Restaurant Meliora & Bar

We came for a friends birthday, and we’re a bit disappointed in the pace of service. We had to flag our server down for water refills, then point out that members of our party did not have water glasses. Our drink orders were taken reasonably soon after we were seated, but they weren’t served until an hour after seating. The drinks themselves were wonderful, well balanced and worth the price. Ordering food took a long time, and the food came out reasonably fast after ordering. Members of our party remarked the small entrée portions were less than filling, and lacked flavor. The warm toffee pudding dessert was a generous portion, and rich. I ended up sharing it, and neither of us could finish. Delicious, definitely a dish I’d come back to this restaurant for. Overall, come here when you have plenty of time to wait for the things you order, and enjoy your drinks at a leisurely pace. I’d recommend this restaurant for drinks and dessert only.

We had a nice time in this relatively new restaurant. My salad was perfect (if a little pricey) and the salmon was crispy, soft, and fresh. The mushroom tea added more depth and tied the corn and onions together well. The space isn't totally together yet, and the decision to supply a fork to eat from a bowl wasn't great, but these are minor whinges, we'll definitely be back for more.

It's crazy seeing the old Canterbury turned into a trendy, upscale restaurant & bar. Like the decor - minimalist, yet modestly elegant and the plants and fresh rose on the table were a wonderful bit of color to a lot of black & gold - bit of a taxidermy meets Morocco vibe (loosely), kinda just have to see it. Seating set up is great! Didn't feel crowded and appreciated they have booths and chairs and larger arrangements for bigger parties. Only critique I'd make is, if you sit on the booth side vs the chairs, you're much higher so the table is right at stomach level forcing you to lean over your plate so you don't drop food in your lap (might be problematic for tall people; felt like I was on a booster seat). Table could stand to be a bit higher I guess, certainly NOT a make it or break it. More like helpful advice you'd give an Airbnb host to make the experience better for the next person. The food was amazing! Service was prompt and friendly. We ordered 4 entrees to share between 3 of us and 3 appetizers, plus several drinks (see photos). All were flavorful, with thoughtful presentation! The salad was fresh, crisp and the dressing simple, yet had the perfect flavor. The tartare seemed "skimpy" not sure why so little, but so good, nonetheless (probably why we wished it was a heartier dish). Bread accompaniment was fresh, perfectly toasted and soft. See photos for most of what we ordered. Only thing not pictured is the short rib tagliatele. Would rate it a 7/10. They were also so kind to store the bday cake we'd brought and even supplied a candle! All in all a stellar experience and highly recommend a visit. Total bill for 3 of us was $323 before tip (probably on the higher end since at least $100 of that was cocktails - it was a birthday celebration after all).

Our evening at Meliora went above and beyond our expectations. It sounds like there have been some changes recently. We decided to go with the chef’s choice menu (an incredible value) and each course surprised and delighted us. The new chef came out to greet us and we learned he has only be there a week. Our server was attentive and gave great recommendations for wine. The cocktail and wine list is minimal, but we didn’t mind that. And of course a major highlight was the atmosphere! The restaurant is beautiful, with fun nods to the past and attention to elegant detail. We are already making plans to return and can’t wait to try more of the menu.

Had a wonderful birthday meal here last night. Thoroughly enjoyed the food and drinks. Everything was fresh and high quality. Service was great as well. Really nice decor, clean and welcoming. Highly recommended!

Meliora is a fantastic date night spot for high-end dining, featuring Executive Chef Ryhs Nunnelee. The chef has prepared an American food menu that emphasizes local, Pacific Northwest ingredients. It's a fun concept for the neighborhood because it offers late-night dining, a full bar and lounge, and an intimate space for private events. With the restaurant's offerings of oysters, delicious steak, seafood, craft cocktails, and a thoughtful wine list focused on the Northwest region, it promises to be a charming and memorable experience. Oysters are my choice for a romantic evening, and they are sourced locally with a delicate flavor. The cocktails available at Meliora are carefully crafted, with attention to detail and unique flavor combinations. Definitely a refreshing and relaxing place for an after-work drink mixed with a starter or entree. There are many different feels throughout the space to fit the atmosphere you are looking for, whether it's a lively bar and lounge or a more intimate setting. Additionally, the thoughtful wine list was curated by their sommelier, whom I had the pleasure of meeting. His name is Jordon, and he told me he has particularly focused on the Northwest region. He carefully selected a range of high-quality wines, featuring local vineyards and showcasing the seasonal flavors found in the cocktails. Overall, Meliora is one of my favorite restaurants in the city and is a very special place to impress a date, take your family out, entertain a business associate, or simply meet a friend. It offers a combination of culinary delights and a cozy ambiance in the historic Canterbury location.

