where jess ate

Mike and I went out to Seattle for a few days to visit a friend of ours. Since he lives in Bellevue, which is about twenty minutes away from Seattle, we had dinner in the area one evening. He made a few suggestions and when he informed us that Black Bottle serves up tapas-style food, Mike picked it since he knows how much I like variety.

The restaurant is actually located at the bottom of a condo and you can park in its underground lot for free if you get your parking ticket validated by Black Bottle.

I liked the atmosphere inside the restaurant, which was very spacious and airy, with its high ceilings. It seemed like a pretty popular place to grab drinks and a bite to eat after work.

We started with the Pulled pork tacos ($7). This came with three tacos, which worked out perfectly for us. They were filled with pulled pork, tomatoes and onions and topped with a slice of avocado and a lot of cilantro. The meat was tender and the combination of all the ingredients worked perfectly. For someone who doesn’t love pulled pork, I really enjoyed these tacos. Mike really enjoyed these too, despite the generous amount of cilantro on them, which he can’t stand.

The next thing that arrived was the Broccoli Blasted ($8). I would never have thought of ordering this, but it was a dish our friend insisted on us ordering, so we knew it had to be good. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect, but it was certainly delicious! I think the broccoli was just roasted at a high heat, making it “blasted.” It was still on the crunchy side and had a bit of that raw broccoli taste to it. It was nicely salted and highly addictive!

We also ordered the Bulgar Wheat Harissa Lamb Meatballs & Paneer ($10). Although it only came with three small meatballs, the dish was served with several other items including grilled vegetables (eggplant, artichoke, red peppers) and two cubes of paneer. The meatballs were quite moist, and although I couldn’t really tell they were lamb, I still really enjoyed them. I was surprised to see that the dish came with a side of yogurt sauce since the meatballs weren’t very spicy. Nevertheless, the yogurt sauce complimented them well. My favourite part of the dish was actually the paneer; the texture of which reminded me of a firm tofu. It was marinated with a flavour that was similar to tandoori chicken, which I really l liked. Another solid dish!

Last but not least, the Pear and Gorgonzola Flatbread ($9) arrived. I was a little apprehensive when our friend first recommended this since I’m not a huge fan of gorgonzola. But he mentioned that it was his favourite dish here and it soon turned out to be mine too! The flatbread was topped with pesto, pear, gorgonzola and caramelized onions. The taste of the cheese wasn’t too strong, thankfully, and the entire combination just worked so well together. This was definitely my favourite dish of the evening.

If you’re ever in the area, perhaps taking a shopping break from Bellevue Square, I recommend dropping by Black Bottle for a bite to eat. Every dish we ordered was great, I loved the bright, airy atmosphere and I have no complaints about the service. A great experience and a fantastic recommendation from our friend!

At a glance:
• Tapas-style restaurant
• Delicious food at reasonable prices
• Free parking in the building (get your ticket validated by the restaurant)
• Another location located in Seattle (Belltown)

Ratings (out of 5):
• Food: 4.5 stars
• Service: 4 stars
• Atmosphere: 4 stars