Seastar Restaurant & Raw Bar

I am SO disappointed that this place closed down on January 3^rd. I had made reservations here on NYE because we learned the hard way last year that it was difficult to see the fireworks from where we were and all ended up running across town in heels to see them.
This year, we planned and were much smarter about the whole thing. Made a reservation at 9:30 pm to have a nice, leisurely dinner and then enough time to step outside in time to watch the fireworks.
We started with a reservation for 10 people which by NYE, ended up going down to 4 of us because of the Seattle plague that is going around. We could tell that our number impacted them because they had reserved a huge round table for 10 and we were awkwardly spread with only 4 of us. It worked though.
The food and service were OUTSTANDING. I was in shock that the service was so good considering they were closing down in just 2 days. We all started off in the bar and had a drink — I had my routine blueberry stoli and soda.
Then off to the dining room it was to our very large table. We had really fantastic food all around — my favorites were the kalbi pork tenderloin in soy ginger and the filet mignon with roasted red potatoes and asparagus. Everything about this meal was beautifully presented, cooked to perfection and delicious. For a filet mignon, 2 glasses of wine and pork tenderloin, it was about $ 75 or so before tip.
Luckily the Bellevue location is staying open!

Visited this restaurant when I was there for a vacation. The most memorable dish was the devil eggs. Everything else was just ok. Here were the dishes we ordered:
Halibut ceviche — was ok. alittle fishy.
Crab cakes — sweeter than we liked it.
Seafood cappellini — was ok.
Devil eggs — pretty good.
Roll fireworks — was ok.
Molten cake — was ok.
Lemon pinna cotta — was ok.
Presentation was great, but it would’ve been better if the taste is just as good…

THANK you to this place. The food and service were OUTSTANDING!!!
What made this place SHINE? Well they have a KIDS menu… Not just garbage either! Real food. They made a family meal with a toddler so much more special!
Seriously…I can’t stop thinking about this meal!

This review is a reflection on the server. No matter what the establishment, I believe good businesses hire outstanding people. In this case, our server was a greedy, restless vulture who should have behaved more professionally.
I politely asked for the bill to be split up and he agreed and walked away without taking the check. We assumed he probably thought we meant «split evenly three ways» so I decided to take out my pen and write the amounts myself. In minutes, he hovered over me huffing and puffing and rolled his eyes. He came back twice and then exasperated that he would just print the receipts separately (like we originally requested). We were having a pleasant evening up until this point and he unnecessarily made us feel uncomfortable and pushed out. If it was busy, MAYBE I’d see why anxiety was setting in but the bar area was not crowded at all.
Are you having personal problems? Is your shift over and you’re waiting for the few dollars you’d receive from tips? Either way, this gentleman shouldn’t have carried his negative energy over to us to the point where I want to leave and never come back. If it’s a matter of money, speak to your manager about your circumstances and try to rectify it. Or if it’s about personal matters, take some time for yourself until your mood no longer affects your work.
AKA: Take a chill pill, bro.

I came here with my boo boo for our Fancy pansy dinner at Seattle.
I don’t remember much but we got dressed up gt to the place and found out that I made the reservation for the next day. Luckily, they weren’t busy for dinner and was able to seat us without a wait.
What I remember ordering was the oyster sampler, mussel dish and a beer. Forgot what Boo Boo ordered.
Another thing I remember was that we skipped dessert here and got it at whole foods downstairs.
This place reminds me of Chart House in New Jersey without the view of the skyline.

Tonight was my first time trying out the Seattle location for restaurant week. I always went to the Bellevue location. — I have to say, both locations did not disapoint me at all!
Tonight, a friend and I shared our food. For appitizers, we had calamari and firecracker sushi, both was okay but we decided to try new things instead of going with what we would normally order. For entrees we had the pork tenderloin and the salmon, both which was AMAZING!!! We both enjoyed it a lot. The dessert was amazing as well. Had the trio (which included a warm apple pie, molten chocolate cake, and coconut crème pie) plus a crème brûlée.
Parkings a plus, since they validate parking for both Seattle and Bellevue location!
Overall, ive been going to seastar only during restaurant weeks (the last 4 years now) it is a bit pricey for my taste buds, unless it is restaurant week. I will keep the tradition alive and bring new people each time for that reason. I truly enjoy this wonderful restaurant. It hasnt disapointed me yet!

