10 Best Restaurants 2009
Boat Street Cafe
3131 Western Ave Ste 301, Belltown, 206-632-4602; boatstreetcafe.com
THE VISION
“The original Boat Street was a unique and odd restaurant for Seattle, a cross between a shack in New England and a sunny spot in Provence. It was on the north end of Portage Bay, at the end of a gravel road with potholes. The building leaked. It wasn’t trying to be part of that whole ’90s dot-com restaurant scene. It had an end-of-the-farm-road feel. When we had to move it didn’t seem right to reopen just anywhere. I think the new space at the foot of Denny holds some of the same old sweetness and charm, but in a more urban location. I love the white. Everything I own is white: my car, my house, my dog. I guess my cooking style compares to the white—food that’s about the ingredients, food that’s simple, comforting. The more I cook the more I’m drawn to grandma’s French food. I don’t love a list of 25 things in my dish.” — Renee Erickson, owner and chef, Boat Street Cafe
THE VERDICT
Improbably, the sunken space in the farthest corner of Belltown in the Northwest Work Lofts Building captures the airy essence of Boat Street’s dockside original, with its whitewashed walls and mismatched chairs, its chalkboard menu and panorama of twinkling votives. The idiosyncratic charm of the decor—check the dog art, check the Chinese umbrellas—exquisitely reflects the postmodern-farmhouse sensibility of owner and chef Renee Erickson.
It comes through on the plate in the form of simple compositions, mouthfilling textures, brainy contrasts, and fat Provençal flavors. Medjool dates oozing sugars are sautéed in olive oil then spangled with fleur de sel; crab cakes are crammed with crab crisped in the pan, then served with banana–hot pepper confit and Erickson’s own homemade pickles. Lately she’s been pickling anything that isn’t nailed down—wax beans, huckleberries, figs; each in a unique brine—which isn’t so French, but is very Erickson; owing to her fine-tuned belief that something has to balance out the richness of her creamy cuisine.
The results are dinners—and, in next door’s Boat Street Kitchen, lunches and brunches—that reveal brilliance through contrast. Add in gentle service and a tranquil atmosphere, and you’re dining at the most winsomely romantic restaurant in town.
Published: October 2009
Serious pie is amazing! We try to treat ourselves every month.
Fairly new to the Seattle area, and this list was great. I am excited to knock out all 1-10!
We are from Wisconsin. While visiting our son in Seattle this summer, we celebrated my wife’s birthday at the Boat Street Cafe. A nice ambience. A varied menu. Fabulous food. The service was excellent.
I love this list! We’ve enjoyed a few of the Top 10 before, and look forward to going to the rest. Good to see Seattle classics on here like Canlis and Rovers, as well as some of the newer places like Spring Hill.
I agree with Jefferson…great list. Classics deserve to stay on the list if they continue to innovate and impress! Can’t wait for the parentals to come to town…going to Boat Street and Crush for sure!
I went through the whole list wrote them down and I want to try them all. Your reviews were great. My birthday is in feb and we are going to try one of these fabulous sounding restaurants. Thankyou Sherry in south king county.