42 Replies to "Junction restaurant opens: Table 35 "friends and family" night"

• Danielle January 9, 2010 (9:18 am)

  Good luck to table 35! Hopefully they will adjust either the font color or background color of some of their website pages, because it’s really difficult to see black writing on a dark brown background!

• RPH January 9, 2010 (9:37 am)

  Their website states that their Happy Hour is every day, from “4-close”. Could that be right? Every night, all night?

• CrazyDogLady January 9, 2010 (12:06 pm)

  RPH — Yes, that’s right!!! : D

• Silly Goose January 9, 2010 (12:40 pm)

  WE have reservaitons can’t wait to check it out, haven’t eaten yet today saving room for yummy food!! Welcome to West Seattle we are so glad you are here.

• imabumandaloser January 9, 2010 (12:45 pm)

  Two years tops for this restaurant at this locale.

• Z January 9, 2010 (4:14 pm)

  I know – I hate the be a pessimist but this location has a high turnaround. Hope they make it but I am thinking this spot is bad luck.

• optimistic January 9, 2010 (5:01 pm)

  I can’t wait to celebrate my birthday dinner at Table 35. I was never interested in any of the other restaurants at this location, but this place and their menu is more to my liking. Looking forward to a great place to hang out.

• sillygoose January 9, 2010 (8:47 pm)

  Okay we had 6:30 reservations were seated right away with a line out the door YAY!! This is where it got hairy, Sara our waitress who seemed very unorganized and frazzled said we are not serving any more entree’s and I don’t know when you will get your appetizers and disappeared!! So we waited and waited and waited and then I ask the water boy if we could order some appetizers, (as we had given up on entree’s and said let’s eat appies for dinner) we got a new waitress who was calm and collected and said yes we can order appetizers so we did. They immediately arrived not what we had ordered but hey it was food and they were showing incrediable customer service. To make a 2 hour dining experience short we had the most amazing appetizers and it turned out to be fun, as we didn’t now what was coming to the table next!! Apparently they’re computer was messed up and the kitchen was getting double orders!! Hence the reason they were behind!! They comped our drinks and food and gave us coupons for the future. Turns out she was the lovely daughter of the owner ( who was cooking, so I am wondering if his chefs no showed on him). We will be forever customers because they handled the confusion with such grace and increadable customer service. Thank you table 35 you are wonderful people. I hope your patrons treated you with as much compassion as you showed your customers tonight it was delicious and fun!!!

• Doug January 9, 2010 (9:11 pm)

  Table 35, you have won yourself customers for life! Although it was clear the restaurant was slammed on its opening weekend, the entire staff made sure we were taken care of. From complimentary appetizers to free chamgagne, everyone went out of their way to make sure we felt welcome. In fact, every dish we had was incredilby good. To top it off, almost everything we had actually ordered was taken off the bill– even though it was great! Needless to say, our server got a huge tip. We look forward to trying many other items very soon. Thanks to the entire staff at Table 35!

  Doug and Eric

• Table 35 January 9, 2010 (9:29 pm)

  i love table 35! best restront EVER!!!!! THEY work realy hard and give ssssooooo much efort!!!! it was a fun atmosphere and the music was funnn and lively!!! the waitresses are AMAZING!!!!!! i will go again and again and TIP forshor!!!

  good luck table 35!!!!!!

• Table 35 January 10, 2010 (12:29 am)

  Thank you all for your patience this evening. It was a hectic night and we are surely working out the kinks but we would like to THANK YOU all for coming in!!!! It can only get better from here – we love you West Seattle!

  PS the above comment was written by one of the owner’s kids – how cute!! :o)

  -Table 35-

• speedracer January 10, 2010 (9:09 am)

  I was lucky enough to enojoy a wonderful evening at Table 35 last night, although it was very hectic and took awhile to get any appetizers, the staff was gracious and lovely. All of our food was taken care of as well as the delicious Prosecco Champagne. I will be back because of your hospitable service and delicious food. Thank you table 35 for handing in there.

• M.B. January 10, 2010 (10:55 am)

  Nice ambiance but TERRIBLE service. Walked in and was ignored by the hostess. Stood at the door for at least 5 minutes as I watched her go back and forth between the hostess station and other duties. I understand if she’s busy but it only takes 2 seconds to say “Hi there, I’ll be with you in a moment” I could tell the owner was embarrassed because he eventually came right over. That was appreciated but the hostess should be replaced immediately or I won’t be coming back.

• Kelley January 10, 2010 (1:13 pm)

  Awesome place! Just what West Seattle needs. They were very busy their opening night however their service and hospitality was amazing. I will definitely be back!!!

