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Kelly O

Green star Spring Hill (West Seattle)

4437 California Ave SW
Seattle, WA 98116
(206) 935-1075
Website

As of February 2012, Spring Hill is now known as Ma'ono. The atmosphere at this West Seattle den of culinary precision is proto-futuristic, with a particularly compelling open kitchen where chef Mark Fuller and his team cook in choreographed harmony. Much of the food is not merely excellent but interesting in its excellence, giving your mind something to do along with your mouth. A 2011 menu-reformatting means lots of small plates and only a few entrees; seafood is a good bet here (but then so is pasta or gnocchi, duck, marrow bones…). Brunch looks great, as does happy hour, and Monday is not-inexpensive fried-chicken night (reserve way in advance—it’s reportedly totally worth it).
Hours: Mon-Sat 5:45-10 pm, Sat-Sun brunch 10 am-2 pm
Categories: Bar, Restaurant

Restaurant Details

Bar Details

  • Hours: Monday night supper 5-9 pm; Tue-Thu & Sun 5:45-10 pm; Fri-Sat 5:45-11 pm; Sat-Sun brunch 10 am-2 pm
  • Happy Hour: Tue-Fri 5-7 pm (Drink specials).
  • Features: Full Menu
  • Scene: Wine Bar and Cocktail Lounge

The Stranger's Reviews of Spring Hill

 
 

Average Rating:
  • 3.62000/5 Stars.
Reviews/Comments (10) RSS

Newest First Unregistered On Registered On Add a review of Spring Hill
10

They had 5 customer service opportunities

Our family had a reservation for approx 6-7 weeks at a rstaurant in seattle that had been written up as one of the best fried chicken places in the country. I thought the price for a chicken dinner was exorbitant but my family loves fried chicken and we like to support our local community so why not. Party of 5, we get there about 5 minutes before the appointed time. There is one plastic chair by the door for waiting patrons, nice. We're told table isn't available but we're good because we're a bit early. Time passes, we're at 10 minutes past now, still waiting, table still occupied. With no place to sit and wait I was really glad elderly parents were not with us. At almost 15 minutes the table is just about ready. I'm thinking ok this place is at 2 strikes right now (no waiting & the kids 8&14 were not offered so much as a comped soda to make up for the long stand) so the service and food better be freakin fantastic. We get to the table and one of my daughters points out PEANUT OIL on the menu. We have 2 members of our family who will go into anaphylactic shock eating anything with peanut oil. That was strike 3 and I'm pissed. I told the wanna be hostess who was in the proces of telling my daughter the info is on the website and she wasn't responsible for the write-ups in the paper-no apology at all. Well isn't that special. Why would we go on the website? We were there for one specific highly advertised meal, we knew where the place is being from the immediate area and had the phone number. No need to go to the website. My problem with them is they had FIVE customer service opportunities to alert me, as a potential customer, about the use of peanut oil. 1) I walked into the restaurant and made my reservation 2 and 3) They called me 2 times for cancellations to ask if I wanted to move up reservation 4) When they called to confirm my reservation and 5) When I called the restaurant to check on any earlier seating times. The uncaring attitude of the "hostess person" tells me she has never see anyone go into anapylactic shock. I do not wish this on anyone but when that happens, and it will with the prevalence of this allergy, I hope she's there to see it. Are restaurant employees required to be certified in CPR?

More...
Posted by Aliyah on October 31, 2010 at 10:15 AM · Report
9

  • 5/5 Stars.

sweet spot

i ate and drank a lot, and that wasn't so cheap. but it was great! i love this place. why? because i almost went to the jack-ass Corson building instead, & i would like to thank my goddamn lucky stars that i went here instead. can i say it again? ok, i will: i am so sick of this stupid communal table crap. if you want to be cheek-to-jowl with some jackass all evening, go have your goddamn fun at Corson and Spinasse. but hey, if you ACTUALLY HAVE YOUR OWN FRIENDS, AND WANT TO TALK TO THEM, spring hill is just the ticket: really great food in a pleasant atmosphere. it's not luxurious, in fact the interior is like an upscale version of boom noodle, sort of an ironically retro ikea-remake of a brady bunch aesthetic. but the food is fucking tasty, the lighting is good, the service is great, the noise level is appropriate, you can speak without being overhead, see the kitchen without a lot of clanging, and the chairs are comfortable. and there is no dumbshit sitting 6 inches away from you talking about their mother's cancer or the lastest foodie slow vegan organic farm-to-table blue cheese from vashion. i love spring hill because i didn't have to sit down next to 6 buffoons and spend 20 minutes fortuitously discovering how i am connected to them.

