Black Bottle Postern

Great food! Although the hostess and waiter were extremely rude. Dismissive and disappointing. This is not the first time we have had this experience. Two years ago we dined at this location and left before our drinks were served. We were told that the service had improved, clearly this is not the case.

Everything we ordered during happy hour was SO delicious! The standouts were definitely the tacos, short rib, burrata and bacon wrapped prawns.
The ceviche was on the spicy side… so I wasn’t a huge fan, but enjoyed the taro chips.
The interior is cute, and it’s a great spot for dinner or a date. Prices are a bit steep, but it’s definitely worth it!

I don’t have a ton to say because it was just plain good.
I came with a work group and we ordered tons of the small plates to share.
Natural beef short ribs, wild boar ribs, blistered shishido peppers, oysters, seven spiced shrimp, coconut lemon-​ginger ceviche, prosciutto flatbread and pear/​Gorgonzola flatbread.
Everything was delicious, the food came out timely and all of the staff was friendly and welcoming.

The owner (I think that’s who he was) loved us, we had a loud karaōke moment in the corner & apologized after but he was enjoying it lol.
I’m not sure what we had but they brought out many different places, the wings, the pizza, everything was good. I have nothing bad to say about this place & will make it my duty to get there again when I’m back in the Seattle area.

Tried the hanger spice steak and the seven spice shrimp. The seven spice shrimp was pretty good but the steak was just mediocre. I didnt realize that they would be so busy on a weekday but ended up waiting an hour because we didn’t have a reservation. The food wasn’t bad but also, not anything that rocked my socks. Wouldn’t wait another hour long wait if I had a choice.

First visit here. Interesting restaurant name. What is a postern anyway? Thanks Wikipedia: postern is a secondary door or gate in a fortification such as a city wall or castle curtain wall. Posterns were often located in a concealed location which allowed the occupants to come and go inconspicuously.
Happy hour on a Friday! Surprised to find available seating at the bar. Squeezed in our orders 10 minutes before happy hour cut off.
A very limited happy hour menu.
Apple cider cayenne whole chicken wings: great presentation, however the taste, or lack of, was disappointing. Nice and crispy. Flesh was moist inside but no seasoning. There was some dipping sauce at the bottom of the dish which appeared to be molasses based. Served with apple balls. An unusual pairing which was a mismatch to the menu description.
Bacon & cheese stuffed jalapeños: good and nicely grilled. Cheese was conservative.
Red wine: ok.
Gin and tonic: tasted odd. After bringing this to the barman’s attention, we find out that he had mistakenly poured rum. Lol. What an adventure.
Service: good.
Would return to try their other menu items.

I love this place especially when I have a date night or want to catch up with my friends. Food options are pretty good and they have a decent wine selection.
This place is very close to where I live and I have the convenience of walking over. Most bar tenders and wait staff are very cool.
I like the vibe here and would definitely be going back more regularly.

Came here this last Sunday, and while the food and our server were just fine, the hostess needs some retraining. When we walked in, there were about four or five 4– 6-​tops open. No line, no reservations. The hostess didn’t want to seat us (party of 2) until a 2-​top opened up. Now, I used to work in the restaurant biz, and that kind of policy makes sense IF THE PLACE IS FULL or there are reservations. Not the case here, though. What are the chances that five parties of 6 come in during the one hour or so it takes the two of us to eat and drink? You are going to make us wait when the restaurant is half empty? And then you’re going to roll your eyes at me and be rude on top of it? The hostess is the first impression of a restaurant, and this girl made a bad one.

I thought the food here was not bad but I am not big on the whole sharing thing. The food tasted for the most part pretty good. Flat breads and sharing type food. The drink menu was interesting. I went with a pour instead. We humans all have our own tastes and so with a business group you kind of get stuck with things you might like that go fast and then things that aren’t so great to you that other people desire that just are not that appetizing to me while you wait for something else to arrive. I kind of prefer the individual dining experience I guess. If you are into sharing your food you will love this place. If you like more appetizer food you will also love this place.
The décor was just ok but everything was so open it gets loud when everyone is talking. The place itself I found noisy and perhaps it was when we went. Staff was attentive and service was great. Just not my vibe. Again food was good but the rest of the experience brought it down a notch for me.

Not too shabby!
–The Wilted Baby Kale — Spinach Salad was one of the better ways I have had kale. It wasn’t a kale overload but nicely balanced with the dressing and other ingredients.
–The Dry Rub-​House Smoked Wild Boar Ribs were delish as well. Get them while they are still available.
–Took a Maker’s Mark bread pudding to go. It was my least favorite sustenance but I’d say it’s worth it if you are a lover of bread pudding. I personally think it would’ve «made the mark» with more Makers!

