Goldfinch Tavern at Four Seasons Seattle

This review is about happy hour. I was thrilled that we could reserve a table anywhere in the restaurant, because I know it to be always busy. Our server was excellent--beyond gracious. The food was delicious, as is always the case at Ethan Stowell restaurants. Plenty of options for "pescatarians" like my friend and me. We had the happy hour wine, and it was great. In fact, I bought several bottles at a local wine shop the next day!

Great service from our waiter Ryan. Food was excellent with a good selection. Very low key and quiet.

Wow, were we surprised by being charged for $12 for avocado added to a split order of a crab Benedict. The Benedict was $24 which was reasonable, but adding $12 for about six slices of avocado was outrageous. I also prefer to determine the tip appropriate for the level of service which was good I might add. The automatic 20% doesn’t allow one that opportunity.
Won’t return, or if we do, we will inquire about the cost of additional food items.

I have eaten at Goldfinch Tavern many times and have always enjoyed both my food and the ambiance. Unfortunately, during this visit, our order was delayed and very slow to come out of the kitchen...apparently a ticket mix up that contributed to the delay. Our server was apologetic and offered us a free glass of wine, but my father, our host, was disappointed with the service.

First, let me say a word about the service. We did not order the buffet, we ordered from the menu and were attended to by no less than 5 competent, courteous, friendly individuals. The food was wonderful. The three egg omelette with smoked salmon was outstanding! And I often eat omelets with smoked salmon. Yes, it was expensive, but it was an outstanding breakfast from start to finish!

Birthday dinner I really enjoyed the food

Awesome food and service as always. Leo was great and the rest of the staff never disappoints.

Love the brunch deal. Outstanding service by Leo. Great desserts!

Great ambiance and wonderful food and service. Pity that the view from our window was 1-800-Storage, rather than the lovely waterfront, but overall we had a great experience.

We always order the "Trust the Chef" tasting menu. This week's featured great oysters, several excellent appetizers, really good risotto with beets and apple, a great small piece of steak, and a superb dessert. Service is always friendly and efficient.

This was a fantastic dinner. The salads and pastas were amazing!

very convenient location to Seattle Art Museum exhibits

I had heard good things but we were not overly impressed. The font on the menu was so small and the lighting so dim that we all needed to turn on our phone flashlights to make our selections. My main complaint was that the food was not very special considering the prices. The hamachi crudo starter was under-seasoned - it was basically 5 small slices of hamachi on a plate with a smear of some creamy sauce. Desperately needed salt/acid. My cedar plank salmon entree was $55(!!) and was just average and a little overcooked. The vegetables that accompanied it were minuscule and included a piece of roasted lemon that in the very dim lighting looked just like the pieces of squash it was sitting next to and I popped the whole thing in my mouth by mistake. Desserts were fine but not memorable - the caramel apple dessert was the standout. Our server was great, but the wait between courses was very long. Bread costs extra and we didn't remember to order any - I know that's a common trend now, but when entrees are $45-55 I would think they could throw in some bread and butter. The wine list was fine- not overly long but I found some good Washington and Oregon selections. Overall it felt like a hotel restaurant and not worth the prices.

Birthday celebration. Ordered 2 orders pasta with mussels (not on menu), cooked al dente, requested recook. Returned to table still al dente. to table, basically inedible. Asked if new chef, apparently, yes! The art of cooking pasta unfortunately was not on the menu for this birthday celebration. Salads fresh, wine excellent. Wait staff attentive.

