Art of the Table

We visited this restaurant before its closure, and while the ambiance was lovely and the staff were friendly, the flavors unfortunately didn’t live up to expectations. The dishes were beautifully presented, but it felt like the ingredients weren't at their best—perhaps due to the upcoming closure. Most of the dishes were overly salty, and the flavor combinations seemed a bit off. I never had an instance where I did not eat half of the dish. The staff was little bit shocked asked if everything was ok. But we were why bother to complain, we just did not enjoy the dishes. All of them. Overall, I was a bit disappointed with the experience, especially given the restaurant’s reputation. The price was expensive for what they've offered. I hope the best of luck to the owners who moved on and decided to prioritize enjoying their family.

We had a great time at Art of the Table. We tried the tasting menu and enjoyed each course, the salmon, squash blossom and the earl gray panna cotta were some of my favorites. I appreciated the thought that went into creating an appealing list of “dry libations” aka non alcoholic drink options. All around it was a great meal with really nice service.

To be fair, we were received by a gorgeous slab of pork belly. This review might be biased. When you attend a tasting menu like this, you expect elevated courses and a couple of memorable dishes to brag about to your friends. We got that and James. Knowledge, kind, and boy do they know their pairings. I'm not going to spoil it for you, if you get James, you are in for a great time.

Michelin does not have a guide in the state of Washington, but if it did, Art of the Table would have at least one Michelin star. Typically at fine dining tasting menu experiences, you just have a tasting menu option - but AoT is unique in that you can order most dishes a la carte as well. That gives flexibility if you want to assemble your own adventure and still get top quality dishes. Located in a quiet part of Wallingford, from the outside, there is a subtle and unassuming energy. But once you walk in, you’re greeted by a grand round bar top that surrounds the main cooking operation. For those who want to sit and observe the chefs prepare the decadent tasting menu courses, reserve the bar top. If you have a group and want to do a traditional dinner table, you can do that too. Now, on to the food. You will get a broad array of textures, flavors, and moods. The dishes are immaculately assembled, and each dish has its own vibe. To start with, a fresh oyster with citrus mignonette granita was cutting, ice cold, and delicious. Served alongside it was a small glass of drinkable strawberry rhubarb gazpacho with vanilla oil and mint. Together, the flavors, textures, and coldness of the oyster seemed to snap their fingers as if to say “focus, we are getting started now” :) Next, I had the upgrade roasted garlic and potato crepe with egg yolk fudge and black pepper crema, which were the support for a generous amount Tsar Nicolai Estate caviar. This dish was the standout for the evening for me, because as elegant as it sounds, the flavors felt familiar, delicious, and buttery. To me, the crepe had the aroma of cooking buttery French toast on a Sunday morning, with the yolk and pepper crema there to be the supporting sauces. The caviar played the role of the salt notes on this dish and from each passing bite I found myself getting sad that the plate would be empty soon. Next, a perfectly seared scallop served over a sauce with the flavors of mushroom, truffle, fava bean fricassee. This dish provided a warm flavored, umami dipping experience under each tender bite of the scallop. Next, a pork coppa tortellini with roasted pepper romesco with grilled cauliflower. For me the tortellini filling reminded me of the earthy savory flavors and textures you might find in a pork and bean chorizo. Tasty, familiar, and yet different. Next, my wife and I each had a different variation on the steak: wagyu flatiron, and wagyu filet, served alongside notes of warm rich sauces, acidic notes, and charred vegetable textures. In my experience, wagyu is the popular thing in the dining scene these days, but this one was a well chosen cut that wasn’t overly opinionated, as some tend to be. The sear on the outside was sharp, textured, and flavorful while the inside was baked to perfection, leaving you with a combination of texture and moistness. Next was a cows milk cheese alongside eldeberry, honey, and fig. Interestingly, these ingredients on their own were all fine, but when eaten together they made perfect sense. Finally the olive oil cake alongside tarragon ice cream and dusted almond, with cherries and cherry vinegar gastrique. This was an incredibly delicious dessert and was a good ending to the journey. The ice cream had an herbal flavor and the almond “brittle” was crumbled and used as a texture to dip into. Together it was a great balance of flavors, textures, and brought it all together as the final stop of the ride. Overall, there are few places around Seattle that really lean into the legitimate multi course tasting menu experiences, and this is one of them. They do it well, they know what they are doing, and you should get out there and experience it for yourself.

Loved everything about Art of the Table. The service, the delicious food, and the wine pairings were all incredible! I also loved the open kitchen concept! Can’t wait to go back.

Food is as good as I remembered when I first tried it in their old place. Everything was tasty and flavorful. Portions were a bit much for me and my husband. But we were really satisfied with the whole experience celebrating our anniversary.

VEGAN - Had the most amazing vegan tasting menu (I did confirm ahead of time so they expected me). As much as I would have loved to tell you the details of each plate, it was overwhelming and just flat out amazing. Depth of flavor, crunchy, soft, chewy, hot, cold, spicy, comfort, refined, and on and on and on...amazing food. It's all prepared at the open kitchen if you want to marvel at their chef prep skills too. For those looking for a night out with not only quality food, but also some of the best service ever. Must experience.

- Great ambiance, but I prefer omakase restaurants - We picked this place for our annual valentine's day dinner, and came earlier than the reservation time as required by the restaurant. However, they were still prepping when we arrived and we were told to wait. Then another couple came in and they sat them down, which was odd. I felt a bit uncomfortable there, but didn't say anything. Then they sat us at the counter, which was fine except I'm usually not a fan of high chairs. The waiter was fine, but he spent less time with us as we didn't order wine pairing like other couples did. The place was still quite empty 30 minutes after dining, I guess they space out the reservation time like that. The valentine's dinner was more pricy ($195/person). It comes with amuse bouche, albacore tuna crudo, scallop & prawn tortellini, duck confit "karaage", pure country beef ribeye, and a dark chocolate dipper chocolate semifreddo (See attached pix for full ingredient list). They had two upgrade options: wagyu and caviar. We didn't, but the couple next to us got the cavar. It was like a tablespoon for $55... I've had it and it's not really my cup of tea, plus it's pricy. The Dungeness crab fried rice was crispy and delicious, but the citrus salad was a little bit too sour for my liking since there's kumquat (a small citrus fruit). I generally enjoy sour dishes, so I can tell it's too sour for my husband. As expected, he doesn't like this one and I ended up eating some of his. The scallop & prawn tortellini is a basically a huge ravioli LOL! It's cute, but I don't remember its taste now. The fried duck was great, but again the sauce on the side was too sour. My ribeye was fine, and there is a very slight difference between my husband's wagyu and mine. His is slightly more fatty, which I'm not sure if it justifies the upgrade price. The dessert was my favorite, but again it was on the sour side since there's a cherry-ginger sorbet. They gave us a cookie and a chocolate upon leaving for us to enjoy at home. I enjoyed my time here, but I think they pay more attention to the guests who ordered wine pairing. I believe the waiter did come over to refill my husband's water maybe twice. I asked for hot water, but they didn't even bother offering a piece of lemon, which was very cheap of them (since they have tons of citrus fruit in the kitchen, obviously). I believe it was around $538 or so after tax for us, which was around the price we pay for omakase courses in sushi restaurants. I think I still prefer those since we are a huge fan of sashimi, plus it's more filling. Most of the guys I know don't really enjoy the sour taste too much, so I can't imagine guys enjoying these dishes. I'd say my experience was quite neutral, though I don't think I'd come back again given the CP value was quite low in my opinion.