Swanky ambience, delectable food and great service. Enjoyed every dish we had.. (tuna tostada bites, the freshest creamiest burrata on perfectly toasted chewy garlic bread with tomatoes and balsamic, short rib tagliatelle and perfectly cooked scallops with a divine sauce.

Really great drinks with w a wide variety of spirits and just as good food. You'll have a few options of appetizers and entrees that are equally as tasty!

We arrived here around 8pm for a 8:15pm reservation on a Valentine's day. The restaurant is well furnished and designed. There are several sofa and couch for people to sit and wait for their table. Our table was ready in about 10 minutes. The Valentine menu had 3 choice for the main course: Salmon, steak, or risotto. The food came in order with a well garnished design. They were delicious and had the perfect size for one to fill full afterwards. The service here was also good. Everyone was super polite and considerate. The only thing that bothered me was the temperature. The restaurant has a high ceiling so I guess it is hard to keep inside warm. And we were assigned with a table right next to the door, with all the people coming in and leaving we had to keep our jacket and coat on during the entire dinner.

One star for the great host Rodger, one star for the delicious Midori Sour. Prepping green beans 101, is before cooking you cut off the stems. A perfect poetry of food and drink pairing this most definitely was not. At over 100 per person at the end with drinks, this by far was one of my least favorite Thanksgiving meals. A last minute reservation for Thanksgiving, but would have rather had a premade meal from Amazon Fresh and saved my money. The ambiance delectable, Roger was a fantastic host, I do hope you can work towards a much better future in a culinary experience.

Quiet place with amazing service. Our server was amazing. However very empty for a Friday evening. I got the salmon and wasn't a fan. It came with a mushroom "tea" which tbh honest lacked flavor. I have had more flavorful salmon. My friends seemed to enjoy their dishes: pasta, lamb, chicken but they weren't raving about it either.

We had a reservation for a Saturday night earlier in January but when we arrived there were no other parties. Our group shared quite a few dishes but were mostly neutral about everything we ate. Some items were very disappointing though as 6 pieces of asparagus as a side were $13 or something crazy like that. Looks like there is a new chef though so hopefully things will improve when they reopen!

The best service in Capitol Hill. Food is amazing. The environment is clean and friendly.

There is a new chef! We had drinks at their beautiful bar, and dessert. Drinks are good and I've always liked the bartender. I'm only giving 4-stars until I try a dinner. The menu looks intriguing, and the chef gave came out and shared a great description of the thought put into the food selection. The menu offers a 4-course $64 per person table special that we plan on trying. If you've had it let me know what you think! Meliora is a beautiful space. A little confusing to figure out which door is the front door ... but they all work :)

I was excited to try this place as there are not a lot of restaurants with "Pacific Northwest" cuisine. We went to this restaurant in a group of 7 people. I acknowledge that it's fairly new and they are likely still ironing out some kinks but I thought their service was really lacking. We waited about an hour for our appetizers and the main dishes took about two hours. We ended up being there almost three hours total. The cocktails were interesting and tasty. The steak and scallops were decent but the fish dishes were over cooked. We enjoyed the burrata appetizer. Tuna tostadas were okay but the beef tartare was one of the worst I've had. Overall I probably would not return unless they made some serious adjustments The ambiance was nice and the decor was unique. Location is great. They just need to vastly improve on their service and focus more on improving their appetizers and dishes.

this place was very confusing. Starting with the entrance and inside. This place took over a large, ale house with great windows and woodsy aesthetics. Now it has at least 6 different themes: -wood plank walls (PNW) -rose on each table w black cloth napkins (fine dining) -aluminum sections of the ceilings (industrial) -velvet chairs and booths (chic) -animal head on wall (rustic?) -original building window panes (gothic architecture) Ended up just getting drinks here because the aesthetics threw me so off I didn't know what to order... :( the restaurant space is SO large. If the entire vibe was actually PNW it would be fantastic.

We chose this restaurant for our anniversary dinner last month, and I'm so glad we did! I used to live in the neighborhood, so I went to the Canterbury often about a decade ago - and I LOVE what they've done with the space (it feels modern and medieval at the same time, and they kept the stained glass and the knight, which is awesome). The Short Rib Tagliatelle and the Game Hen were both fantastic, as was the Burrata. I'm not usually one to go for a Midori Sour, but that one was unique and delicious. The service was wonderful, too. Can't wait to go back and try more!

