This feedback is unrelated to the dining experience at Surrell, but pertains to the poor communication I've experienced with Harry Crutcher, who handles private event inquiries.
I submitted a request form for a private event and promptly responded to Harry’s initial email confirming interest in my preferred date. He asked for a good time to schedule a phone call, and I replied within half a day with my availability. I didn’t hear back, so I followed up the next day via email and also called the restaurant. Four days later, I finally received a reply—simply asking to confirm an alternate date I had already listed in my original request form, with a note that more information was needed to proceed.
I responded to that email within the hour, and now three days have passed with no further communication.
It should not take a full week just to confirm availability, especially considering the requested date is less than two months away. This lack of timely follow-up has made the planning process unnecessarily difficult.
Service: 1
Sarah Rogers
Aaron and the team at Surrell are fantastic! We had a 25-person private reception in the back outdoor patio area, and from the beautiful space to the delicious food, it was a truly special experience. Aaron accommodated our requests for some customizations in decor, and took into account all of our food and dietary restrictions beautifully. Even though Surrell specializes in multi-course tasting menus, we chose to do a family-style dinner and it worked out perfectly. Our guests absolutely loved every dish (especially the hors d'oeuvres!), and we appreciate how attentive and friendly the staff were throughout the night. Harry was our main bartender/server and he was wonderful. Thank you again Aaron and team for such an amazing evening!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Callista Faustine
Everything is amazing!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
G K
Such a special place. Had the full tasting menu and mocktail pairing and everything was great. So many unique little bites that add up to a real culinary adventure. Biggest highlights were the waygu tartar , savory mushroom macaron, and fresh corn polenta. Incredible spread of unique mocktails that were all different and interesting (though I also tried a few of their wines which are all Washington ones and excellent as well). They treat you to a nice welcome drink and farewell coffee/tea, and really make you feel welcome in their small space. Not cheap but worth every penny for a special occasion
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Kyle Page
Absolutely Fantastic Chefs dinner! We've eaten at Tasting menus and Michellin Rated restraunts all over the world and this definitely deserves an Honorable Mention! 20/10
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
RRL
Surrell is a special place in Seattle. Aaron is a chef to seek out. Great good.. Great service
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Nikki Katsutani
What a fantastic experience. The tasting menu was delicious and just the right amount of food so you leave perfectly content. Every detail of the experience is thoughtful and genuine. The wine pairing was absolutely outstanding - highly recommend. Chefs table is worth it if you’re looking for more interaction with the chef (which we were) and made the night even more special.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Puja Gandhi
This place was a cool experience I had never eaten at a fixed menu restaurant of this nature and while the service and ambiance was amazing, I kind of left feeling underwhelmed by the food. The food is interesting, plated well, but I can't say I actually enjoyed the taste of much of it (which is surprising for a $300 meal). Every bite was confusing to my palate, there was ice cream in my salad for example, and a lot of the bites were overly salty to me. It was a wonderful birthday present from my partner and I'm grateful for the experience, but as a vegetarian I feel like the food was just not it --call me a basic B 🤷🏽♀️
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 2
Service: 5
James B
To give Surrel anything less than 5 stars is a complete disservice to the restaurant. This was without a doubt, the best dining experience of my life. The food was exciting, flavorful and perfectly presented. Wait staff were knowledgable, attentive without being pretentious. Chef is personable, passionate and gave us an incredible dining experience. This is hands down the best fine dining experience in Seattle.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Alec H
Had a fantastic lunch, pairing for each course was amazing.
Can’t believe Surrell has such good ratings. The dishes were all way too salty or way too sweet, with no discernible flavors showing off the ingredients at all. The PNW has awesome ingredients — you should cook them in a way that lets us taste them, and make them the center of the dish! Meat was a bit over cooked, and the first course bites were all dry and had clearly been prepared ahead of time and left out for a while.
Presentation was great, though, and servers were nice (though service was inconsistently slow and I was given a used wine glass one time). At $400-500/pp, we felt ripped off — definitely avoid this place.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 1
Service: 4
Deb Olsson
5-course meal was just perfect! All the little details and food flavors / textures definitely made it one of my favorite meals in Seattle. Their NA cocktails are also fantastic. Will absolutely come back.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Erica Shekari
I am a very picky foodie! I have traveled to over 30 countries and have dined at the world’s best restaurants. Surrell is among the elite, and in my own back yard! Start to finish, they created an interesting, hospitable and cozy atmosphere with thoughtful, seasonal and intentional dishes. Can’t make it to Alinea in Chicago, Cyrus in California or Eleven Madison Park in NYC? You can scratch the same itch here! We will be back again and again!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Misha B
Exquisite. The courses are amazing, the pairings perfect, service very attentive. It is a 3+ hour celebration of amazing tastes, so plan accordingly - it is well worth it.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Bion Johnson
Everything was perfect. Wine is a big part of their identity but our group all did the NA pairing with the tasting menu and were blown away.
Atmosphere, presentation, and service were all impeccable. I was particularly delighted by the playfulness in the dishes from the oysters, cookies, and cod mousse cone, and on and on.
Unlike some other reviewers we enjoyed the longer pacing of the evening -- 3 hours is good value for the expense and allowed us to relish the 12-course experience in each other's company.