in my glorious visit last night, i had about 6 dishes, and each of them was innovative, well-presented, unpretentious, and just plain tasty. from my sample i come to my professional conclusion with some certainty: everything on the menu is pretty fucking good.

here's a life lesson: sometimes you don't have to be great as much as you just need to focus on the basics and avoid completely fucking it up. (take a lesson from that, zen-master-my-ass Corson, Pussy Spinasse.)
Posted by Vito Dumas on April 29, 2009 at 12:39 PM · Report
8

Spring Hill disappoints

Chef Fuller must have been a.w.o.l. the evening of my most recent visit. Having enjoyed excellent meals in the past, I chose Spring Hill for a special occasion celebration with a close friend. Sadly, all but the oysters disappointed. A martini arrived luke-warm. A salad described on the menu as composed of fennel, chicory, compressed pear, grapefruit, hazelnuts and parmesan contained three small pink grapefruit bits, perhaps four slivers of fennel, quite a bit of frisee (not chicory), no tangible taste of pear OR parmesan…Perhaps the impressive line up of sous-chefs behind the counter had missed one or two stations in assembling this. The 24 hour ribs, ordered on the recommendation of our waitress, tasted like an inexpensive cut of corned beef and were not accompanied by brussel sprouts..though the green sprinkling of celery leaves scattered on top could have been intended to “suggest” their presence. A dessert of liquid chocolate (described by our waitress as dense chocolate which led to our expecting something quite different) was the final let down, with a difficult to eat, homemade massive marshmallow on top. Was this an “off night”? Or has Spring Hill become complacent?
Posted by Pickyeater on February 14, 2009 at 11:20 AM · Report
7

Dont go Down Town

Way to over priced, huh, maybe you should ask or a raise. When going into a new establishment like this there is a time of correcting the process of the new business. Did you talk to the owners about your expirience? My guess is no, because Chef Fuller is trying to create raving fans of his dream as Chef/ Owner of Springhill. Why dont you give him a call and talk to him about your expirience, I am sure he would want to know what happened so that it wouldnt happen to another guest and maybe he would have you come back as a guest of his own to prove that in the restaurant business some days do not always work out the way they are supposed to. Give the guy a break, do you know what it takes to run your own business?
Posted by Wil on August 6, 2008 at 8:29 AM · Report
6

Much to like

Much about Springhill is beautiful: the space, the menu and the presentation of the food are worth mentions...as is the noise level caused by the poor acoustics. Overall, the experience is well above competent, but, alas, not top drawer (try Beato for tops in West Seattle). In any case, Springhill is worth a visit or two or more.
Posted by New to WS on July 20, 2008 at 11:46 PM · Report
5

Almost perfect

One of the best meals I've had in Seattle. I had the pasta with morels, my husband the steak. Both of us grew quiet with the awe of a spectacular meal in our provincal little 'hood. The chocolate cake is heavenly too. The only disappointment is the high price of wine (as Bethany notes). Besides that, Spring Hill is a must visit...you will not be disappointed.
Posted by Michelle in WS on July 11, 2008 at 2:26 PM · Report
4 Comment Pulled
3

Go Downtown!

LAME! Way too overpriced for way too little food. The food was good, but it took 2 hours to get our food. The place was loud, the food was tiny (I actually thought it was a joke at first) and it's totally out of place in West Seattle. Do yourself a favor and go to anywhere else in West Seattle and you won't overpay and you'll actually get it in reasonable time and for a decent price. OR go downtown and make a night of it and do it right!
Posted by Beagle on June 23, 2008 at 12:38 PM · Report
2 Comment Pulled
1

Great Newcomer

Springhill is a great new addition to the Seattle dining scene. Their space is contempory, very inviting and unlike what seems to be the new trend in local restaurants, quite spacious. The food was fresh, delicious and innovative with a focus on seafood. Service was perfect(ask for Kathleen, however she only works Thurs). Definitely worth a check out, I'll be back soon.
Posted by Food lover on June 10, 2008 at 8:41 PM · Report

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