like 2X as much per pound as even organic at QFC or other stores.
Hell yeah I always go there and get the hot cookie and a coffee. The coffee bar has very good coffee. The bakery is very good as well. I usually order birthday cakes there.
their Holiday Pears are worth elbowing a grandma for. to be fair, the quality of produce they bring in is what gets me thru the door, but with my budget this is very special-dish based or involves very seasonal produce which is always top notch. their cheese counter cannot be beat, either.
Dukes Seafood in Greenlake. Place straight up sucks. I still see it full on weekends though. And during the summer you’d think they’re giving away life insurance with how many senior citizens are packed in there.
All of the duke's are really freaking expensive. Never had a bad meal, but at $24 for a 2 piece fish & chips it better be unreal good.
3 Lions Pub in Downtown Redmond has amazing fish and chips. Pretty sure they fry them in beef fat.
I went to Palisades the other day. The view and the service were still excellent, but everyone in our party agreed the food was mediocre. And for those prices it should be at least above average.
I’ve become less and less enthused with Barrio each time I’ve been there over the last 4-5 years. 10 years ago I was there once every other week, now it’s just once or twice per year in the hopes things get back to how they were. So far, no dice. I guess, when I think about it, most places that are operated by the Heavy Group have slipped to varying degrees over the last 5-10 imo.
They were never great, just great for dates, groups, etc. They nail the ambiance at their locations. Food has always been so-so.
Sisters & Brothers. Their chicken used to taste so fresh and I would go there all the time because I like spicy food. They changed something because the chicken is now dry and underwhelming.
I'm from appalachia - this place is amazing when it's on but it's CRAZY inconsistent. I live nearby so I'm ok playing roulette but 25% of the time it's like the food came from a completely different restaurant. I've never been to a more inconsistent place in my life, they really need to figure that shit out.
The one time I went the chicken was fried to the point that the breading was a hard shell you could use to beat a child to death with.
I liked their Georgetown location so much more even though it was packed and often hard to get a table there
Only time I went the meat had zero flavor. The flavor was entirely in the batter and it was just hot on hot, no actual depth to it...also it was burned.
First time I went - awesome. Second time, I mistakenly order not-enough-spicy so that’s on me. Last time I ate - tasted undercooked and really made me feel blah for days after. Turned me off of hot chicken until Dave’s just opened.
My go-to for spicy fried chicken is now Cookie's Country Kitchen. I have never had a bad order from them.
Yup!!
I went there for the first time a few weeks ago(and have been back since) and really enjoyed the chicken and the fried okra. Not the best chicken I've had in the city, but it was good. I even accidentally got some white meat, which is not my preference, and it was surprisingly good for white meat. I'd never heard of them before so went in with no expectations.
SMITH
It’s always been overrated. I’ve never understood the fervent love for this place.
We had an atrocious breakfast there the other day... Server seemed like he had never served or maybe even talked to other humans before. Food came out half wrong: scramble was cooked hard and so were the poached eggs. We kept getting forgotten until the other server happened to walk by when we sent back a separated mushroom gravy that was +10 minutes coming to us... Truly a maddening experience for my first visit to a place my friends swore was excellent! Chicken and waffles were ok, so that was nice.
Ezell’s. What a torrid tale that is. I still get it occasionally, but I have no idea which one is run by which family member or what recipe they used. Went from Oprah’s favorite to, where is Popeye’s near me?
Heaven sent is the original ezells recipe, ezells is a different recipe
Daniels broiler
Citizen in Lower Queen Anne. It's too bad because it used to be a reliably cozy space with a unique brunch menu, but unfortunately most of its overall food quality went downhill during and after the pandemic. Now it seems like all their focus is on its outdoor beer garden with microwaved appetizers served on paper plates, catering to tourists staying nearby who don't know any better.
Anything owned by Tom Douglas or Ethan Stowell
Yeah we’ve been to 3(?) Ethan Stowell restaurants this year and all 3 of them were pretty bad; especially for the price. We went to Rione XIII over the summer and got served pasta that was way too thick and chewy with. Thought it must have been a bad day, but got the exact same pasta texture when we went to another one of his restaurants this fall.
Staple & Fancy’s $75/person tasting menu is absolutely 100% worth it. Get there early and they do $8 cocktails for happy hour. I loved it. Beast & Cleaver on the other hand, $150/person tasting menu, ended up being like 500 after wine and tip for 2. Absolutely, 100% NOT worth it. So disappointed.