Pros: - Thought the cocktail menu was interesting and creative. - Thought the new little bar area they are making to the side of the restaurant seems cool. - cocktails were pretty tasty. - really liked the glassware used. We came by and noted a few things to improve: - didn't like the blue string lights at the bar. Really took away from the rest of the atmosphere. - sitting right in front of the kitchen there was a weird smell that could have been the cleaning products mixing with the seafood but it was really unpleasant to our group in that spot. Other parts of the restaurant didn't have this smell. Overall, considering the smell we experienced we left unsure we would want to come back even though we generally liked the cocktails. We didn't try any of the food to report on that. We would come try the new bar when it opens though and give that a try. Hopefully these tips help this new restaurant succeed!

Excellent service, food and ambiance! Was a diver bar in the day. Amazing eclectic eatery.

Really excited about Meliora as someone who lives in the neighborhood. I have been twice now, once for just happy hour drinks/apps and once for full dinner. To start, they did a great job with the interior design. It is a lovely, welcoming space. The service is great and i hope it stays that way (since service in Seattle is so disappointing these days). Our servers were friendly, attentive, and seemed to be excited about the menu/product they were offering. We had the tartare to start, which was good. Shared scallops (incredible) and steak (great taste, but small cut for the price). Also had an amazing house made sausage plate both times with venison, boar, and elk sausage served with pickled veggies, sliced bread, and mustard (yum!). My only suggestions or qualms were: 1). the drinks are all so tasty, but for $17-19, the pours are VERY small (each drink of mine was gone in 3-4 sips). additionally, they could be colder; 2) oysters were amazing but the mezcal mignonette was not (would be nice to offer something more traditional in addition). Excited to see where this place goes. 15th is a hard street to get heavy traffic on and since this place is touting late night food and drinks, it would be nice to see a late night small plate menu to tempt people to walk up. Good luck, Meliora. I am cheering for you.

Went for happy hour, the drinks were fine! The space is really cool and the food looked good. Definitely going to try and make it back there for dinner soon.

A few days after they opened, we had pork tenderloin, tagliatelle, and cheese dessert tray. I was happy with the pork but my husband was a little disappointed in the tagliatelle. We decided to wait a bit and try after they'd been open awhile. The bar is beautiful and we've stopped in several times for drinks. Good drinks in a beautiful space! Tonight we stopped in again for dinner. We split 3 small plates of salad, albacore tostadas, and harissa lamb and also had the scallop entree with pot au creme dessert ($140 with 3 drinks). Everything was wonderful! The salad was basic but super fresh greens and a good homemade vinaigrette. The service was excellent (thanks Ben!) My husband and I are still arguing over which dish was our favorite, so we will have to go back and try to settle the argument!

The food and drinks were amazing. We got the gazpacho (perfect tangy taste for a hot summer day, the watermelon was a nice touch). The tostada bites were cute and had good flavors. For mains we got pork tenderloin and scallops both of which were excellent. The toffee pudding dessert was a real winner with a great butterscotch flavor. For me I thought the portions were perfect as I had room for starters, main and dessert. Drinks were a highlight (Clarified colada and summer negroni) were both perfectly balanced! The ambience feels like a holdover from the divey Canterbury with a lot of dark wood. A lighter more modern look would be more consistent with the menu and general vibe of this restaurant. The service was excellent and attentive!

This place is awesome! Great for a birthday or any celebration. The ambiance and decor was so fun and cozy. Everyone absolutely loved their meals and the little tuna bite's appetizer was a fun way to start. Definitely recommend!

Came here for Thanksgiving dinner with my son when we were in town for his hockey tournament! Was pleasantly surprised... I loved my salad - it was super flavorful! My dinner dish was not quiet what I expected (Thought it was a traditional mushroom risotto) but instead I was intrigued with the combination of mushroom brussel sprouts cauliflower, etc and the flavor was so amazing and cooked to perfection, I ate the entire thing! My son got the Thanksgiving turkey dinner and ate his whole dinner as well (He is 13). So net net - we have no complaints! Staff was great, friendly, personable, and fun! Thank you Meliora for a better out of town Thanksgiving experience than I expected!

Good service and drinks. Small portions and overpriced food. I don't expect to go home hungry after paying $200 for dinner for two on Capitol Hill and go home hungry. Hopefully they will adapt over time.

