Union Square Grill - Downtown Seattle
Written: Jan 20 '01 (Updated Jan 20 '01)
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Pros: Great menu variety, food fabulously prepared
Cons: Somewhat cramped, smell of cigarette smoke
The Bottom Line: A very fine restaurant, especially if you are looking for a superbly prepared fine cut of beef. Expensive but worth it for a special occasion.
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| hikini's Full Review: Union Square Grill |
What better way to celebrate a special occasion than to have a fine meal with good friends? We did just that the other night at the Union Square Grill in downtown Seattle.
The USG (as I will refer to it from now on) is located in the hub-bub of Seattle, right across from the Washington State Convention Center. It is very accessible from the freeway and for a nominal amount of $5.00 you can have valet parking right at the door.
The first thing I noticed as we walked into the restaurant was the smell of cigarette smoke. I can't tell you how disappointed I was to be confronted with that. There is nothing that will ruin a meal quicker for me than to have someone at a nearby table smoking. But I noticed to the right of the entrance that there was a long bar area where the smoking seemed to be coming from. As I peered into the diningroom, I didn't see anyone smoking, and our entire time in the diningroom was smoke free. So I can assume that they allow smoking only in the bar.
We had reservations at 8:00 p.m. and precisely at 8:00 we were led to our table for 8. I appreciate attention to details when you are in a restaurant. Timeliness goes a long way in my mental notebook.
The restaurant itself is dark, but lit in all of the appropriate places. There are small lamps on each table lending to the somewhat romantic atmosphere. I can't rave about the decor, but it was nice. Just not my choice of nice!
The tables are spaced appropriately apart from one another, however, there seemed to be carts here and there which gave the restaurant a somewhat cramped look. The carts are for the serving staff to use for making The USG famous table side Caesar salad. For putting the finishing touches on the baked Alaska and for cutting your meat before they place it in front of you. (If you ordered a cut such as the Chateaubriand.)
The menu is quite impressive. The majority of the items were beef, but there was also a large variety of seafood and a few poultry items as well. The prices ranged from about $22 to $40 per entree. Many of the entrees came with a vegetable or two, such as garlic mashed potatoes or baked potatoes and green beans. Some of the items had both. It was quite a daunting task to choose what to order from this menu that made my mouth water at every line!
We began with the Caesar Salad. This is $7.95 per person with a minimum order of 2. They bring the preparations to your table side, with one of those carts that I complained to you about. They toss the greens, put in the anchovies, worcestershire, parmesan and croutons and then serve individual plates to each person who ordered it. These were very large salads, and very tasty as well. (I despise anchovies, but they were chopped so small that I never tasted any - thankfully!)
I ordered Prime Rib, blackened style. It was $30.45. I had never ordered the blackened style before and decided that this was as good of time as any to try. I am so glad I did because the rub of spices they use on it in the blackening processes added a terrific taste to this already delicious piece of meat. I was so surprised when my Prime Rib arrived, it was a very large piece and it was done to my idea of perfection. Many chefs are offended when you order a steak well done, but I prefer not to see much, if any pink in my meat. This was perfect. Prime rib can be a fatty piece, but I had to trim only one small piece of fat from this cut.
Two of the people at our table ordered the Chateaubriand, which is made for two. It is $79.95. I had a bite of that and I can honestly tell you that I have never had a more tender, succulent bite of meat than that bite right there. I can't really describe it to you other than to say it was nearly melt-in-your-mouth tender.
We were dining with people who don't mind sharing bites, which I was glad for. I sampled the scallops with lobster cream sauce and it was terrific. I sampled the tenderloin medallions with wild mushroom sauce and that was oh, so tasty! I sampled the sea bass and it was so tender, flaky and flavorful as well.
The portions were very generous on every serving. I have often been disappointed in some of the high-brow restaurants that charge so much for their food but give tiny little portions in exchange. This was not the case at The USG. Generous portions, no one should go away hungry!
And speaking of going away, that's what I should have done after the meal. But no, we insisted on having dessert too!
There were about 8 different items on the dessert menu, of which I don't remember many. We ordered 4 different things and sampled them among us. Creme Brulee, Bittersweet Chocolate Cake, Baked Alaska and Madagascar ice cream. They were all delicious, but I was so stuffed afterward I could hardly waddle out!
We did not order an alcoholic beverages with this meal but there was a very nice detailed wine list as well as cognac with the dessert menu. The Remy Martin cognac was a mere $125.00!
The service here was great. While the wait staff was very professional, they were also friendly and smiling. Not stuffy. We even had several laughs with two of them.
Because of my disappointment in the smoke smell and minor disappointment in the somewhat cramped dining area I would give this restaurant 4 stars. However, the food was way over the top and deserves more than 5 stars. So my overall rating for The Union Square Grill will have to be 5 stars.
Recommended:
Yes
Kid Friendliness: No
Vegetarian Friendly: No
Notes, Tips or Menu Recommendations Reservations are best
Best Suited For: Romantic Evening
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Epinions.com ID:
hikini
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Location: Seattle, WA
Reviews written: 218
Trusted by: 207 members
About Me:
Taking a long sabbatical.
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