Q

A A A Comments By Molly Lori Wednesday, Jul 5 2006

Location Info

Venue

Queen Anne Frame

Map

Queen Anne Frame

1621 Queen Anne Ave. N.
Seattle, WA 98109

Category: Retail

Region: Queen Anne

More About

You know you've got a good waitress when—upon being complimented—she shares her hairstylist's name with you. And that's exactly what happened on a recent night at the new Q on Queen Anne Hill. Despite one or two small taste issues with drinks (details below), happy hour here (4–6 p.m. daily) is well worth your time. Q, like its predecessor, Sapphire Kitchen + Bar, opens up at the front to let in breezes that lazily move the (just added) luminous natural shell chandeliers. The new owners, who also own Triangle Lounge in Fremont, gave the space a subtle, sexy make-over. On the blissfully quiet back patio, we sampled shareable treats from the happy hour menu: calamari ($4.50), boiled artichoke ($6.00), and caprese bruschetta ($3.75). The bruschetta went fast—the lightly toasted bread had a cheese layer and was topped with a zesty tomato and herb mixture. Fried calamari pieces were not greasy at all; they had a unique hot-pepper bite to them and a creamy dipping sauce that we savored. The steamed and tender artichoke leaves were lovely with or without a dunk in butter. Although the happy hour allows for $1 off well drinks and $1 off beers, we tried signature cocktails because the choices were so alluring. We should have skipped the somewhat gritty Yazi-Kazi ($7), a ginger-flavored drink, that had an obvious residue in it. The Midnight Blue Martini ($6) had a bright blue artificial color and an artificial taste at first, but after a few sips it didn't matter. And a note about the standard-tasting Mayan Mojito ($7)—chocolate mint is just a type of mint, not something that makes the drink taste like chocolate. Bummer, eh? After we polished off the cocktails, we left with a pleasant buzz and high hopes for good hair. 1625 Queen Anne Ave. N., 206-352-2525. QUEEN ANNE

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