• BarMac January 10, 2010 (1:35 pm)

  Went in last night for happy hour. Crab cakes were cold, not sure if they were suppose to be, zucchini crisps were a bit greasy and soggy, honey walnut prawns needs to improve their batter but the kobe beef sliders were good and so was the duck lumpia. The service was very friendly, very attentive and very upbeat, almost to a fault. Has potential, hope to see some of the kinks ironed out. We will be back for happy hour.

• Silly Goose January 10, 2010 (2:36 pm)

  M.B. come on give them a break, from what I gathered with the owner and his brother cooking they had chefs that no showed opening night. It was hectic and crazy and if you are that much of a prima donna you should have made a reservation!! I love the place and will be a regular customer as the food was delicious and they are kind sweet people who are trying very hard.

• Scott January 10, 2010 (2:44 pm)

  We were looking forward to a Saturday “date night” atTable 35, but had a very disappointing experience last night. The restaurant was definitely not ready for “prime time”. It would have been acceptable had they told us when we walked in the door that you could only order appetizers, instead of 30 minutes later when they sat us at our table. Of course it did give them a chance to gouge us for $24 for two martinis that didn’t even fill 2/3 of the glass. “You don’t get a 2nd chance to make a first impression.”

• M.B. January 10, 2010 (2:46 pm)

  Silly Goose. I am a restaurant owner myself so I of course understand the issues of opening a new place. That doesn’t excuse poor customer service from a hostess that was clearly ignoring us. Besides, it was late in the night and the place was far from packed. Had it been actually crazy busy, I might have been a bit more sympathetic. I never said they weren’t trying, but if they want to succeed then they need to train their staff properly or get rid of the kinks.
  Calling people names certainly doesn’t get your point across any better, it just makes you sound unintelligent.

• grr January 10, 2010 (4:57 pm)

  sheesh people..haven’t you all figure out yet NOT to be going on opening night and expecting a miracle?? Let me just mentione Shadowlands, Spring Hill, Fresh Bistro, and Matador… ALL of them had really rough starts. I remember our first time at Spring Hill was just an ‘ehh, whatever”, kind of night. Now we can’t get enough of it.
  –
  relax..give it a month to work out the kinks, get its staff up to snuff, sort thru the menue. I’m not even gonna go until the 1st of March or so. And I still haven’t gone to Porterhouse…probably cuz I hate beer :)

• West Seattle Foodie January 10, 2010 (5:44 pm)

  Hey M.B.
  In interest of equal coverage, what restaurant do you own? We’d Love to come by and be patrons.

  Signed West Seattle Foodie Group

• sillygoose January 10, 2010 (7:20 pm)

  YEah M.B. I want to come by and crititique your perfect resturant? What the name of it?

• Jim January 10, 2010 (8:19 pm)

  Food was great even if a little slow coming but the servers were so nice made up for it. What did you people expect on the opening night .Give them a break. They tried hard & the free champagne & coupons showed they too knew this was not their shining moment. I’ll be back for sure

• Fleurgirl January 10, 2010 (8:24 pm)

  We adored Ovio, and dined there weekly. We loved Ama Ama, from day one.

  We will never be back to Table 35.

  Where do I begin…
  There were four of us, and it was slow. We waited 20 mins for our drinks, even though the restaurant was almost empty. We may never have received them if we hadn’t asked for them repeatedly. When we did get our beverages, my wine was barely full, and my husband had an americano, not the coffee he ordered. We ordered four apps and four entrees – a selection we could all try.

  15 mins later, still no food. No water, no waitress. My friend jokingly remarked, “I’ll not be suprised if all of our food comes at once.”

  Sure enough, we got 3 of our apps and 3 of our entrees at the same time. We had to ask for the final entree and app. When it was brought, we were well into our meals, and the waitress/manager said: “look perfect timing.” Not so perfect. Here’s an overall summary of the food:

  Calamari – Way over cooked
  Crab Cakes – Cold
  Scallops – Weird
  Walnut Shrimp – Soggy, save your time EAT LEE’S!
  Med. Shawarma – Minute rice NOT saffron rice, and little over cooked nuggets of beef
  Etouffee – Again, Minute rice. Bland, not spicey
  Famous French Dip – Okay, the tempura fries were WAY too greasy and just odd. Don’t mess with a good thing.
  Bolognese – Bland, bland, bland.

  Overall a completely sub-par food experience. You want to ask the owners/chef if they’ve ever tasted the food they are cooking. The wait staff and kitchen was completely out of sync. They needed to have completed serious dry runs before opening to the public. I would encourage the owners/chef to eat out more – try Restaurant Zoe, Quinn’s, Spring Hill, Circa… Find a niche, do it well.

