This is one of the typically over-rated new age eating spots in Seattle. The first thing that hits you when you walk in are the staff - I was literally pushed out of the way by one while waiting for a host to actually appear. They obviously value themselves and their own personal convenience more than they value a customer's experience.

After being seated, the same "take it or leave it" quality of service continues. Wait staff are largely inattentive while the kitchen is possibly one of the slowest on record. There is also no attempt to coordinate anything that comes out of the kitchen and in our case one person at the table sat for 20 minutes while dishes for others kept coming out.

Then there is the menu. The food is certainly not poisonous. At the same time it is highly unattractive and consists of overly spiced basic elements combined without a flare for what types of taste contrasts would really be interesting. Many dishes are not even close to being enjoyable.

The only time you should visit this restaurant is if you are in the mood for poor, verging on bad, service and at the same time want to threaten your digestive system while proving to your brain how bad torture by taste can really be.

Hopefully certain parts of the Federal Government will not discover the charms of this place - if they ever do, it will bring new meaning to the term "extreme rendition" as they "Black Bottle" people for information

I recommend the flat breads and of course their well known blasted brocolli...... and the wine pricing is a rarity in an industry where a 400% mark up is common. The place is noisy and crowded most nights so it is not romantic but great people watching and you can't beat that prosciutto and bechemal flatbread...

We went there just for the wine and left after a glass. The decor was very cool. It's a place I could spend an afternoon drinking wine in.
However, the server could have cared less about us. No one cared what kind of wine I liked, asked if I'd like to try anything, asked if it was good. She merely brought us the glasses and took our money.
We decided to move down the street to another of Seattle's many wine bars.

Everyone has their go-to spot for a quick drink, great bite and guaranteed good people. For me, that go-to is Black Bottle. Black Bottle has become the clubhouse for the Belltown condo crowd, where it’s guaranteed you’ll run into a neighbor but just as likely to meet a neighborhood newbie. The menu is constant, with small plates that range from flatbreads, seafood, meats, and veggies. After a long work day I tend to crave the fried Spanish olives - which are salty, fried pillows of goodness and a glass of wine. Sitting at the bar, is usually an easy fete, a weekday trip will allow for a table quickly, and you’ll avoid the “scene” that develops during happy hour on the weekends. On sunny days, the outside seating is a hot spot in itself with people spilling out of the chained seating area and making Black Bottle North Belltown’s neighborhood hangout.

The food is good but this place is usually packed and impossible to hold a conversation in w/o yelling. Also, the outside seating is horrible. There's nothing between you and the street - not even a divider.

This is one of my new favorite restaurants! Can't say enough about the food (served family style which is great for groups of four or an intimate date), the atmosphere (it's loud, but so urban) and location (great for Belltown pre-funk or all-night dining destination)!

Can't wait to go back! Would go there more often if they accepted the Passport Dining Card.

Promptly seated, wine showed up after a slight delay. Bouquet was straight oranges. Not oranges you want to see from your Douro or your Cotes Du Rhone. This was orangina or freshly peeled oranges. Its helps as a bartender, sommelier or just person that pours wine if you don't do your twists for martini's or slice oranges within range of the glassware that you serve wine from. All in all quite dissatisfied by the experience. If you tout yourself on wine service figure the little simple things out.

As a someone that lives in Manhattan and eats out ALL the time, I must say that I do agree with some reviews when they say Black Bottle could literally be a restaurant in NY. I can imagine BB being located on Prince and Elizabeth in Soho. A thumbs up to the understated trendy atmosphere and the sweet/attentive hostess. The hanger steak with daikon was one of my favorites as well as the mussels. However, I found our unkempt/undressed waitress to be very rude and pretentious for no apparent reason (maybe it was the 20% automatic gratuity for parties over 6 that made her lazy). Whatever the case may be, she put a damper on our evening with her attitude. The only other thing, aside from our moody waitress, was that it was VERY loud in the restaurant and could not hear much of what anyone was saying at the table. I guess that could be a good sign that people were having a great time as well. Just a personal preference thing, I guess. I give BB 3 stars because I've experienced better in Seattle-better service/better food.

After hearing good things about this little Belltown gem I felt it was time to see it for myself. I went with three friends and we were all impressed. The wine list has a nice selection. The food was really good. A couple of us had the lamb skewers served with pita slices and very generous sides of hummus, Tsatsiki & an unusual but very tasty lentil spread . We also had a wonderful plate of roasted seasonal vegetables & steamed clams served with a fabulous dense bread perfect for dipping. We ended our evening sharing a piece of chocolate cake between four of us. The servings are generous. The prices are shockingly reasonable. The setting is warm yet urban and sophisticated. All the employees were sincerely friendly and helpful without being overpowering. I really wish Black Bottle was in my neighborhood. Its the kind of place you want to go back to again and again. And we will.

Twelve of us had a fabulous dinner here on a Friday night. Should definitely make reservations, as the place fills up. We arrived about 8:30pm, and it was packed. They gave us a long table in the back, and we got started right away with drinks. The waitstaff was very attentive and friendly, and everything seemed to come in a reasonable amount of time. The ambience was cool--urban, hip crowd, minimalist, brick walls. My favorite thing was the menu, though :) Everything was an appetizer, so we all ordered a couple of things, and it seemed like plates just kept arriving one after another, each one with something tasty and interesting. Everything was about $8-$13, and was generously portioned. A really fun way to eat, because you get to try so many things on the menu. My favorites were the octopus with cilantro pesto, the artichoke hearts with goat cheese and proscuitto, the hanger steak with daikon shiso, and the caramelized onion tart. The cocktails were well-poured, and they had a great wine list to choose from. After all we ate and drank, even with the 18% gratuity automatically added on, it came out to $40pp, which I thought was a crazy good bargain! I will definitely return.