Crow and the Great Nabob
Saturday night, R and I stopped by Crow. Our intention was to have a little bite and then check out the place next door, The Great Nabob. We arrived at Crow at 8:00; prime dining time. Even the bar was packed and we ended up just sipping a glass of wine while standing at one end. What impressed me, was that during the 45 minutes or so while we were there, several staff members asked us if we were waiting for a table and offered to try to accommodate us. At some point we both decided we really weren’t that hungry, standing was fine and since we had plans to move on it wasn’t a big deal. We finished our wine and as we were leaving several staff members apologized to us that we weren’t able to find a seat! I don’t think I’ve ever been anywhere that’s happened – and it certainly made us feel valued as a customer.
Our next stop at the Great Nabob was interesting. It’s a cute little place, not nearly as busy as it should have been for a Saturday night. R wasn’t crazy about her lemon drop: said it wasn’t very lemony but my glass of wine was fine. :-) I’d try the place again. I like that it’s non-smoking, as is Crow. They have a limited food menu and a great looking pool table in the back area. They also have a rental room upstairs which was packed for a birthday party on Saturday. Drinkboy likes it and he’s pretty particular…
Crow Restaurant and Bar
823 Fifth Ave. N
Seattle, WA
The Great Nabob
819 Fifth Avenue N
Seattle, WA
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Culinary Fool 
Hiya. Do you know of any good Greek restaurants in Seattle you can recommend? Also, any Chinese restaurants outside the International District? And lastly, where can I get good desserts (cake!) at reasonable prices?
Tom Douglas\’ newest restaurant, Lola, http://www.tomdouglas.com/lola/index.html is Greek – although I think more Greek-inspired than true Greek – but it\’s good! There is a Chinese restaurant in Ballard that used to be really good. I haven\’t been there for some time but the lot is still always packed – Louie\’s Cuisine of China. It\’s on 15th just south of Market a couple of blocks. I also like a little place called Chef at Wok. It\’s on the corner of Greenwood and 125th. Off the top of my head the only cake place that comes to mind is Borracchini\’s on Ranier – not sure how big you are thinking but I\’ve bought 1/2 sheet cakes from them in the past (they have whip cream frosting) and they were pretty reasonable. I\’m sure they have layer cakes, too, but I don\’t have experience with those. Let me know how your search goes!
Crow is fantastic – when you can get a seat. I\’ve ever seen a place so busy for so long — its like they\’ve been booked solid since they opened in July of 2004. Contrary to your experience at Nabob, I think the drinks are great, but the wine is pure plonk. They really need to upgrade their glass pours (even though they are pretty generous with the grape juice that they serve).You owe yourself a trip to both places to see for yourself. Just make sure you make reservations, and that you don\’t order wine at Nabob.
Hey Damon!I actually have a previous entry on Crow (back in December) and talked about the food at that time. I thought it was great. This entry wasn\’t meant to question that, at all. I was actually trying to get across how impressed I was with the concern showed by the staff. I thought it was pretty admirable – both in how many people were concerned and in their follow-up. You really don\’t see that too many places. I\’m sure I\’ll be back to the Great Nabob at some time. Other cocktails may be better but I have certain expectations of what makes a good Lemon Drop and they didn\’t cut it – and our bartender was one of the owners, so it should have been the best they serve. Having said that, my idea of what makes a good Lemon Drop isn\’t necessarily everyone\’s – I think many people like them sweet but that\’s just wrong if you ask me! :-) ~ B