The Hunt Club

Went there for HH with a friend. We ordered the grilled lamb sausage, french fries with cheesy sauce and smoked brisket sliders. Unfortunately, the food was not very good. The grilled lamb sausage was totally dry. The french fries were so-​so. Pretty greasy with some cheese like sauce in the middle. The brisket slider was also dry and flavorless. Service was fine. They were very busy, so they did their best. Oh, and when I asked for a glass of water, the glass was dirty. It had a brown/​red smudge on it.
On a positive note, valet parking is very reasonable. I am not sure if I will go again for HH. The quality of the food is very important to me. There are many other restaurants with much better food.

I go to the Hunt Club often because of my job. It is close and the hotel has a great reputation.
I have always thought the food and drinks were mediocre. It is over priced, small portions, and uneventful.
I was there with a large party earlier this week. I ordered steak and was given a steak knife but then received cod. I asked for steak and was told it would need to be prepared as I ordered cod. Instead of arguing, I ate the cod. It was a bit cold and only ok. The mashed potatoes were good but had been sitting for a while.
We ordered margaritas before dinner. They were good but small.
I’m just never impressed. They are inflexible. For instance, one time I asked to substitute the tomato soup for clam chowder. The waiter said, «the cook is a soup nazi and will say no.» He thought he was funny but my party and I didn’t.
I’m sure I will be back to the Sorrento because of work but it’s definitely not a top choice of mine.

When you go into the lounge of a five-​star hotel for a drink and a few snacks, you feel safe to hold some expectations: gracious service; thoughtful, well-​prepared dishes and an overall experience that is fitting of the opulent surroundings.
If you visit the restaurant or lounge at The Sorrento, leave those expectations at the door of the lounge in the Sorrento Hotel. Heck, leave them at home, buried out back, where you should also bury the food at this joint.
Instead, re-​calibrate your expectations much lower. Much, much lower.
We rolled in last night around 9 after a choral concert nearby. I chose the place remembering a recent Seattle Times story lauding the just-​completed update of the bar, and adjoining lounge.
First, the service. We sat there for a good 15 minutes before three seemingly hapless servers noticed us as they were chatting amongst themselves. I felt bad waiving the menu in the air as if I were bidding on item at a charity auction, but a guy has to do what he has to do.
The waiter apologized, saying that — although we were the only seated table in the room — he believed another server had taken care of us already. I guess that would have been a plausible conclusion if our only culinary desires were water, and cotton napkins. In hindsight, that might have been a better choice.
The drink service time was unacceptably long, considering they had three bartenders and only a couple of guests. I took to walking to the bar and retrieving our own drinks.
Then the food. Oh, man, the food. We’ve all been there — a restaurant has a bad night and a dish or two slips out that falls below the high standards of an operation. This wasn’t one of those cases.
This was a case of a kitchen that simply DID. NOT. CARE. There is no way that any chef, chef de cuisine, sous chef, line cook, prep cook or dish-​machine operator who did give damn would let any of the three dishes we had leave the kitchen. It wasn’t even close — two of the three were inedible, and one was potentially unsafe for consumption.
First, the good dish. Well, the not-​bad dish. We ordered the crab cake and it was OK. The garnishing was unfinished and stark and the saucing non-​existent, but the cake was OK. That was the high point.
The second dish as the pork belly. It looked good, served with a mini-​waffle and heavily sauced. But then we tasted it. The sauce was so overly sweet, I thought I might spontaneously go into a diabetic coma (I am not diabetic). I am straight-​faced serious when I say it tasted as if they covered the pork belly in Aunt Jemima’s pancake syrup. Stone-​cold, slap-​me-​if-​I-​am-​lying serious. Then we tried the waffle that was mealy, and cold, obviously resurrected from its home deep in the recesses of a walk-​in.
The kicker, though, was the octopus. It was served on a bed of pea-​vines that no one took the time to separate as part of the prep and cleaning process (we can’t even allow ourselves to think of the possibility that it had not been cleaned before servicing). The upshot was that trying to serve the pea-​vines was a cumbersome exercise in pulling it apart like a recalcitrant plate of noodles. They were vines after all, being all viney-​like. The server eventually brought us a knife to end the misery.
The octopus itself really, really killed it for us. We were looking forward to fresh, and freshly grilled octopus, slightly charred on the outside and hot and al-​dente on the inside, sparked by seasoning and lemon.
Oh no. No, no, no.
What we received was a small portion of limp, reheated cephalopod that had obviously been waiting patiently for some poor sap to order it, obviously grilled and refrigerated much earlier in the day (god we hope it was that day) and likely spent time sitting around. It was concurrently soggy, wet, warm on the outside and room-​temperature on the inside.
Now I am no restaurant food safety expert, but I do know that when food — like this — had been allowed to sit for any time at room temp, it becomes a Montessori for bacteria, teaching the little organism to get big and strong, and multiply like, well, germs.
We did not eat the octopus. I thought that if Chef Ramsey were there, he would even stop short of making the kitchen eat the food in an act of culinary punishment. Not even he is that cruel.
What astounds me, though, is that none of these dishes were even close to being acceptable. Anyone who saw, smelled, temperature tested or tasted them would have thrown up his or her hands in abject revulsion.
My wife mentioned that she was not surprised. She said that places like Malone’s Sorrento take a jaded, calculated approach, shoveling out slop to well-​healed but hapless tourists: «They won’t know the difference, and if they do, they won’t be back…»
I don’t know which is worse; a feckless kitchen staff or a calloused front-​of-​the-​house guy calling (bad) shots.
Eat at this place at your own risk.

