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Gaudi
Categories: Restaurants Spanish Restaurants Basque Restaurants Tapas Bars Spanish, Basque, Tapas Bars [Edit]
3410 NE 55th St(at N 34th Ave)
Seattle, WA 98105
(206) 527-3400
- Hours:
Mon, Wed-Sat 5 pm - 10 pm
Sun 5 pm - 9 pm
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Attire:
- Casual
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Good for Kids:
- No
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Take Away:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- Yes
- Wi-Fi:
- No
- Good For:
- Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Noise Level:
- Quiet
- Ambience:
- Casual, Intimate
- Has TV:
- No
43 reviews for Gaudi
Review Highlights
-
"Highlight if the evening- their fig ice cream." In 4 reviews -
"We started with the heavenly sangria." In 13 reviews -
"Their house made sausages were so good." In 6 reviews
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43 reviews in English
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Review from Peter W.
El Monte, CA
3/26/2012
This place makes absolutely wonderful paellas. It truly reminds me what authentic paella tastes like.
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Review from Rachael M.
Seattle, WA
3/15/2012
I recently moved to Seattle from San Francisco, where I had a tapas restaurant that I loved (Zarzuela's) and was so excited to find a tapas restaurant near where I live now. My boyfriend and I decided to try Gaudi's recently and were disappointed. While our experience overall wasn't bad, it certainly wasn't what we were expecting or anything special.
The restaurant is very cute. The inside ambiance is nice, it looks nice from the outside, everyone was friendly. I really wanted to like it!
But, the food was hit or miss and expensive for what it was. Some items were very good- we were impressed with the papas bravas (potatoes in a spicy sauce) and the morzilla (blood sausage). The spanish tortilla, however, was disappointing. I can make a better one at home, and spanish tortilla should be the staple at any tapas restaurant! All of these three dishes were around $3 each.
We also had two specials. One was a fried cod ball. I thought it was pretty good, my boyfriend thought it was disappointing. The biggest disappointment was a lamb stew. The meat was not high quality at all. It was also very small. We were shocked when we received the bill and the lamb dish ended up being $20- given the small size, it should not have cost more than $10.
If we had only ordered the dishes we liked, then we probably would have walked out saying it was a great restaurant. But the dishes were so hit or miss that we probably wouldn't go back for a full meals- just maybe to get appetizers and stick to the items that we know are good! -
Review from Jillian R.
Seattle, WA
1/5/2012
Dear Yelp, please make it possible to comment on others' reviews. That way, when someone has a stupid complaint about something that has nothing to do with the food or service at a restaurant, fellow yelpers can ridicule and otherwise shame them.
Also, you should make it a pre-requisite that no one is allowed to use the phrase "Don't you know I'm a yelp reviewer" in a restaurant. Congratulations, you can read and type.
My boyfriend and I love this place. -
Review from Enrico P.
Seattle, WA
12/25/2011
I was disappointed in the food. I asked the waitress for suggestions as I had not eaten in this restaurant before.
The dishes did not go together well and the meal was too expensive for what I received. I do not think I will eat here again. -
Review from Sarah M.
11/12/2011
This is such a cute, quiet little restaurant hidden away in Seattle. It's located in a residential area on a mini main road.
My husband, who is not very adventurous when it comes to food that is not hamburgers or pasta, was not happy to come here at first. He stomped around, held his breath, and puffed out his cheeks. After his lime spritzer drink that was like a capirneah without the alcohol, he warmed up to the place. Once he got his tapas, he was sold. I've never seen him eat so quickly in my life!
We ordered 4 tapas - the papas bravos, a meat ball with rice, dates wrapped in bacon, and the shrimp. All of the tapas were exceptional - but I barely had a bite before he polished all 4 off. They are small as others have warned...but that's the nature of tapas. We received one meatball, 4 bacon wrapped dates, 3 pieces of shrimp, and maybe about 8 potato wedges.
