Canlis in Seattle

I've searched for this topic and came up with nothing. Has anyone been to Canlis? What did you think? I'm treating my boyfriend to their tasting menu for his birthday and would like to know if its worth all the hype. Thank you for any help!

I went to Canlis over 30 years ago. At the time, it was the best restaurant I had been to outside of Chicago. It was very romantic, the food was great and my date was duly impressed. I was a young struggling recording engineer at the time, so it was really a big deal and I was broke for weeks afterward, but I wouldn't have missed the experience for anything. 30+ years is a long time and I'm sure lot's has changed (including the chef once or twice). Please be sure to report back. I'd love to hear how the old place has held up over time.

I'm in the Seattle area on a fairly regular basis and have dined at many of the top restaurants, including Canlis. While it is still romantic in a retro kind of way, in all honesty the place is living on its reputation.

For an even more romantic spot, go to Chez Shea.

For the best fine dining experiences Seattle has to offer, go to Mistral, Union, Campagne, or Rover's.

But I have a question: is your boyfriend in Seattle, or are you meeting/taking him there? If the latter, I would very strongly suggest booking a room at the Willows Lodge in nearby Woodinville. Across the parking lot from the Willows Lodge are two of the best restaurants in the Seattle area. For a "money is no object" dining experience, go to Herbfarm. For a Pacific NW take on Blackbird, go to Barking Frog. And during the day, you can visit some of the 20 or so wineries that are within a 15-minute drive of the hotel. Woodinville is about 25 miles from downtown Seattle.

My boyfriend does live in Seattle. While I would enjoy Woodinville, he would not as done not care for wine. I chose Canlis after reading about it in Seattle magazine way back in January. This month I read about it in Gourmet. We enjoy many restaurants off the beaten path but we want to see what this place is like, given its reputation. Its certainly a splurge because I'm a new grad and he's in grad school out there. I hope I get my moneys worth.

There isn't a restaurant in Chicago that is like Canlis. It is VERY much old-world, from its dress code to its cuisine to its formal-yet-impeccable service (which IMO is unmatched in Chicago). It is VERY expensive, and from a food standpoint it is a terrible value. But when you factor in the service and the great view, it is a good choice for a special occasion.

But PLEASE take a look at Chez Shea.

Since its been almost month, I should update on my visit to Canlis.
First of all, the space is beautiful. The view was nice and the lighting was just right, not too dark. We had an 8:30 reservation but were immediatly sent to the lounge and were not seated until 9:15. I was bothered by this but as soon as we were seated and showered with attention, I was fine. The entire staff was excellent. We each had the tasting menu which started with a dungeness crab salad, it was the perfect way to start. Great light flavor and texture. The next course was butter poached lobster in a veal, cognac broth. I've never had a broth like this before and could not get enough. Our "palate cleanser" was thinly sliced grapes with olive oil and sea salt. This was the most unexpected part of meal and it was nice. Our main course was beef tenderloin over greens with truffle gnocci. This was our favorite course. The beef was of a substantial size and was done perfectly. I had requested a ganache birthday cake for my boyfriend so we got to enjoy that before our tasting dessert. We could barely finish half, it was so rich. Our final dessert was a square of puff pastry filled with peaches and apricots with a giant scoop of devonshire cream. It was very good but after all the food we had, I would have preferred something lighter. My dinner was paired with wine, while my boyfriend had a beer pairing. The sommalier did a good job with the beers and we were both introduced to some excellent ones. With the amount of wine they were pouring and his full bottles of beer, we were definitly feeling the alcohol by the end.

Overall, I was very impressed with the staff, food and space of Canlis. My only complaint were the many young people in the restaurant (around my age of 24) that were drunk. They had been sitting in the lounge for hours before they were seated and then drank a full bottle of wine. Perhaps the staff should have kept a better eye on this. I saw one party carrying out one of their friends who had too much.

I would go back to Canlis in a heartbeat as long as someone else was paying.