My friend and I came here for the afternoon tea recently. Upon entering, there was no one at the front counter.
We got seated and there were menus with the tea selection and menu offerings waiting for us. When I called, I told them I was a pescatarian and they did a great job accommodating that.
We each got a tier of food including scones with three spreads, a cucumber filled with crème fraîche, a salmon open faced sandwich, a deviled egg, a tuna albacore open faced sandwich (my pescatarian substitute), cookies, chocolate and other pastries. The food was adorable and more filing than I expected. The scone, crème fraîche and tuna albacore sandwiches were the highlight.
I also had the Pacific NW Breakfast and my friend the Darjeeling. Both teas were fine but not particularly standout.
I really liked the attention to detail on the table, platters and tea. However, I didn’t like how dark the dining room was and I felt that at $ 35 a person, it wasn’t the cheapest. It is definitely fun for a special occasion though!

Classy place, but not too pretentious. Great entre options, but didn’t feel overpriced.

The Hunt Club was old school. I felt like we were in a totally different time and place. The mood and décor seems right out of the 1920s.
The meal was had was excellent from the starters, the salads, and the main course. The staff was very accomodative. We had dessert in the fireside room with the jazz group that played.
A big thumbs up.

I’m noticing from the other reviews here that their food was served cold or at room temperature… this is probably due to the fact that this place leaves the AC on in December. It LOOKS warm and cozy, until the AC kicks in, and you’re convinced you’re sitting outside (minus that famous Seattle rain). So if you decide to eat here, don’t bother taking off your coat. Furthermore, the waitress who served my group has no concept of a tip, as she had snapped at me while I was trying to order and ignored me the rest of the time I was there. The other members of my party noticed her rudeness as well.
The food was actually really good, but even that’s not enough for an extra star. There are plenty of other places around Seattle that serve great food and have much better service. I’d recommend this place if you feel like saving a few bucks on tips, but otherwise go somewhere else.

A restaurant posing as a fine dining destination that has some lovely food at above average prices and the most unpolished, inept service my party and I have ever experienced.
We were so looking forward to a nightcap in the Fireside Lounge, but got out of there as fast as we could after the restaurant bill finally arrived.
The front of house is a mess and the entrées are slightly overpriced.

I wanted so badly to like this place! I love the historic feel and the hotel it’s in but alas! I could not get on board.
A group of friends came here before an event and 2 got steaks at medium rare and I got swordfish. When the meals came out it looked amazing but everything was totally overdone. The steaks were well done and my swordfish was tough and flavorless. When we told the waiter he made a joke about it but we were in a rush so we didn’t push the issue.
The wine list was good and I liked the sangria! The atmosphere was nice as well.

While in Seattle, my fiancé and I stopped by the Hunt Club for dinner. We had the New York steak, halibut and crab cakes – all of which were amazing. The restaurant definitely has the old world feel and is intimate. I’d recommend the restaurant to anyone looking to get away from the crowds but still wanting good food.