After some deliberation, we ordered the vegetarian paella. I really wanted to try it but you need to be 2 people to order it. (Or at least pay for 2 people to order it.) While he wasn't sold on the paella, I was really happy with it. I've had better in Spain but as the only Spanish restaurant in the US that I've tried, it was pretty good.
This place is a little pricey for what it is...the total came to about $86 with tax and tip. This also included a glass of wine and a mocktail. However, it was still good and fun every once in a while. -
Review from Susie L.
Seattle, WA
10/16/2011 1 Check-in Here
I feel bad writing a one star review, something I've never done until now. We had high hopes for Gaudi; it's close to our house and we love Spanish cuisine.
Where do I start... We should have taken the help wanted sign out front as a precaution. We arrived about 7:30pm on a Friday night. We were greeted and shown to our table, but that's where the service ended.
We sat for 15+ minutes before anyone even acknowledged that we were there. Having walked past our table 10 or so times, our server/restaurant owner never once said anything, not even an, "I'm sorry, I'll be right with you.". It was as if we were invisible.
Finally she arrived to take both our food and drink orders. We waited at least another 10-15 minutes to get our drinks, food started coming out about the same time. (meanwhile, we noticed other tables near us were seeming to be frustrated with the service as well).
I will say the food was quite good. Not the best Spanish food I've had, but tasty.
The clincher came when my husband's drink came. The server/owner placed it down and said, "oh". Then came back with a spoon as she proceeded to fish our a couple of fruit flies from his drink. Are you kidding me? I wouldn't serve a house guest a drink with a bug in it, let alone expect that from a restaurant where I was paying for it! Gross. Makes you wonder what the kitchen looks like...
Needless-to-say, we won't be returning to Gaudi. The restaurant needs a visit from Gordon Ramsey and Restaurant Nightmares. -
Review from Hannah L.
8/3/2011
Radical food.
"Radical" is one of my favorite words, because it means something different than its typical use would suggest. Instead of meaning new or innovative, it derives from the Latin word "radix," which means "root." So innovative food comes from and returns to radical food. And in the case of a town filled with innovative Spanish tapas that push palate-limits with delightfully intoxicating fusions, a periodic return to radicality serves as a lovely palate cleanser.
Those who know me know my only travel dream is a trip to Spain. Gaudi is a little placeholder for that, as the Spanish food here is presented not as an Americanized, theme-parked or boundary-pushing version of Spanish cuisine, but instead as the sort of tapas and paella and wine that you might eat or drink were you to be lucky enough to sit in a tapas bar in some plaza in some small town, or even in someone's own kitchen. In short, how you would eat as if you lived there.
And what simple beauty! The salt cod, mixed with cornmeal and fried into meringue-like crisps, delicate and fluffy inside....The papas bravas with a subtly gentle aioli, and skins so perfect to the bite concealing lightness inside like no potato I've ever tasted. A special salad of quinoa wisped with lemon and balsamic vinegar and laced with silky strands of red pepper. A paella mixta with meats (including house-made chorizo) and seafood, and a rice so softly and uniquely addictive that I may never attempt my own paella, as shortfall is guaranteed. Accompany that with a bottle of some forgotten and rare Spanish red, and follow it with an orange port-like liqueur and a hearty, crumbly almond cake, and I was perfectly transported to someone's small kitchen.
In this case, it just happens to belong to Jo and Joan Luna and be tucked away on a quiet block of 55th in Seattle, instead of their previous restaurant in Barcelona. But no matter...I can dream, and this dream, at least, is within reach. Radical. -
Review from K H.
Seattle, WA
12/29/2011
The food here is divine. I have to knock a star off though because the lighting is terrible. Bright. Feels like a cafeteria. It seems it should be low and romantic like a true Spanish restaurant.
Anyway, my husband had just returned from Barcelona so was familiar with which tapas to order so we ordered a variety. Everything was stellar. The Basque homemade sausage is truly the best sausage I've ever tasted in my life. Wanted to order it again but didn't want to look like a pig.