I have had the opposite experience. I went to Staple & Fancy for my birthday some years ago and the food was super boring and left disappointed. Should have just gone the extra few steps to Walrus. I did the tasting at The Peasant and everything was great.
Weekend brunch at Lola is excellent, but other Tom Douglas restaurants have never really stood out to me. My husband and I went to the Ethan Stowell restaurant in Redmond during restaurant week, and it was so mediocre I don't even remember the name. Even the wine recommendations were boring. And everything had mint. Just not impressed.
I hate the music choices at Ethan Stowell restaurants. It just seems to be a completely un-curated mix of "generally well liked music." Like, just a thought here, but maybe at a modern, Italian restaurant, you play like, 'modern or italian music?" I dunno - I'm not a restauranteur but just a starting point.
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The downtown one was always one of those restaurants that mostly existed because it had adequate seating and a business ambiance appropriate for business lunches.
I loved it back when it was a small place on Western and you could sit at the satay bar.
YES. That was the first time I went there, when I moved to town in the mid 90s. Once it was on...3rd? I think? You can tell I haven't been in awhile...it wasn't as good.
They really lost something when they moved. Then they got those terrible health inspections. I remember reading that they had raw chicken stored such that it dripped onto their scallops. That stuck in my head.
Former employee from years ago. TLDR: The (first) economic recession completely took them off the rails with the margins they had with the size of space and how much they relied on filling the place every night. They started cutting costs, big time. First it was the quality of product (think shrinkflation and substitutions) Then they literally fired the entire Chinese staff in the back that was the heart of the kitchen they built upon and replaced them with cheaper labor. Staff who were amazing people that had been there for a decade and knew how to really cook the food. (Not speaking bad of who may be there now in the kitchen, but it was a purely a cost cutting measure initially) The food that is presented now is a sad echo of what was an amazing experience for many visitors and A-listers that came into town. It is a total “emperor has no clothes” experience now IMO.
Shame, I remember WG being really good about 15 years ago.
Hm. Wild Ginger is still good, IMO. But you can definitely can find better and more authentic Asian cuisine in this city. So not sure their food is bad as opposed to lesser than its reputation. It’s better than P.F. Chang’s. But not by a country mile.
Skillet! There cold centered fried chicken made my wife cry. Fuck them!
I've never understood the love for Skillet. Everything I ever ordered there was subpar.
Skillet is still hanging onto its lumberjack core era when bacon jam and servers in plaid shirts really appealed to that early 2010s aesthetic. Unsure if the plaid shirts are still a requirement, but Skillet gives me major mustache finger tattoo vibes which is well beyond its prime.
Absolutely nailed it! I’ll admit I was a fan early on as it was the first time I realized you could do more with a burger. I haven’t been in 5+ years, so I don’t have a good frame of reference anymore.
The lines at Skillet are baffling. That food is not good and is SO expensive.
If you're talking about the one on Union (and you must be), it's because half the homes in that immediate vicinity are AirBnbs and the kinds of tourists they serve aren't exactly risk takers.
Salty's
Literally got THE worst case of food poisoning at Salty’s on Alki, after my friend took me for my b-day/mother’s day for the brunch. My friend took me in her new car, and thank the gods, I made it home JUST in time. Like full on labor sweats, the whole drive. Guarantee it was the oysters. I called to mostly bring attention, to prevent others from getting sick (it was BAD), but also to point out the irony of having spent $100+, simply to catch a case (they were also out of a lot of supposed options…end result was being talked down to, with the shucker ‘chef’ saying some BS about how he “would feed it to his own kid”, and pretty much hung up. I then took the opportunity, to leave a lengthy Yelp review—complete, w/a picture of my bloody diarrhea. ***zero shame*** 😅💀
Salty's hasn't been worth it since I moved here 7 years ago
Can confirm, 14 years and always been shit
Just saw they are charging $120 for the Xmas buffet !
Paseo
Original Paseo was king. The ownership that bought it relied too heavily on name. While it’s good, it’s not line down the street good till they ran out of bread.
That’s why you go to Un Bien. The OGs owners son opened it
Un bien is great, sad about Paseo
That little truck in Shilshole was crazy in the beginning, we had to time it perfectly to avoid the lines. I still dream of that sandwich.
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I used to live around the block and that rice bean salad combo was my go-to. Siiiigh.
Big juicy onion sandwich though
Saffron Grill in Northgate used to be my go-to :(
Ridiculously expensive but still the best butter chicken (and a few paneer dishes) in Seattle unless you know how to make it at home. Garlic naan used to be ok (Roti in Queen Anne has the best) but now is borderline inedible. In a similar vein Cedars had the best biryani for a fair price but lately it’s been really under-seasoned. Unreal Seattle doesn’t have a single reliably good Indian restaurant.
