Bar Exam

The beautiful, besuited, and golden name-tagged lady holds the door
to Seattle’s new Four Seasons Hotel open, ushering you into an
alternate reality. Outside, the new economy is accompanied by
pitch-black night and sideways rain, by sodden miserables at bus stops.
Inside, palpably, no expense has been spared, and everyone glides
instead of walking. On the left in the lobby, people fete the luxe
new Fran’s Chocolates boutique at its private opening celebration.
Ahead, a line of flames in a mod gas fireplace glow among what look
like pieces of ice or, possibly, uncut diamonds.

The restaurant and lounge is called ART, a tribute to the property’s
Pacific Northwest art collection and an all-caps shout-out to the
Seattle Art Museum across the street (and maybe also a calling-out of
SAM’s restaurant/lounge, TASTE). It’s the third day of ART’s existence,
and the place is packed. Chef Kerry Sear is seen beaming and shaking
ARTgoers’ hands—he recently sold his posh Belltown restaurant
Cascadia to return to the deep, plush pockets of the Four
Seasons chain, and he looks like it was the best decision he’s ever
made. (Before Cascadia, Sear ran the kitchen at the Four Seasons
Olympic, which is now the Fairmont; Cascadia’s been bought by Grupo
Lezama, a fancy Spanish restaurant chain founded by Catholic
priests.)

Inside the lounge, the coasters are made of snowy white cloth
with scalloped edges and an embroidered logo-tree. Specialty drinks
are served in hybrid martini-cocktail-glass/goblets. A
server—who’s ingratiating in the best sense of the word, as well
as adorable due to her braided hair—says they’re very heavy to
carry a tray of, that they’re “powerful—a king’s cup!” If
your drinks take a few moments too long—it’s very busy—a
manager materializes, apologizes, and murmurs that they’re on the
house. They cost $10 or $12, and they handily pass the
specialty-cocktail test: Order one you don’t like the sound of, and
you’ll love it. Imported from Cascadia: Sear’s signature miniburgers,
$12 for three.

A man in a navy blue suit embraces a woman and says, “Are you having
fun in the new see-and-be-seen place?” He’s correct: ART has much more
energy and much less anonymity than a typical hotel bar, perfect for
running into someone you’d like to know. “I just got off a plane
from SF, where I closed a huge deal,” he says. Nearby, the team behind
the light rail campaign drinks champagne.

The decor is predictably contemporary, with a few outlier elements:
a Gary Faigin painting, also imported from Cascadia, depicting
(marvelously) an exploding apple against a foreboding night sky;
backlit panels cycling through (painfully) vibrant hues (will this
unfortunate trend never end?); and floor-to-ceiling windows meant to
showcase the Sound, but, due to gloom, providing a sweeping view of
taillights on the viaduct and an enormous Public Storage sign.

ART, 99 Union St, 749-7000