Joli

Joli is an intimate bar in the Ballard area close to the Goodwill and a couple minutes west of Green Lake. We made reservations online at 8:30pm and were seated immediately for a party of two. They are mainly a gin bar with martinis, gin cocktails, and gin flights on their drinks menu. My first drink was the gin-icillin ($17) which was a penicillin but with gin. It was smoky from the Laphroaig but had that clean flavor that was easy to drink. My second drink was the last word ($18) which was not on the menu but was just as delicious as the first drink if not more so. We had a funny conversation with our server afterward where he said that they barely had enough green chartreuse for my drink and just finished the rest of the bottle themselves.For food we ordered the truffles fries ($9) and they were a very good shareable snack with nice truffle flavors and aromas. This was a cute bar with some very friendly servers and we spent a couple hours hanging out here.

This chic, Asian/Mexican fusion restaurant is severely underrated and deserves every bit of attention and recognition! New management has completely turned this place around into a 5 star facility, and it is not common that a place can give me 5 star service. My expectations were exceeded.Every dish I tried was phenomenal, I kid you not. Ingredients I never thought would go together actually worked. My biggest favorites were: 1, corn bisque, which I will surely dream about. Served cold and unlike anything I've ever tasted. The blend of sweet creamy corn bisque, chili oil, a little radish and green onion...it's the ultimate comfort food dish that pulls you in within the first bite and leaves you wanting to order 5 more after. And 2: the charred broccolini. Wow...do not pass this one up. Even the pickiest of eaters who don't like veggies will fall in love with this dish. The crunchy chili flakes are excellent enough to be paired with just about anything, and really compliments the char on the broccolini without it being overwhelming. A light spiciness with great flavor and adds to the delicious creamed green garlic sauce. With a new curated menu about every month, you're able to try different things and find new favorites. No two dishes taste alike, they each have their own unique flavors. The servers are knowledgeable with the menu items, very personable and make you feel right at home. They also have an extended amount of gin's; if that isn't your thing, their other drinks are just as great, including lavender or sage lemonade. Do NOT sleep on this place! Every dish is a work of art and you can taste the love that was put into it. Thank me later, you'll be glad you went. ;)

I've lived in Seattle for over a year and finally met rude people. When my husband asked for more info (flavorwise) about the oysters, the employee said, "I don't have an answer if you don't have a specific question, and I have 14 drinks to attend to". Terrible service. On top of that, the food was below average, considering the price point. I don't recommend this place

Joli did not stand out among the sea of new American bar/resturaunts that you can find just like it on any street corner from Wallingford west to the sound. Also, the service was only ok, server said some strange stuff.

My boyfriend and I were looking for a cozy, neighborhood feel kind of restaurant while visiting Seattle. We found Joli and it had good reviews and the ambiance looked cool. While the ambiance was cool and loved how it looked inside, the food was just meh. I feel bad saying that but we just weren't blown away by the food. The chicken sandwich was too crispy for my liking, if that makes sense. The chicken sandwich also doesn't come with a side or fries But the dessert was really tasty Besides that everything else was really nice and I liked how much of a gin selection they had! I've never seen a bar have so much gin to choose from

Great spot for date night! Joli delivers delicious gin cocktails, tasty tapas style dishes, and overall a casual but dressy vibe. As a frugal foodie, I wish the prices were cheaper, but honestly I think it's fair. The prices actually reflect the care and effort the staff and chef put into the food and drinks.

Came out on a random Thursday and boy was this place packed! This may be the hot place to grab some seats at the bar and to order a few drinks, but the food fell a bit underwhelming. I ordered the burger and my wife ordered the truffle fries and the Brussels sprouts. Burger: huge burger and definitely satiates your craving for meat. The cheese was heavy (a good thing) and it was very saucy and delicious. The cucumbers hit pretty weird at first, but as you continue with the burger, it was actually pretty fitting and added a nice refreshing crunch. The burger itself could be seasoned a tad bit more, but overall it was pretty solid. Fries: a must with burgers or beer. It was a tad salty (which ironically, could have been added to the burger), but it did it's job. Brussel sprouts: now this is the tricky part. At first, I LOVED it. It had this sweetness to it that I never tasted before, which I'm attributing to the honey vinegar. Very reminiscent of balsamic vinegar. But as I continued on, the sweetness became a bit overwhelming, and I had to step away from it for a while. Definitely for a sweet tooth like me, but maybe a bit too sweet for my overall liking. Overall, not bad of a restaurant. The service was a bit slow, as there seemed to be only one server managing the food flow of the entire place. I'll be up for trying their happy hour menu and dabble in their myriad of gins. But that can wait for another day.

This is my go bar to now. Friends who are not primarily gin fans get turned around very quickly after they have a single taste of the house gin and tonic. What's the secret? You'll have to come and find out yourself. Simply delicious and refreshing. The happy hour menu is outstanding. Tender steak frites. Crispy battered green beans. A Panzanella salad that just keeps on giving with flavor and freshness. And the falafel paired with the sharp greens.As others are mentioning the crispy fried chicken sandwich -- I will just tell you it is "this season's incomparable."Nothing else I've had in Seattle beats it yet -- Crispy on the outside incredibly juicy and tender and flavorful on the inside. The bun worked perfectly together with the pickled goodness inside. It's dauntingly high in the most inviting and satisfying way. It refuses to be less than happiness in a bun. Perfect in taste and appropriate in price. Grateful they have it on the menu.

I haven't been here in a long time. Loved it 8 years ago. Unfortunately it was not the greatest this time around. On the plus side the craft cocktails were lovely!!!!!The food was very salty & not what we were expecting for the price and the rave reviews of the Chef on their website (We had parsnips, gnocchi , squash, broccolini, truffle fries) Would have overlooked the not so stellar food if the waiter hadn't been so Surely. He unfortunately ruined the experience of Joli.

I am really torn on this one... we've always loved having Joni in the neighborhood and love the ambiance. We don't like gin/don't really drink so that part is never a deciding factor for us. We walked in for dinner last night and had a pretty disappointing meal... -oysters were good!-two ginger beers were way too sweet, very few NA options-bread came with a disgusting gooey mustard with raisins mixed in, all almost a honey texture. very odd. we asked for butter instead and it came out hard as a rock-brussels, which we've gotten before, were extra sweet and sugary -meatballs were sticky and had so much fennel it was really overpowering-worst for last: we split the halibut, which came out cold but wasn't listed as a cold dish, and I asked the server if it was meant to be cold and she said "sort of, the sauce is"... all in all it was $110 with the only OK part of the meal being the three oysters for $13.