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The Saint (Capitol Hill)

1416 E Olive Way
Seattle, WA 98122
(206) 323-9922
Website

You can't miss the turquoise paint job on the former home of the Wing Dome—inside, you'll find a pretty little tequila joint with from-scratch cocktails and Mexican food made with high-quality ingredients (all-natural, free-range chicken, pork, lamb, and beef, with produce from Frank's in Pike Place Market).
Categories: Bar, Restaurant

Restaurant Details

Bar Details

The Stranger's Reviews of The Saint

 
 

Average Rating:
  • 3.33000/5 Stars.
Reviews/Comments (14) RSS

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14

Pretty Good

I loved the spicy spicy enchiladas, just like mom makes 'em!
Posted by MVS on March 16, 2009 at 10:08 PM · Report
13

BOMB happy hour

I'm surprised by these reviews, but most of them are pretty old. I love the Saint. The atmosphere and new happy hour menu are rocking, so is the tecate and shot for $5... and the jaritos "to-go" is like tequila candy (and not $10). spicy enchiladas, good tequila and such good guacamole. Try the brunch too. YUM.
Posted by theashley on January 22, 2009 at 8:11 PM · Report
12
had the carne- asada plate that was fantastic and 2 house margarita's that were $5 a piece, good service from bartender, cool room and good music in the background.
Posted by Bob Severn on December 10, 2008 at 5:02 PM · Report
11

I live in Gtown

No impressed with the food at all....over priced! The drinks are good but weak weak weak. The service was not good especially for the price. I understand that yes in any other city we would pay more....well then take your business to those cities because this isn't LA. I would spend my money else were. Go to Stellar and get a Stellar Sidecar. Go to Chez Gaudy and get a Frech 75. Okay good tequila from a tequila bar is a no brainer but the food and service need much improvment. The building looks beautiful.
Posted by I live in Gtown on August 25, 2008 at 2:13 PM · Report
10

My hard-earned money will go elsewhere

First off, its a nice building. Thanks for painting it a nice color and all that. Maybe it was a really expensive paint job, but those drinks are kind of overpriced (seems like the common theme with the comments) and *weak*. Slow, indifferent service from the bartender who didn't bother telling us anything about happy hour drink prices till we asked (When the bill came, appetizers were apparently half-off). Sorry but the food wasn't that great. PS those bathroom napkins are terrible for use as dining napkins.
Posted by Iamnotahipster on August 20, 2008 at 11:16 PM · Report
9

mas o menos...

food = just try puerco pibil. don't try any of that other boring taco filler. the pork is the only way to go and TOTALLY delicious. although i would have appreciated a few more tiny tortillas. and i agree, what is up with charging for chips with three *very* small cups of salsa? yes it was good, but the tiny portions made me feel like i needed to scrape up the drops of salsa that fell off my chip onto the table. although unaccustomed, i am not opposed to paying for chips and salsa, but i do expect at least a little more bang for my buck. drink = you gotta be kidding me. $10 for some jarritos soda and a shot of tequila? just not even worth it. and i thought their drinks were a little on the weak side (and i'm a lightweight). if you are a tequila freak, then this is definitely the place for you. if not, then steer clear. so, i will go back for the yummy puerco pibil. and the albondiga (meatball soup) being served to the men sitting next to us looked damn good. but i won't be going out of my way for it.
Posted by kyd22 on April 28, 2008 at 4:15 PM · Report
8

Disappointed!

I got so excited when I heard that there might be some decent Mexican food right down the street from my apartment. No such luck, at least for me. Being a vegetarian, which is not that uncommon these days, Mexican food is usually not a problem. There are no vegetarian options at the Saint, outside of chips & salsa (which were good). According to my boyfriend, the chicken tacos were mediocre. My cocktail was tasty, though. I guess tequila is what they are focusing on . . .
Posted by Nora on April 25, 2008 at 11:00 AM · Report
7

tequila sure, food not so much

I understand this place is trying to showcase their tequila selection, which is fine. It has an appealing atmosphere, friendly service, and an impressive tequila selection (and trendy but enthusiastic mixology). The food, however, is very bad, utterly devoid of character. I see where they were going with hints toward authenticity (housemade tortillas are a nice gesture, but should be expected), and I respect that, it's just that it fails. Middlebrow and drab, good to people weaned on gigantic cheddar enchiladas maybe, disappointing to anyone else hoping for, you know, good Mexican food in Seattle (outside of a few select taco trucks and La Carta de Oaxaca on a good day). A disappointment further compounded by the rather absurd pricing. Not an unpleasant visit, but huge room for improvement in the kitchen department.
Posted by levide on April 23, 2008 at 11:34 PM · Report
6 Comment Pulled
5

