Seattle Times Digs RN74's Food; Wine; 'Service Niceties'

It's Providence Cicero's turn at RN74, and while she raves like Raskin, her first comment is on the clientele: "Svelte beauties leaned into tufted leather upholstery rubbing tanned shoulders with paunchy men in tailored haberdashery." The restaurant must not have a Providence Cicero poster to match its Hanna Raskin photo: the Seattle Times critic's seat offered "a view inside the gents' restroom every time the door opens." Hopefully the men's room isn't where Cicero "spied several local winemakers and wine-industry executives on my visits."

All that aside, Michael Mina's Seattle wine restaurant is "a reiteration, but not a clone of the San Francisco original." Chef Michelle Retallack's "modern riffs on such classics as coq au vin, cassoulet and beef bourguignon" are "stunning deconstructions, impeccably cooked, seasoned and sauced," and the meal includes "many service niceties, large and small, that make the high price of dining here seem a value."

Cicero actually drinks some wine, and is duly impressed by both the list and the wine service. "Bottles are uncorked at a central wine table, pre-tasted by the sommelier, then presented with its cork for your approval." The desserts are deemed "uneven"; an apple tatin was "humdrum and weirdly cloaked in foam." She takes RN74 past her usual 2.5 and up to 3 stars.

· A Luxurious Trip Through RN74's French Cuisine [Seattle Times]
· All Week in Review Coverage on Eater Seattle [-ESEA-]