Anyway, I highly recommend this place. It's a husband-and-wife type of place. They just need to get candles on the table and lower their overhead lighting. -
Review from Laura C.
Seattle, WA
12/5/2011
Our group of six was looking for a classy place to have dinner before an event at the UW. Gaudi had great reviews on Yelp so we decided to give it a try. We couldn't have had a better experience! Our group tried most of the tapas on the menu and loved them all. Drinks were a little expensive, but the pitchers of sangria were a good deal and very tasty. Our server was very accommodating and joked with our group and helped make our night all that much more fun. Thanks for a great evening and we will definitely be back!
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Review from JC R.
Hayward, CA
7/10/2011
My SO and I have been in Seattle for a little over 3 years, and we can say that this is one of the ABSOLUTE BEST places for Spanish Tapas in Seattle.
The Sangria, tortillas, house-made blood sausage, shredded and fried shrimp, and the empanadas filled with corn were GODLIKE.
Go. Seriously. Go now. -
Review from Olivia L.
8/16/2010
This is a great neighborhood spot, but I'm not sure I would drive to go to Gaudi. The tapas menu is interesting. They're not really Catalan tapas, but tasty nonetheless.
I was a bit surprised by the pricing ($3 for tapas = super cheap) but when the portions came, I saw why -- you literally get one meatball, one skewer, etc. The only thing we got two of was the house made sausage sliced onto bread. So be prepared to order more than one of the same dish if you are sharing!
The one thing I did notice (we made a meal of tapas, so we had a lot of them!) was that the same sauce was used on several dishes. For example, the same pinkish-white-creamy-spicy sauce was on the bomba (the solitary meatball) and the patatas bravas. They also used the same loaf of rosemary soughdough to underpin two of the dishes.
While I understand that it's a small kitchen...it kind of detracts from the dish to have the same elements repeated. It's a bit of an obvious cost-cutting measure, particularly because I really don't like sourdough!
The sangria is a little too fruity for me, also a little on the weak side. -
Review from Valentina V.
Seattle, WA
12/16/2008
Idyllic. I remember the night we went for dinner there and my heart glows. Maybe I was in the mood for emotional cheese as the ones we ate were so darn good. So were the tapas. So was the paella. Oh, and so was the unbelievable sangria.
We met with a fairly large group and went to have dinner to celebrate my friend Rebecca's birthday. We all know the sous-chef, Jorge, who is one of the funniest and most adorable people I know in Seattle. He is Spanish, so it's very nice to know that you're offered Spanish/Catalonian food cooked by people who already know how to pull out the flavor for certain cuisine. The chef is from Barcelona and, that night, he was wearing a Yelp t-shirt. They both had bandannas on their heads, which gave the already quaint ambiance an extra cool note.
We started with the heavenly sangria. Perfect. Perfect. Perfect. I could type the word perfect for hours and still feel it's not enough to describe this delicious libation. What I loved about it is that is was balanced--not too sweet but not bitter at all--had the perfect amount of fruit, and the wine used was pretty good (I believe is was a Protos).
This Sangria, when paired up with the food, made it happen: match made in heaven. Everyone agreed on that.
Jorge came to our table to make recommendations. They had quail in chocolate sauce that night so, without a doubt, we ordered it. He also told us about the selection of cheeses they had that night, and recommended us to get a plato mixto (with charcuterie).
Of course, the quail was both divine and sexy. *Deep sigh*.
We also ordered cod, pan con tomate, tortilla and a couple of salads--one of them featuring cheese tortellinis which didn't make much sense to me, but it was fabulous. Everything was spectacular. You would never imagine you'd be lusting after a piece of bread with smeared homemade tomato paste and olive oil...but the Dude and I were for this one. The tortilla was delicious, perfect egg-potato proportion with a delicate dipping sauce.
