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Steelhead Diner (Downtown)

95 Pine St
Seattle, WA 98101
(206) 625-0129
Website

With its Southern-influenced seafood-focused menu and upscale-diner setting, Steelhead Diner pleases many a tourist and local alike in the Pike Place Market. The poutine—French fries and gravy with melted cheese curds—is a Quebecois treat; the gravy is just the right consistency to play off the gooey cheese curds (from Beecher's Cheese, a stone's throw away). The fried chicken is classic in style and pretty damn good, though the coleslaw is on the sweet side. The thing at Steelhead Diner that's totally, completely, undeniably worth the (rather steep) price: the lump Dungeness crab cake—best in town and, probably, the entire world.
Hours: Tue-Sat 11 am-10 pm, Sun 10 am-3 pm
Categories: Restaurant

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The Stranger's Reviews of Steelhead Diner

 
 

Average Rating:
  • 3.20000/5 Stars.
Reviews/Comments (19) RSS

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19
My wife and I had one night in Seattle after a grand tour of the West Coast. A bartender recommended Steelhead Diner. We arrived without reservations. The hostess told us she needed the table back by 7:30. Since it was 6:10, we thought it not a problem, provided the service was reasonably prompt. We told our waiter of the deal we had made with the hostess. He said not to worry. We proceeded to order and had a delightful meal. The crabcakes were outstanding. But the plot thickens. Faced with the decision whether to order dessert, we asked out waiter whether we had time. He assured us that we did. There was a delay in bringing it out. While we were in the middle of dessert, AND BEFORE WE HAD THE CHECK, the hostess (who we discovered also owned the place) came to us and rudely ousted us from the table. We had overstayed our welcome by 15 minutes. It did no good to tell her that we had emphasized to our waiter the issue of the time. I had to ask our hostess to have the check brought to us. We paid it promptly and departed. Despite the fact that we had dropped well over a hundred bucks in this place, our hostess insisted that she had done us a favor by letting us in the place. Thus I have mixed feelings about this place. If it were not for this rude treatment by no less than the owner, I would recommend the Steelhead Diner and return on my next trip to Seattle. But as it is, I cannot and will not.
Posted by Paul Tinkler on August 10, 2009 at 2:23 PM · Report
18

Great Evening Fun

We've been to Steelhead five or six times. It's fun. The staff works hard and is very nice. We now take anyone from out of town there to see how we Northwesterners relax and enjoy a good meal. Good job Steelhead! P.S. Not pretentious, resonable prices, very nice owners.
Posted by Larry & Tam on October 22, 2008 at 12:26 PM · Report
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9

Totally Great

Me and my boyfriend ended up coming here after leaving another restaurant downtown where they seemed less than interested in actually acknowledging our presence. We were seated at the chef's counter, since the rest of the place was totally full, and were treated for free to the best thing ever...fried cheese. Anyway, we are not pretentious foodies, but we totally loved our meal. We split the spring rolls, he got the burger with the upgrade to Poutine, and I got the gumbo, and it was all great, including our cocktails. The servers were really nice, on top of things, and sweet. We will definitely go back.
Posted by Banana on January 10, 2008 at 5:11 PM · Report
8

Fun w/ Family

We had a great meal and a nice experience at steelhead over the weekend. We started a little rocky with some confusion about who our waiter was, and when he might come over to the table, but he turned out to be attentive and helpful. The wine expert was fantastic and we got a great bottle. The fish dishes were fresh and interesting, while the red meat options looked less exciting but were enjoyed by those who tried them at the table. It was a fun place to take out of town guests and it will be place that I will opt to go for a drink with friends anytime I am near by. Head of the house, Teresa was fabulous too! Decor was impressive.
Posted by Eat Local on October 24, 2007 at 1:35 PM · Report
7

Bad Service, Mediocre Food

We've given this place three tries and come to the conclusion that it's a bad restaurant. Sure, the sandwiches and salads are passable, but they're not any better than a hundred other places in the city (and the lettuce sandwich dinner salad is downright cloying). It's the entrees where the restaurant really falters in both planning and execution. Why do I want a nice steak in a bowl? Better still, why do I want my NY steak cut up for me? Third, why do I want my steak that was ordered medium rare to be totally raw in the middle? It's not the kitchen wouldn't have noticed, THEY CUT THE THING UP! Anyway, in addition to the culinary deficiencies, the service has been bad every time we've gone: the waitstaff is untrained (first day on the job last time), the food takes too long, and the bartender takes an age to mix a cocktail. Stay away.
Posted by Huelsdonk on July 25, 2007 at 9:01 AM · Report
6

Wait staff

I found the staff attentive and the food was excellent. I like the atmosphere,it was very pleasant.
Posted by Tmesis on July 15, 2007 at 7:47 PM · Report
5

Keep expectation low - just a diner

I was hoping for an innovative take on diner food. It turned out to be the same old food with slightly better ingredients and a much higher price. The $12 burger was not worth it. The ambience was a bit cold and uninspired.
Posted by Ethan on June 21, 2007 at 11:39 AM · Report
4

Poutine

Went for it today at Steelhead and it was very very good.
Posted by mcaction on June 10, 2007 at 3:44 PM · Report
3

Worst service I've ever had anytime, anywhere

I was very excited about the steelhead diner and was looking forward to a date night there. The waitress had a spiel, very rehearsed and unnatural. "We embrace the market!...etc" which was recited at a hysterical pitch. Sort of an eye roller for me, a local Seattle girl. I started by ordering a bottle of wine. We then ordered our first course. The first course came but NO WINE!! I looked around for our waitress who had vanished. My husband had finished his first course by the time the waitress returned with a half bottle of a wine we had not ordered. PLEASE, if the wine is not available bring back the wine list. I was so frustrated we took the half bottle and my husband ordered a beer WHICH DID NOT COME for 15 minutes. The waitress at this point stopped even trying to be friendly. She delivered our food to the table next to us...placed it on their table..which gave our neighbors a chance to stick their faces in our entrees to determine it was not their order. My meal was great actually, a pasta risotto with asparagus, peas and truffle oil. My husband had fish and chips...unremarkable to say the least. Hate to say it but you can get better fish and chips at the local fish and chip stand.
Posted by where's my food? on June 4, 2007 at 2:42 PM · Report
2

Chocolate Pecan Pie

The food was decent. But the dessert I would go back for and order instead of dinner. I think it's a good place to go for a date, and have a few drinks.
Posted by Foodlab on June 4, 2007 at 11:08 AM · Report
1

More haute and less haughty please.

Before you ruin your salad by mistaking the salt for pepper, the salt is black and the pepper is a light colored mix of pepper and other seasonings/lowry's!? Poutine: fresh hot french fries melting real cheese curds (no substitutions!) and smothered in a rich brown gravy with a hint of barbeque. The Steelhead Diner's watery bland poutine couldn't even be called "disco fries". There is still no poutine in Seattle.
Posted by Poutine Pete on May 16, 2007 at 2:42 PM · Report

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