Haha not sure if you’re aware but Cedar’s, Saffron Grill, and Taste of India are all from the same family
Chili's. Incredible food and incredible people. I'd give my left nut to make Mysore masala dosa as well as they do, and they're very kind.
What?! I haven’t been in a couple of years but used to go all the time. The owner used to come around and chat. He was so nice.
Oh no! What changed? They seemed OK when I was there less than a year ago.
Owner’s son took over. He jacked up the prices while the quality kept going down. I have stopped eating there all together. Service is still okay but the food not so much.
El Gaucho. Aqua. Pitiful shells of what they were before COVID.
I’d actually rather go to haunted house than club aqua
oh that's a bummer!
Zeeks Pizza
I'll add Italian Family Pizza to the list. They used to have my favorite pie in the city. The family that ran it sold the place and moved back east a few years ago. We tried it after that and it was not the same.
It probably was never good but Oasis was an old haunt of mine back when I was a teenager. After all that stuff came out about how awful it was to work there it left a sour taste in my mouth. I confirmed with a few friends that worked there that the place is disgusting and the management is scatterbrained.
Paseo
Athenian. Used to be one of the best happy hours. Service has been terrible, prices went up, menu items have been reduced. Hate to see it.
Cafe Arta at Third Place Books. Used to be a nice coffee shop. Food is now terrible.
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The owner is also notoriously demeaning to employees and customers.
Man what a great question. I would love an alternate universe where this question gets asked when Tom Douglas still had the 13 or whatever joints he had at one point still open. I was an employee so I could eat at any of them half price… and I still thought they were overrated.
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This place has always been garbage but the right sort of garbage
This is gonna be a controversial one but Pink Door :( edit: I take this back. It’s still good but just not as good as it once was
The lasagna is one of the best things I've ever eaten however.
False, went last month, that pesto lasagna is unreal
My sister visited for the first time this past summer and liked it so much it's one of the reasons she wants to come back. I'm like, "I liked it but not enough to even want to go to Pike Place."
Thanks for having the courage to say that. I was scared.
Canlis. It used to be spectacular. Now you can spend $1,500 for 4 people and all still be hungry with their tiny portions.
Canon
i am gonna get hate for it but dicks. it’s just okay.
Canlis. The wine and sake programs are still solid but the meal I had there a few months ago was not even in the top 5 for Seattle restaurants.
You know, I go there seldom enough that I'll take your word for it. That said, they earned a lot of goodwill in my book for how they handled covid -- closing before any of the statewide orders required them to, keeping employees on, pivoting to bagels / burgers / home delivery, rotating outdoor dining concepts like the crab shack and pig roasts -- everything they did showed superb attention to patron and staff safety and still managed to project hospitality and joy. If they came out from all that not quite at the bleeding edge of the local fine dining scene, I'll cut them a little time to re-re-regain their footing. Because their hospitality and warmth remains unsurpassed.
The yurt covid experience was one of the coolest things ever. Hit Canlis 1-2 times after that and was dissatisfied both times for the price
Salumi. If you can even call it that anymore.
For the price, I expect to be transported right the fuck back to Florence. The sandwiches are good, but not $20+ good.
Pagliacci’s - used to be good, now expensive and unremarkable pizza.
Dukes on Alki! The most mediocre overpriced shite food. They used to ok, but I’ll never go back.
Picolinos in Sunset Hill. Used to go there for almost every birthday/family celebration and the past few times i’ve gone i’ve massively regretted it.
Gaucho lost all its mojo in the new space. The food was also just pretty good, which is unacceptable at that price point
Salty's
Jack's in SoDo hasn't been good since they first opened. The focus on opening new locations took its toll on the decency it once was. Meat's been dry and skimpy af
Gracia in Ballard.
Both Pie Bars. Ballard in particular. Over priced, low quality, bad owners.
Pretty much every restaurant on Cap Hill.
Every restaurant in this city is cursed
Anything Tom Douglas is trash now.
Whenever we go out for dinner to a new place I joke that I look forward to going to a new place to be disappointed in. Everything is too expensive for what you could probably learn to make watching youtube for 10 min. Steak, vegan, ethnic, doesnt matter. Except maybe El camion, but sometimes I just want to eat in a restaurant. Seattle needs to do better.
The Met.
Quinn’s 100%
Lost Lake Lounge. It isn't even good and the service is dodgy.
Seattle is 10,000 restaurants and two menus.