Service is horrible. The sign read, «Please seat yourself.» After ten minutes of sitting on the beautiful patio, nobody came to get our drink order or even acknowledge us. I stepped inside to let them know we were there and place our beer and food order. Bell Hop said he’d get someone. Ten minutes later, still no service. We are outa here! Never to return. The Sorento Hotel is a stunning building, but if they want the restaurant to stay in business, they need to serve the customer! We ended up at Vito’s with a pleasant waitress.

An unusual menu with many dishes that are a bit disconnected. As a guest at the Sorrento Hotel we dined there on multiple occasions sone of the party loving their food others just so-​so.
Breakfast was good — a modest menu of the usual suspects. The brisket hash was tasty and the pancakes had a lemon zest which was different.
Lunch menu was also pretty straight forward — grilled chicken, burger etc. all good especially the chicken sandwich.
Dinner was mixed result. Cheese plate, salads, soups all very nice, salmon with quinoa cake was excellent, BUT steak was awful. Thin and fatty and $ 36.

We walked in from the hotel. Zero staff in bar… We kept walking to the restaurant and sat our selves. 5 more minutes someone (bartender) finally approached without even a greeting like «hi». His lack luster approach was «we aren’t seating this section, you’ll need to move into bar».
Thanks. We see how this is going and thinking that such a nice hotel could stand to step up there guest services.
We head for the bar as bartender stated at 4:30 there wasn’t a dinner menu, just bar menu. Yes, you have a steak on «that» menu although we wanted the NY.
Let’s review: move 10 feet so we can’t prepare you a steak that we serve 30 minutes from now.
Someone needs to loosen their panties and find out how to please guests.

The food is 3 star but the service from the hostess who also was my waitress (Connie) was so great — truly exceptional — that it deserves a shout out. My grilled albacore/​vegetables salad was edible — I substitited salmon — with overcooked green beans and olives that tasted off. I know, how can oli
ves be off?

Romantic dark woods and a good selection of alcohol, the service was good and the food, well unfortunately it was average. I don’t think I am inclined to return based on the room-​temperature «warm salad» and the somewhat floppy fish dish I had. I don’t even remember what fish — completely unmemorable.
Come here for drinks, perhaps, and skip the food.

What a disappointment! I have been to both the Fireside Room & the Hunt Club multiple times with the Sorrento; our family even rented a dining room for Thanksgiving 2 years ago.
I was excited to bring 2 of our friends to dinner through Dine Around Seattle and we all walked away incredibly dissatisfied. Two of us ordered the Lamb dish on the special Dine Around menu. We both got cuts of meat that were ALL fat, I had maybe 1.5−2 oz of actual meat on my chop, his was the same. If the Hunt Club was going to cheap out on quality of food they should just not participate in the DAS program. The other two ordered the shrimp dish, which was ok. We also ordered after dinner drinks and espresso, by the time the cocktails came the espresso was cold.

Never have I ever had a crush on a hotel… until now!
Living a block away from the Sorrento, I’d walked the dog past several times and was often intrigued by their charming little patio outside and the general classy old-​school air of the building in general.
Never had an excuse to check it out, until I saw they were hosting a Walking Dead première party with themed activities and menu. So I got to explore the place for the first time as a leg-​less torso zombie (costume contest… that my boyfriend (one-​legged Hershel) and I WON.). The event was in their fireplace room which is dark and cozy and sexy. The staff was zombified themselves and the cocktails were all goulishly named! And we won a free hotel stay for one night that I passed on to my folks for their upcoming visit.
So we went back to try the Hunt Club for dinner for my birthday shortly after. Seeing that I’m allergic to almost everything, they were very helpful with helping me order something that would work for me. I ended up with a bun-​less lamb burger that was fab. Also got some fries on the side and a cheese plate. Also fab. Topped off w/​the Sorrento 78 cocktail. Again. Fab.
My parents ended up using their voucher for a free night over this past weekend. I will say that the people that do the reservations gave him a bit of a run-​around with not wanting to reserve a room over Thanksgiving weekend, until the week before, although they told me when I won the voucher that it wouldn’t be a problem at all, they managed to get everything set. After the actual check-​in, the staff was very accommodating from that point on.
We spent the evening hanging out by the fireplace listening to the jazz singer. Our waiter was very personable and brought us out an extra plate of deviled eggs (topped with caviar! totally recommend.) after forgetting to turn our order of 3 eggs into 4 (so we got 6 total!).
Since it’s only a block away, and there’s great happy hour menu, and we don’t have a fireplace at home, I’ll definitely be back, also because even at 31, sometimes it feels nice to be the youngest person in the room!

