This place falls somewhere between being just right if you happen to be in the mood for a place like this, and just right for damn near any mood you happen to be in. Having only been here once, it's hard to say which one it's closer to.
What you get is a quiet little house in a somewhat-quiet intersection in Madrona. There are a lot of little breakfast places and now a couple places for later in the day through here. It used to be all about breakfast at the junction of 34th and Union, but now there are a couple other bars beside this one. And is this one really more of a restaurant? More on that in a second. But even with the new spots on the block, it's still awfully quiet after sunset through here. There was merry laughter coming through the windows of the place across the street, just one table of folks enjoying themselves, and even that amount of volume stood out. People in this neighborhood are nice--nice enough to roll up the sidewalks after dark, it seems.
There's a winery in what used to be the garage of this house. No idea what that's like. You walk up the stairs and across the porch of a former craftsman bungalow, and into the odd little foyer that you get when you turn an old bungalow into a thriving wine bar. You zigzag through what used to be domestic rooms and are now miniature dining rooms. A few tables here, a bar there, then out the door and down the stairs to the expansive deck and all the picnic tables out there.
Inside you get a little bit of white tablecloth, a little bit of candle, some pleasant oil paintings, and...not a heck of a lot of overhead lighting. They even turned the lights DOWN at some point, or my brain tumor got worse halfway through our visit, or something. Keep that candle trimmed and burning, though. If you come in after dark, you might need it to read the menu.
The menu is one piece of heavy construction paper, printed on both sides. Clearly it changes often. One side lists a dozen reds, a dozen whites, a few pinks and bubblies. There are a few beers in bottles and on tap--mostly well chosen, but all very safe picks. Unfortunately, instead of a real beer glass, they bring out a shaker pint glass that's been in the freezer. Feels like a Red Robin. I didn't recognize many wine names, so I can't comment too much, but the wine glasses were nice. I ended up using an empty one for my saison, since that's closer to a beer snifter than the glass provided. I hope they end up adding some real beer glasses to their bar back.
Both of the red wines we ordered started off smelling boozy and overly sweet, but settled down and became very drinkable, especially with the food.
The food is pretty damn exceptional. We had some seasonal toast, which was chevre, chanterelles, and sprouts on...toasted bread. We had a great meat and cheese board as well, which came with a baguette, some small pickled vegetables, nuts, and olives. The cheesemonger knew his stuff cold, but you could tell three cheeses was a lot of information to plow through. He soldiered on bravely. Since we were feeling gluttonous, we also ordered the rillette, which everyone needs to eat at some point in their lives. It was fantastic, and when we couldn't finish it, it made me ask for the first doggy bag I've requested in I don't know how many years.
Prices are high here, but not exorbitant, and not out of line with the quality of the food and drink. We were stuffed and had 5 drinks and it was under $100. The setting is welcoming and casual but quite nice, and you could fairly describe the staff the same way. You feel like you're at a great dinner party the whole time you're there...except you didn't have to bring anything. I'd heartily recommend this place. read more