fantastic menu every night. What an extremely talented group of people in the kitchen!!! Is truly an experience like no other!!!!!
Helen L.
Okay, a lot to break down here. We had the tasting menu with two drinks, and it came out to be around $350. The space is super tiny, as many have expressed. We sat by the door, and our knees were touching the entire time. So I would say the seating is not the most comfortable, especially if you are taller or larger in size. I think the tasting menu was an experience; however, I don't know if it was worth the money. I think they were very creative, and the ingredients were very high-quality. However, some dishes were very small and plain. The steak we had was the best part of our meal and I would easily pay $60-$70 just for that dish but everything else was just OK. I would recommend to go and try the à la cart, but I don't think the tasting menu is worth it . For example, one of the dishes we had in the tasting menu was a bun with a rabbit kidney in it, but there is a dish on the menu that is a piece of bread with at least over 10 pieces of rabbit kidney on it and it was $14. It's still a must try and I would go back again for a la cart menu.
Kathleen C.
We enjoyed our meal here! It's a small restaurant with counter seating only for 10ish people. Make reservations via texting. The menu items rotate through. They're small sharing plates, less of your regular proteins and more organ meats. Most of the plates were unique and well prepared. The grilled octopus with smoked cabbage - octopus was normal good but the smoked cabbage was done so nicely, like best cabbage ever (which is wild because it seems like a basic ingredient). The beef tendon in the onion soup was soo soft. I normally don't like tendon because of the texture but enjoyed this one. Monkfish liver is good (as it is in Japanese restaurants too), but my only thing with it is, it was $46! It's a bit hefty imo and the unique part of it was that it was in a good crab broth. My least favorite is the rabbit kidney, not that it's not prepared well but it's probably just not an ingredient I like as much, ok to try once. We spent $210 with tax and tip for 6 items. Overall, good meal, on the pricier side. Would come back when the menu items rotate through again.
John Swartos
Kid-friendliness: Don’t bring your kid here. Duh.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Marvin Henderson
If you dine here at Off Alley, you might wonder, “Why me?” When perusing the menu, everything seems promising, but once the food hits your palate, regret and sodium overload set in. Presented with à la carte or a full eight-course meal, I opted for the former, not quite feeling up to the latter's challenge.My culinary journey commenced with the beef tenderloin and French onion soup, a dish that could easily contend for the title of the worst onion soup I've ever tasted. The lack of flavor was glaring, leaving me yearning for even a humble frozen soup from Trader Joe's.Next up were the fresh cheese dumplings with Celeriago Yellow Foot Chanterelles, a visually stunning dish that unfortunately fell short in seasoning. Not a grain of salt, pepper, or any discernible flavor profile graced the plate.Moving on to the grilled octopus with pork rind leek, the disappointment persisted. The dish was overwhelmingly salty, leaving me questioning whether the chef's affinity for sodium bordered on obsession.Saving the supposedly best for last, the lamb chops with wild rice polenta proved the ultimate letdown. Tasting akin to guzzling saltwater, it became apparent that the chef had declared war on balance and chosen salt as their weapon of choice. They emerged victorious, leaving me $200 poorer and pondering how everything went wrong. Exiting Off the Alley felt akin to being mugged—not by thieves, but by culinary disappointment.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 1
Service: 1
Marvin H.
If you dine here at Off Alley, you might wonder, "Why me?" When perusing the menu, everything seems promising, but once the food hits your palate, regret and sodium overload set in. Presented with à la carte or a full eight-course meal, I opted for the former, not quite feeling up to the latter's challenge. My culinary journey commenced with the beef tenderloin and French onion soup, a dish that could easily contend for the title of the worst onion soup I've ever tasted. The lack of flavor was glaring, leaving me yearning for even a humble frozen soup from Trader Joe's. Next up were the fresh cheese dumplings with Celeriago Yellow Foot Chanterelles, a visually stunning dish that unfortunately fell short in seasoning. Not a grain of salt, pepper, or any discernible flavor profile graced the plate. Moving on to the grilled octopus with pork rind leek, the disappointment persisted. The dish was overwhelmingly salty, leaving me questioning whether the chef's affinity for sodium bordered on obsession. Saving the supposedly best for last, the lamb chops with wild rice polenta proved the ultimate letdown. Tasting akin to guzzling saltwater, it became apparent that the chef had declared war on balance and chosen salt as their weapon of choice. They emerged victorious, leaving me $200 poorer and pondering how everything went wrong. Exiting Off the Alley felt akin to being mugged--not by thieves, but by culinary disappointment.
Adam Teepe
Wonderful experience. All of the food was excellent. We ordered an otherworldly dungeness crab dish that was in the top five of things we have ever eaten in Seattle. The dessert was similarly amazing...French toast with fois gras ice cream. Service was good and obviously intimate given the small size of the place. One of the best meals we've had in Seattle. We'll be back!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Max M.
