My wife and I recently dined at Cafe Juanita for our anniversary. As always, the food was innovative and expertly prepared, and the service was friendly and efficient. In my 12 years of living in Seattle, I haven't eaten at a better local restaurant. The food comes first here. The atmosphere is elegant, but understated, relaxed, and unpretentious. It is like having an intimate dinner at a good friend's home (who happens to be an award winning chef). The entrees are all bold and innovative, but they also do the little things well, like the homemade flatbreads, the salads (the baby beet and almond butter salad is amazing), even the house aperitif list is fun - each coming with a bite-sized appetizer. It is a spendy restaurant. With drinks, wine, desert, and coffee, our bill topped $200, but nothing here is ordinary. If you love food, you will not regret the splurge. \r
\r
If trendy presentation is more important to you than flavor, and you prefer a room full of poseurs, wait staff who try to upsell you on everything, and a feeling you are being processed like a credit card number, there are plenty of places in Belltown or Bellevue that will suit you better. I find that Seattle has many good restaurants, but very few great ones. I am disappointed in my local fine dining experiences far more often than I am impressed. This place is great. The only downside is the 40 min drive to Kirkland from my house. Otherwise I'd eat here far more often.
Pros: Great, innovative food, especially game and other meats.
Cons: Bit far from Seattle.
more