Seattle Steakhouses
 

I have friends who are going to be in the Seattle area next month and are looking to do a steakhouse for one of their dinner nights.

Any thoughts on the Union Square Grill? All I know about it is that it's owned by the same people who own the Met Grill and they have a nice expensive New York Strip Steak (from the price on their website.)

They're considering the Met grill but I told them I've heard from some it's overrated.

Thanks for your help!

Two words.... EL GAUCHO!!! Amazing place One of my favorites

:td: Ah, El Gaucho...what a pompus, arrogant place. The only reason they could ("re-")open their business and expand to Tacoma and Portland was the dot-com boom since they attracted the flaunting-look-at-how-much-I-can-spend-on-a-cigar-types which the boom created. Hope you don't mind the cigar smoke, and please do self-park your car if you want it back in one piece. Oh and just ignore the day laborers who hang out at all hours on that stretch of First Ave., the Seattle PD and the INS apparently don't care about what they do to passing women. :td:

The Met, the Union Square and Daniel's Broiler.

Hell, Ruth's Chris is far more enjoyable than El Gouge-o in my experience.

Union Square will often have Buffalo or Venison. The Martinis are great as is the table-mixed Ceaser Salad.

Sadly, Fleming's near 3rd and Lenora is closed. I thought that (even though a chain) was the best meat in SEA for the money. I mourn its passing.

The Brooklyn and the Met are both good, old-money style places with nice cuts and good service with a traditional ambience.

I agree with the other comment about El Gaucho. OK meat, way too pretentious.

I don't know if you would really call it a steakhouse but let's not forget FT favorite Buenos Aires Grill, where the meat is fantastic and the ambience is festive.

My last two experiences at Daniel's (one at Lake Union, the other in Blahvue) were not that great either.

if in Seattle I would think the Two Words should be SEA FOOD! ;)

but if they really wish for meat, the Seattle Flyertalkers have had a couple Do's at the Buenos Aires Grill as alanw mentions above.

If you don't mind driving across the bridge I like 21 Central in Kirkland.

[QUOTE=Sweet Willie]if in Seattle I would think the Two Words should be SEA FOOD! ;)

I agree. You can get good (arguably better, say in Chicago or New York) steak in other parts of the country, but sea food in Seattle is probably some of the best you can get in the U.S.

mmmmmmm BA Grill mmmmmmmmm.

Great Food, great staff. They do a FAB NY Steak, and the Filet is to die for.

El Gaucho ticks me off because of that faux "restaurant review" they run as an ad in some airline magazines -- three columns of small text where an alleged "demanding food critic" burbles on and on about how El Gaucho gets every detail right, and ends of christening it "the best steakhouse in the country." Which is total nonsense, although it is the most pretentious one in Seattle... sort of a provincial-Northwest idea of what New York must be like. And the ad's format is sort of fraudulent.

If you insist on steak I would vote for the Met but if you want a real Seattle experience I would steer you to Ray's Boathouse in Ballard or Palisade out in Magnolia.

Good steak in Seattle
 

I was shocked how good my steak at Palisade was. Best steak in town. The Met is overpriced, but you are paying for the atmosphere. Not a Ruth Chris fan. Oceanaire is great seafood if you can convince them to go!

My friends are in Seattle three nights. They are doing sea food two of the three nights but wanted steak so they don't get totally "fished out."

I may steer them towards Union Square. I like their wine list and the desert list. It does not seem as pretenious as Met Grill. (although I should try them at least once.)

Buenos Aires is classifed as a steakhouse in City Search and other places. Some reviews I left said the place is noisy and the staff sometimes rushes people to get out. I can't say... have not been to Buenos Aires yet. But I sent the links of the Buenos Aires dos to my friends.

There's a fun place called Sam's Steakhouse at 2947 Eastlake Ave. in Seattle. I was up there last January, right around the time of the mad cow disease scare, and a buddy of mine and I went there. On the sign out front, they had fun with it: "Customers go mad for our steaks." The owner, Sam (duh), comes around to tables regularly. It's a more laid back scene. The quality isn't like at my favorite Chicago steakhouses, but I was very pleased with their New York strip. It was also really fun, as well as more inexpensive than the general chains. And the atmosphere made it a great choice -- it's right on the lake. I don't think you'd expect to find earth-shattering steak in Seattle, what with its seafood resources (as others have pointed out), so I think Sam's is a good choice because it's high-quality, competitively priced, and a little off-beat. Definitely my first choice in Seattle. It's not far from downtown, either.

For some more info, here's a review from the Seattle Times:

http://www.nwsource.com/ae/scr/nws_r...id=390&rtype=v

OH YEA!!!! Listen to missy. The Platter of Doom, as we tend to call it, is a great endless meat platter offering several cuts of meat from Skirt Steak to Blood Sausage and much in between. I love the skirt steak but can pass on the Blood Sausage.


By the way, I think that I shall do BA Grill, with my buddies, in the next week or 2. Keep the calender clear, gang. I just don't know the exact evening. maybe next Monday or Tuesday.