While visiting Seattle on business, I tried Black Bottle with a friend (a new transplant to Seattle who had it recommended to her) and one of her colleagues.
We arrived early on a Monday (MLK Day) evening so the place wasn't too busy. It's dim, but warm and inviting. I hadn't known until we arrived that it was a small plate type of joint. At first, the disappointed me a bit since I was really quite hungry, but my initial impression quickly changed.
They have a nice selection of wines by the glass with some very reasonably priced. And there are a number of choices from Washington and other west coast wineries. Complimentary (and quite tasty) flat bread came out with the wine.
Someone below commented negatively about the price/portion size ratio (and I think mentioned that an item for $14 didn't even fit two for sharing; I have no clue where that came from as I didn't see any items that high and everything we got was easily shared, in combination with other plates). Of the items we ordered (and I am sure I am forgetting some):
- crispy fried chicken and collard greens - Juicy, well-cooked chicken and very solid collards
- house smoked wild boar ribs - This was perhaps my favorite, with the meat just falling off the bone.
- ceviche and scratch tortillas - It's a good and solid (if not the most remarkable) ceviche. However, it was very fresh and light.
- grilled octopus fava and pesto greens - This was my least favorite. There was not much octopus and it wasn't that flavorful.
- broccoli blasted - Hands down, amazing and the best broccoli I think I've ever had. And the portion is HUGE.
- Sicilian eggplant and fresh mozzarella flatbread - Gooey and yummy with great balance of flavors
- prosciutto and potato wheels - This was a favorite of one of my friends. They were indeed tasty, if a bit starchy for my taste (or perhaps I'd just eaten too much of everything else).
I may have missed one item in my recollection, but it was definitely yummy. I didn't even notice until now that there are dessert options. I'm a bit sad about that since considering how much I loved some of the other items, dessert could have been mighty tasty too (but there was no way I had room). And if I looked back at the menu, I know that there are other things that I wish I could have tried.
Service was lovely. It was prompt and efficient, but not overly intrusive. And I was surprised at how quickly some of those items came out. And or server was honest and accurate in letting us know about the correctness of the amount of food we ordered when we asked her.
After two glasses of wine each and all of that shared food, we were quite full (I think my friend even took some of the remaining broccoli home). Perhaps it is my New Yorker sense of inflated pricing. But our total bill came to $113.30 (inclusive of tax). That's six glasses of wine and seven plates. And we were, as I mentioned, FULL. Per person, my total was $37.76 (before tip). I find that quite reasonable for the quality and amount we were given (and with the wine). No, it's not an every day thing. But that's very reasonable and the bill will definitely not kill you.
Like I said, there are other things on the menu that I'd like to try as I recall. I will definitely be back...as soon as I get back to Seattle. In the meantime, I will simply lament the lack of comparably priced small plate places of such quality in NYC (though, I'm sure one might be around here somewhere. Perhaps Black Bottle will spark a search until I can return). read more