Sometimes it is almost impossible for me to pick just one thing to eat off a menu, that’s why I love small plate menus. Also, when I am entertaining clients, they usually have something that everyone can eat.
Vibe:
A trendy open space with simple furniture.
Food:
Fennel Sausage Flatbread: This could have been straight from Pizza Hut. Flatbread is usually flat and crisp. The crust was thick and doughy. The sausage was bland. The piece I ate was a waste of calories for sure.
«Broccoli Blasted»: This was recommended to us as a favorite by our waiter. I’m one always to jump on the house favorite. It usually showcases what they do best. However, this one was a big let down to me. It was simply torched/​burnt. No seasoning, just burnt. Although good, nothing special at all.
Seven Spice Shrimp: Unfortunately, they were overcooked, but the flavor was there.
Beet Gratin: I love beets, and I can’t wait to try any new variation of them. I was excited to try this dish, but I was let down. This was an odd combination. The cheese just covered up the flavor of the beets; it had no balance.
Cocktails:
They had an interesting cocktail menu and great pours. My coworkers and I drank instead of ordering another round of food. The bartender saved the dinner!
Service:
Our waiter was wearing pretty casual shorts and a graphic tee. I am not one about a uniform, I could care less, but it was hard to tell who was working there. It felt like our waiter could have been serving at a bar on the beach in the Carribean instead of here. It confused me.
Overall, I was way underwhelmed. This place lacked flavor or attention to details.

My friend and I have come to Black Bottle a few times to meet for food and socialization. The food has been so tasty each time.
If I am being completely honest, each time we have come we get always have to get the pear and gorgonzola flatbread along with whatever else we order. It’s apparently become our ‘thing.’ Because even though we branch out to a certain extent and debate getting something else, we always get this no matter what other goodies we order.
We’ve also had the asian fried chicken, the fried spanish olives, and I believe the pork belly. Along with some delightful drinks.
If you’re in the Bellevue area, I’d recommend you check them out!

Pear and Gorgonzola flatbread was highlight. Butter leaf lettuce, jalapeño poppers, and cauliflower were meh.
The Mrs and I had decent cocktails at least.
Hipster quota has been filled for the week.

Just for the fun of it, I searched on «Hipster» restaurants in Bellevue, and Black Bottle came up as a search result. We were looking for something different, and not a major chain. Black Bottle Postern («gastrotavern») fit the bill perfectly.
It is definitely popular, so be sure to make reservations. We didn’t have reservations, and waited for about 45 minutes. You can wait at the bar though, and have a drink, or order food from the full menu. Inside is dimly lit, with a causal rustic modern, hang out vibe. The space is open with high exposed ceilings, and can get a bit loud with the chatter of other happy patrons. The menu is simple and focuses on shareable plates. There were many gluten free options, and they were accommodating. The flat bread was my non — gluten sensitive friend’s favorite. It looked AMAZING. We also loved the wilted kale salad, and chorizo mussels. While everything was tasty, these were the standouts of the night. The craft cocktails were also well made.
The only downside was that our server was a bit slow and inattentive, and forgot one of the dishes we had ordered. There is a parking garage in the building, so bring the ticket to be stamped by the staff. Another bonus, is that on Saturday they are open till 2 am. Unlike other Bellevue establishments that close earlier.

The parking around the front is for other stores, but there’s validated parking in the back, but may not be easiest to find.
Came here on a Monday night. Place wasn’t too busy and it’s a bit dark with small lights at each table. Nice environment for a romantic date.
Service is great. Dishes are good, but portions are on the smaller side:
GOOD
* Chicken wings — Didn’t catch their full name, but they were on the HH menu. Nice and crunchy and have an interesting sweet apple flavor. Also is just a touch spicy.
* Blasted broccoli — The brocolli has some light seasoning and is slightly crunchy. Pretty tasty, but also feels a bit marked up at $ 9.
OK
* Dry rub house-​smoked wild boar ribs — They have a really strong smoky flavor and probably because it’s boar, the meat is a little tougher than similar beef /​pork ribs. I’m not a big fan of dry ribs and the overwhelming smokiness isn’t quite my taste.
* Maple leaf farms smoked tea duck breast — I liked their maple caramel sauce on the plate and the delicate sweet potato chips they included. The duck was just a little tough.

When it comes to ALL the details (ambience, music, food, layout, drinks, service), it doesn’t get too much better than this in Bellevue. I came with a group of 10 and the service was great from the time of reservation through the bill payment.
The strongest plates were: the peppers, the short rib, the pomegranate salad, and the lamb meatballs. But we also had the oysters, the pork belly… hell, we almost had it all!

