I hosted a birthday dinner for 12 friends on a Saturday night. I made the reservation a month in advance and reconfirmed that afternoon. Yet, somehow, when we arrive at the restaurant the table is... More

I hosted a birthday dinner for 12 friends on a Saturday night. I made the reservation a month in advance and reconfirmed that afternoon. Yet, somehow, when we arrive at the restaurant the table is set for 10. Strike 1. 25 minutes after finally getting seated, we were left with empty water glasses and still no wine. I got up to track down our waiter, who was very apologetic. I selected a red and white and told him to keep 'em coming. Back he came 10 minutes later... to tell me they were out of the white. Now we had been in the restaurant for 45 minutes and hat yet to have a glass a wine. Strike 2. With a group of 12, our waiter recommended that we pick 3 veggie dishes, 3 fish dishes and 3 meat dishes. Essentially each one would be a 'course'. I agreed and away we went. The veggies/salads were delivered about 20 minutes later. Hungry, we quickly ate them all. We attempted to re-order, but were told we should wait until the Fish course arrived. That took another 40 minutes. The fish was OK, but not great. 2 hours into our meal, now, and we are a dozen still-hungry diners. 45 minutes later, out comes the meat course. Delicious... but of course not nearly enough since this became our 'last chance' to fill up. The waiter offered to bring us more of Round 3/Meat course, but we had just run out of patience. Instead of sitting down in the basement (no music, 80+ degrees) for another hour, we decided to cut our losses and get out. Strike 3. Note: Our server did his very best. Unfortunately he was assigned to 30+ diners. Of course, the kitchen was a bigger problem. it is so tiny, it just cannot scale to meet the growing size of the restaurant. The unintended upside to this is that we spent about half what we had budgeted; the slow kitchen prevented us from running up the bill! Pros: Food Cons: Kitchen Service Staff, management staff
Less

A beautiful assortment of tapas, from grilled octopus to polenta to blood sausage, scallops, lamb, foie gras. I've enjoyed everything I've tried here. A bit on the pricey side, but worth it to try... More

A beautiful assortment of tapas, from grilled octopus to polenta to blood sausage, scallops, lamb, foie gras. I've enjoyed everything I've tried here. A bit on the pricey side, but worth it to try such unique dishes. The space is small and cozy (sometimes a bit crowded).
Less

I heard good things about this place and we went there for my wife's birthday. It was a Wednesday and they were slammed. This a good thing in my book as long as the waitstaff doesn't have an... More

I heard good things about this place and we went there for my wife's birthday. It was a Wednesday and they were slammed. This a good thing in my book as long as the waitstaff doesn't have an attitude. We learned the hard way you have to have a reservation (yes, even on a Wednesday) to get their attention. Otherwise the servers look right through you. No host/manager to guide you through either. All I need to be told is that there isn't any availability, not be ignored.
Less

I love this restaurant and go there quite often. The food is always good and if you sit upstairs you can watch the kitchen at work. I will say that the service can be a little spotty, but the food... More

I love this restaurant and go there quite often. The food is always good and if you sit upstairs you can watch the kitchen at work. I will say that the service can be a little spotty, but the food more then makes up for it. Try the octopus, it's my favorite.
Less

We ordered Beet Salad, Cheese Plate, Tuna Belly, and the Scallops. They apparently lost our ticket, and our Cheese Plate went missing for over an hour. They Comped it, which helped, but we were... More

We ordered Beet Salad, Cheese Plate, Tuna Belly, and the Scallops. They apparently lost our ticket, and our Cheese Plate went missing for over an hour. They Comped it, which helped, but we were starving and of course drank several glasses of wine without any food or bread. We were downstairs, and felt like we were the poor orphans locked up in the basement. No attention what so ever.... We were glad that we had each other, because we got no conversation from anyone in the restaurant and had to flag down our server to get the next course.... I own a restaurant so I'm careful with my criticism, but I would probably die from humiliation if anyone ever went out hungry.... I was hungry when I left.... Sad... Also, they were "0ut" of several wines on their list which made it tough to order anything... They were not busy, and it was a Sunday night.... any ideas??? Pros: Intimate seating, nice lighting, inventive menu Cons: Apparently no manager on duty
Less

I went to Harvest Vine after hearing great things about it and was disappointed by the experience overall. I will say, the food was delicious, what little of it we received. We ordered 7 dishes... More

