restruants downtown (Seattle, Spokane, Davenport: appointed, hotel, neighborhood)

[amberose]

What are some good restruants downtown?

[tmeatzie]

Sir (Ma'am)

I haven't seen a single restruant downtown, but I'll keep looking! If you're looking for places to eat - restaurants - You won't go hungry! One of the things my wife and I have found since moving here from Southern California last October, is that there are plenty of good places to eat, of almost every category, sometimes you may have to look a bit harder. But that's not necessarily a bad thing! This may be a smaller town than you may be used to, but smaller isn't bad, it's time to slow down and meet the neighbors! This (Spokane) is a city of nearly a quarter of a million (that's counting all of the surrounding areas) but you can be "in" town and then get "out" of town in less than a half-hour! There's lots of little communities around with some little restaurants and they're almost all family owned. If you don't like one family's cooking, look and find another family restaurant!

Welcome, and enjoy!!

[vette-dude]

There are a few we like;

The Old Spaghetti Factory

Rock City Grill - .....Top in the city for recently published reviews....

The Olive Garden

Just a few we like....

[mistyriverranch]

Clinkerdagger's!
Clinkerdagger's

P.F. Chang's
Sawtooth Grill for lunch

[WendyK]

Niko's greek restaurant and the Steelhead bar & grille are 2 of my favorites.

[kena]

Depends on what you're looking for of course. Some of the better spots, IMO, are:

Sante, Moxie, Mizuna, Spencer's, Wild Sage and Scratch. Those are all of the middle to upper price range but are all generally good.

There is De Leon's for mexican, Domini's for deli sandwiches (special all meat and cheese Spokane style), the Old Spaghetti Factory is good for kids, Frank's Diner is a good breakfast spot. Cheating a little, the Elk in Brown's Addition is a great neighborhood pub with pretty decent food and Marron is up and down but can be good. Personally, I like Milford's for seafood but it can be hit and miss, though I've had more hits than misses.

[tankratt]

Milfords is nice and I also like the Northern Lights Brewery off of Hamilton

[dcisive]

I traveled for a living for 15 years, and stayed in Spokane many times, so many it became familiar. I would have to say while Clinkerdaggers is indeed a fine restaurant, IMHO the #1 restaurant in the entire City I've EVER been to was without question "Shennanigans" by the river near the Doubletree complex by the Division Street bridge. As a microbrewery bar and fine dining restaurant I don't think there is a more wonderful dining experience to be had. Whether you dine on a table on their outdoor patio overlooking the path and river, or indoors in their sumptuous booths, their drink and food menu is without comparison. Not to mention their well trained and courteous waiting staff. I only wish there were something equivalent in the Salt Lake area where I am most of the time. If you havn't been there you owe it to yourself to try it. It is ideal for an "adult" dining experience especially, something rare where I live

[RetiredChef]

I was emailed recently and asked about suggestion around the Davenport hotel, so I thought I would post my answers on this thread.

I am a retired chef/restaurateur that has worked in Europe, NYC, Miami, Nashville, and Los Angeles; we moved here 4+ years ago after I decided to retire, so hopefully we can give some unbiased reviews.

If you want more information checkout the reviews on tasteeverythingonce: the only restaurant guide in spokane and http://www.yelp.com , I post there along with many other people and you will receive a broader point of view of the dining establishments rather then just mine.

Please note that these ratings are good for Spokane area only, Spokane is a culinary wasteland – BUT it IS getting better. Just because I rate something 5 stars here, does not mean it is a 5 star NYC restaurant. The ratings are also only about the food and service. There is no fine dining in Spokane, so do not equate these ratings with ambiance.

Also Spokane suffers from what I call restaurant Spokanitis. This is the condition that causes a restaurant to serve a dish absolutely fantastic today and terrible the next. Many of the restaurants in Spokane suffer from some extreme consistency problems, so your dining experiences may vary.

5 Star Restaurants (We have dined at these a minimum of 5 times and have had very-good to excellent meals each time and they have been highly consistent.) These are in order.

Mizuna – (Downtown – 0.3 miles away from the Davenport) You could easily pick this restaurant up and place it into NYC, San Francisco, Tokyo, etc and it would be right at home. Currently this is the best in Spokane and the one that we take visiting guest to the most.
Welcome to Mizuna.com

Sante Restaurant and Charcuterie (Downtown - .04 miles away from the Davenport) - Think a slice of Europe in Spokane and you have this place, they cure their own meats and use locally grown foods. They are only open for dinner three nights and are open for lunch / brunch on most.
www.santespokane.com - SanteÂ*Restaurant & Charcuterie

Spencer’s for Steaks – (Downtown – 0.7 miles away from the Davenport) This is a top-end steakhouse in Spokane!!!!! Think Ruth Chris, expensive, but if steaks are your thing this is it. The Wolf Lodge, near CDA has the local following Spencer’s has better meat and is a more refined dining atmosphere. (It’s only on the bottom of the list because Steak joints don’t do much for me, but if you like steak and have a fat wallet this is THE place in Spokane.)
Spencer's | For Steaks and Chops

4 Star Restaurants – Alphabetical order.

DeLeons (Downtown – 1 block away from the Davenport) –This place offers the most authentic Mexican food in Spokane. (I have not tried the downtown location but others who have had said it is the same as the north-side.)
DeLeon's Mexican Deli

Europa (Downtown – 0.1 miles away from the Davenport) - Nice atmosphere, great for a late night drink and bite to eat, or for a nice dinner/lunch, it’s concept is around the European/American style of dining so don’t expect extremely fast service, they aren’t slow, just different then what most Americans are used to.
Europa Restaurant & Pub Spokane Washington

Italian Kitchen (Downtown – 0.4 miles away from the Davenport) - This is best Italian in Spokane, but would only rate 3 stars max any where else.
Restaurant, Italian Food, Ravioli. Spokane, Washington.