Oh, Seastar, you’re going to ruin me one day. I came here for a birthday lunch for work, and let me just say it was one of the best meals I’ve had.
I opted for the 45-​minute lunch where you can choose 2 options. I ordered the crab cakes and the Hawaiian fish with cucumber macadamia relish and sticky rice. Both options were INCREDIBLE. The Hawaiian fish was cooked perfectly and the relish was what dreams are made of. The yummy crab cakes came with some dressed greens and there wasn’t a single part or ingredient of this meal that I didn’t love.
It’s definitely an every once in a while splurge, but well worth it!

Came here for lunch on a weekday, a very quaint and elegant restaurant in the area. We ordered the pork tenderloin bites, ahi tuna, and halibut ceviche. All were very on point, the calamari ceviche was def my favorite out of the three. The ahi tuna was crusted in sesame and seared just right. The sauce for the pork was a bit on the sweeter side, but the meat was tender and cooked perfectly.
Pleased with the food and service, would definitely recommend this place.

I’ve never heard anything about this restaurant until my boyfriend took me here on our first date.
What stuck out like a sore thumb was how unbelievably amazing their service was! Out of all the restaurants I’ve been to my entire life, Seastar’s service has taken home the gold medal. From the hostess all the way to their wait staff! They were very attentive and our server was extremely knowledgeable of the menu which is an A+ in my book!
I can’t really pinpoint the exact names of the dishes we ordered but all I remember was that the food was simply marvelous. To top it off, the dish that is worthy of commendation are their crab cake appetizers! Crab cakes are a must folks! Aside from that, the ambiance wasn’t particularly OMG-​HOW-​AMAZING-​IT-​BLOWS-​MY-​SOCKS-​OFF in comparison to the food’s prices but it did have a thought-​provoking feel considering the blown glass and the great view of the Space Needle.
One thing that was kind of a downfall for me during our experience at Seastar was how laborious the walk was to the restroom. When you’re a girl who’s been walking all day in 5 inch stilettos, the trip will be absolutely dreadful because you have to walk through their bar and through the hotel itself. Really?! However, I did find it rather gracious that the hostess walked with me to show me where the restroom was located.
I really wish I remembered our server’s name though. I rarely give out 5 stars but because of Seastar’s superb service, they deserve it.

This was my 2^nd time dining at Seastar in Seattle. I have been to the Bellevue location several times.
It’s not much different between locations, but this time they had this pick 2 dishes for $ 15 thing. I ordered sashimi and smoked salmon sliders. Sashimi was alright and smoked salmon sliders were yummy. It also came with a side of pomme frites.
Service was solid but the entire dining area was filled with smoke. When we asked, we were told that it came from the restaurant downstairs.
I think Seastar is a good restaurant. It’s a safe restaurant to take your clients to or plan a group event, etc. However, it’s not a restaurant I would necessarily pay my own money to go on my own.
They take all major credits and they also offer vallet service (expensive though).