  You never get a second chance to make a first impression.

• Per January 10, 2010 (8:26 pm)

  Boy, West Seattle is getting to be a happening place and Table 35 is a bonus…liked the atmosphere and staff…I had a snazzy drink and one appetizer that was really good…I’ll save dinner or lunch for another time when it’s not so packed.

  Thanks Per

• babalu January 10, 2010 (9:23 pm)

  We were lucky to be invited to soft opening, what a crush!! Great food and wine. Went back for Sunday brunch and enjoyed a leisurely poke/tempura with their signature gorgonzola cream tortelini. I understand they will have live opera singers regularly each month – a definite plus for us!! Welcome!

• Chef Bernard January 10, 2010 (10:31 pm)

  Thank you to all that came, it was a very difficult night as are most opening nights in the “industry” We are working hard to iron out some of the “kinks” and are getting ready for your great return…

  Thank you for all the great comments about the staff and the food, please remember we aim to please in any way…as you hear at the Ritz Carlton “It would be our pleasure.”

• Anné Trifts January 10, 2010 (11:23 pm)

  Oh my…did you try the crabcakes? Very good.
  Going back Thursday night before Art Walk with more friends. I have to try the Latte Drop !

• sun*e January 11, 2010 (12:17 am)

  Congratulations Table 35!!! It looks like your opening night, due to a lot of hard work and generosity on your part, was a great success. It’s truly unbelievable that some people would expect a restaurant to be perfect in every way on it’s opening night. Clearly it takes time to get there and it appears you’re off to a good start. I can’t wait to check you out… in a couple of weeks. :)

• Yardvark January 11, 2010 (4:58 am)

  The opening night was not a great success.

• DonS January 11, 2010 (7:53 am)

  The opening night at Table 35 was subject to Murphy’s Law, and that includes the Corollary to Murphy’s Law: “Murphy was an optimist.” We cut ’em a _lot_ of slack, because there was just no point in contributing to a negative vibe. There were clearly technical difficulties and a lot of stress. Nonetheless, we saw promise there, and we’ll be back once things calm down and the operational process gets smoothed out a bit. Always great to have another place within walking distance!

• grr January 11, 2010 (9:51 am)

  yup… I’ll give them time to sort it all out.

  I’d LOVE to find out who’s in charge of booking bands and stuff tho..I’ve got a number of amazing musician friends that would LOVE to play there.

  This girl is amazing…does a trio thing that sounds like 5 people.
  http://www.keelywhitney.com/

  This guy is a Seattle legend when it comes to solo Jazz Piano:
  http://www.jerryfrank.com/?navID=2

  Let’s get some kickass LIVE music in WS for a change!!!

• julia January 11, 2010 (10:23 am)

  hey scott give them a break that was their first opening i loved the foods the owners were very nice!!!! i love it ! good work guys! i will be coming back!!! oh and LOVE the atmasphere!

• Free Lunch January 11, 2010 (7:49 pm)

  Nice way to hold a grudge, M.B., it’s pretty mean-spirited for you to try to get a staff member fired with your comments. (That’s what you did – don’t deny it.) And for what, the unforgivable crime of leaving you unacknowledged for 5 whole minutes? On opening night?

  Yes, please tell us what restaurant you own. (I hold grudges, too.) Or, I guess I can find out myself by looking at the employment ads for an excessive amount of turnover.

• D.A. January 12, 2010 (8:59 am)

  We went to Table 35 on Sat afternoon for Happy Hour about 4.30. Not too crowded, which was nice. Our waitress was very nice, but a little overbearing. Food was decent; admittedly I didn’t have super high expectations knowing it was opening night.

  Zucchini crisps were soggy, but the dipping sauce was good. Crab cakes were cold, but had nice chunks of crab and good flavor. Kobe sliders were tasty, but the meat was way overcooked. The duck lumpia was good, except for the 2 bones I found! When I mentioned it to our waitress, I don’t think she knew what to do, because she didn’t do anything at all. If I owned a restaurant and someone found bones in their food, I’d comp it for sure!!

  All in all, I think everything we had has the potential to be great, but was just a bit shy of the mark. Will definitely give it another go in hopes that the execution can be tightened up a bit. This is in no way meant to be a negative review, just my observations and promise to come back.

