I'm not going to be like the other cool people who have reviewed the restaurant and crapped on it. There's quite a few "hip" Seattle places that serve crappy food and crappy atmosphere that the cool people just love.
Every time I've been to the Needle restaurant (about 5 times), I've had great food, better than some other well-known Seattle restaurants. I'm not going to join the Needle bashing, because they've greatly improved their menus and the quality of the food. It's hard to cook at a higher altitude than the rest of Seattle, and they do a good job of it.
The viewing experience is outstanding, almost as good as the view from the Columbia Tower Club. Maybe their tummies were upset by the Needle taking a full rotation around Seattle every hour? Or perhaps they don't like the well-deserved notoreity and how the Space Needle has become the symbol of Seattle. Sometimes, I'm tired of the smugness of transplanted or woe-is-me Seattleites.
I'm a native Seattleite, and for what it's worth, I'd go to this place for a special occasion meal faster than I'd go to the traditional places like Ray's (even though that's awesome, it's definitely overpriced and hard to get to). The best restaurant in Seattle for food and experience is Canlis, and I doubt the "cool" people will trash their overpriced food or views.
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