With the menu changing seasonally we will definitely be back.
This feedback is unrelated to the dining experience at Surrell, but pertains to the poor communication I've experienced with Harry Crutcher, who handles private event inquiries.
I submitted a request form for a private event and promptly responded to Harry’s initial email confirming interest in my preferred date. He asked for a good time to schedule a phone call, and I replied within half a day with my availability. I didn’t hear back, so I followed up the next day via email and also called the restaurant. Four days later, I finally received a reply—simply asking to confirm an alternate date I had already listed in my original request form, with a note that more information was needed to proceed.
I responded to that email within the hour, and now three days have passed with no further communication.
It should not take a full week just to confirm availability, especially considering the requested date is less than two months away. This lack of timely follow-up has made the planning process unnecessarily difficult.
Service: 1
Aaron and the team at Surrell are fantastic! We had a 25-person private reception in the back outdoor patio area, and from the beautiful space to the delicious food, it was a truly special experience. Aaron accommodated our requests for some customizations in decor, and took into account all of our food and dietary restrictions beautifully. Even though Surrell specializes in multi-course tasting menus, we chose to do a family-style dinner and it worked out perfectly. Our guests absolutely loved every dish (especially the hors d'oeuvres!), and we appreciate how attentive and friendly the staff were throughout the night. Harry was our main bartender/server and he was wonderful. Thank you again Aaron and team for such an amazing evening!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Everything is amazing!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Such a special place. Had the full tasting menu and mocktail pairing and everything was great. So many unique little bites that add up to a real culinary adventure. Biggest highlights were the waygu tartar , savory mushroom macaron, and fresh corn polenta. Incredible spread of unique mocktails that were all different and interesting (though I also tried a few of their wines which are all Washington ones and excellent as well). They treat you to a nice welcome drink and farewell coffee/tea, and really make you feel welcome in their small space. Not cheap but worth every penny for a special occasion
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Absolutely Fantastic Chefs dinner!
We've eaten at Tasting menus and Michellin Rated restraunts all over the world and this definitely deserves an Honorable Mention!
20/10
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Surrell is a special place in Seattle. Aaron is a chef to seek out. Great good.. Great service
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
What a fantastic experience. The tasting menu was delicious and just the right amount of food so you leave perfectly content. Every detail of the experience is thoughtful and genuine. The wine pairing was absolutely outstanding - highly recommend. Chefs table is worth it if you’re looking for more interaction with the chef (which we were) and made the night even more special.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
This place was a cool experience I had never eaten at a fixed menu restaurant of this nature and while the service and ambiance was amazing, I kind of left feeling underwhelmed by the food. The food is interesting, plated well, but I can't say I actually enjoyed the taste of much of it (which is surprising for a $300 meal). Every bite was confusing to my palate, there was ice cream in my salad for example, and a lot of the bites were overly salty to me. It was a wonderful birthday present from my partner and I'm grateful for the experience, but as a vegetarian I feel like the food was just not it --call me a basic B 🤷🏽♀️
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 2
Service: 5
To give Surrel anything less than 5 stars is a complete disservice to the restaurant. This was without a doubt, the best dining experience of my life. The food was exciting, flavorful and perfectly presented. Wait staff were knowledgable, attentive without being pretentious. Chef is personable, passionate and gave us an incredible dining experience. This is hands down the best fine dining experience in Seattle.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Had a fantastic lunch, pairing for each course was amazing.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Restaurantji Recommends
Can’t believe Surrell has such good ratings. The dishes were all way too salty or way too sweet, with no discernible flavors showing off the ingredients at all. The PNW has awesome ingredients — you should cook them in a way that lets us taste them, and make them the center of the dish! Meat was a bit over cooked, and the first course bites were all dry and had clearly been prepared ahead of time and left out for a while.
Presentation was great, though, and servers were nice (though service was inconsistently slow and I was given a used wine glass one time). At $400-500/pp, we felt ripped off — definitely avoid this place.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 1
Service: 4
5-course meal was just perfect! All the little details and food flavors / textures definitely made it one of my favorite meals in Seattle. Their NA cocktails are also fantastic. Will absolutely come back.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
I am a very picky foodie! I have traveled to over 30 countries and have dined at the world’s best restaurants. Surrell is among the elite, and in my own back yard! Start to finish, they created an interesting, hospitable and cozy atmosphere with thoughtful, seasonal and intentional dishes. Can’t make it to Alinea in Chicago, Cyrus in California or Eleven Madison Park in NYC? You can scratch the same itch here! We will be back again and again!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Exquisite. The courses are amazing, the pairings perfect, service very attentive. It is a 3+ hour celebration of amazing tastes, so plan accordingly - it is well worth it.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Everything was perfect. Wine is a big part of their identity but our group all did the NA pairing with the tasting menu and were blown away.
Atmosphere, presentation, and service were all impeccable. I was particularly delighted by the playfulness in the dishes from the oysters, cookies, and cod mousse cone, and on and on.
Unlike some other reviewers we enjoyed the longer pacing of the evening -- 3 hours is good value for the expense and allowed us to relish the 12-course experience in each other's company.
With the menu changing seasonally we will definitely be back.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
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