• chitownnative January 12, 2010 (3:35 pm)

  We went there last night and were pretty disappointed. And for all those that love to call baloney on those that are critical I say you should be glad that people are willing to give their opinions so that this restaurant can hopefully read the reviews, make some changes and thrive. If people do not know how to improve, then the business is just as likely to fail as those before. So, with that said – here goes…

  When we got there the host was away and a bus person grabbed two menus and was addressing us when the host returned, snapped the menus from him and sat us. It seemed a bit harsh and rude to me, and I just hope that they respect their staff, regardless of the position.

  Our server was pleasant. Drinks were slow and the lemon drop and cosmo both tasted terrible. Maybe because they were made with well liquor? Not sure, but the cosmo tasted like kool-aid and the lemon drop was just lame. Not sue what mix you’re using, but change it. Also, happy hour from 4-close – that sounds silly. As if maybe the apps should just be a lower price. Otherwise, it’s just a gimmick to me.

  The crab cakes were a good size but the sauce was thin and runny and was absorbed by the cakes so we didn’t really notice it. The French dip was pretty darn good! The walnut shrimp app was nothing special – maybe better batter is needed.

  Biggest gripe was with the check. We paid with a larger bill. The remainder was returned to us not by our server, but by the host, which was fine. However, they rounded up and neglected to give us our coin change. Meaning, they did not give us the balance of .38 due, in addition to the dollars. Not a lot of money, but in my mind, completely rude and making that assumption is over the line. I almost complained but decided to email the owner instead. Also – for any person who knows ANYTHING about serving, you don’t give back change in the largest bills, with no smaller bills. A good server will break down a larger bill so that there are at least a couple of dollar bills to use for tip. Assuming you’ll get a bigger tip by only providing larger bills is going to backfire.

  I emailed what I thought was the owner from a card I grabbed on the way out but I did not get a reply. To the owner(s) – just train your servers and do some random taste tests out of the kitchen and I wish you well. We will return after you work out the kinks and I hope you can make it in that space.

• brandon irons January 12, 2010 (8:40 pm)

  I’m not the manager of Table 35 but if I were to have received an email from chitownnative, my reply would be a curt, “Thank you for your input and we will strive to improve our operations.”

  chitownative’s review reveals more about him/her and shows that customers do have the right to voice their opinions not only based upon their experience, but also under the hospitality industry’s caveat that the ‘customer is always right.’

  Way to take advantage of that caveat, chitownnative. Although, IMHO, you kinda reek with a midwestern snootiness tone.

• chitownnative January 13, 2010 (10:50 am)

  Brandon – so you think it’s okay that they kept the change? And maybe you’re accustomed to meager fare and drinks. You need to get some thicker skin and stop whining. Oh, and that’s right, you’re not the manager. So perhaps you should let them respond if they choose. Also, it’s midwestern experience (not snootiness) – because in Chicago there is a lot of competition between restaurants and the customer is always right. If you’d like to continue to try and insult me, I won’t be checking back – it’ll only be fodder for the rest.

• bojax January 14, 2010 (1:56 pm)

  I’ve written few reviews, here or elsewhere, on any restaurant I’ve enjoyed or been disappointed in. Because of that, some will criticize that I should’nt start doing so with a negative review. Nontheless, the service we received at table 35 was among the absolute worst , if not the worst I have ever received.

  After being seated, our waitress came over to ask if we wanted drinks. we ordered 2 glasses of wine, a cab and a chardonney. 5 minutes later, she returned to ask what we wanted again. A chard and a cab… 15 minutes later (!) we finally got our drinks and she was able to take our order. We’ll order off of the Happy Hour Menu that was advertised as half off between 4-11. No, our waitress corrected us that the prices on the menu were the actually prices for happy hour..Hmmm, so the 5-6 scallops you get during “happy hour” for $9, are normally $18 bucks? Seems like a bait and switch, or those scallops are gonna be friggin huge!! (no, 6 of the smallest scallops i’ve seen served in a restaurant, but let’s move on..)

  We order anyways and wait. and wait. and wait. While we’re waiting I ask for another glass of wine… 3 times… After waiting 45 mins, the people that arrived after us get their appetizers, while we are still waiting for ours. I stop our waitress and ask what up? ” I’m so sorry, I must have put your order in my pocket, what was it again?” Really, Really?!?! We tell her again and ask for the Honey walnut prawns, the Chicken skewers, and the scallops…. and a friggin glass of wine.. again! She gives us the Bluecheese stuffed Chickenwings in her hand as a gesture of forgiveness. (side note; the bluecheese stuffed chicken wings are not stuffed with bluecheese as said on the menu, and hearing from other patrons i don’t think they ever have been, change the menu or tell us their not available!) The owner comes by and we start to tell him how disappointed we are and he interrupts with “whad ya order, I’ll get it now” and runs off.

