Seaplane Kitchen & Bar

This place has hands-down awesome food. Kenmore is absolutely an up-and-coming area, and Seaplane is helping make that happen! My only complaint is the small window for operating hours; we arrived at 3:15pm and were told the kitchen didn't open for full dinner until 4pm, which was annoying, but not a deal breaker. It wouldn't have bothered me as much if we hadn't also wanted to eat here on a walk 3 other times and found it closed; wrong day, hours not open yet, or some other issue. To me, it feels like a place that is so walking accessible among other shops and a community center should probably try to be open more than not, but then I just eat at restaurants, I don't own one.

Went on opening night and it was awesome. Surpassed expectations by far. We had large plates, the meatballs and short rib, and a vegetable, the blistered carrots. The short rib was the standout. Don't skip dessert either, the ice cream is excellent.

Delicious food and drink. Great ambiance. Recommended by a friend who frequents with her husband. Starter veggies are fantastic! I had the King Salmon for my entree and it melted in my mouth. Make sure to svae room for dessert though and get the brownie sundae!!! You will be glad you did!

3-27 update: now that the initial love fest has worn off (you know, that "dating" period when a restaurant first opens and knocks your socks off), some more perspective... I've got to knock this place down from 5 stars to 4. The pizza crust is weird. Super thin and MUSHY (not crispy like most "thin crust" pizzas). Guys, it's weird. As pizzas make up 1/2 of their lunch/dinner menu selection, this is a problem. I'm not saying don't try a pizza, but I'm warning you: be prepared to be disappointed. We've had/tried three pizzas. Enough to rule out a "bad pizza anomaly". The TOPPINGS are creative and delicious, but the crust is, well, important. Hopefully they figure this out, because I've had both better CAMP pizza and better frozen pizza from Target. "THE burger" (Seaplane Burger) was also disappointing. It gives me absolutely no pleasure to report this. Seaplane seems to have fallen into the same old tired trap as some other restaurants: making burgers "Instagramable", instead of delicious and actually edible. It's SO FREAKING BIG, you need to CRUSH the two-patty behemoth (remember, this is the only burger they offer - it's not like I CHOSE a two-patty burger over a smaller option) with your hands, just to fit a corner of it into your mouth. It's a mess. They boast of how awesome the aged beef ("24 day dry aged beef") is...Meh. Pick-Quick, Five Guys, CaliBurger, Great State Burger, and Lunchbox Laboratory all easily beat the Seaplane Burger on taste, no question (and all for less money). And if you ASK for bacon (they don't OFFER bacon as an add 🤷‍♂️), they'll give you chopped bacon, not strips 🙈. Needless to say, I won't be having one again. They DEFINITELY have a habit (more so than an average of all bars and restaurants I've ever been to in my life) of icing the heck out of their cocktails. 5-6 sips of the [delicious] "Compass Punch" and it (and $11 of your precious dollars) are gone. I mean, I'm happy to pay for well-prepared drinks with creative recipes and unique liquors (see: Lot No. 3 in downtown Bellevue), but when 5/8ths of the drink is green tea and pineapple juice, AND there's so much of that REALLY TINY ICE THAT FILLS ALL THE VOIDS SO THERE'S EVEN LESS LIQUOR IN YOUR COCKTAIL THAN OTHER RESTAURANTS AND BARS WHO USE 1" CUBES, you have to wonder just how hard the owners are laughing from the deck of their brand new Chris Craft. It's highway robbery. A shot of gin, pineapple juice and green tea with "tropical spices" - total liquid volume of maybe 4 ounces - plus a half pound of teeny tiny ice in a glass for $11? It's definitely delicious, but not I-will-continue-to-put-up-with-extortion delicious. Try the Finnriver Black Currant Cider ($8), instead. Delicious. It's not like this place sucks or we're never coming back (4 stars is still very respectable), but they have a number of things to improve and refine before it's "to-die-for" 5-star category. Do come in for brunch (see original review)...It's what they're better at ;) Note to management: YOU GUYS NEED TO PUT THOSE AMAZING ”CRISPY OLIVES” ON THE HAPPY HOUR MENU!!!!!!!! 😋 People, those olives are amazing: mozzarella filled castelvetrano olives with magic dust on the outside 🤷‍♂️ Original review: Coooooooool! It took long enough for Kemore to get a cool restaurant / bar. Same owners as Stoneburner (Ballard), Poquitos, Rhein Haus, Bastille, Macleod's (etc?). The "Smoked Ham & Cheese Crispy Crepe" and Biscuits & Gravy (no quotations required) were our first meals and they were expertly prepared and FdCKING delicious. We tried several drinks and they were DUCKING amazing. A limited but delicious and carefully curated selection of wines and beers rounds out the alcohol selection. If you can't find something to drink, you're too picky. Standing by for a pizza (to take home) before weighing in on that front, but by the looks and smells, it looks promising. Welcome to Kenmore, Seaplane!

Have eaten dinner here and was really good (try the garlic knots-you won’t be dissappointed) so we decided to try brunch. We orderer the Chicken Fried steak with over easy egge and the biscuit and gravy with scrambled eggs. I felt the price was a little on the higher side, especially since you don’t get any sides and I was hoping for something to dip the extra delicious tomato gravy in. Service always is very attentive and the wait has never been too extrocious.

Next time we'll make reservations. We had about a 35 minute wait for a seat at 6:30 p.m. Luckily, the food and beverages were worth the wait. Our group ordered and shared a few things. We started with the garlic knots and crispy olives which were both superb. We got the Flying Wires pizza, which had two perfectly over easy eggs and loads of tasty parm and bacon. We also tried the crispy cauliflower which had a delicious harissa yogurt sauce. My boyfriend got the burger I stole a small bite from and the meat was superb. Not sure about those sweet pickles though. #dillpicklesforlife. We also got a kid's pepperoni pizza for the wee lad. I didn't try it but it looked yummy. It wasn't much smaller than the standard pizzas. The Dakota Sour, and sour beer were both good beverages. It seems a little pricey for Kenmore, but all in all, a good experience.

Amazing food. The service was quick and their cocktails are phenomenal. The restaurant a great, warm atmosphere and the staff are great. Definitely recommend!

Seaplane is an awesome addition to Kenmore! We felt very welcomed by the friendly hostess and delightfully surprised by the beautiful space. It’s obvious that a lot of thought and care was put into creating the perfect ambiance. The bar is gorgeous! We just had to try a few cocktails and can attest that these bartenders are super legit! Each drink was delicious, unique and very well balanced. No one could decide on just one dish so we went with family style, which was a great choice. Garlic knots with whipped feta?! Melt in your mouth amazing! The tuna dip is another MUST for a starter. We were all impressed with the vegetable selections and each one was like a meal in itself. So fresh and clean! We almost fought over the last bites of perfectly roasted coho, the mouthwatering short rib, and the MEATBALLS - but I’m glad I saved just enough room for the mushroom and fontina pizza because it was the best pizza I’ve had, maybe EVER! I almost passed on dessert, but thank goodness I didn’t because I didn’t know fresh cookies w/ ice cream could be so darn good?! Throughly impressed by the staff, the food and the beauty of the space. Romantic yet very comfy, classy with a casual friendliness. Family friendly with plenty of different sections for all types of occasions. Will be back very soon!