This was not our first trip to Goldfinch Tavern, but may well be our last one. We've enjoyed several meals there and just might return based on those experiences versus the most recent one. To begin the evening cocktail service was slow. Wine came right away, but those who had cocktails had to wait awhile for them. Before we ordered our food we informed the waiter that we had a 7:00 curtain and needed to leave by 6:45. He acknowledged this and said no problem. This was at approximately 5:20, so plenty of time to order and be served. We ordered our starters/salads and our main courses at this time. After a bit of a wait the first courses arrived. Not a long wait, but a little longer than one would have thought. First course came and was cleared by about 6:00. About 6:15 we began to wonder where the main courses were and asked our server to check our orders since two tables that had arrived after us already had their main courses. He returned and said they were coming shortly. At about 6:25 I went to the host desk to see what was taking so long. There was no host, only a waiter from another section. I told him we were running out of time an wanted to speak to a host or manager. He said he would send someone to our table right away. Our waiter came and we told him we were running out of time to reasonably eat in time to make our performance. He said our meals were being plated and would be right out. At 6:45 still no food so we stood to leave at which point a manager type and a waiter came out of the kitchen plates in hand. When they saw us putting on our coats they immediately turned around and returned to the kitchen. The person whom I think was a manager came up to us and apologized. He then offered to comp our beverages and first courses, which was gracious. Our main complaints are that tables that arrived after us had been served, eaten and even left by then. Our waiter never came to the table with an update or gave a reason for the delay. It was very frustrating

Great experience.

Always a great experience. Steaks, usually fabulous were a tad tough, but overall a wonderful time.

The restaurant is centrally located in Seattle and easy to get to. The staff is very accommodating and friendly. The food was delicious, all 4 of us were very happy with everything we ordered. The only comment I heard was for the price, the amount of food you get, was not very much.

My order was incorrect twice— the first time being the completely wrong item. Waitstaff seemed blatantly unaffected by issues and did not check in after the initial error. Other diners in our party were also appalled at the behavior as this was supposed to be a nice farewell dinner. Have already recommended to friends in the area to skip this restaurant. Overall I was really excited to try and and extremely disappointed with the results.

Everything was very good, except for the cost that was twice what i would expect for similar dining. This is a poace for well-off travelers, not for locals.

Super slow, inattentive service. Had to beg to have our order taken (40 minutes after being seated -first sign of our waiter) - and then told the "kitchen was busy".

Service fantastic. Appetizer of bruschetta with goat cheese wonderful. Dinner of seafood pasta with ink squid pasta dried out overcooked & had very little seafood

Excellent service and food was excellent.

Waiter Benjamin was awesome!!

Great food, service, and value for chef’s menu. First time here and was such a great experience.

Anniversary brunch

Birthday lunch for me and my husband. Perfect.

Always my favorite in Seattle.

To celebrate our anniversary, we were looking for a place that had great food, great service and where we could hear each other talk without shouting. Goldfinch Tavern exceeded all our expectations. It's a bit expensive but that was not a surprise (it is in a Four Seasons, after all). We got what we wanted.

Always great service and food to match.

Good, but deeply saddened by the loss of the Tomahawk steak off the menu. It has been a few years since we have been here. I remember a steak of mythical proportions: perfectly medium rare on the inside through and through (presumably sous vide) and then a thin layer of perfectly seared and seasoned exterior. We returned hoping to experience this steak again, but instead received regular steaks which here still pretty good but not what we were expecting. They also got our main dishes mixed up. There was a confusion of whose dish was whose, which shouldn’t happen at this level of dining. My steak was supposed to be medium with figs and potatoes, and my friend’s steak medium rare with asparagus instead of potatoes. My steak ended up being more rare than my friend’s, but about medium doneness, as I had asked. But my friend’s steak was more medium-well. I wonder if our steaks got switched, though we identified our dishes based on the vegetables that were on the plate. They were gracious enough to take my friend’s steak back and provide a new one.

The salmon rilled on cedar with horseradish creme was delightful!

It was quite nice. We were welcoming a new employee and took out to lunch. Food and drink were divine!

We ordered the tasting menu and it was amazing!

Noise level made the dining experience poor. Scallops were good, but not in any way special and for the price should have been. The scallops at my retirement home (Mirabella) are better.

I am always out in Seattle for business every three months. stay at the Four Seasons and always have friday night at the Goldfinch Tavern. food and service are outstanding and I highly recommend it.

The food was excellent. Our waiter, Edna, provided awesome service. It was one of the best dining experiences I’ve ever had.

Great place to eat and take in the view of Elliott Bay. The view is even better now that the viaduct has been taken down. A lot quieter than a lot of other places by Pike Place. It is a little on the expensive side, but after all, it is Seattle and the Four Seasons...

Yes, the service and food were great. Our server Edna was awesome

Exceptional cocktails started us off . Starters and salads were perfectly sized with thoughtful combinations of tastes . Entrees were all amazing .