Oh my lord! The 7 spice shrimps and bacon wrapped scallops! I don’t care how many other plates of food I ordered that night. Those two were the only ones I cared about and remembered because they were that good! I’m salivating just thinking about them. They’re loaded with so much flavor that when you take a bite you don’t care about any thing else in the world haha, we also ordered the kim chee pork belly skewered and beef tacos and a salad but as you can tell they didn’t make an impression on me because I can’t even recall what they were.
Our server was really nice and friendly. He came around to check on us when he noticed our drinks were low.
I honestly don’t know why we went to this location when the Seattle one is way closer to both of us but there’s plenty of parking and being in DT Bellevue isn’t too bad at night haha.

A few days ago I saw a map of the greater Seattle Area, and the place where this Bar is located it says «cocaine». Haha, pretty good hit with all these Yuppies around here.
The only reason the one star here is justified is because of the nice setting. I like this kind of industrial modern design chic they try to build up here. I could imagine it’s a nice setting for date night, a night out with friends or some work colleagues; it’s airy, open, a little bit louder than average but with good music…
Apart from my imaginary scenarios and that architectural facts, I don’t see a reason why to come here (again).
Our server was pretty rude and upstage, after we told him we (4 people) only wanted to grab some drinks he was even more uninterested in us.
The menu is small and has many different alcoholic beverages to offer.
As I don’t drink alcohol (and someone has to drive the car at least) I asked him if it would be possible to get a non-​alcoholic cocktail. His reaction to this question was so unexpected that it left me speechless for a few seconds. He screwed up his face and responded: «What?! No!». And by that I mean that he reacted as if I ordered some dog poop on a cracker with sauce hollandaise.
Well, I thought ordering a straight normal orange juice would keep me on the safe side, but I might have been a bit too optimistic on that. I got a really small glass with a really big ice cube and some pretty bitter orange juice in it. And I have to admit; the ice cube was the best part of the drink. But I don’t think that it’s worth the 5 $ that appeared on the bill for it.
After dropping off our drinks our guy was lost a looooong time. In the meantime an other waitress welcomed us and realized just after we told her that we already have a waiter… or well, we should have one. After he finally came back, he asked my companions for a second round (they all drank beer/​hard cider) and totally ignored me. Well then, no more delicious ice cubes for me then. Glad that I wasn’t thirsty.
Waiting for the check a plate with steamed broccoli arrived at our table that was meant for the people next to us… it didn’t smell bad and I could imagine that a bite of that could be a great company for my ice cube but I couldn’t make this straight as we passed it over.
Sorry, I really don’t know what went wrong this night, but I am sure this place could do a lot better.

I got the vibes of a Capital Hill style restaurant put into Bellevue. Good experience, different menu items than traditional restaurants.
Parking is around, just look for it. Big open area with neat decorations.
Two grown men we had 5 shareable plates and probably could have had about 3 more. Definitely a light snack type place — or we are just fatties :)
Each had one drink and walked out with about $ 140 bill with tip and not completely full.
Good place to at least try once to see if it’s your thing!

It’s surprising that I never wrote a review for this place given that it is one of my favorite restaurants in Bellevue. I love the small plates and sharing with friends. This place can be quite crowded on the weekend so I recommend making reservation.
This place has many dishes with an Asian spin. I particularly like the hanger steak with diakon radish. The cucumbers served with it is pickled so make sure to try them together. The menu does change from time to time but things like blasted broccoli and the pear and Gorgonzola flat bread are always on the menu. The last two times I was there, I also ordered the fried calamari with szechuan peppers. The first time was a lot better as there was lots of szechuan pepper. But the second time, they cut down on the szechuan pepper and it wasn’t as good.
There are also a verify of Asian tacos on the menu. I got tired of the pulled pork taco so I tried the bogogi taco and the tuna fish taco the last two times I went. I thought both were quite nicely done, although some may complain about the portion size (3 in each other).
One of my favorite desserts here is was always the Earl Gray panna cotta. However it got taken off the menu. However the butternut sage panna cotta was also quite good. The bread pudding here is always a crowd-​winner. But I recommend sharing this one since they are very generous with the liquor on this dessert (perhaps this is what makes it so good).
The place can be on the pricey side. If they are busy, you may not get the most attentive service, but the servers are always friendly and helpful. The food is tasty for the most part, despite inconsistencies from time to time. Overall, a solid restaurant to take out of town guests to if you need a dinner option.