Fantastic service, and delicious food, served in an upscale chic restaurant that manages to avoid being pretentious. I am a huge fan, though this restaurant is not for those faint of wallet.
We ordered:
A Spicy Pear cocktail (sweet and hinting a Spicy, absolutely delicious)
A Mimosa Martini (exactly as it sounds)
Scallop ceviche (light, refreshing, delicious)
A ½ order of the tower including crab cakes, scallops, and shrimp (all delicious)
Pancetta wraped scallops on shaved watermelon with greens (delicious, but next time I might go with something different since we already had two scallop dishes)
Salmon cooked plank style (I wished this was my entrée!)
The dessert trio with coconut cream pie, apple rhubarb crisp a la mode, and chocolate cake with whipped cream (the coconut cream pie was to die for, I wished for a but more vanilla ice cream with the rest, but otherwise a perfect dessert.)
Our bill came out just under $ 200, and it was well worth it. We left full, but not over stuffed.
Every staff member was helpful and timely. Our server was funny and helpful. The ambiance was nice, with beautiful blown glass, and a great view of the Space Needle from the window.
One tip, don’t wait until the last minute if you need to use the restroom. My fiancé went at the end of dinner and reported back that you actually go through to the hotel to use that restroom, so it’s quite a walk.
This is a great date night restaurant.

I’m a fan.
Of lunch, of cocktails, and of dinner here — the favorite is of course, cocktails and happy hour.
Great service — I prefer to sit at the bar.
Favorite cocktail is the spicy pear, it’s amazing.
They have wonderful french fries, skinny and great!
Oysters on the happy hour menu are awesome — order a dozen and you are golden.

Well surprising good for around lunch around here. This has become a decent 35 minute lunch place. I’d stick to the simpler items as the sushi is relatively decent. At $ 14 it isn’t a bad place and normally isn’t super busy. I’m not sure about the more complicated entrees. The fish for instance can be overcooked in out last outing so look out for that.
Overall its a decent choice at a decent price. The main advantage for lunch is that it is relatively quiet and civilized here.

Food gets a solid A. Service is on top of their game. Ambiance is not particularly chic or hip, but tries to be and is consistent with the «Pacific Northwest» Fireworks Gallery look. The bread is very obviously housemade and frankly COVERED. IN. CHEESE. Need I say more?
I also ordered an array of exotic deviled eggs. In the words of Homer Simpson «Mmmm… Various types of eggs.» Yup. Half were smoked salmon and the other half were Ahi tuna. (Ahi being the closest to the traditional deviled egg flavor-​wise, but you won’t ever hear me complaining about smoked salmon.) They were pretty excellent to my taste buds.
Scallops get an A for quantity and size, but were a little on the salty side and come floating atop a confusing puddle of plate-«bedding» — corn, tomato sauce, and some out-​of-​place dry cake thing which didn’t really do it for me.
Seastar serves little touches on the way like a cucumber lime palate cleanser and tiny cookies at the end. I am sure that’s their scientific name: «tiny cookies.» These touches are by no means necessary, but go the extra mile and are much appreciated.

I came here because of the reviews and based on my friends recommendation. I wanted one meal at a nice restaurant for my visit to Seattle, and ended up choosing this place. It turns out not only is this place nice, but it’s not too expensive either considering it’s a nice place.
Food:
1) seafood salad — bomb shrimp surprisingly. Everything in the salad went well together and it wasn’t overly drenched in sauce and the flavor of the sauce wasn’t overpowering either. Solid dish.
2) scallop ceviche — was the most unique ceviche I’ve ever had. The scallops had carbonated texture with a sweet and citrusy flavor. The mango worked very well with everything else creating an excellent dish.
3) Seafood tower — this order wasn’t really a tower. They put the crab cakes, scallops, and shrimp on one plate so we could see each other during our dinner. The crab cakes were really «crabby.» It was about 95% actual crab meat, which was something I’ve never experienced. It was awesome! The scallops were flavorful and the shrimp were just fried shrimp, so it was good.
Service:
Excellent service. They were out ofntge requested wine paired for appetizer so they brought out two diff wines to choose from.

Came with a group of 7 for restaurant week. Had no issue getting a reservation. The place is nice. I would say to dress up a but when coming here.
The food was very good. I had the fireworks sushi, pork tenderloin, and the dessert trio. Everything was cooked perfectly. The desserts were heavenly. The sushi was a bit too sticky. I could separate the pieces well and ended up breaking a roll or two.
The service was a bit slow. We say down and were only given wine menus. Tonight that was a bit strange. We ended up having about a 2 and a half hour dinner which was a bit long even for our group size. The nice thing was the waiter split out all the checks for us, which is very generous.
This place has a parking garage and validates. Big plus in seattle. However it’s tricky to find. I ended up driving around the whole block before I found it.
The regular menu had good variety. It’s on the pricer end but I don’t think it’s out of scope.

