SNOHOMISH – On a recent Friday night, we decided to drive to Snohomish and cruise around until we found a restaurant that appealed to us.
We picked Sebastian’s, a smaller restaurant in the historic district, and we didn’t have a reservation. The hostess showed us to stools at the bar where we could enjoy a drink, order appetizers and wait for a table.
Fortune shined on us. Another group didn’t show, so we got their table. Without that happening, there’s a good chance we’d still be waiting for a table, because this restaurant is incredibly popular.
During our visit, the bar was filled with folks beginning their weekends over one of the 12 house martinis ($6.95). My friend enjoyed a Guinness, which is one of five beers on tap, and I chose a pinot gris from Oregon ($6). The wine list is an interesting combination of the unusual – such as an Italian Rose ($4.50) – and familiar choices from Washington and California such as the Chardonnay from Chateau Ste. Michelle ($8). Bottles range from $18 to $265, with most around $45.
A few minutes into our wait for a table, I decided to order an appetizer and selected the goat cheese fritters ($8.96). This appetizer is encrusted goat cheese a little smaller than a golf ball that’s been deep-fried to a deep brown. At first, my dinner companion was hesitant because he thought the cheese would be a strong one. It wasn’t. Instead, it was a warm, luscious spread for the crisp crostini and a perfect backdrop for the raspberry preserves. We enjoyed half of our order and saved the second half because we didn’t want to ruin our dinner appetites.
The menu features seafood, such as pan-seared sea scallops and mushrooms in a marsala wine-cream sauce that’s served over puffed pastry with sauteed vegetables ($19.95); pasta dishes including ravioli stuffed with lobster and served with a garlic-laced cream sauce ($15.95); and a menu category called “Usual Suspects” – burgers, French dips (both $10.95), halibut and chips ($11.95).
My friend didn’t get past the salad category before deciding on the grilled filet mignon salad ($16.95). I managed to get one category more – seafood – before making my choice: crab-stuffed salmon ($23.95). With the difficult part of our dinner completed, we relaxed into the high-back wooden booth and enjoyed our setting.
The building’s history is the restaurant’s decor, including the charm of dark wood and exposed, original brick walls. There’s a mezzanine, from which two jazz guitarists filled the dining room and bar with soft music.
Our wait was just long enough to enjoy the music, take in the surroundings and be ready for our main dish. My friend said his salad of mixed greens, roma tomato slices and grilled tenderloin in a house-made gorgonzola dressing was the best he had ever tasted.
My salmon stuffed with sweet Dungeness crab was topped with a lightly spiced chili cream sauce. Like my friend’s salad, my salmon was topped with frizzled leeks, adding their distinctive taste to our delicious flavor combinations. My dinner included a serving of new potatoes and sauteed vegetables, which were good enough to be a meal by themselves.
For dessert, we chose the flourless chocolate truffle instead of the cheesecake, key lime pie or amaretto-flavored tiramisu. The truffle was a rich and chocolaty ending, unless you count the ease with which our table was cleared. To enjoy all this, remember, call ahead and make a reservation.
Herald restaurant reviewers accept no invitations to review, but readers’ suggestions are always welcome. Reviewers arrive unannounced, and The Herald pays their tabs.
Anna Poole at: features@heraldnet.com.
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