The Dude and I ordered the Paella de Monte (Rabbit, Chicken and Sausage) and loved it. What I like the best was the sausage. It had a rich flavor and a very interesting texture, almost creamy. Rabbit was tender (something hard to achieve) and the mix of its flavor with the chicken and the saffron on the rice was very good. This was the Dude's first time trying rabbit and he really liked it.
I have to say I've never been to a Spanish restaurant in the US good enough to remember (with the exception of Txori, which is more a tapas place). They aren't easy to spot, because there aren't many. Some say it's because ingredients are hard to find, or the taxes on items such as cured hams and cheeses are extremely high--and apparently, there are numerous problems with these and customs, too. So being able to come to Gaudi and have these amazing dishes was a wonderful experience.
To finish our lovely dinner, we ordered a dessert sampler. First, the birthday girl was presented with a slice of chocolate cake filled with raspberry mousse. It was delicious. The other desserts were a bit odd: some of your typical Catalonian sweets that some palates weren't ready for, including mine. The Dude loved the liquorish taste of their slow-cooked pumpkin (which had a crunchy texture). The plate had a coconut paste that I really enjoyed but there was a piece of cake none of us were very excited about. It was a bit too dry.
The only downside was the check part, especially when it comes to groups. They don't do separate checks and only accept three cards per table. Be prepared and bring cash for a situation like this--and you'll have to bring a good amount, as Gaudi is pretty pricey.
We went there on the night that snowed. It was absolutely beautiful to go outside, bellies in bliss, and walk around in such a beautiful, silent and white night with the Sangria after taste in out mouths. -
Review from Bacon B.
10/13/2008
I start with a warning: San Chez in GR, MI set the bar pretty high and I'm rather committed to that tapas restaurant. With that said, I implored a Seattlite to find a good tapas place near our hotel in the U District and she found Gaudi. It was a first for all of us, and we weren't disappointed.
Yes, the tapas seem to be on the pricey side but that's par for the course with any good tapas restaurant. Can I say how much I thoroughly enjoyed every bit of food brought to our table? Fo shizzle, folks. Coupled with a pitcher of some of the best sangria I've ever had (and I'm a drinker by profession), this was a wonderful spot for meeting up with my cyber friend and finding a quaint spot to enjoy a lovely dinner. The service was fantastic, the tapas were spot on, and the paella was a thing of wonder.
And to my dear San Chez, please know that in your absence I will try other tapas places, and may very well enjoy them and hope to return to them, but in your arms I will forever belong, my beloved. -
Review from Connie C.
Seattle, WA
8/18/2008
Yum...Yum...Yum...Yum...Yum...Yum
Good paella - check! Good sangria - check! Good service - check! Love the place - ding! ding! ding!
We walked in on Saturday night at 9:30 and realized the restaraunt closes at 10. The staff was friendly and waved us in. We looked at the menu and realized that Paella takes 25 minutes to arrive. (YIKES) But never fear the server pssht'ed us and took our order.
Our DE-LI-CIOUS sangria comes and we didn't even realize 25 mintues had gone by before our Paella is served. IT comes IN the paella pan...not scoops in a bowl from batches made in the back. First bite - yum, second bite - YUM, and the rest is heaven.
The woman who owns the place stops by often to ask how our food was. When we finished gushing, she told us her husband (the chef) is from Barcelona so we're chowing down some authentic Spanish grub. When we left fat, drunk and happy - the woman called out "hope to see you again!" Oh yes Gaudi...we'll be back and we're bringing more friends. -
Review from Pierre G.
Hunts Point, WA
6/2/2011
For tapas fanatics, a solid alternative to Harvest Vine
- Empredat Gaudi (a Catalan Salad) $7.75: fresh bursts of flavor, great tangy dressing, lots of white beans - perfect starter dish
- Mojama [filleted salt-cured tuna] $3.75: 2 luscious slices, served with an oyster on toast - like great sushi - try this
- Chocos (Marinated Cuttlefish, battered & fried) $8.50: - served with aioli, similar to calamari, fried with just the right touch
- Gambas Romanesco (Shrimp in Tomato Sauce) $4.95: 3 delicious shrimp on a skewer - I highly recommend this dish
- Chistorra (Cured Sausage) $3.25: 3 small sausages on a skewer
spicy and tasty
- Gazpacho $6.00: with mango very flavorful and refreshing
Our waitress was sweet and helpful with suggestions for both food and wine;
I will return for paella [about $20 per person, minimum of 2 diners]
for Tina -
Review from Tanya H.
