Finding an upscale Seattle area restaurant that offers outdoor seating and that also accommodates a vegan diet is apparently a big ask during Covid. But I happened to find not one, but two restaurants that meet this trifecta wish list - upscale, beautiful patio, and vegan friendly.
For our 13th wedding anniversary last weekend, Ryan and I enjoyed a beautiful date night, starting with Happy Hour at Bellevue's Ascend, followed by dinner at Snoqualmie's Salish Lodge, and to top it all off (with a cherry on top, no less), we ended the evening with ice cream at Molly Moon's in Redmond. It was a progressive meal of sorts as we went from city to city, but the food and experience at each stop was incredible, and we would repeat this date night again without changing a thing.
Here are the deets.
Located on the 31st floor of the Lincoln Square South Tower, Ascend is most well known for its land and sea offerings. However, I was delighted to find that Ascend offers a number of plant-based vegan items. Their happy hour menu includes truffle fries, avocado rolls, and black garlic sesame edamame. Their regular menu boasts inventive sounding jackfruit "krab" cakes, an edamame burger and a variety of tempura and grilled veggies. Happy hour runs from 3-6 pm and again from 9 pm until close, including weekends. What we loved about their deck (aside from the sweeping views from the 31st floor - hello Mt. Rainier!) was how each table was positioned for optimal privacy. Our table featured an outdoor fireplace, and while it was too warm to enjoy it on this late August evening, it will be a welcome feature come fall. After enjoying complimentary champagne for our anniversary, we both opted for the Knight Rider cocktail - a refreshing combo of espolon blanco tequila, canton ginger, aperol, lemon, yuzu, lime, and pineapple. More spicy than sweet, it was one of the best cocktails I've ever tried. Upon leaving, we deemed this our new celebration spot for fancy date nights and, especially, for marking those big moments in life. The service was nothing short of impeccable.
You go to the Dining Room at the Salish Lodge & Spa for the views of the falls, but you return for the food. Delightful, elegant, and refined are the three words that come to mind when I describe our recent anniversary dinner at Salish. Though it isn't always open, on this particular night, we were able to sit on the secluded back patio which directly overlooks the falls. Though this was not the best news for my freshly flat-ironed hair, it was great news for us in terms of a view. We easily had the best table in the whole house, on the end of the patio closest to the falls. With the sound of the water, the rest of the restaurant fell into the background.
Let me tell you, The Salish pulled out all the stops. Rose petals on the table. A special vegan menu printed just for me. We knew we were in for a treat before we'd even unfolded our crisp and recently ironed napkins into our laps. The Dining Room at Salish features a menu that is seasonal, local, and sustainable. What I loved most was the complete menu of vegan items. While I have been treated to an entire menu when dining in other cities, and often in other countries, being treated to no fewer than seven designated vegan items is something of a rarity in Seattle. Fellow vegans, you know what I mean. Often our meals at fine dining establishments consist of a single vegan offering, or a heavily modified vegetarian offering - two at best. So, Salish had me at "vegan menu".
For our meal, we shared the charred carrots and fava bean Hummus appetizers. Both were memorable and we would order them again, both as starters or even as tapas style smaller entrees. In fact, the carrot dish was so good we ordered a second thanks to the kick of spice that complemented the black char of the carrots perfectly. For dinner, I had the corn soup and Salish baby greens, opting for lighter fare to save room for ice cream, and because we had already indulged in a number of apps at that point. Our server let us linger without loitering around, hitting that right balance point between making sure we were taken care of and giving us enough space to enjoy each other's company. As we left, I kept wondering why it took us so long to find Salish, as it will now be a regular on our fancy date night rotation of restaurants. Next time, we may check out The Attic, their more casual restaurant upstairs.
My love for Molly Moon's runs deep. Vegans know how it feels to crave ice cream only to find that the menu du jour only offers a fruity sorbet. Though sorbet can taste good on a hot day once in awhile, ice cream it is not. Enter Molly Moon's where every vegan flavor they've ever churned has been nothing short of creamy and decadent. Their vegan mainstay is the coconut chunk, and they frequently rotate in their scout mint (which is like the most divine version of a Thin Mint Girl Scout ice cream you could possibly imagine). But this summer, they featured my favorite flavor of all, their vegan strawberry coconut. Creamy and fruity, this was the best of both worlds, and was particularly good when topped with their vegan whipped cream. You know it's good when, all dressed up in our fancy duds, we high tail it out of a high end restaurant and wait in line at 9:50 pm to sneak into Molly Moon's before they close. A waffle cone full of strawberry coconut ice cream and the love of my life at my side, this was the sweet end to a perfect anniversary celebration.
