TRACE

Great breakfast. Wonderful seasonal menu and the best wait staff in Seattle. The Manger Krisum and the Servers Jay and her team make every visit like being at home. One of the real gems of Seattle.

happy hour review!!!
located in the trendy W hotel. SUPER convenient if you are staying at the W hotel. Quench hour AKA happy hour is M-​Sat 4 – 7 & 10 – 12 and Sun 4 – 12. service is decent unlesss they get busy. then it can be pretty slow. $ 6 glasses of wine. and lots of food options. my late night go to is the Saimin ramen $ 6. its very flavorful. just as predicable as any asian person. im a noodles girl so i gotta have me some late night ramen. ive had some of their rolls and those were delicious too — you cannot go wrong there! trace’s quench hour is one of the perks and reasons why i enjoy staying at the W hotel (minus their $ 50 valet charge ;) they have music and djs too during the weekend and it comes in handy for people watching. Trace turns into an LA scene and you’ll see many in their club-​wear attire.

After coming in late into Seattle, we were hungry! Thank goodness for Trace being located right downstairs of the W Seattle.
Honestly, I’m only going to talk about one the thing and that would be the Lemon Grass Chicken wings.
These wings were such a huge surprise. Super crispy, flavorful, and filling. It really reminded me of salt and pepper pork chops, but 10x better. I loved the bold flavor of lemongrass infused with the wings. Excellent twist to such a classic flavor. The sauce on the bottom of plate was also a great addition of flavor, not sure if it was just soy sauce or not. Gosh, I seriously crave those wings OFTEN!
The only downside is that it is a bit inconsistent. Eating at the bar, the wings were large, but ordering to go the next day, the wings were half the size.
I’m dying to go back for just the wings, so sad!
–Give it a try!
p. s. If your are wondering about the bar itself, really cool fancy vibe. DJ was a nice touch on the weekend.

ENVIRONMENT
Very cool vibe as should be expected at the W. The bar spills into the lounge area and is great for a beer and a quick bite to eat.
OCEAN ROLL — Awesome. Light with some kick. Well prepare and seasoned.
PORK SLIDER — rich from the inside out. A must try.

First impression: where is everybody? … Granted this review is written based on a Wednesday.
Crashed at the Fairmont Hotel and honestly just really wanted sushi. Next time I will probably stay in and check out the Terrace Lounge instead.
Ordered: drinks, edamame, 3 sushi rolls, nigiri.
Service here was timely, but HORRIBLE. Waitress really hated her job that night. Or maybe she was drunk? Maybe she needed to be? Either way she was beyond awkward. There is little to no ambience here seeing as how it is a hotel joint, but I could see opportunity for a bit of prowling at the bar on higher traffic days. The space is a bit too open. No character… No laughter… No smiles…
Drinks were average. Sushi rolls were average based on Seattle standards. Fish was fresh, but only ordered a couple pieces of nigiri (Unagi-​which is cooked if you don’t already know) if that tells you anything. I’m a believer in tight rolls about the size of a fifty cent piece, opposite of what they serve here; sliced thin and still the girth makes it difficult to fit a whole piece in your mouth.
Highlight: edamame! It is not traditionally served here, but rather in a chili sauce (it’s not «saucy»). So good!
All in all… I would only come here again if I was staying at the W (no available rooms that night), or in the direct vicinity, badly wanting sushi, and too lazy to take my butt farther uptown. Otherwise take a short walk to the Brooklyn, one of my favorite restaurants/​bars in Seattle.

We had a wonderful meal at Trace. We started with some great red wine, beer and sushi. We also tried the spinach artichoke dip (yum!) and the pork sliders and chicken tacos. All were very tasty! The service was wonderful and very friendly. The ambience was perfect! Based on our experience, we would definitely recommend this beautiful restaurant/​sushi bar/​cocktail lounge.