Seattle, WA
9/18/2009
Very late review!
If my wallet would let me eat here everyday, I definitely would.
My husband and I had a date night at Gaudi just this new year's eve. I loved the smallness of the place, it made me feel like it was more personal when it came to their service.
My husband was able to try a couple of different kinds of wine before he decided on one that he liked. And for moi, I am allergic to alcohol and I told that to the server, so he suggested this yummy refreshing drink of perfection. It would be close to a virgin mojito but there was something more in it that I definitely loved.
We ordered calamares for starters. It has the best garlic/wine/olive oil sauce ever! It was so good that I had to watch over my husband 'cause I thought he'd start licking the plate soon.
For our entree we ordered Paella Negra. It had squid ink to make it black and it had fish, shrimp, scallops and of course the rice... oh man it was heaven! I could have eaten the whole thing myself if my husband wasn't there.
We didn't have room for dessert in our tummies which was fine since we don't usually eat dessert. I know we're weird like that.
I will definitely go back... alone maybe, so I can have the paella all to myself. HAHAAH!
Oh and yeah, good date place. :) -
Review from Suzanne M.
Seattle, WA
5/30/2010
Tapas were delicious. Their house made sausages were so good. They come with bread, FYI.
Paella--Paella negra, the one made with squid ink---was just ok. You get a ton of it. It does not have a lot of shellfish in it, though. And yes, its oily. Weird.
Everything was cooked well, with a few exceptions, We had a few undercooked calamari--breading mushy, not crisp. Also, the chocolate cake on my Forrest Gump dessert was stale. The rest of it was yummy. Hubs had the fig ice cream---more like sorbet. As good as they say, and its the caramel-like sauce that makes it good.
Cheese plate--huge! Enough for 4 people. I love that.
Red wines not over $34 a bottle! Score.
Our service was good till it got busy. Owner seemed to be managing without support staff. She apologized, telling us its normally not that busy on a Sunday and she gave her staff the night off. Whole dinner took 2.5 hours!
Probably would have given more points if we hadn't ordered the paella. -
Review from Tom E.
Seattle, WA
7/9/2010
Colorful décor. A perfectly balanced salad - textures and flavors.
An interesting variety of Paella like rabbit. I had the beef brisket - deliciously hearty with an amazing sauce. Sponge cake with apricot and raspberry was out if this world perfection. -
Review from amez k.
San Jose, CA
6/7/2011
I recently went up to Seattle to meet a couple friends that are new to the city, and since I'm always on a hunt for greate Spanish food, I picked Gaudi based on the great reviews from Yelp. Oh boy, these reviews weren't kidding.
We had a bunch of tapas from the regular and special menus, as well as sangria and paella. I've been to Barcelona multiple times, and I can tell you that these dishes are not only authentic, but as great as the ones I had in good restaurants in Barcelona.
The atmospher is also great. It's a small restaurant, and Jo and Juan are so friendly and attentive to all the customers. There was also plenty of street parking (although I went on a weekday dinner, and it may be more crowded on weekends).
I think I may fly up to Seattle, just to visit this place again... YUM! -
Review from non o.
Seattle, WA
8/28/2008
Just had dinner here for the first time. Great service and delicious food. The price is higher side though. Good shrimp in garlic and olive oil dish, but 5 prawns for almost $10 is little bit too high.
We had sangria which was really good. Also paella was great. The portion was huge and we couldn't finish it. I guess I'm having paella for lunch today!
My friend who is from Spain said their paella was okay. I was afraid to try it but I thought it was good.