The most delicious cocktails

the first two reviews allude to the fact that this place has delicious cocktails, but they also complain about the $10 pricetag. come on, you'd rather pay $8 at rosebud for a flavorless, iced down old fashioned? or, maybe you'd rather pay $6 at the comet tavern for a gin and tonic where the bartender STRAINS THE LIME WITH HIS HANDS. at saint, you get a complex, creative, and ultimately delicious drink for a couple bucks more. and they're not weak. listen, i'm a beer guy, and i like dark, sometimes even stinky places (the monk is my favorite). but, if you want to dress up a bit, and have really fuckin good cocktails, this is the place.
Posted by iheartbooze on April 22, 2008 at 7:50 PM · Report
4

can't wait to go back.

The Saint's "El Diablo" is my new favorite cocktail - the sweetness of creme de cassis is balanced with a zesty ginger bite, without obscuring any of the drink's tequila character. The "To Go" was also tasty, but probably better saved for a hot summer afternoon. The service was welcoming from the moment we walked in the door, and the bartenders were friendly and took care crafting each drink. As the other reviewers have pointed out, the drinks are on the pricey side, but I'd rather have an excellent $10 drink than a mediocre $7 or $8 one. The eats are in the $10-12 range as well, which seems reasonable given how hip and high-quality everything seems. Honestly the hardest part of the night was deciding which drink to try, as there are lots of interesting options on offer. The housemade chips and salsas (be sure to request the habanero variety if you like a little heat!) convinced me to come back and try some real food - I can't wait!
Posted by d on April 21, 2008 at 11:25 PM · Report
3

I love tequila and tequila loves me

I'm surprised to see that neither of the previous reviews mentioned the fact that The Saint is a bar devoted to the love of tequila! I went with two friends on a Saturday night, even though it was crowded we were able to seat ourselves at the bar where our bartender took amazing care of us. Between the three of us we tried out a variety of specialty cocktails and were very impressed with the range and creativity of flavors paired with tequila (who knew that ginger and cassis would produce such magical results???). We walked home warm, happy, and fuzzy in a way that only comes from good tequila AND woke with without hangovers (worth more than a few extra $$s to me any day). The reason the drinks are expensive is pretty clear. All of the drinks are crafted from high quality tequila (most shitty clubs charge at least 8 bucks for a meager shot of Patron, so in a cocktail 10 doesn't seem outrageous to me). Also, they squeeze the fruit juice right there from the source to order, the tortilla chips are hand cut and salsas made from scratch. Pricey, yes, but the drinks are strong and delicious.Having just visited LA where a standard well drink costs $13 we are pretty lucky to have places that charge $10 for a good cocktail. You could always start at The Saint then stumble your way across the street to the Crescent for a night of tequila induced karaoke.
Posted by justlovestastythings on April 21, 2008 at 9:41 PM · Report
2

overpriced

I stood at the door for 10 minutes before deciding to seat myself. After I sat down the waitress, the same one who walked by me several times, asked me to seated me. After I ordered I still had to ask for water. The drinks were might delicious, but I have to call bullshit on having to pay for chips and salsa. Lower the drink prices and dont make us pay for underwhelming chips and salsa and The Saint might be a little better.
Posted by blaire with an e on April 17, 2008 at 7:57 PM · Report
1

Meh.

It's overpriced, but the drinks are good. I went opening night, so I feel I can't be too critical. But when your specialty drinks are all $10, come on. I think I'd only go there during Happy Hour, if they even have one. Atmosphere of the place is very nice, so I'll give it that. And the bartenders are nice.
Posted by Original Monique on April 17, 2008 at 10:10 AM · Report

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The Saint
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