This review is for the HH only —
The sliders are TO DIE FOR! Oh man, I am still thinking about them a week later. Also, they come with fries. The menu doesn’t tell you that. I would come here for HH JUST for sliders and a beer /​vodka soda (or 2)
The clams: ehh — they don’t need the pine nuts nor the cheese. In fact, they’re really strange with the cheese. Tip: Ask for bread to sop up the broth.
The Potato chips: these are pretty good! We would have done without though had we known the sliders come with fries
The Deviled Eggs: The HH ones are not as good as the ones from the regular menu
The specialty cocktails: Haven’t met one I am super in love with — stick with the well drinks & you’ll be better off. I have sent some of the cocktails back because they just don’t taste good.
The bar was PACKED come 530 — try to get there before then if possible or you might not get a seat.

I’ve been here for regular dinner, Seattle Restaurant Week, and happy hour. I like this restaurant a lot, but my last visit wasn’t as yummy as the first few visits. Tried new stuff, didn’t love.
Food: Happy hour can still get pretty pricey here, but I guess it’s a given for a nice seafood restaurant. For Seattle Restaurant Week, I really like the Tilapia and this prawn linguini dish. May be seasonal so check the menu beforehand. The hamachi ceviche was just ok. Curry Mussels weren’t as good as I expected. The sauce wasn’t that flavorful and the mussels were super tiny. AQUA by El Gaucho has a similar appetizer and was really good! I did not enjoy the scallops this past time. The sauce it was sitting on was super heavy. The first bite was good, but after that it was all downhill. Portions are pretty big in my opinion, especially when you get appetizers too. The salmon w/​their special rub was not bad though, although I recall the Tom Douglas one at Etta’s being very very good.
Prices: Entrees are mostly in the mid $ 30 w/​a few outliers on both ends, $ 20s, $ 40s.
Parking: Validated at the Seattle and Bellevue locations, so that’s a plus.
Overall, my review kinda sounds like this place sucks, but it’s mostly because I only remember details of my most recent visit. It’s hard to recall the ones before too much besides me feeling like it was a good meal. I love seafood and I still think it deserves an overall 4 star rating and would recommend this place. If it was always really good to me, then it would hit that 5 star status.

One of my favorite seafood restaurants! I usually go to the Bellevue location but this time, I had plans to watch the Lion King at Paramount that evening.
I had reservations at 5:45 and the place was empty! It didn’t take long before it started to fill up.
Food: I had the cedar plank roasted skuna bay salmon and it was super delicious! My friend had the scallops and those were a little too buttery? Flavor was fine but that heavy taste made it difficult to enjoy too much of it.
Overall, the experience was what I expected and will be returning to either locations.

Visited Seastar on valentines day for dinner. Upon arrival it’s immediately apparent the management and service staff were on point, one of the best I’ve experienced.
To start of we ordered the Washington and Fireworks sushi rolls. Both very tasty but the Fireworks roll was something else: scallops and dungeness crab. I myself ordered the grilled swordfish and my lady the cedar plank salmon, both came highly recommended by our server.
Both out fish came out a bit dry. The salmon specifically, which was described as a medium rare, turned out to be almost well done. Flavors were good all around however.
For dessert we ordered the raspberry molten cake. Presentation was a little spotty for an establishment of this caliber but the cake itself was quite tasty.
Having been to John Howie’s Steakhouse in Bellevue, there’s a certain level of quality over come to expect. Service was above and beyond amazing but the food was a bit off. I’d chock this up to be a case of a B-​squad kitchen staff during a holiday, which is very unfortunate.