RAVE: Blackboard Bistro!

[RarelyEver]

My husband and I had dinner at the Blackboard Bistro last night – and it was FANTASTIC! We opted for the “name your price” option, letting the Chef choose our menu for us. Each course was fresh, creative and delicious, and the staff was friendly and attentive. We’ll be back often!

So glad this place came to West Seattle! :)

[JanS]

I’ve been wondering if anyone has tried it out. So glad the first review is a good one. Hope they’re around for a long time.

[WSB]

We also have a couple comments on our “opening eve” post on the home page. Positive as well.

https://westseattleblog.com/2010/08/blackboard-bistro-new-west-seattle-restaurant-is-about-to-open#comment-747140

[nuemes]

Went to opening night and had the ‘name your price’ option as recommended by staff. Having been severely disappointed by Eness, the restaurant previously in this location, I had set low expectations.

I’m a difficult one for a kitchen too – cannot eat glutens + am vegetarian (do eat fish, though). My initial concern was whether the kitchen would be able to manage my requirements on a busy opening night.

I used to work in the service industry and appreciate attention to detail. The first thing I noticed was thoughtful choice of glassware. Martini glasses are thin just as they should be and the drink menu has a few well considered options rather than too many options that can stray. The staff was attentive, clearing plates and silverware that were no longer needed. I was impressed that everyone on staff was part of this process, not just the main food server. This says a lot about a restaurant when everyone is working diligently towards its success.

Five small plate courses looked gorgeous but not pretentious; the amounts were never too small/never too much – another very impressive sign. And every dish was absolutely perfect. Impeccable. This is the kind of food where you take your first bite, become wide eyed, look up at the person you’re eating with and whisper phrases typically reserved for orgasms.

Do not pass up the opportunity to eat here. Prices are very, very very reasonable considering the quality. Like Mashiko, if Blackboard Bistro continues this level of quality, it will be one of those unpretentious gems where you feel honored to sit at the table and take part in what only comes from the most talented and dedicated of chefs.

[villagegreen]

Went this past weekend and had an amazing meal! We weren’t super hungry, so just had two items and drinks: 4 Sliders (red wine and shallot, foie gras, truffle, blue cheese), beer battered okra with watermelon rind ketchup, Pimm’s Lemonade, and Fishtale Organic Pale Ale. Hands down, the best sliders I’ve ever had – and cheap at only 12 bucks. The fried okra was the perfect compliment (since they don’t do fries). Loved the watermelon ketchup.

Seriously, this place should be an instant West Seattle hit. It’s infinitely approachable – great friendly service, non-pretentious, kid friendly, and awesome food at an extremely reasonable price. Like a more down to earth Spring Hill.

There’s only one thing I’d changed (I can’t help myself, I’m a nitpicker). They’ve really gone for the bistro feel, with the goldish/tan paint job and black and white stripped bench backs. But for some reason they’ve left the burgundy carpet. This place is screaming for wood or concrete floors. The carpet just feels heavy and dated. And with a kid dining there the night we were, spilling food all over the floor, it would seem advantageous to get rid of it. Just a minor quibble, though, as the food was stellar!

[guidosmom]

YUM! This thread is making me hungry. I can’t wait to try it! Is this the same Blackbird that used to be in Admiral around 2003?

[West Seattle Art Attack]

Guidosmom,

Blackbird vs. Blackboard. Two totally different things.

Now for a review. We went on opening night on the 13th. Couldn’t get in until 8:30 because it was so popular and we didn’t decide to try it until about 3:30 that day. We had the tasting menu at $25 per person. It was opening night so we anticipated a few glitches and knew there was a chance some of the dishes would be hit or miss. We were right and wrong. It seemed they hadn’t quite gotten their rhythm down (who could after one night?). Service was a bit uneven although the entire staff was very nice and friendly. So we were right about a few understandable glitches here and there but we were so wrong about the hit or miss food. The kitchen was firing on all cylinders. Dish after delightful dish appeared at our table and was quickly devoured. Each dish was something special. They all arrived at our table within seconds of being plated. The food was hot and so, so good. Combinations that seemed unusual and unique (gnocci, smoked trout and peas) were a wonderful burst of complimentary flavors and textures. For our $25 we were treated to 5 dishes (scallop ceviche, fried okra, pork verde, smoked trout gnocci, frogmore stew and flan with lavendar cream for dessert. We left full and extremely satisfied. We spent the weekend raving about Blackboard to our friends and some of them have already visited and posted their positive comments on Facebook. This place rocks. Once they work past a few of the anticipated growing pains the reservation list will be full days in advance. . . . . Next time I have to try the sliders, pork belly and halibut. . . . yum!

[guidosmom]

Good! :) I can’t wait to try it.

[DMcG]

I’ve been twice now and have been very impressed both times. All the food has been great and I felt that the portions were excellent considering the price and the quality of the food. The beer battered okra and crispy prawn stuffed blossoms are perfect examples of how fried food can be done right.

