Sometimes a restaurant feels just right in its space. LloydMartin, chef Sam Crannell’s masculine den on Queen Anne Avenue (the former location of Bricco wine bar) is such a place.
With room for a dozen at the bar, with polished walnut and reclaimed-wood banquettes, it’s an ideal place to duck into for a glass of wine and a plate or two.
Crannell changes his small-plates menu almost daily with near-stellar results. In deep autumn, elk Bolognese on fresh pasta gets a pop of tart-sweet huckleberry; it was so good, I wished I hadn’t been sharing.
He can go light—a soft, delicate black cod with clams and fennel was perfectly good.
But deep, intense and rich is what Crannell does best, as in a thick-yolked poached egg (the texture the result of being cooked sous vide, in a long, slow, warm water bath) with stinky-oozy Taleggio cheese, ham and chanterelle mushrooms.
The plates are outstanding when paired with pours from an excellent by-the-glass list ($7–$10); there’s an impressive lineup of local brews, too.
Service is confident, opinionated and efficient, and there’s an attractive quality to the crowd. It’s been a while since such an alluring spot opened atop Queen Anne Hill.
Dinner Mon.–Sat. Queen Anne, 1525 Queen Anne Ave. N; 206.420.7602; lloydmartinseattle.com $$