  We wait..I finally go to the bar and get my wine, that I have now asked for 5 times, from the bartender . We get our 1st round of food, it’s wrong. no chicken skewers, paprika prawns and surprise, the tiny “$9” scallops. The owner is there with the waitress and says he’ll get the skewers right away. We ask for an additional order of crab cakes. When the skewers arrive, the owner says he’ll comp the $3 chicken skewers for our trouble. wow. thanks. The waitress arrives with our crab cakes and says they’ll comp our whole food order sans the 3 glasses of alcohol. WOW! Thanks! that’s what i would expect from an new establishment that is trying to earn a good reputation in the West Seattle Community. That is gonna get you some forgiveness from a couple of highly disappointed customers who might even come back and give em another chance….Whoa! Slow down. The waitress returns, after running our card (!), says unfortunetley after talking with the owner, comping meals is against their “policy” and she only comped the skewers ! You’ve been opened a week! what policy?! telling us she’ll comp the meal, taking our card and then charges us everything! what a joke, Give me a break!

  I give you a month to be in business…from what i have seen, plenty of people were anxious to visit your restaurant…..and when they did were highly disappointed and frustrated with your lack of service and the owners not caring what anyone thinks…I gave you one star because at least the bathrooms were clean and I didn’t have to ask for toilet paper…

• ihearya January 14, 2010 (9:39 pm)

  You know what, they need to hear this stuff. Right on for not just letting it go. Businesses are not charities!

• dg January 15, 2010 (10:15 pm)

  Went to Table 35 for lunch today with friends. All of us agreed that we wouldn’t be back. Music was really loud when we walked in – Frank Sinatra blaring, and difficult to have a conversation over it. We asked the server if it was possible to turn it down a bit – but we noticed they actually turned the music UP, not down. Salads were gritty – as if the lettuce had not been washed, $10.00 prawn dish consisted of 3 small shrimp, each on an individual skewer, when food arrived it was just placed on the corner of the table in front of whomever – no attention paid to who actually ordered the food. Service was bordering on the bizarre. At one point a young teenage girl took our form of payment and left, then our original server returned and asked again how we wanted to split the check. It was not a good experience. The three of us all live in West Seattle and we’re disappointed. We let the server know about the food issues and she didn’t respond. I was hoping that our experience was not indicative of others’ experiences – however the comments here on the WS Blog are very similar to ours. I hope this restaurant can turn things around. Otherwise Table 35 is going to be around a total of about 35 days. :-(

• Sally January 17, 2010 (4:00 pm)

  Went Friday night and had the stingiest, most expensive dirty martinis I have ever had. The glass came only half full. It looked like someone had already drunk half of it. I had one small sip and the waitress came over to ask if I’d like another because it was almost gone! I told the waitress this, and said perhaps she could mention this to the bartender. I know she didn’t because I ordered one more to see what would happen–it arrived in a different glass, but again, half full (or empty, depending on how you look at it.) My bill came–2 martinis at $7.50, with an added charge of $3.50 per drink–called an AS? “Additional Shot” is what the waitress said when I asked—she said there is no mixer, so it is considered a double. I can’t imagine how small the drink would be with one shot! So a whopping $10.50 for half a martini. Yikes.
  Oh–food was OK. Appetizer wings incredibly bland. Poki was good, and my friend said scallops were good too.
  Don’t know whether I’ll give this place another shot (since they didn’t give me one! Ha!) Too bad, cuz’ it is good not to see that space empty.
  Oh, one last thing–saw the manager walk through the front door with a wine carrier from Safeway. So, he parades this through to give to the bartender—which makes me very aware that I would be paying 7 or 8 dollars for a glass of wine from a bottle that cost that much. I wouldn’t normally mind, but seeing the wine from Safeway go behind the bar was painful. Isn’t there a service entrance he could have used? Unprofessional to say the least.

• Vincent D. February 6, 2010 (8:19 pm)

  So here it is. I work on California ave. I’ve been around awhile. I deal with some of the coolest people I know and some of the worst people I know. This industry is not easy, people will chew you up and spit you out if you let them. That said, Table 35 is a mess, and while most new restaurants are, you can always tell how they will do based on the attitude of their staff. Come on guys, you have a chance to be a very cool restaurant in the hood. Put on a smile, thicken up that skin, and find your grace.
  I won’t tell you the specifics of my experience, I will only tell you that it was not good.I hope it will get better. I’ll be back in a little while, hopefully it gets better

Sorry, comment time is over.