Came here because I heard the wine was supposed to be good and maybe it could be but what I had for my first glass was not very good at all and then when I asked if I could have something else, the waiter loudly berated me in this pretty small restaurant about my taste in wine -- effectively telling me I have zero taste. It was a really horrible experience. Not everyone prefers the same taste in wine, especially if what's in the wine menu description does not match the taste of the actual wine. Didn't stay for the food after that.
Connor Smith
Too tiny to NOT be fine dining! Incredible food and atmosphere. Have been here a couple times once for my husband’s birthday and another for NYE. Owners are so welcoming and all the dishes are so inventive. One of the best restaurants in Seattle!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
S Ng
Too tiny to be a fine dining, literally elbow-to-elbow packed. They’re trying to seat as many people as possible to maximize their profits. Food is just okay given the price.
A strange setting -- a former alley just 6 feet wide with a bar running down one side. The cooking is incredible and inventive.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Quince Sorbet
James Dexter
Went for Sunday supper. It was multiple heavy meat courses, which tasted ok but it left us feeling greasy and nauseous. Final meat course was leather-tough lamb.Service was needlessly rushed. Got my drink order wrong twice, and instead of taking it back argued that what they brought was fine. They also brought out plates way too fast, I'm a fast eater and we had 3 courses on the table at once.Paid with amex, they ran the card and then came out and said they didn't take amex. Gave them another card. Turns out that they charged both cards, and are now completely unresponsive leaving me to dispute the charges manually. If they weren't a fancy restaurant I would think they are a scam.Still 20% tip though.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 3
Service: 1
Gabe N.
Food alone, this place nailed the small dish, umami packed bite sized pieces that only appreciate as the night goes on. They've managed to curate a delicate, yet powerful tasting menu that nails every taste bite known to the food palate. However, don't go here if you're hungry, or if you're paying a mortgage. We were lucky enough to get a reservation but we were even more lucky to be graced by the presence of the staff. This place makes you feel like you're only slightly good enough to join them, your money is plenty good, but you yourself? Hmm not so sure. Pretentiousness and deliciousness served on the same plate delivered by a cold hand.
Bizzz Liu
Some creative European
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 5
Service: 4
Dan Riley
Just go. I even ate the brussel sprouts there for the first time in my life (seriously) flacorea are so unique, the menu is very flexible apparently, but dying to go back.Also, the staff and owners are VERY involved with the day to day operations, on the floor continuously and happy to talk through the dishes, their history and almost anything else it seemed.If I could give a sixth star I would!
fantastic menu every night. What an extremely talented group of people in the kitchen!!! Is truly an experience like no other!!!!!
Okay, a lot to break down here. We had the tasting menu with two drinks, and it came out to be around $350. The space is super tiny, as many have expressed. We sat by the door, and our knees were touching the entire time. So I would say the seating is not the most comfortable, especially if you are taller or larger in size. I think the tasting menu was an experience; however, I don't know if it was worth the money. I think they were very creative, and the ingredients were very high-quality. However, some dishes were very small and plain. The steak we had was the best part of our meal and I would easily pay $60-$70 just for that dish but everything else was just OK. I would recommend to go and try the à la cart, but I don't think the tasting menu is worth it . For example, one of the dishes we had in the tasting menu was a bun with a rabbit kidney in it, but there is a dish on the menu that is a piece of bread with at least over 10 pieces of rabbit kidney on it and it was $14. It's still a must try and I would go back again for a la cart menu.
We enjoyed our meal here! It's a small restaurant with counter seating only for 10ish people. Make reservations via texting. The menu items rotate through. They're small sharing plates, less of your regular proteins and more organ meats. Most of the plates were unique and well prepared. The grilled octopus with smoked cabbage - octopus was normal good but the smoked cabbage was done so nicely, like best cabbage ever (which is wild because it seems like a basic ingredient). The beef tendon in the onion soup was soo soft. I normally don't like tendon because of the texture but enjoyed this one. Monkfish liver is good (as it is in Japanese restaurants too), but my only thing with it is, it was $46! It's a bit hefty imo and the unique part of it was that it was in a good crab broth. My least favorite is the rabbit kidney, not that it's not prepared well but it's probably just not an ingredient I like as much, ok to try once. We spent $210 with tax and tip for 6 items. Overall, good meal, on the pricier side. Would come back when the menu items rotate through again.
