Grappa

We had celebrated a friend's birthday, the foods were super delicious! This was my second time to this restaurant.

Context: Went with one other person for the Christmas Eve dinner at 7:30 PM or so. They had a 4 course Christmas menu for $95 per person, which looked like it consisted of normal menu items but smaller and fitting a set menu.

Course 1: Appetizers
We got a winter salad and lobster bisque. The lobster bisque was more like lobster soup with some chunks of lobster. I don't think it actually contained cream, making it watery, but the lobster flavor was intense, and it was good overall if you like briney things. The winter salad was comparatively stingy, consisting of berries on arugula with a vinaigrette. The vinaigrette was salty and tangy and probably the best part of the dish. The berries and arugula were tasty, but sparse. For example, there were literally two blackberries and a pinch of julienned apples in the whole dish. The blueberries and pomegranate seeds were a bit more abundant, but the arugula itself was meager in portion. Kind of disappointing for the beginning of a nearly $100 meal.

Course 2: Small bites/Hors d'oeuvres
We ordered their caviar and smoked salmon crostini and American wagyu bites.
There were two nonuniform crostini with a small piece of smoked salmon, goat cheese(?), and caviar on top. The salmon was so strong as to overpower any nuance or delicacy of the other components of the dish. Overall disappointing (the salmon was tasty, though).
The American wagyu bites were a lot better. Chunks of grilled beef came in a soup/sauce with a piece of grilled bread on top. Everything about the dish was fantastic. The sauce was some kind of (tastefully) spicy tomato-based sauce that was flavorful without being overwhelming. It was almost bowl-licking good. If they have this in their regular menu, I would highly recommend it. The beef was tender and flavorful, with some char for contrast. Even the bread was delightful and the grill marks added tasty intrigue (did that make sense? In any case, it was good). The meal started to turn around at this point.

Course 3: Main course
We got a pan roasted half jidori chicken and a Maine lobster risotto. They were both great.
Even a half chicken (wing, thigh, leg, and breast) was a decent amount of food. The breast was a little dry, unfortunately, but the rest of the chicken was flavorful and juicy. It looked like they marinate their chicken with a layer of yogurt or goat cheese between the skin and the meat, which added a nice punch to an already decent chicken. I honestly couldn't tell that much of a difference between a standard supermarket chicken and this Jidori chicken, but it was good in any case. The other garnishes were nice, but I must give a shoutout to the cipollini onions - so tasty.
The risotto's texture was not quite chewy and not quite crunchy, but just right. The primary flavor was that of tarragon and lobster. They were generous with the lobster chunks. It was filling and never tiring - a great entree and experience.

Course 4: Desserts
We got the pistachio gelato and Mama's tiramisu. We were actually debating between the flourless chocolate cake and the tiramisu, but were told that the cake was quite sweet and the tiramisu is less so. The tiramisu ended up being the right amount of sweetness to balance the bitterness from the chocolate and coffee flavors. It was unlike most tiramisus I've had and more like a cake in its textures and layers (no lady fingers or biscuits). However, it was great. Each layer was distinct and tasty. We were told that they use Bailey's Irish cream, so just a warning to those who might be sensitive to alcohol.

Miscellaneous: Service was excellent and servers were attentive. Food came out fairly quickly for a busy day. There was a service fee and a mandatory gratuity that were calculated on the post-tax total. So the 3.5% service fee was actually 3.9% and the mandatory gratuity (if applicable) was 22% rather than 20% as listed. Reasonable but shady, I thought. Even for Seattle, I'd probably not want to pay more than $75 for what was served here taking into account quality and (lack of) originality. 3/5

Atmos: Great. Fantastic date night vibe. Low lighting, a "buzz" in the air. There is an upper and lower section. The upper felt maybe a little more intimate and a little warmer to be able to take your coat off if you run cold ;)

App: Crab Ravioli: Good but unfortunately dry. It was supposed to have a little brown butter sauce on it but sadly it was so little that it was dry and "cakey" in the mouth since the delicious crab inside was also dry. The flavors were great! I just wish it had a little more moisture either on the outside or inside.

Main 1: Pappardelle Bolognese: Only ok. Overall, too sweet and really dry as well. I have tasted about 15+ house made Bolognese/Ragus around Seattle this year and this didn't wow me like others. I can say fresh Pappardelle is tough to do and they did it better than other places, but the sauce was a turn off. It was way too sweet for a Bolognese. I can't tell if it was too much of the herb (maybe tarragon?), or too much wine that didn't reduce down or something else. My friend didn't like how sweet it was either. I wish it would have been a little more savory. Also, the meat % was really really low and maybe only got 4 very little crumbles in the entire dish. The sauce to noodle ratio was good (but just not the core flavor) in my personal experience.

Main 2: Spicy Sausage Fettuccine: Great! This dish was much better. Their noodle texture was better and the sauce was moist enough to maintain enjoyment the whole time. There was a healthy amount of the meat (as opposed to the Bolognese) and the flavors were well balanced. As a person who cannot tolerate spicy food, this was not scary spicy and instead was a well done flavorful spicy.

I give food 3/5 stars since 2 of the 3 dishes were a miss for me. But it has potential over other Italian places in town depending on what you order I think.

Service: Great. Very friendly, professional, didn't bother us, good pace of attention, clear communicator.

Street parking was still fairly decent despite it being a Friday night.

Grappa Restaurant provided our six person party with a delicious dinner. Look at the photos. Everyone was happy!

Came for brunch. Their brunch menu has both a breakfast and a small lunch/dinner menu.

Everything we ordered was super delicious. I'm pretty sure both the bread and pasta are made in house... which I think is justifying the slightly higher prices.

I ordered the breakfast pastry that was topped with smoked salmon, scramby eggs, dill cream sauce, and pickled red onions. It was super good and I low key wanted another. Lol I am pregnant so my appetite is a bit much sometimes.

My partner ordered the Bolognese pasta and pasta tasted fresh and the Bolognese sauce was delicious.

My friend ordered a grilled cheese with tomato basil bisque. Again focaccia bread tasted fresh and made in house. When she pulled the half of sandwich there was a very satisfying cheese pull 😋
And my other friend ordered the Italian sausage omelette. I didn't try it but it looked good. Not too eggy and more of the stuffing.

With a drink you can expect to pay about 35$ a person depending on the entree. So it is a little pricey but again it was delicious and worth it. I would def come again and recommend.

Everything we ordered was incredible! The filet mignon was especially delicious. They accommodate for children very well, too! My daughter said "this is the best spaghetti I've ever had!" :) Also- it's clear Grappa is selective with their hires as all of the staff was extremely kind, efficient and helpful.

We were able to receive a last minute reservation on a Thursday for three. Sat inside by the open window and felt the ventilation was good and didn't have to worry about the sun. I had the seasonal shrub and it was excellent. The salmon gnocchi was tasty. Had a good amount of salmon. Service for the drinks was a bit slow. The price was a bit expensive because the place is trendy and the food is great. I'll be going back again.

Loved the place. We stopped for a very late lunch or a really early dinner so the place was empty. The decor is pretty nice and I loved the candle thing going on. I got the spicy sausage rigatoni and loved it. The flavor was very balanced and tasted pretty good. My wife took the Mediterranean salad with chicken. This was also pretty good and refreshing with a nice portion of grilled chicken breast. She had a house red with it and immediately regretted it as to why not a white one. 😅. Anyway, definitely a nice place and would come back again to try out other items.