[JanS]

if they have the red beet, beet green and goat cheese gratin on the menu when you’re there, be sure to get it…it’s so totally nummy. And the bread and dipping sauce was spectacular – good taste in the mouth !! I would go just for the bread, it’s that good…

[voodoo]

Another rave here! We tried Blackboard Bistro for the first time tonight, and it won’t be our last. I had heard via twitter (twitter.com/blackboardbites) that it was the last night for the watermelon and feta salad, which I’ve been wanting to try (more menu changes are planned for Wednesday, they say). Wow! Great, refreshing salad with sweet / savory flavors.

I also had the grilled leeks with pork belly on toast, poached egg, and tomato-almond sauce. I can’t even describe how delicious this was! Flavorful, rich, perfectly seasoned… My companions had the trout/fried green tomatoes/chutney, braised lamb gnocchi, and smoked salmon. Raves all around.

The service was very attentive and friendly, although not the most professional I have encountered (but it is West Seattle). The black and white theme (playing off the blackboard idea, I guess) is a little cold as decor, and a little forced as staff dress code, but these are minor stylistic opinions that won’t keep me away.

I was surprised to find the place quite empty at 6:00 p.m. on a Sunday; I was glad to see tables filling over the next hour. I selfishly want this place to be around for a long time so I can come back and enjoy more! Next time we will definitely do the tasting menu – seeing the quality of the food and the flavor combinations so far, that promises to be a great experience!

[JanS]

I want one of each of these…that pie sounds absolutely sinful ! The new menu looks really good. Thanks for the report, voodoo

http://www.blackboardbistroseattle.com/what-s-on-the-blackboard/blackboard-sweets/

[voodoo]

Oh yes, the desserts sounded amazing, as well. They are included with the tasting menu, so I’m looking forward to that.

[dawsonct]

Great!! When I left the other night, my greatest disappointment was unexpectedly not having room for the pork belly. After your description voodoo, I am now even MORE disappointed.

I also didn’t have room for dessert, so have sworn to go back one night just to eat (and drink) the sweets.

[voodoo]

So sorry to hear that you missed out on the pork belly, dawsonct! I did overhear a snippet of staff conversation saying that “the West Seattle Blog is the place to find out everything that is going on” so maybe someone will read this and hear our pleas to keep it on the menu.

That’s the blessing and the curse of a menu that changes frequently – it’s inevitable that some favorite menu items will be 86’ed, while there will always be new delights to try.

Perhaps a balance can be struck.

[dawsonct]

More than one way to cook a pork belly, and I’m willing to try ’em all!

[voodoo]

Good point! Which brings fantasies of a pork belly tasting menu…. Although that may be too rich, even for me. And I can eat some rich food!

[Al]

Another rave for the pork belly! It was amazing. Likely the best pork belly I’ve had so far. And the gnocchi/lamb was perfect. Just the right balance of meat/starch. And the gnocchi – like pillows. Pillows of flavor. We also had the clams, but wished more bread was served with it. We ordered more bread but I ended up just spooning up the broth. Forget the bread!

Great wine selection for good prices.

There were two of us and we barely finished eating everything. Sadly had no room for desert but we will be back to cut back on the entrees so desert can be tasted. So happy with this place!

[dawsonct]

voodoo, a taste need only be a single bite! Maybe sorbets and salads between to cleanse the palate.

Working on it.

—

—

Al, that gnocchi WAS heavenly; agreed wholeheartedly.

[angelescrest]

We had such a wonderful meal at Blackboard on Saturday night. Ample delicious servings–ditto to everyone’s comments above, with the exception that we left room for desserts, and they were superb. Chocolate caramel cake; oh, please–fabulous, as was the huckleberry/peach crumble w/ice cream: divine. We found the prices sooo reasonable, considering the quality of the meal (five people w/four drinks and two desserts came to $25 a person including tip). Yes, I know that’s still considerable in these rough economic times, but I could never replicate that meal at home, nor would I try.

The service: impeccable and kind; just lovely. They went way out of their way to accommodate our unusual little one.

We’re back!

[add]

My mouth is watering reading all these posts about the great menu items. We went to Blackboard a few weeks ago and thought the food was outstanding .. I always thought I hated trout until I tried their dish paired with fried green tomatoes. OMG.

.

That said, the service was seriously lacking. We were a party of 6 and were offered the “chef’s menu” – name your price/person and they put something together for you. The minimum is $20 so we said $25 each. We also ordered two bottles of wine (and probably would have ordered more if asked). After we ordered we were asked if it would be OK if we were served family style – “of course”, we said! However, I don’t think the staff was really clear on how to best support a table of 6 with family style service and various courses coming out every few minutes. We had to ask for a new set of the small plates we started with (didn’t want to mix watermelon juice, beet juice, trout, and scallops…). The waitress was overwhelmed and at one point just planted a stack of plates on our table and said she couldn’t keep up with us.

.

There were a few other fairly major service lapses (one server, when asked, said he had “no idea” what was in a dish he was serving? no offer of coffee or espresso? we specifically mentioned how good one specific dessert sounded – as the chef’s menu were all dishes coming off the menu – but they brought out something else?).