4 stars because of the high price for their small tapas plates... They don't serve sangria in glass. They are closed on Tuesday. -
Review from Jeff S.
4/24/2010
Gaudi is lovely. A quaint, comfortable and unassuming location in Ravenna. My wife and I have been driving by for the past few years and finally decided to drop in. So glad we did.
We weren't in the in the pialla mood, so we decided to try some tapas. The steamed mussels were sweet and decilious, the fried cuttlefish was cooked to perfection and the bacalao was amazing. We were impressed by the myriad of daily specials. Very nice selection of Spanish wines and ports.
The owners are very nice, and even brought us several ports to sample. What we loved the most was the authenticity of the location, owners and their food. Nothing pretentious or fancy. Overall, a very nice experience and we can't wait to come back. -
Review from Linda K.
Seattle, WA
2/6/2010
Way way overrated. Service was slow although our group was the only table. Expensive. Hum drum pialla.
I really wanted to like this place but it just didn't work for me. -
Review from Terry H.
Seattle, WA
3/28/2009
Service: 4*
food: 3*
ambiance: 3*
Very nice servers, attentive, fast. No wait in a Friday.
Tapas were good, platos good. Creative offerings, pretty good execution
Brightly lit, a bit cool when we first came in. Worth a return trip -
Review from Eutreptia V.
Lake Forest Park, WA
5/13/2010
Great tapas place. Charming atmosphere, staff and wonderful authentic spanish food.
The tapas specials were fantastic. Our favorites were the lomo (pork), spinach with pinenuts and currents, and the garbanzo cakes. The flavors in the paella were fantastic, although I would have liked it a bit less oily. For the desserts, the exotic ones, a creamless custard ("tocinitos") and a fig ice cream, produced raves. (The chocolate cake was good, but we've all had good chocolate cake before. When have you ever eaten an amazing, deep caramely tocinitos?) -
Review from Sonia G.
Auburn, WA
9/21/2010
We came here recently and loved it. The decor is quaint--the food and service are stellar.
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Review from Amber P.
New York, NY
7/22/2008
I loved the food, but I especially loved the service! The woman who owns the restaurant took the time to stop by our table and talk about the different food and drinks offered. A word of warning, the drinks, invented by this remarkable woman, are very strong! I know I'll be going back to try the other items on the menu soon!
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Review from shirley r.
Everett, WA
8/18/2008
Great restaurant. The best Paella in town if you ask me and delicious sangrias. We had 1 pitcher of the regular sangria and 1 of the white sangria and both of them are really good.
My husband and I have had many paellas before but their "paella negra" is excellent. The owners are very nice and the service is really good. Simple restaurant with great food.
Their appetizers are very YUMMY too.
We really want to go back and try the rest of the menu. -
Review from Matt C.
Chicago, IL
8/4/2008
I went here for the first time the other day and was blown away both by the fresh, delicious custom tailored meal as well as the wonderful service and attention to detail. I had a smattering of tapas as well as a bit of a chef's invention; I seriously loved it all! Joe is quite the artist as well, designing and making much of the interior art and decorations. The chef and his underling are adept lovers of real earthy always fresh from scratch meals and it shows. Had a wonderful pitcher of sangria too.
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Review from Mark M.
Seattle, WA
10/10/2010 1 Check-in Here
We love Gaudi. It's quiet and the food is terrific. Love that the food is different and interesting. It's quiet, low key and the food is prepared well.
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Review from Hillary M.
Seattle, WA
8/30/2009
Hubby and I had a great dinner here last week. Service was charming - sage advice on what to order, great in letting us sample a wine until we found one we liked. It was a perfect evening. I highly recommend going with the chef's choice for what's good that night. We just had tapas and wine over about two+ hour window, plus house-made fig ice cream with port wine sauce. The decor and location are great too - off the beaten path, attracting true tapas fans and locals alike.
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Review from Jessica W.