Kid-friendliness: Don’t bring your kid here. Duh.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
If you dine here at Off Alley, you might wonder, “Why me?” When perusing the menu, everything seems promising, but once the food hits your palate, regret and sodium overload set in. Presented with à la carte or a full eight-course meal, I opted for the former, not quite feeling up to the latter's challenge.My culinary journey commenced with the beef tenderloin and French onion soup, a dish that could easily contend for the title of the worst onion soup I've ever tasted. The lack of flavor was glaring, leaving me yearning for even a humble frozen soup from Trader Joe's.Next up were the fresh cheese dumplings with Celeriago Yellow Foot Chanterelles, a visually stunning dish that unfortunately fell short in seasoning. Not a grain of salt, pepper, or any discernible flavor profile graced the plate.Moving on to the grilled octopus with pork rind leek, the disappointment persisted. The dish was overwhelmingly salty, leaving me questioning whether the chef's affinity for sodium bordered on obsession.Saving the supposedly best for last, the lamb chops with wild rice polenta proved the ultimate letdown. Tasting akin to guzzling saltwater, it became apparent that the chef had declared war on balance and chosen salt as their weapon of choice. They emerged victorious, leaving me $200 poorer and pondering how everything went wrong. Exiting Off the Alley felt akin to being mugged—not by thieves, but by culinary disappointment.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 1
Service: 1
If you dine here at Off Alley, you might wonder, "Why me?" When perusing the menu, everything seems promising, but once the food hits your palate, regret and sodium overload set in. Presented with à la carte or a full eight-course meal, I opted for the former, not quite feeling up to the latter's challenge. My culinary journey commenced with the beef tenderloin and French onion soup, a dish that could easily contend for the title of the worst onion soup I've ever tasted. The lack of flavor was glaring, leaving me yearning for even a humble frozen soup from Trader Joe's. Next up were the fresh cheese dumplings with Celeriago Yellow Foot Chanterelles, a visually stunning dish that unfortunately fell short in seasoning. Not a grain of salt, pepper, or any discernible flavor profile graced the plate. Moving on to the grilled octopus with pork rind leek, the disappointment persisted. The dish was overwhelmingly salty, leaving me questioning whether the chef's affinity for sodium bordered on obsession. Saving the supposedly best for last, the lamb chops with wild rice polenta proved the ultimate letdown. Tasting akin to guzzling saltwater, it became apparent that the chef had declared war on balance and chosen salt as their weapon of choice. They emerged victorious, leaving me $200 poorer and pondering how everything went wrong. Exiting Off the Alley felt akin to being mugged--not by thieves, but by culinary disappointment.
Wonderful experience. All of the food was excellent. We ordered an otherworldly dungeness crab dish that was in the top five of things we have ever eaten in Seattle. The dessert was similarly amazing...French toast with fois gras ice cream. Service was good and obviously intimate given the small size of the place. One of the best meals we've had in Seattle. We'll be back!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Came here because I heard the wine was supposed to be good and maybe it could be but what I had for my first glass was not very good at all and then when I asked if I could have something else, the waiter loudly berated me in this pretty small restaurant about my taste in wine -- effectively telling me I have zero taste. It was a really horrible experience. Not everyone prefers the same taste in wine, especially if what's in the wine menu description does not match the taste of the actual wine. Didn't stay for the food after that.
Too tiny to NOT be fine dining! Incredible food and atmosphere. Have been here a couple times once for my husband’s birthday and another for NYE. Owners are so welcoming and all the dishes are so inventive. One of the best restaurants in Seattle!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Too tiny to be a fine dining, literally elbow-to-elbow packed. They’re trying to seat as many people as possible to maximize their profits. Food is just okay given the price.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 2
Service: 3
Restaurantji Recommends
A strange setting -- a former alley just 6 feet wide with a bar running down one side. The cooking is incredible and inventive.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Quince Sorbet
Went for Sunday supper. It was multiple heavy meat courses, which tasted ok but it left us feeling greasy and nauseous. Final meat course was leather-tough lamb.Service was needlessly rushed. Got my drink order wrong twice, and instead of taking it back argued that what they brought was fine. They also brought out plates way too fast, I'm a fast eater and we had 3 courses on the table at once.Paid with amex, they ran the card and then came out and said they didn't take amex. Gave them another card. Turns out that they charged both cards, and are now completely unresponsive leaving me to dispute the charges manually. If they weren't a fancy restaurant I would think they are a scam.Still 20% tip though.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 3
Service: 1
Food alone, this place nailed the small dish, umami packed bite sized pieces that only appreciate as the night goes on. They've managed to curate a delicate, yet powerful tasting menu that nails every taste bite known to the food palate. However, don't go here if you're hungry, or if you're paying a mortgage. We were lucky enough to get a reservation but we were even more lucky to be graced by the presence of the staff. This place makes you feel like you're only slightly good enough to join them, your money is plenty good, but you yourself? Hmm not so sure. Pretentiousness and deliciousness served on the same plate delivered by a cold hand.
Some creative European
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 5
Service: 4
Just go. I even ate the brussel sprouts there for the first time in my life (seriously) flacorea are so unique, the menu is very flexible apparently, but dying to go back.Also, the staff and owners are VERY involved with the day to day operations, on the floor continuously and happy to talk through the dishes, their history and almost anything else it seemed.If I could give a sixth star I would!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5