Canlis

The service was amazing, like a well choreographed, but not overly formal dance. The food was of course amazing I love you spectacular. We never felt rushed and felt incredibly well taken care of. Of course be prepared to leave a hefty amount there but one would not go here without knowing that.one nice thing was that we went to her birthday meal and were unable to get in on my wife’s birthday, but put our names in on the waiting list and several days prior and opening on her birthday appeared and we were able to change our reservation so that might be possible.

Came in for a birthday dinner, enjoyed cocktails in the bar before heading to the dining area. The staff were super helpful, knowledgeable and accommodating. Food was excellent and elegantly served. Want to say a special thank you to Ally for an excellent wine program.

The one thing that stands out for me is their attention to detail. Everything is so meticulously planned and you are treated like royalty while you dine here.
Food was great. Couple of items didn't quite hit the note with us. But that's just nit picking.
View was amazing. We would have liked a seat where we sat facing each other rather than adjacent.
They arranged a tiny cake as well as we were here to celebrate a birthday.
Would definitely visit again for another special occasion.

Foods of course taste amazing.
Atmosphere? Top notch.
Service? Now this part is that makes this restaurant shine pver others.
Amazing service from the moment you walk into the restaurant till you get into your car to leave. They will treat you well.
My wife and I were amazed by their service.
Wine paring was spot on too
Simply the best restaurant in Seattle area

The hype and recognition really is worth it! First, the entrance is lovely. You are welcomed by a toasty fireplace (fall/winter) before being greeted by a host! Someone happily brings you to your table. The view is outstanding, depending on where you’re seated. If you’re going for something more romantic, I’d required a window seat/view. Each course was delicious and better than the next. Love that the dish was explained each time there was a new one. Made consuming it all the more interesting when thinking about flavors and materials. Of course, can’t forget the pack of matches as a keepsake! The photos are just a FEW that I took. Kept eating too quickly, which means it’s good! Side note: the Canlis signature salad is wonderful, as well as the aged wagyu!

[Late Review]

Had visited Canlis in Aug 2023.

Was able to get a reservation in Canlis by virtue of being on the waitlist and therefore would definitely say that it pays to be m the waitlist and acting fast when the time comes 🙂

Food and service is absolutely exemplary from the start to the finish. Every dish/course is so well thought out in terms of flavour profile, prepared and presented. Also tried a couple of cocktails which were fantastic.

Overall, this restaurant is a must visit if you’re in Seattle. A 100% recommendation

I enjoyed the sturgeon, calamansi sorbet, and the porcini. I have dined in other Michelin-starred restaurants before and comparing this with them, this place comes out on the pricier-end. The value for food is slightly lower than others but the value for the experience hits different. I still recommend this for those who wish to try it for the first time. They also recommended trying the lounge area on a first-come, first-serve basis.

This was an amazing experience for a birthday dinner and the views were incredible. The service was seamless and outstanding. Additionally, they were very accommodating of both food preferences and restrictions with zero judgement. The pacing of dinner was perfect and I love how a different person presented each dish. Wine and coctail pricing and diversity was good. I can't wait to return.

I’ve been dining at Canlis for 17 years, and my recent experience was very good. We arrived at 5:25 for our 5:30 reservation and were invited to sit in the lounge as we were told our table would be ready in about 15 minutes. This is it what I’d expect for seatings with the first half hour of opening. If I have a reservation for 5:30, I’d like to be seated at 5:30. We took a seat in the lounge and no sooner had we placed a drink order than we were invited to our table. Weird.

We had a nice table with a view across the dining room to the windows overlooking the lake. Canlis seats most parties of two on the same side of the table, there are a few reasons for this I’m sure, but if you’ve never dined there, it is something to be aware of).

Service was generally great, but (and this is a small thing) they mixed up the delivery of our mains placing my dining companion’s in front of me before I corrected the server. Wine suggestions were great and flexible. It seems that they no longer offer a set pairing, but were able to work with our preferences for the number of glasses (or half glasses) we wanted.

The first courses on the tasting menu were actually the star bites of the evening. Canlis was great about making a few adjustments due to dietary restrictions and preferences.