.

I hope they can figure out the service component because I loved the space, the concept, and the food was truly FIRST RATE.

[cjboffoli]

After reading weeks of raves here, and hearing endorsements from another local chef who told me he liked it, we finally made it in to Blackboard Bistro for dinner last week. But I have to say that it was surprisingly uneven, both in terms of service and food.

Admittedly, it was a Friday night and every table was full except for a couple of “two tops.” But no one was at the door and it took a while for someone to even make eye contact with us. I noticed that the servers were busy and one was clearing and resetting the empty tables. Waiting a few minutes for a table on a weekend night is totally reasonable. But it might have been better for someone to at least acknowledge us before resetting the tables. A minor quibble but more than five minutes standing at the door feels long. Not a strong start but hardly a felony.

As soon as we were seated I ordered a glass of wine. But it never materialized until much later in the meal only when I reminded our waiter about it.

They first brought out some bread with almost a dipping sauce of clarified butter, herbs and toasted squash or pumpkin seeds. It was really wonderful. I’m often surprised at how many good restaurants can’t get bread right. These guys do get it right.

We were excited to dive into what looked like a very interesting and compelling menu. Of course I HAD to order the beer battered okra with the watermelon rind ketchup. We decided to share an eggplant dish that was served over sort of a mash of roasted red peppers. And after deliberating over about six dishes that looked really interesting, I ultimately went with the slow-cooked lamb with gnocchi and summer squash.

Unlike any fried okra dish you order in the South, this okra was served in whole pieces (as opposed to cross sectioned cubes). The trick with okra is for it not to get slimy and the chef pulled it off successfully. The light batter was perfect and the okra was nicely cooked. However, the dish was somewhat under-seasoned and the ketchup was bland and in definite need of some acid.

The eggplant was similarly underwhelming in terms of flavor and texture though the roasted red peppers underneath were wonderful.

After we were finished with the eggplant dish, and sitting there for a good while, our waiter asked us if we wanted to order anything else. And we were like, “Um, no..but it might be nice if you brought out the lamb dish that we ordered.” For the second time in the meal he totally forgot something. He covered pretty well though. No apologies but an assurance that it it was on the way. By the length of time it look to come out, it was clear that the kitchen only fired it after he left our table and put the order in.

(Note to servers who forget things: You’re busy. Mistakes and oversights will happen. But it is always better to tell the truth about it and correct it ASAP. Trust me. We’re people who love good food and you’re the nice young person working your ass off to bring it out to us. We’re on your side. So don’t lie to us because we’ll know.)

The lamb dish wasn’t worth the wait. It is hard to go wrong with a shredded, slow-cooked lamb. And there WAS great flavor there in the meat. But the gnocchi was under-seasoned, bland and too fluffy. Some of the squash was too crunchy and under-cooked. But the most troubling aspect of the dish was two large pools of oil. If they hadn’t been rushing to get it out to us, I wonder if the chef would have stopped this dish at the slide. Having had multiple dishes by that point that were under-seasoned, I wondered if enough tasting was happening back in the kitchen.

Just when we had lost hope, we shared a dessert of an eggy brioche French toast with honey ice cream and grilled figs. All I can say about that is WOW! Definitely in my top five desserts of the past year. The texture of the bread was heavenly. Buttery, eggy, delicate. The figs were grilled perfectly. And the honey ice cream just tied it all together. A brilliant dessert. I really need to find out who the pastry chef is there because that person is a star.

I definitely will be going back in to give it another shot, especially as their menu continues to evolve. But I just didn’t find the first experience to be all that rave-worthy.

[hopey]

Interesting. We had a lousy service experience as well. The wait was so long after we were seated that I was literally on the edge of my seat about to leave when our server arrived to take our order. Similarly, it took forever to get the check. It was frustrating enough that I’m in no hurry to go back, even though the food was quite good.

[Irukandji]

We finally made it in to Blackboard on a rare kidless date night with no curfew. We were greeted and seated promptly with a stack of pages – one set of menu/drink lists to share. I have to say I’m glad we were provided with a print copy of the menu since the boards have a difficult glare.

Cocktails and wine came along quickly, and our questions were answered honestly. We chose to share an apple and chive salad that I thought was spectacular. Sadly, the meal’s timing was very rushed and entree’s came out before we were even finished with the cocktails and salad. Complete disconnect on the part of the waitstaff.

Though our server was prompt, she didn’t seem to really ‘get’ restaurant service – communication, pacing, etc. Not rude, just green and seemingly awkward. Though I was annoyed to be given the Denny’s service treatment, everything we ordered was great and beautifully presented.

We will go back, but will make sure to be more explicit about when to fire the next course if what we want is a nice dinner out, not a quick meal on our way to another event.

[Ali K]

My husband and I went there this Thursday and had a gorgeous meal! The atmosphere was just right, intimate and stylish and inviting! And the food was delicious! We are already planning a return visit!

[Author]

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