Samara

We went for thanksgiving dinner.Food tasted very average. We were served a 4 course meal for $95. Turkey with bread stuffing was not that great. However, the sunchokes were the highlight (very delicious)We found a hair in the food. There was also plastic kind of thing wrapped around a hair in one of the drinks as well. I would not expect this from such a high end restaurant.The service and ambience were great

Was treated rudely and the server didn't care for their job. Service and bad waiting staff so rude. DO NOT GO HERE!

When you walk in you're greeted by this very aesthetic, intimate space. From the lighting to the wood fires everything just feels in place. As far as the ambiance goes the music didn't quiet match the atmosphere.We got a bit of everything from each sections to get a good taste! My faves were the Dungeness crab and Sunchokes.I also tried the Oysters, Olive tapenade, Cod and Duck. The quality of the seafood wasn't ideal so I'm looking forward to coming back and giving it another try soon!

The food here is delicious, but for the price there's a lot better options for New American cuisine especially in the Ballard area. Our server was kind, but seemed busy as they were the only one serving all the tables. It seemed to take a while to get serviced. This isn't the servers fault either, but another staff member would have helped keep up with the dinner rush. The open kitchen concept is nice but a strong smell of fish or seafood would fill the small dining space. I like fish, but my friends do not like how it lingered in the room. The crowd is very quiet and well dressed.

Cute and cozy upscale restaurant in the sunny hill neighborhood. The exposed kitchen adds to the homey atmosphere. We had the sunchokes, duck, and pork and they were all fantastic! Sunchokes and duck aren't something I make at home so I especially enjoyed those. There is an automatic 20% tip here but the service was prompt and professional.

We had dinner here in Friday and it was a delightful experience with delicious food. They don't have counter service on weekends, so we asked for a table close to the counter so we could watch them cook. We started with the prawns, which had an amazing smokey sauce and were cooked so they were very delicate. The sauted pea vine salad was great, and even my skeptical, anti-veggie partner enjoyed it. The morels with a fried egg were the best. Since it's morel season, I've been having them quite a bit... and this was by far the best preparation - even better than Canlis! We had both the crab and the salmon dishes, and were really tempted to get the halibut. But that would've been too much food. I appreciated that we could taste the crab - it wasn't overseasoned nor was it buried amongst other ingredients... it was nicely featured and delicious. And the salmon, well it just melted in our mouths, it was so good. I had the toasted smore for my dessert, and really am craving it as I think about this. It was sooo good! I can't remember what he had for dessert... I do remember that he ate it all and didn't give me a taste! Haha.

The Stephanie Herman Show was curious to try Samara after reading the reviews. But sorry can only give 3 stars. The service was good - we had a glass candle on our table and when our food came I tried to help by pushing it out of the way - well yes, I burned myself badly . Heather the waitress was nice enough to get me a glass of ice and an extra towel- my finger hurt like hell all night so I needed to keep my thumb in the glass water for relief-The food was ok but I was expecting fabulous for the $426. Meal. Totally not worth it. The crab and salad were the best plus the potatoes and cauliflower was also.By the time they were making our pork the chef left so someone else took charge of the cooking - it was over cooked and dry- I told them it was my daughter's and husband's birthdays but they didn't give us any candle or special treatment - I've been to fabulous restaurants before and love a sense of generosity which i feel I didn't get here.

Loved our time at Samara. We didn't have a reservation on a Thursday at 7:30, but got right in. The ambiance is so lovely, the chef and sous chef are at the back of the restaurant without any walls to hide what they're preparing, with a fire behind them to cook most items on. The service was great, and timed out nicely by our server. Food was delicious. It's recommended that two people share 4 dishes. We weren't all that hungry, so we got three to split, plus wine, of course. The sauce on the carrots was to-die-for. Most items could be made gluten free, they have a gf cracker option most days. The crab was well-portioned for the price, it was fairly small, but it was yummy. The beets were ok, I liked how perfectly smoky they were, but the dish lacked something overall (maybe a micro-green?) All in all, I will definitely be back when I'm looking for a vibey, quiet, tasteful dinner. Thanks Samara!

While we loved the ambience of Samara, we were severely underwhelmed by the food.Ambience: Rustic with wooden panels, dimly lit with an open kitchen where you get to see the chef preparing the dishes in a wood-fired oven. Drinks: They have few classic cocktails and an extensive wine selection. I got the Spanish gin and tonic, which had olives and spices. Food: We started off with grilled pears and raddichio salad and got the bison short rib and Dungeness crab as our main. We felt that all three lacked acidity and flavor. The portion sizes of the main were really small especially at the price point ($45). We finished off with the chocolate financier which had marshmallows, it reminded me of s'mores. Service: Service was attentive and friendly.Overall, we felt the food was bland and overpriced.

Very disappointing and wayyyy overpriced. There are so many food options in Ballard so save your money for those!