Seattle, WA
11/18/2008
A hidden gem! As I don't live in the neighbourhood, I discovered this restaurant by chance. Intending to meet a friend for dinner next door at Pair, we needed a plan B because Pair is closed on Sundays. I am SO GLAD we did!
Gaudi reminds me of Europe in many ways, and the food is REAL Spanish (I grew up in Europe and spend a year in Spain, so I'd like to think I know what I'm talking about). The owners are a couple who owned a restaurant in Barcelona for over a decade, and I feel privileged that we can enjoy this cuisine here is Seattle.
We decided to stick with tapas and a salad; a tasty succession of unique meals. Heavenly hummous, originals salads, and shrimp piri piri the way it should be. Am dying to try everything from the menu in future visits, but was happy to be guided by our hostess, who not only advised us on the perfect dishes, but also brought us wines to taste before we made our selection.
The atmosphere is relaxed, but you do feel 'out for dinner', and the decorating is elegant, authentic and unpretentious.
Really a great find. Salud - to serendipity! -
Review from Daniel L.
Seattle, WA
8/8/2011 1 Check-in Here
Perfect end to a hot Sunday. The place was inexplicably empty at 6:30. My wife and I went for our anniversary, and romantically had the place to ourselves, though another couple of diners later appeared during desert. I was dying for sangria, which my wife does not like, and the owner was very accommodating to make me a single large glass of it rather than a pitcher. It was perfect with the summer breeze blowing in the windows. My wife had a glass of red wine, Vega, which she liked. We were encouraged to have both paella and tapas, but the paella is a 2-person minimum at $20 per, and the tapas specials sounded so good we wanted to try all of them (about $3 each.) We started with delicious gazpacho, which was very thin, like a strained citrus juice. It came in a glass with spoons, which seemed a bit odd. We are used to chunkier, but it was very good. With it we had the house salad, a chopped tomato-cilantro concoction that was also very good and of sufficient volume to be available to continue eating as a complement to the hot tapas, which were short on its heels; fried cod balls with a mayonnaise (who knew such things could be so good?), grilled shrimp skewers (yum!), a mild Spanish sausage (good flavor, especially when cut small and joined on the tongue with other things), salted roast pork (too dry), mushrooms (a bit Chinese tasting), and grilled lamb skewer (plain, a bit dry, but good). On the side we had the tomato and oil-rubbed toast. The flavors were subtle to medium in intensity, and all complemented one another very nicely. We finished with a yummy cake filled with juicy apricots and creme and topped by raspberry puree, and a chocolate-orange mousse cake. Bill was $85 (without tip), discounted for cash to $78. Husband cooks, wife waits. They ran a restaurant in Spain for 15 years. A great neighborhood find. We'll be back.
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Review from c y.
Seattle, WA
5/5/2008
Gaudi is a somewhat new Spanish restaurant located on 55th above U village. It's small, very charming and serves delicious tapas, wines and entrees. I've been drawn there by their Paella and I have to say it's wonderful. Start your dinner with some of their great tapas plates, they do change often depending on what is in season. After 3 visits to Gaudi and a number of plates, I've not been disappointed with anything. Last night we shared a small bowl of mussels that were cooked a a heavily herb-ed broth, along with the olive oiled toasted bread it made a perfect starter.
I love Spanish wines as they are great with food and are good values. The hostess/owner was nice enough to let us sample 3 different wines before we ordered a bottle for our dinner.We settled on a nice red blend (tempranillo) that went very well with our tapas and Paella.
For dessert we choose an almond cake that was perfect, not too sweet, nice texture served with a little whipped cream. Gaudi also has some nice ports and sherrys. The service was perfect, do ask them for recommendations. I'm very surprised more people haven't yelped this place. Try Gaudi. -
Review from Aruna B.
Seattle, WA
8/14/2011
This place is amazing. It is a great neighborhood restaurant, the place is small but the owners (who also serve and cook the food) take good care of you. The paella is to die for. We tried the vegetarian paella since some of our friends were vegetarian and the flavors were spot on. The sausages are another speciality here as is the dessert. A must go if you are/live in the neighborhood.