The scallop toast (second time we’ve had this bite) is melt I your mouth delicious with the slightest crunch of the toast. A tempura cod bite was light and crispy and came with an amazing specialty salt. And a little mushroom crème filled choux was an exquisite contradiction of textures.

The local grains bread and cultured butter are earthy and fresh out of the oven.

I can’t remember all the details of the soup course and my suspicion is that it changes regularly, but it was excellent and we used the last of our bread to clean the bowl. Uncouth? Who cares it was delicious!

So why only 4 stars for the food? Well, the two savory courses of your choosing on the tasting menu that we had (and we had 3 different dishes) were underwhelming by comparison to the opening bites, and two another dinner at new top reviewed restaurant in Seattle.

The sablefish was good, cooked perfectly, but didn’t have anything memorable about it.

The escabeche Florida (sea bream prepared in a tempura batter) is an odd choice of preparation when the starter course included a tempura battered cod bite that was much more memorable.

The porcini w Joni, pear and leek, again was just not that memorable.

Deserts were fantastic.

We would have liked the savory selections in the 4th a d 5th courses to really knock our socks off (and many times in the past, including our first time dining w Chef Aisha Ibrahim in October 2022 left more of an impression at the time.

Absolutely incredible dining experience. Was fortunate enough to attend a dinner lecture series in the upstairs section. Some of the most delicate and delicious cuisine I have ever had. Most amazing salmon I have ever tasted.

Celebrated our birthdays together and spent a lovely time by the pianist when we first arrived. The shiso leaf dish was amazing. Only one of us liked the geoeduck panacotta but we both loved the crunchy bit on the right-hand side. The butternut squash soup was delightful! The bread and salad were stellar. One of our favorite dishes was the lemon honey almond sorbet. We loved the other desserts too! I would have loved a written explanation of what we ate at the end as a memento. The mushroom dish was not very good because the porcini's didn't have much flavor and the textures were too rough on the palette. There weren't any other vegetarian options on the menu without cabbage. We wish the course selection had been larger. We were offered coffee but I thought it was strange not to offer us tea when sitting by such beautiful teapots. The timing towards the end felt a little rushed as the car was already there and on and we wanted to use the restroom before leaving. Overall, a wonderful experience and very friendly service!

Absolutely amazing experience here! The food was fantastic, there were 3 mystery courses, a pallette cleanser and 3 courses you choose. Each course was well thought out and complimented each other. Each of our party's dietary restrictions were carefully accounted for and their drinks were especially flavorful. But my 5 star review is mainly because our server, Forest was who made this my absolute favorite fine dining experience. He was amazing to talk to and her very in depth knowledge of the restaurant and the dishes. He was very accomodating to our needs and overall a delight. This will be my staple place to visit whenever I'm in the area.

I went to Valentine's dinner here, and let me just say it was one of the best culinary experiences of my life. I booked a reservation about few weeks in advance, which cost around $250 a person + taxes and fees. The Valentine’s Day menu was a tasting menu. We were seated on the upper flower with beautiful views of Seattle over Lake Union. The seating was facing the massive floor-to-ceiling windows with the view. There were 5 courses total and we got a glass of wine each. The 1st course was an array of small bite, appetizer dishes, oyster and scallop to name a few. The 2nd course was a duck confit with a vegetable. It was the best duck confit I have ever had, it melted in your mouth with a burst of flavor. The combo of the two was perfect and the vegetable was sweet and bitter and complemented the duck very well. We got some bread and salted butter, not part of the courses. It was pretty good bread and the butter was very smooth and tasty. The 3rd course was sea bream with a sauce and edible flowers. The skin on the fish was extremely flavorful, the fish cooked to perfection, and paired with the sauce was an amazing experience. The 4th course was American wagyu, potato cake, and Dungeness crab. The Dungeness crab was the highlight of this course in my opinion I found the wagyu a little too chewy for me. The potato cake was very dense but crispy, and the sauce on top cut through the thick potato layers nicely. The final course was a strawberry dessert and baked chocolate dessert. It was a nice ending to the night, and the strawberry dessert was especially nice and interesting. Overall one of the best culinary experiences I have had in a long time. The crab dish was my favorite, followed by the sea bream, then the friend scallop, then the duck confit.

