West Seattle restaurants suck

[villagegreen]

Ha! Okay, so this post is obviously tongue in cheek. But for realz, why are the vast majority of restaurants in West Seattle catering to mediocrity? How many pedestrian pizza joints, mexican joints, and bland pub food places do we need? And people rave about them.

I’ve heard it mentioned here that we lack the density to support more unique and adventurous dining options. But I’m not so sure that’s true. With close to 90,000 residents it seems outrageous that I can count on one hand the restaurants in West Seattle that are of similar quality to those in most other neighborhoods in foodie Seattle.

If I had visitors from out of town or even another part of Seattle here are my options: Ma’Ono, Blackboard Bistro, Phoenecia, Mashiko, Pizzeria 22, Marination Ma Kai, and maybe Duos. Okay, I guess I don’t have seven fingers, but come on! We’re one-fifth of Seattle’s population and that’s the best we can do?

And before you blurt out, ‘If restaurants here are so bland here, why don’t you start your own?!” I have no restaurant experience other than my obsession with eating. I live paycheck to paycheck, but am willing to spend my hard earned money at restaurants that are working just as hard to produce outstanding food.

Don’t get me wrong, I like eating at Circa, Elliott Bay, Zippy’s, Kokoras, Easy Street, and the numerous hole in the walls down in White Center. I’m not equating quality with expensive. I just don’t understand how many mediocre burritos, burgers, and pizza one neighborhood can stomach.

[Jiggers]

A lot of them do….

[Bonnie]

What about that new place on Alki? The one that won’t serve Merlot? I heard it’s good.

[trickycoolj]

For my “out of town” guests that often come from rural Pierce/Thurston, even our mediocre burger/pizza joints wow them since their best choice is Applebees. They rave about $5 burger night at Applebees (barf!) or we had Papa Murphy’s for Father’s Day (also barf!). Luckily I’ve been on a Mexican kick lately so at least my cravings have been well served. :)

[skeeter]

All the other neighborhoods in Seattle are jealous of our ice cream (Husky Deli) and bakery (Bakery Nouveau) so we’re about even!

[suzanne]

Best West Seattle restaurant, in my opinion, is Ephesus. Our out of town guests always love it. Great atmosphere and great food and definitely doesn’t serve mediocre burgers, pizza and burritos.

[JanS]

and Fresh Bistro…and Bada Bistro…and Cactus ain’t too slouchy…and Meander’s in White Center ( not everything has to be fancy to be good)….and La Romanza Italian Bistro and Buddha Ruksa…and on and on. I have not eaten in Ma’ono since the name changed….can’t afford it. But I have eaten in the others. Diversity is where it’s at. Pizza places? How many? ( I’m not talking about the Pizza Hut’s of the world).There’s Pizzeria 22, there’s the new place where Garlic Jim’s was. There’s Talarico’s. All are sit down good places. It’s not like there are 10 or more.

Yes, a french restaurant would be nice, but there is no lack of good food in West Seattle, in my opinion.

[transplantella]

@villagegreen

I concur.

And the mediocrity isn’t limited to west Seattle, it permeates the entire city. Seattle is full of overpriced eateries with bland mediocre quality food of all kinds.

After 5 years here we’ve pretty much stopped eating out as it is so expensive and rarely worth the money. Meh, I can find better food at home.

[sam-c]

what about La Rustica? I like their lamb.

and I am curious how ma Kai is included on that list of 7. yes their food is fantastic and yes, I often have friends calling to say, hey, we are coming to West Seattle to go to Ma kai, meet us there. but it is a little different (in character) than the others you listed.

don’t get me wrong, I agree with a lot of your post, just curious.

[dobro]

Mawadda Cafe has excellent Middle Eastern food, Lee’s Asian is very good, La Rustica is great, I could go on. I don’t have any problem finding good food in WS.

[JanS]

dobro…I love Mawadda’s Gyros…with Greek fries…yummy and garlicky…and definitely not skimpy for the price :)

[I Wonder]

Lets not overlook Jak’s and Matador. We do lack those fine, white table cloth, eateries. But really, have you looked at hippy West Seattle? How would they stay in business?

[WorldCitizen]

This was one of my biggest complaints about Seattle before relocating to the Bay Area. I will say this, Paseo has one of the best sandwiches I’ve ever tasted. Anywhere. Period.

[cjboffoli]

That’s funny because I think Paseo is a perfect example of Seattle food hyperbole. I fail to understand the appeal of that place, I mean with the exception of the long lines, erratic hours, hipster service, masses of greasy onions oozing out of the sandwiches, and the menu items claiming to be “Midnight Cubans” that in reality bear little to no resemblance to authentic Medianoche sandwiches.