We booked a reservation for this restaurant as part of our monthly foodie group and were quite disappointed with many aspects of it. The ambiance was nice but the tables with backless chairs for a sit-down restaurant felt uncomfortable for a lengthy evening. We got a variety of cocktails, wines etc. and somebody previously mentioned that the pours for wine were very small and it's completely true. I finished my glass of wine in three to four sips. The cocktails tasted good but diluted. We ordered a bunch of appetizers for the table and the burrata was great but the tartar was ok (the raw beef was brown tho). From our group, the good entrees were Scallops and Steak but the Salmon and Halibut were overcooked and dry. The presentation was decent but the dishes lacked depth either in flavor or taste. One of our friend who got the Tagliatelle mentioned, that a local pasta chain's ragu for $15 tasted much better than this. Our group is patient and generally don't worry about the service but we waited a solid hour before the starters arrived and the whole dinner took almost 3 hours with long periods of wait. Overall, we racked up $110 per person with couple drinks each and shared apps and an entree per person and tax and tips and left hungry. For entrees in the $30-40 and with a 5% service charge on the whole check, they lacked severely on the execution. I would suggest to wait on trying this restaurant till they improve the cooking and service.

The food was amazing and Bethany provide world-class customer service! I couldn't ask for a better evening. THANK YOU BETHANY ;)

This was a really weird meal. I get that this is a new restaurant, but there are definitely some issues that need to be worked out. Started off by waiting about 20 minutes for two glasses of wine to get to our table. Entrees then shortly arrived; we ordered the short rib tagliatelle (generic, bland), and the salmon. My salmon had soggy skin and when I cut open into it, it was blue rare - completely raw in the middle. I sent it back, and didn't ask them to remake it because my appetite was gone. I never ever send food back, but for a $30 tiny piece of salmon, I expect it to at least be... edible? The waitress then brought our bill and I was shocked that they had the audacity to try and charge me for it, stating, "our chef says that our salmon is cooked to a 'medium'". ... ok, that wasn't medium. They eventually comp'ed it after I insisted, but... really? Thank god I didn't order the oysters. What a waste of money.

the absolute worst dining experience in my life! (Not an exaggeration). Let me start that I dined here once before and left a 5* review with the caveat that it was the first week it was open. Now, for our miserable NYE experience. When we arrived at 7:30 the restaurant was not even half full. That being said, the service was SLOW! The pre fixe menu was disappointing. Tbh, I didn't realize the menu was posted online. The menu was unspectacular, but most annoyingly, they were out of one of the entrees, the scallops, at 7 f-ing 30. I really wasn't in the mood for either the lamb or pork, but went with pork. (3 ordered pork; 2 lamb). Back to the first course--oysters. They were ok, but the salmon roe and dill kind of overpowered the actual oyster. 2 didn't want the oysters so the server said they had a bruschetta. When the bruschetta was almost slammed on the table, the tomatoes were all over the plate. The salad was decent, but definitely could have had more dressing. The pork and lamb were all horribly overcooked. We didn't send it back because it took so long to get what we got. Flavors were ok, but who wants overcooked pork and lamb? (In my first review in October, I mentioned the meat was overcooked and the excuse in the reply was that the chef was getting used to the new kitchen; what's the excuse now?) The dessert--a fruit dish--was ok at best. While we were there, multiple tables left before ordering because the service was so bad. The owners and manager should be embarrassed! They ruined many peoples NYE dining experience. I felt sorry for our server, apparently first night--I think a bunch of people quit recently, if we were reading the tea leaves properly.

Food was good! Server was nice but we waited at least 20 minutes for our cocktails, 50 minutes for our food, about 20 minutes for our desert, and another 10-15 for our check. I will definitely go back in a month or two when things are more established.

spent $30 for two shots that were under 2 oz. bartender didn't know what he was doing. honestly really frustrated because that is generally the price of two mixed cocktails. won't return, not worth my money.

The place looks incredible both from the outside and inside. The service was impeccable. Both the food and the drinks were splendid, displays gave me a vibe between "el Gaucho" with a touch of "Metropolitan". I think we just found our new favorite spot in Seattle.. Great job to the owner, Managegment and the entire staff, we had an amazing experience dining here last night..

The food was quite good with some wonderful flavors. The service was excellent. However, there is a 5% surcharge which goes to the house, not the workers. This is not disclosed on the website.

Fantastic spot! The Peach Tea Cocktail is a must do. The salmon dish was wonderful despite being on 15th where parking can be limited, this place is worth the struggle. Put the Meliora on your list of favorite places. The GM, Austin will take care of you, he cares about his customers!