Moxie (Downtown – Across the street) - A solid 4 star venue, the chef has matured over the years, service can be a little lacking – the food is innovative, but there can still be some items that need a little work, slightly expensive for what you get.
welcome to moxie

Rock City Grill (Downtown - .01 miles away from the Davenport – 2 blocks to the mall) - located at the River Park Square, we have always had a good dining experience at this casual eatery. If you are in the Mall or have just seen a movie there it is the best dining option available, imho.
Rock City Grill :: Italian & American Food :: Spokane, WA

Rocky Rococo (Downtown - .04 miles away from the Davenport) - I don’t know why I have given this pizza joint 4 stars, except I just seem to like it. Great place to take kids or grandkids, beer is cheap and pizza parties there are economical. Located downtown in a nice historic building, most people really like their deep dish pizza, I prefer thinner crusts but I must admit it’s pretty good, albeit greasy.
Rocky Rococo Pizza and Pasta - We are the Hospitality People

Scratch (Downtown - .02 miles away from the Davenport) - Only been there once but most items were very nice, appetizers were overpriced but good, entrees were reasonable in price. A word of warning, don’t order the classic mojito though, after living off of real mojito’s in Miami many years ago they should be shot for what they served.
Scratch Resturant

Thai on First (Downtown - .03 miles away from the Davenport) - Thai on first is the most consistent and the BEST Thai in Spokane, give them a try and then try other places and you will see. Very good and authentic.


Restaurants that deserve special mentions for various reasons:

Catacombs (Downtown - .03 miles away from the Davenport) - This used to be a 4 star place, ambiance is great, an old coal storage area in a historic hotel. We would just like to go to it to enjoy a drink, late night pizza and the setting, very nicely done. However, just lately the food has been pathetic, I mean really bad, and quite a few people have noticed this and commented on it. I simply cannot recommend the food there anymore.
Welcome To Catacombs Pub a Restaurant Located in Downtown Spokane

Linnie’s Thai (Downtown - .07 miles away from the Davenport) - They have a limited menu with many Thai favorites missing????; however the biggest complaint that they suffer from extreme spokanitis. We have had the same dishes come out incredibly good and the next time it has tasted like garbage. I WISH they could get it together, if they did, they would be the BEST Thai in Spokane but until they do I cannot recommend taking a crapshoot on them.
Linnie’s Thai Cuisine II

Nikko’s (Downtown - Across the street) - Great wine list and many good selections by the glass, however, the Greek food has been very inconsistent (chronic Spokaneitis). They have upped the prices on their menu making them one of the MOST expensive restaurants in Spokane. They are close to the davenport hotel and I think they are relying on the fact that visitors with expense accounts will be dining there. I cannot fathom paying their prices for such a lack of inconsistency; however I would stop by for the wine bar.
Nikos Cuisine

Steam Plant Grill (Downtown - .02 miles away from the Davenport) - a brew-pub with food, they have a great bar, good beer, nice pool tables, and a “fantastic” historical setting. If you are visiting you might just want to stop in for the history and seeing an old steam plant. However, the food is below par and very expensive for what you get. Go there for a drink and to enjoy the history, shoot a game of pool, but stay away from the restaurant.
Steam Plant Grill - Spokane, WA

Wild Sage (Downtown - .05 miles from the Davenport) - Our first visit was TERRIBLE (but keep reading PLEASE), the manager actually told us that there was nothing wrong with the entree that we sent back, his words were very close to "the taste gets a little getting used to and most people do not like it the first time." Say WHAT, the apps were insipid with no flavor and we left very disappointed and hungry. The second visit, which we were dragged back in against extreme protests by some good friends who were paying, was probably the BEST meal we have had in Spokane (even better then Mizunas [gulp]), executed flawlessly with each dish being a ohhhh and a ahhhhh. You be the judge, this is one of the popular “in” places right now, so maybe we just got it all wrong on the first visit – but boy that food was horrific. If they replicate the second visit again and again this could easily move out of this category and into the 3star range. Sorry Wild Sage, we are still reeling from that first experience, we need more then a few meals that are fantastic to get you higher up on our list.
Wild Sage American Bistro - Downtown Spokane's Premier Restaurant - Spokane, WA

SPECIAL SPOKANE WARNING

Anything that pertains to be Chinese (except Gordy’s) stay away from like it is the swine flu.

Mexican food is also a joke, although usually slightly more edible.

[Deena160]

The guy from SLC made me remember Brazilian food(went to an awesome restaurant in Provo I think it was). I don't suppose there's any Brazilian in Spokane? I don't even know if there are any in Seattle. :~) D