[JanS]

Christopher…goes to show…some like one thing , some like another…makes the world go ’round…

[JayDee]

CJ:

Where in Seattle would you get Medianoche (middle of the night?) sandwiches?

I disagree with the OP — those that like mediocre pizza can find plenty, but so can those who want great pizza (Phoenecia’s is my pick for well balanced thin crust pizza). I like West 5, and for what it does (comfort food) it hits the spot. Ditto Luna Park. But I will never darken the doorway of Yen Wor. That’s OK. I don’t think West Seattle suffers more than the rest of the city from mediocrity. Our average income is probably lower than Queen Anne or Laurelhurst, and so we don’t get How To Cook A Wolf places. It is more their ignorance than our poor gastronomic tastes.

–

Remember the example of Chez Millionaire which picked a combination of the worst name with an overpriced French Menu–The United Nations of Alki aren’t exactly millionaires.

–

My two cents.

[dobro]

Funny, I love Paseo’s pork snadwiches and I never think of them as Cuban, or medianoche, or any other comparison point. To me, it’s a really tasty sandwich I get when I’m in Fremont. When I go to La Rustica I don’t think ,man, this ain’t how they do it in Sicily. I think, man, what a delicious meal. If one is looking for perfect Cuban food I’d guess the best place to find it would be in Cuba. But there’s plenty of excellent food right here in WS.

[rw]

I guess it all depends what you are after. Nothing wrong with traveling a bit if you want La Campagne or the Herb Farm or (now closed) Rovers, to pick some names off the top of my head. For my dollar, I prefer casual but good, fresh quality and on that measure it’s hard to beat Phoenicia and Blackboard. I prefer the less pretentious Azuma to Mashikos, and Buddha Ruska is good. We also love La Rustica, but it’s a bit heavier and pricier than we usually like. (Although this is the kind of weather to go there because dining in there outdoor section by the fountain is a treat). And Marination is always a winner for the price and top quality casual fare. My wife also loves Circe. What I miss most is some of the more interesting options in the I District, such as the Malay Satay Hut. But horror or horrors, the I District is 10 minutes away by car.

[hammerhead]

OMG have you been to the Bridge their happy hour ROCKS and the regular food is great too. Great beer selection.

West 5, the BEST nachos in town hands down. (no beer selection)

I like Shadowland too.

HH

[kgdlg]

I think suck is too strong. But most are just mediocre. I feel this way now most because I work in Pike Pine where there are so many exciting places to eat! We don’t eat out that much but when we do we have to sit down and really think about it.

Randomly we tried the Seattle fish company the other night and it was pretty good! And not too pricey. I still wish that spring hill had stayed the same though…

[singularname]

I don’t think the mediocrity in West Seattle is more in proportion to the rest of the city and burbs. What do you consider good, out of curiosity? I’m constantly amazed at what “fantastic” places folks have taken me to in the past … El Gaucho? O my gawd … awful, IMO, from not being able to SEE anything to the overpraised and insanely priced steak being less impressive than what my kid cooks up in the broiler. Best BBQ in the PNW, The Man or whatever it’s called? Listen, just because they’re rude doesn’t make it “real,” not by a long shot. Anyhoo … I take out-of-towners to Spuds on the beach, Whereyamatt in Georgetown, etc. etc. And you mention Mexican? Where outside of White Center and South Park is there ANY decent Mexican food next to camp kitchens in Eastern Washington? … Honestly, I think the mediocrity is spread throughout the world equally … (All tongue and cheek here, too, but seriously … ;->.)

[singularname]

oops … sorry VillageGreen, I see now you list what you like … I’d misread that those were what you don’t like. I’ve never been to any of the places on this entire thread except Zippy’s, and while they’re great burgers for burgers, I did eventually fulfill my “oh gosh I should never eat one of these again” thought, although I would take an out-of-towner there.

[WorldCitizen]

Dobro:

re: post 16. Man I was typing the exact same thing when the post just quit on me. I fully agree…not Cuban, just damned good.

[thee]

+1 to the OP

SYSCO trucks are wearing a nasty groove into the WSEA.

[maplesyrup]

If you lived in a town of 90,000 people in the middle of nowhere, there would be a couple of high-end restaurants because there would be demand for them. But since downtown Seattle offers those types of options and those restaurants are more likely to thrive in a more central area with a bigger demographic spread, I can understand why it’s the way it is.

I’d rather be in the predicament of having to drive 10-20 minutes within and outside of West Seattle to visit the plethora of good options around here than to live in a 90k town in the middle of nowhere that has fewer options overall.

Also keep in mind that this area is predominantly residential, meaning we have a lot of families who are more likely to prefer casual dining and fewer business dinner clients who tend to spend more.

Downtown’s not that far. :)

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