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Review from xx x.
Olympia, WA
7/25/2009
Dynamite tapas, and the mussels might be the best in town. Will go back for the paella next...
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Review from George P.
Los Gatos, CA
8/12/2010
My parents were Spanish. I have vacationed in Spain many times. I am very familiar with traditional Spanish Tapas. My wife and two young sons had a dinner of tapas at Gaudi and were delighted. This is the best Seattle has to offer in tapas. Tapas menu is very good and very traditional. The chef's special tapas were excellent. We have had the paellas on previous visits and they are interesting and delicious.
Great attentive and friendly staff.
We spend our summers in Seattle and always look forward to Gaudis which is better than any Spanish restaurant in the San Francisco Bay Area where we are from, as well. We were so worried that he tough economy would be tough on Gaudi and were very relieved to find them still there this year with the same wonderful food.
Leave room for the raspberry sponge cake. -
Review from Elaine H.
Seattle, WA
9/22/2008
This place is kind of tucked into a strip of shops, but worth a visit. We went on a quiet Sunday afternoon. The restaurant is pretty small anyway, but there were only two other tables occupied besides ours. The owner was our server. She was very friendly and listed a bunch of specials but we already knew we wanted the paella. Throughout the mean the service was friendly and attentive without being obtrusive.
We also ordered bread with tomato spread and goat cheese spread as a starter. I liked the tomato spread, but the goat cheese didn't have a ton of flavor. I was a big fan of the paella. The rice was well cooked (not too mushy), the seafood was tasty (prawns, mussels, clams, and rockfish), and the dish was well seasoned. I'd say it compares well with paella I've had in Spain.
The wine list wasn't huge, but there was a good selection and a fair price range. They also had several wines by the glass. -
Review from b r.
Seattle, WA
3/3/2009
very expensive. our waitress was the wife of the cook, and he was from spain. she was very knowledgeable about the wines, and very accomodating.
the paella was tasty, although it didnt have the crispy bottom like its supposed to. the gambas ajillo were deliciously salty and garlicy.
i prob wont be going back anytime soon just because of the price. -
Review from Brenda M.
Seattle, WA
12/4/2009
Five stars for everything about this place... except the paella.
Up until the moment that we started eating our paella (which came much quicker than expected and may have benefited from a bit more time in the kitchen), I fully expected to go back home and write a rave review. Unfortunately, the paella did not live up to the service, the sangria or the tapas.
We had the paella mixta, which featured rabbit, chicken and seafood. The rabbit was way to bony to eat in a rice dish. The seafood was alternately under-cooked and overcooked, depending on which piece we put in our mouths. And it was very highly spiced either; rather bland overall.
The tapas, on the other hand, were WONDERFUL. Tasty little bits of heaven on a plate at great prices. We ordered a pitcher of sangria, too, and it was a wonderful accompaniment.
We'll go again, but skip the paella. The tapas and sangria are more than worth the trip! -
Review from Andy P.
Santa Cruz, CA
11/2/2008
Pretty good. Ended up being a more expensive than I was hoping to pay that day. Well... $20/person paella is normal, but maybe it would've been nice if some of the $7 tapas were more like $5. The tapas were amazing though. We got the meatballs (a special tapa that day), the tortilla, the bread with anchovies and peppers, the garlic shrimp, dates wrapped in bacon, and maybe another one. Then we had the mixta paella. The paella was very flavorful, but I would have liked a more developed soccarat. To drink we had the cava sangria. It was ok, but I think their caipirinhas are probably much better. They were slightly understaffed. It took a loooong time to settle up the bill. We also had a little chocolate cake. Yum. Overall I think it was ok, and maybe on another night with quicker service it'd be four stars for the same food. Five stars? Maybe. Probably if all I got were a ton of tapas. The tapas were awesome albeit pricey.