You enter the restaurant through an upscale busy bar. The bar was teeming with people chatting, enjoying themselves. To get to the restaurant, you go through the bar. It’s like crossing a divide into a barren wasteland. Their website describes the place as a fresh, contemporary urban dinging experience. It looks like an effort was made to give the area a contemporary look, however in my opinion it has achieved the look of one of the cheaper cruise lines.
The restaurant was completely empty when we arrived at 7pm on a Saturday. The entire time I was there only one other couple came in to dine.
The menu selection is very limited. Nevertheless, for an appetizer we had the soy bean hummus. This tasted okay but did nothing to whet your appetite. There were only six entrees to choose from with one being a hamburger. I chose the Pipikaula Skirt Steak grilled Caesar Salad with a side of hand-​cut fries. The steak was chewy and the salad was dry. The highlight of the meal was the fries. They were prepared well and had a unique, tasty flavor.
Generally I order dessert. Considering the rather tasteless meal we had, we decided to go elsewhere.
Accolades listed on their website include:
Trace wins «Best Hotel Bar» at the DList Magazine Nightlife Awards, June 2014
«One of the 11 Best Hotel Restaurants in the US»
, May 2014
2015 Diner’s Choice Winner, April 2015
«Best Contemporary American Restaurants»
(11 best hotel restaurants in Seattle 2014) and 2015 Diner’s
It’s stated this restaurant is one of the «11 best hotel restaurants» in Seattle. I imagine there must only be 11 in this category in the city.

Pros: not greasy, friendly service, delicious, proper size
Cons: higher price
The food is very good, especially not greasy at all. The food is served in an elegant way, but the price is a little higher. The servers are very friendly and the atmosphere is great.
For food, I like salmon omelet most, which has a lot of hot salmon and mushroom inside, and I really enjoy that. The potatoes are great as well. This food is one I want to order again.

We made esrly reservatioms as we had a show at the 5^th avenue. Got there and not a soul in thr dining room. We stood around to see if we’d be seated… no one ever appeared. After waiting we left in disgust. Cant rate the food obviously.

Food – delicious. Dessert – amazing. Service – so so. We were lucky enough to get $ 100 credit for our weekend stay at the W. Definitely a +++

I really enjoyed being here! The atmosphere reminded me of a lounge you might see in the movies!
We enjoyed a few tasty drinks and a few appetizers. They were all good! I would go back there.

An upscale, civilized bar in the W Hotel; an extra half-​star for having a bartender who knows that a martini involves gin by definition («vodka martini,» bah!) and is best stirred, not shaken (take that, Fleming!) Only flaw is that it was not initially served in the traditional stemmed glass, though they switched when I raised an eyebrow at the solecism.
Pleasant crowd, a mix of tourists and youngish locals.
I ordered the poolgogi chicken tacos (can you say «fusion»? I knew you could!) at $ 9. Flour tortillas, barbecued chicken, hot red peppers, cilantro, and kimchee aioli. The combination worked very well.

Pros: Décor, location, and service were great.
Bonus: The sushi rolls had real crab as standard. Most places require upcharge, or just don’t have.
Cons: Drinks and rolls are okay. Not bad, but don’t live up to the atmosphere. Stick to beer or straight mixers.
Double jeopardy: the Brussel sprouts were cooked to perfection and then seasoned to hell. It tasted like a ketchupy bbq sauce with spices that overpowered everything else.
Recommendation: worth a try… just don’t expect W quality with the style.

Trace is the main restaurant attached to The W Hotel. During our stay at the hotel, we ate there for dinner and breakfast. The décor is modern to say the least. Add the lounge music, you feel like you are somewhere very trendy. You’ll learn to enjoy the atmosphere because service is slow. I do not know if they are understaffed or if we had to share the kitchen with room service, but our dinner seating lasted 2 hours and breakfast 1 hour. Despite that, both our servers were professional, pleasant and checked on us several times.
The wait was easily forgotten once the food arrived. The dishes were beautifully presented, and the food tasted even better. We had sushi for dinner, and the fish was very fresh. We would recommend the Emerald City and Northwest rolls. If you are sensitive to spicy like me, you can ask for the sauce on the side. Breakfast was my favorite. I had the Seattle Trace breakfast with salmon lox and eggs. Again, the food tasted very fresh. My husband had the American meal which included sausage from a local company.
If you are a foodie and are willing to enjoy a long relaxing meal, then Trace is for you.

