The Harvest Vine

...was a while ago on my 33rd birthday when A treated me to this wonderful restaurant. Few times in my life have I had such a joyous experience savoring food.

What I most remember is their red peppers stuffed with bacalao. The flavor, the texture, and the consistency just melted in my mouth. Truly succulent food and a wonderful dining experience.

This is one of my favorite restaurants in Seattle —when there’s a little extra money, but it’s very worth it!

Last night we celebrated our anniversary at the Harvest Vine. I had heard that it was delicious but expensive and can vouch that both are true, though it is worth every dime.

Like other commenter’s our service was a bit slow but all in all good. We too had to wait a little from time to time for water or bread, but the amuse bouche and on the house after dinner cordials can really help a girl forget that she needed to remind the waiter about the sparkling water.

We started with a cheese plate of 3 cheeses. They were all presented with lovely touches like a chopped pumpkin and candied walnut garnish or pine nuts with a ground chili. The portions of cheese were also a bit above expectations.

We then shared a cold tapas of dry cured tuna with a row served on crispy toasts. It was a bit fishy for me, but very good. G polished it off with no problem.

After that we split two hot tapas: steamed cod over 3 fingerling potato halves with a delicious sauce and roasted quail on top of beluga lentils and chanterelles. The cod was cook to absolute perfection and was fabulous. The quail was the show stopper for me with the flavors balanced perfectly. G felt that the lentils could have been a little more cooked but I thought they were just right.

The wine list was reasonable, with a good selection and also some good prices.

After our meal we shared a pine tart and profiteroles with honey ice cream. Both were delicious. The profiteroles would have been better with cream but the ice cream indicated to me that the pastry chef was in need of dessert she can prepare and leave in the cooler. The dishes were small but I found very filling. Fortunately G had no problem finishing off both desserts.

To top off this great experience we had the best decaf Americanos that I have had in Seattle and were given a lovely cordial that tasted of raisins and spices.

The Harvest Vine was one of the all time best meals I have had in Seattle. Go when you have a little extra money to burn, but definitely go.

I love this place, affordable wine list and wonderful menu that seems to change all the time.

This was certainly the most delicious and memorable dinner I have had in Seattle. I immediately fell in love with the downstairs room, which must be one of the best spaces to eat in in town. The waitress rescued me from the long list of alien Spanish wines and recommended a superb bottle. I’m not even going to bother piling up superlatives about the food, only relay that my food-loving companion later said “I’m going to be fantasizing about that dinner for a long time.” And there was a dessert with figs and things that sounded good but was really too much to face, even after what was probably a three-hour dinner at least. If you’ve tried it, please tell the rest of us about it. Otherwise I guess I’ll just have to go back…

The best restaurant in Seattle. (that I’ve been to…so far)

this is the place

my favorite dish is the golden beets. who would have known beets could be so damn tasty?

Scratch my original “not worth it” reveiw from 14 weeks ago—it must have been an off night. The Harvest Vine rocks pretty hard. Hard enough that I’ll happily go back many times.

My original review:My friends rave about this joint, so take that into consideration as you read further. I had such a bad customer service experience my first and only time at The Harvest Vine that I haven’t mustered the energy to go back. Rude service and totally ignored for 20 minutes while sitting at the bar—not even a glass of water. I felt like our party of 3 had broken some unspoken rule of the Vine. Admitedly there were big expectations going in as some of my favorite food lovers had recommended THV.

It must have been an off night. I’m easy going, but we actually got up and left. Let’s chalk it up to a bad employee.

Okay, please post some positive reviews of this place so I have a reason to give it another shot. I want to forgive :-)

I have to say the food here is great, but it will definitely make the wallet lighter. I was there for a special occasion, though, so the prices were not my primary consideration.

The menu supposedly changes frequently. When I was there it seem pretty heavy on the red meat type of things, but there were a few vegetarian options and a few seafood things. For you veggie-types, the co-owner said that if there is meat in a dish she would note that in the description, so one does not have to wonder about hidden fish sauces or meat stocks. Even so, things seemed pretty meaty here.

I would advise sitting at one of two outside tables (as I did) if the weather is nice or get a seat at the bar and interact with the chef(s).

They do not take reservations, and the place is not that big, so you may/probably will have to wait. I went early on a Sunday, so it was not a problem.

So, yes, the food was great, the desserts were great, the weather was great, and I had an enjoyable time. These aren’t cheap tapas, so it is probably not a good place to go if you are a big eater. Although maybe the meat dishes are more substantial. Their cheeses are a bit outrageously priced… like $3.50 an ounce (or less) or something crazy like that… I will be charitable and assume they don’t want you filling up on cheese so that is why they are freakishly expensive. On the other hand, that price seems common in Seattle.