It's a looker all right—once somebody's cozy early-twentieth-century home, where each room is fitted with elegant fixtures and intimate nooks (just right for wedding anniversary season) and, in the case of the bar, big booths suffused in light the very color of brown butter. Four Swallows is just the sort of place you want to eat Penn Cove mussels in a garlicky broth breathing Spanish sherry and smoked paprika, so you won't believe your good luck when that very dish comes to your table and tastes as fine as mussels can taste. It's one preparation that never leaves the innovative Italian-inspired Northwest menu of co-owner and chef Geraldine Ferraro; a menu that, if your luck is holding, may also include a beautiful plate of seared sea scallops or a terrific duck breast, sliced thin and drizzled with cherry gastrique. For 20 years now this gleaming jewel has been the place on Bainbridge for a classy evening out.

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