Trace is tucked behind the hotel bar and has a dramatic, if expected, contemporary design. Everyone in our group agreed that the food was delicious. And this is no small feat as we have so many picky and specific types in our group.
Downside: service. Timing was way off. Some appetizers didn’t arrive at the same time. Entrees bumped up against appetizers. Water glasses remained empty until several asks for more. Wine refills completely forgotten until the food was almost finished. This was, perhaps, because it was a holiday evening. However, no one took the time to explain or apologize for the subpar service.
Rating would be higher if based on food alone. I would say definitely give it a chance but if service is poor again then Unilocal it up!

Can we say that the swag starts here located in the amazing W hotel in downtown Seattle this ultra modern venue who has amazing DJ’s during the week one of my favorite’s is DJ topspin but all around extremely good DJ’s all the time I came for happy hour and stayed to watch the dj’s I danced drank ate and had a wonderful time this venue is one of the ones you go ahead and pull out your Burberry attire Aldo pumps Nordstrom hand bag and favorite sunglasses you’ll need those for the hangover
I Trace

I went to Trace for dine around seattle with a coworker and I was impressed with the food. First course was french onion soup woth beechers cheese. My friend complained there was not enough cheese however I thought it was the perfect amount.
My entrée was a pulled pork sandwich with fries. This was jands down one of the best pulled pork sandwiches I have ever eaten! There was an aioli on the buttered, toasted bun that was life changing.
For dessert we both had the strawberry rhubarb pana cotta. This was good and reminded me a lot of yogurt. With restaurant week coming up, I may need to go back again soon!

Came here for the first time with a friend for Dine Around Seattle’s lunch option. The restaurant/​lounge was pretty spacious and modern, and felt classy without the intimidating feel. Service was great; two/​three people waited on us and regularly checked up on how we were doing.
Their DAS lunch menu seemed like a good value, depending on what you order. I chose the pork miso ramen appetizer, pulled pork sandwich entrée, and the opera cake for dessert! I was actually pretty surprised about the portion of the ramen. The noodles were nicely cooked, and I could actually taste the miso in the broth. Definitely my favorite of the three! The sandwich was okay, but the pork was on the dry side and not very flavorful. Dessert was pretty rich and sweet. My friend tried the stiebr farm organic fried egg entrée, and I personally wouldn’t recommend it. I didn’t think it looked like it was worth the price –it was pretty much just an egg on some greens.

Trace is this older W hotel’s Living Room bar/​lounge (and a restaurant), set a few feet below the main lobby. It has a separate street-​level entrance.
Nice staff, a substantial bar, with a few lounge tables. The Living Room has a variety of chairs, sofas, loungers, and a large gas fireplace. Definitely a nice place to bring a date to snuggle with.
On two separate visits, there was a wide variety of clientele. Hotel guests relaxing with a drink, boys out on the town, couples, dressed-​up club girls on the first stop of the night.
I tried a couple of late-​night HH food items, which were decent but not special (even at the discounted price).
There’s an early and a late happy hour, and a $ 6 bargain margarita available at all hours. The place is also one of the few to serve food late in this hotel-​heavy area (albeit from a limited menu). Sushi is available until 11pm. A DJ spins several nights a week.
Recommended if you’re staying in the downtown hotel district and want a bit a posher vibe, or if you’re hungry late.

I’ve stopped by TRACE for sushi and brunch, and really enjoyed both experiences.
The sushi stop was part of a pre-​paid sushi crawl that my friend had organized, so it wasn’t really a «normal» experience and I didn’t actually get to choose anything I tried. The sushi rolls were delicious, though, and they let us try way more sushi than we were expecting for the price. Everybody was VERY happy!
I stopped by for brunch several weeks or months later, and we were surprised (again) because the staff decided to give our table a sampler platter of bread and pastries. I believe I had a meat and cheese plate, which was good… but I didn’t get to enjoy any of the Brie because they cleaned up the plates while I was away from the table. I guess I could have eaten faster or talked less, but I still wish they wouldn’t have assumed that I didn’t want to even try the Brie… I love Brie! I was just saving it for last.
I don’t end up here frequently because I have some other favorite spots in the area (and no longer work downtown), but I’ve been very happy with most of the experiences and will probably visit TRACE again.