Introduction
I’ve been meaning to go to Altura since it’s one of my friend’s favorite restaurant. Plus, Jessica Alba, my love from 2000 (“Dark Angel” TV series) to 2005 (“Into the Blue”) dined at Altura when she visited Seattle in August 2016. Unfortunately since I dined with my wife, I couldn’t ask the waitress where she sat at. Oh well. Anyway, the main reason why I chose Altura on this random night was because I was trying to score a $20 Amazon gift card from the Seated app (use code ‘VINH5’ for $5)
Experience
Our reservation was for 9PM, but we were starving so we arrived early (around 8:30PM.) When I checked in, they said my reservation wasn’t until Tuesday night. I said that’s ridiculous since they had called me that afternoon to confirm my reservation for tonight. Another waitress came by and muttered something about the ‘Seated’ app. Luckily they had 1 table open and we were able to be seated. (by the way, this meant I haven’t gotten my $20 from Seated yet.)
The wife and I decided to get our own “modern pairing” since a) it was cheaper than the wine pairing and b) it’s a bit more unique than pure wine pairings. The pairing was fine and the food was fine. I don’t think any one dish stood out as WOW. It’s no Alinea. I think at this point, I’ve become somewhat numb to these fancy dinners. Don’t get me wrong. I do enjoy the meals and the experience, but it’d be hard to blow me away these days.
Ranking Seattle’s fine dining that I’ve been to – Scout (doesn’t do chef’s table anymore) > Juanita Kitchen > Canlis
Pictures
Haha Dark Angel and Into The Blue are two of my favorite things! I just don’t usually tell anyone lol
Just was curious about your tipping habits at places like this. I have never been to a restaurant this fancy, what is considered normal or what is expected by the wait staff and what are your thought process for leaving a tip?
I imagine they expect 20% tip, which is what I do.
Vinh, I think a few weeks back you said you were going to work on an FI blog piece. Is that still in the works?
forgot about it. let me start drafting it now.
Good lord Vinh. I like your blog more than most, but “RSVP” is not a substitute for the word reservation. It drives me nuts every time I read one of your reviews. How hard is it to write the word out?
Whoa triggered. Honestly, I was using it because I thought they were synonymous, but I was wrong. Good to know.