This place is so good, I recently went here for my dad’s birthday and what a great classic old school feel. The drinks are amazing, great wine and the food so good.
W had some starters in the front before we had dinner. I defiantly recommend getting the cheese place and asparagus to start,
For dinner most of the family I was there with did the 3 course option. Def seems like the best deal there. But I got the pumpkin soup. (soooo good get it while they have it), the scallops and a side of the brussel sprouts. The scapplos were delish. A little small,. but they are a small place.
Four desert I personally loved the tirmasu. Super rich and had to splie it. Overall I love the feel and staff. Great place!

I’m surprised to see the low ratings for The Hunt Club.
We went for dinner Friday night and had a delightful time. The food was excellent, service was good, and the atmosphere was old money.
We started in the bar which opened up to the Fireside Room. We could hear the Spanish guitar music trailing in from the Fireside Room which was very pleasant. I had some sort of tequila prosecco drink. Refreshing!
They had a pick 3 for $ 30 menu which I took advantage of. I had the heirloom tomato salad, the rack of lamb, and the maple bourbon waffle.
My steadfast dining partner ordered the lamb shank. We both loved our dishes. Both lamb dishes were very tender and flavorful and distinct from one another. I wouldn’t hesitate to order lamb here again. Wonderful. The shank was huge.
The dessert was pretty good. It was two waffles with ice cream and syrup. Very bready and sweet. I had a few bites and that was plenty.
We really enjoyed our time here at The Hunt Club. I’d love to return and perhaps sit outside next time. They have valet but I found a spot on the street close by fairly easily.

How I heard of this place: Becoming a season ticket holder for the 5^th Avenue Theater definitely has its perks. One of them being dining coupons that give you great deals (20% off of the bill at The Hunt Club) on dining establishments near the theater. This is how I first heard of The Hunt Club — through becoming a 5^th Ave subscriber.
Type of cuisine: Pacific Northwest cuisine.
Ambiance: Comfortable classic setting that reminds me of an old English pub. Dim lighting, candlelight appropriate for a date or for dinner with family. The location makes it less likely a place to just walk up to and go in for a meal, but if you do happen upon this 100-​year old hotel, hungry, it would be a good dining option!
What I ordered: I ordered the mixed green ($ 8) salad with goat cheese, caramelized walnuts and a raspberry vinaigrette to start. Followed by the salmon ($ 18) served atop a bed of black lentils and fried leeks, three mini carrots and herb butter. Crisp fried leeks topped the perfectly pan-​seared salmon. One of my three dining companions ordered the prime rib special ($ 22) which came with a wedge salad, served with bacon and cherry tomatoes and a blue cheese dressing. A large serving of prime rib accompanied by a baked potato (and all the fixin’s: sharp cheddar cheese, sour cream, butter and chives). Another dining patron ordered the pan-​seared dungeness crab cakes ($ 18) served alongside a Napa cabbage and bacon salad with a balsamic vinaigrette. The fourth in our party ordered shrimp piccata over linguine ($ 23). For dessert we ordered the chocolate cake layered with thick chocolate ganache and topped with chocolate. It was served with a drizzle of chocolate sauce, one sliced strawberry and a sprig of mint over vanilla bean ice cream.
What I loved: The salmon was perfectly pan-​seared, crispy edges and soft and moist on the inside. The lentils full of the flavors of garlic and leeks. While I did not sample the other meals in the group, by the sounds of the oohs and ahhs, it was obvious that the choice of restaurant was spot on! The first to comment is very much a non-​foodie, self-​proclaimed. He was very impressed with the crab cakes and commented favorably on the Napa cabbage in balsamic vinaigrette. The prime rib, I was told, was delicious. And the shrimp piccata, «good». We all agreed that we would return and eat there again. Win-​win.
Why I loved it: For the caliber and the flavor and presentation of food we consumed it was well worth the cost of finally having the opportunity to check out The Hunt Club. I would recommend highly the light and faintly sweet mixed green salad and the pan-​seared salmon!
Cost: Mid-​range for a satisfying, delicious and enjoyable meal downtown Seattle ($ 18-​$ 28 for an entrée dinner)