Tucked into the hills of downtown Seattle, lies the Canlis Restaurant. During my trip to the west coast, I had to visit one of the top rated restaurants in the city…….make that the country⭐. Break out your fancy schmancy attire for this occasion; or you will stick out like a poor thumb. (I meant what I said)
Was treated very kindly the entire evening. Derek was the bartender on this particular night, while Jose served me two excellent dishes. Most flavorful burger I’ve ever eaten; you will not feel as though you’ve “settled” for it at all. The scallop toast was a pleasant predecessor to that. Overall, enjoyable experience & I will return next time I am in Seattle.
Shoutout to the kitchen staff making it happen!!! ❤

Yes, it's expensive, but in exchange you get a basically perfect experience with a wide variety of finely crafted courses. It's definitely worth it for the experience if you can justify the price for a special occasion.

Visited here for my promotion. It was the first time we have visited Canlis. I loved every moment of the experience. I was so full. They do not do wine pairings but your waiter is happy to pair different wines with your courses based on how many beverages you want to enjoy. The views are stunning day and night. We will definitely come back for a special occasion.

Camille, Grace and the rest of the staff guided us through a magical meal. They took into account my many and irritating dietary restrictions and created an experience that was specific to me. My husband enjoyed his meal tremendously as well. Camille brought us wine and cocktail pairings that were unbelievable and perfectly matched to the eight courses of our dinner. This was exactly the experience I needed. The pianist was magnificent. Everything was elegant and beautiful. I am an extremely grateful man to have experienced such a beautiful, rich and luxurious evening.

Superb fine dining experience. Seven course meal where it’s chef’s voice for four courses and you have three options per course for the other three. Each portion is small but a fantastic rhythm between the courses of sweet and savory. It’s truly an experience for a special occasion. Our servers were very knowledgeable for all the food and wines- and service is quite high. When my wife left to use the ladies room, a server walked by her napkin laying on her seat, saw it and refolded it before placing it back on the table. Between each guest, the staff also used an iron on the tablecloth to ensure the pristine tables were kept in their high quality condition. Live piano was playing throughout the evening with a mix of older and modern songs, and the views over Seattle and lake Union were lovely. We loved the coulette! Valet service was used for the cars and we only had to wait a minute or so for the car to arrive when leaving.

Incredible dining experience start to finish! The service was spectacular. Every member of the staff knows exactly what to do, where to be, and what to say. The food was surprising, fun, beautiful to look at and delicious. Each course seems crafted to please all of your senses. Also, my friend and I arrived early and were seated in the lounge where we were able to enjoy a few cocktails while we waited for our table which was so nice. It’s okay to arrive a bit early for your reservation. The valet parking is also convenient. I can’t wait to go back!!

Had a phenomenal dining experience at Canlis!

We had been trying to make reservations for a while, and on a whim, checked the availability the day of — were able to get a table in the evening!

We arrived and the valet was extremely convenient. We didn’t have to give them our name, take a ticket or anything — and at the end or the night magically had our car waiting for us out front. Wild and amazing service!!

We were seated not quiet along the windows, but against the backed wall area overlooking the windows. It was still an amazing view especially at sunset.

Our waitress was Wendy — incredibly sweet woman and we loved having her that evening.

Every single dish was incredible. I can’t describe how our taste buds were surprised and delighted every single time. Loved the option to choose three of our courses while the chef had a few surprises to offer us as well.

I will say I thought the dessert I chose was a little overbearing — I got the dark chocolate sorbet. It was so great on the first and second bite but became a bit much after that. My husband got the smoked cacao which was indescribable — would highly recommend that dessert to anyone.

Our sommelier Ally was so great — helped us select a perfect wine that hubby and I both loved. I WILL say, was somewhat disappointed when I looked the wine up and found it around $55-$70 online but the restaurant charged us $190 for it. Guess that comes with the territory with fine dining.

Overall 10/10 and a dining experience I would recommend to anyone in Seattle if given the opportunity.