I went to Harvest Vine after hearing great things about it and was disappointed by the experience overall. I will say, the food was delicious, what little of it we received. We ordered 7 dishes for our party of 3, and each came out separately. We ate cheese, then we ate spinach, then we ate asparagus, then we ate scallops, etc. It would have been nice to have the dishes come together so that a side of spinach is not your main dish. The server pretty much ignored us all night, although the bussers were very diligent in keeping our water glasses full. So, the scallops - they were delicious, but for $17 we received 2 scallops. Since we were a party of 3, sadly, we had to split the 2 scallops between us. A mere bite each. Sorry to say that I won't be returning to Harvest Vine. I've had wonderful tapas in Spain and elsewhere in Seattle for much better value, timing, and service.
Less

The service must have improved greatly since the other reviews were written. The portions were small. Let me clarify that so someone else can have a better experience. It took hours, the dishes... More

The service must have improved greatly since the other reviews were written. The portions were small. Let me clarify that so someone else can have a better experience. It took hours, the dishes were 45 minutes apart. Perhaps it is a technique to keep the patrons buying additional bottles of wine. We drank so much wine waiting for the tiny portions that the entire experience became hysterical at the establishment's expense. The monk fish was 3 tater tot looking pieces filled with the fish blended to the consistency of alfredo sauce. The anchovy salad was a portion of greens with what tasted like mayo and sour cream mix on top of a few bites of badly prepared potatoes. This was the least celebrated dish. The octopus was minimal (disappointing) and looked shaven it was so thin. The mackeral was fishy smelling and delivered with the skin and fat. The sausage with chocolate cotton candy was ok. The best was the venison and this dish meets the highest standards. Our group stopped for take out after leaving since everyone was starving. It is not an exaggeration to say 5 bites of food with plenty of bread for which the chef will not permit butter or olive oil to be served will be your dining experience. Bottom line: eat before you go; leave your expectations home; enjoy the excellent choices of wine; and find some amusement in paying $150 for two in addition to take out on the way home.
Less

I was at harvest vine last night and it suuuuuuuuuuuucked. We had a group of 8 and were advised to order 1 plate each. So we did this and each plate came out once every 10 minutes, and it served two... More

I was at harvest vine last night and it suuuuuuuuuuuucked. We had a group of 8 and were advised to order 1 plate each. So we did this and each plate came out once every 10 minutes, and it served two people. Therefore 8 people were trying to share a two person meal. I felt like this was a ploy to get us to order more food and more wine, which we did, I had to drink to get through this meal. We all ended up paying $60, for basically 8 bites and three glasses of wine. I realize this is a tapas place, but for a big group you should bring out all the food at once. Needless to say, we stopped and got a hamburger on the way home!
Less

from the minute we set foot in the restaurant, we felt as if we were in the presence of close family. juan carlos' charisma, combined with edward's outstanding knowledge of the fine basque cusine... More

from the minute we set foot in the restaurant, we felt as if we were in the presence of close family. juan carlos' charisma, combined with edward's outstanding knowledge of the fine basque cusine completed the experience. in retrospect, the experience would have been meaningless without the amazing food and wine that the staff brilliantly presented to us. the dishes were a perfect representation of authentic spanish cooking. i loved the fact the chef's preferences were perfectly obeyed, if you asked for olive oil with your bread, you would not only be refused but practically ridiculed, i loved every second of it. the idea that the chef is so confident with the way his dishes are presented, that they should be had NO other way. NO salt NO pepper NO olive oil, i promise that it comes out of the kitchen PERFECTLY seasoned.
Less

Usually don't poste on these sites but I had to after the last review. Maybe you lived for "many years in the basque country" but you certainly must not have eaten there. I am basque, live... More

Usually don't poste on these sites but I had to after the last review. Maybe you lived for "many years in the basque country" but you certainly must not have eaten there. I am basque, live here and when I can't visit the basque country and can go to Seattle I love the harvest vine. Much of the food is Basque and some experimental like much of the culinary scene in Donostia and Bilbao. Basque food is very regional as well depending on if you live on the coast or further inland. In my humble opinion I find the game dishes to be the Harvest Vines strong points. It is very reminisent of the food around Espelette and St. Jean Pied du Port . Service can leave something to be desired but sounds to me like the last reviewer was angry about the service and had little to say about the food. The chef by the way is Basque, from Navarra, he began his CAREER in Madrid. And yes we basques stick together :) Just kidding...
Less