sounds about right. elysian's food has always sucked.

regardless of the food quality, it's going to be stuffed to the gills just like the Pike Place Brewery - that area has needed another big loud overlit tourist-friendly restaurant since forever.

Why is the Elysian's food and to some extent management so astoundingly bad?

Can we publicly plea for the McMenamins people to invite them to dinner and give them a stern talking to?

I heard a co-worker complaining that Elysian had screwed up hummus, how is that even possible?

This seems like a fair and balanced review. This food at the Tangletown location is just okay, but the drinks and design are great.

I used to really like the chorizo tacos with peanut arbol salsa at the Capitol Hill location. Then they took them off the menu. I had to reinvent the recipe myself (pretty easy really).

I used to eat at the Capitol Hill Elysian pretty frequently, a few times a month (I lived across the street), but after about a year of never getting consistent food or service I gave up on it for everything but beer. I think I ordered the "death" wings maybe 20 times, and only once or twice were they actually spicy. Usually they were barely sauced, and generally either way overcooked or way undercooked. Maybe my standards are too high (nobody in this town seems to understand hot wings), but if a brewpub can't fry a fucking chicken wing and toss it in hot sauce, they really can't be trusted to do anything.
(Also, I once sent back a burger 3 times because they kept putting grilled onions on it, despite my polite requests to nix the onions.)

I've been liking the food at the new location, but I'm probably just more of a fan of fried panko. Great beer, can't try the cocktails at lunch as that would destroy me.

I've got to join the chorus here. The food at the Elysian has ALWAYS sucked. I get a beer now and then, but I will never again eat their food.

I have NEVER eaten good food at the Elysian, and the service... nasty!

I found the place fairly decent, just not my speed.
A fine cocktail bar with a top tier brewery's name attached seems a bit of a contradiction. It seems like an expensive leap into fine dining, yet resembles a flying boat car... it can drive, can fly, and can power sail, but does none well.

There is where the similarities end... they do everything fairly well if. It excellent despite the apparent identify crisis, and have an issue figuring out which staff does what. So, we get to pay for the extra labor and the ingredients. All of this is the real stuff, not some cheap knock off that tastes about the same.

Many folks seem elitist to their way and shun 'undesirables', winers, zymurgy advocates, and mixology fans barely mix, yet this place has a significant draw for all three branches of libation.

I just wish there was something more shareable for under $10 besides bread $3, or w/ butter $5.
Muscle men at the door is another different feature rarely seen in the Seattle scene, just add that to the list of differences (or is that uniquenesses?).

Street parking makes it an easy visit, if a bit on the spendy side.

@6 That peanut arbol sauce is SO GOOD! Tell me how you make it!