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The Carlile Room & European Foods Have Much to Offer; Orfeo & Naka Less Impressive

Eater reads the reviews so you don't have to.

The Carlile Room
The Carlile Room
Suzi Pratt

The past two weeks, the city's restaurant critics have reviewed downtown's Carlile Room, Aurora's European Foods, Belltown's Orfeo, and Capitol Hill's Naka.  Here's a roundup of what they're saying:

For Nicole Sprinkle, the Carlile Room is stylish, playful, and classic Tom Douglas: "Plant entrées, of which there are 14 compared to seven meats, are inventive and hearty . . . Less successful are the the two curries, served together: fried eggplant in a melon curry, and chickpea masala . . . [But] the only real downside to our dining experience was the sudden appearance of every single dish we ordered delivered at once by two servers: six large plates vying for table space and our attention."

Angela Garbes finds the 17-year-old European Foods to be sensible, practical, and delicious: "For an entrée, look no further than the cabbage rolls ($7.99)—squat parcels of ground pork wrapped in cabbage leaves and served in a light sweet-and-sour tomato sauce, topped with sour cream. The cabbage, which tasted more vinegary than I was expecting, held up nicely rather than falling apart, making it especially satisfying to slice through with a knife."

Providence Cicero feels that Orfeo, from the crew behind Steelhead, has growing to do: "Pasta, all made in house, could use some improvement. Bulky, badly wrapped tortellini, filled with a bland, gristly mix of chicken and mozzarella, sat in lackluster chicken broth, weighed down with grated Parmesan, spinach and still-crunchy chopped carrots . . . Service was exasperating at every turn. Flatware was collected but not replaced." 1 star.

Cicero also was disappointed with Shota Nakajima's Naka, where plates were beautiful but grew tedious: "With too much repetition of ingredients, too many soft, squishy textures and a climax that fizzled, it was like a scenic road trip with not enough points of interest along the way to warrant getting out of the car." 2 stars.

Carlile Room

820 Pine St, Seattle, WA 98101 (206) 946-9720

Orfeo

2107 3rd Ave, Seattle, WA 98121 (206) 443-1972 Visit Website

European Foods

13520 Aurora Ave N, , Washington 98133 (206) 361-2583

Naka

1449 E Pine St, Seattle, WA 98122 Visit Website