Madison Park Conservatory

Delicious and happy place, you’ll be missed dearly :(
What can one say about this place that haven’t been said already? My love affair with this place started 2 years ago. It was instant, fast and lasted forever. Glad I get to taste one last bite on Valentine before you close.
It took over my former fav place in Madison park area right across from the beach. It’s always hard to find parking or hard to get in but once you do walk in, you are greeted by the warmth and delectable scents from the kitchen. It’s a cozy, comfy place with fantastic food!
Food
Trout — My favorite thing ever on their menu was that Trout! I can spot that trout from a mile away. I recognize that trout in any picture. It is possibly the most delectable trout I’ve had in such settings. So delish! Too bad they didn’t have it on their last Friday before closing.
Beef tongue– it’s a given. You can’t come here without having that tongue! You might even come here solely for that tongue too.
Fast forward to closing weekend — Feb 14^th and 15^th, 2014. As a fan and over planner, I’ve managed to get reservations for both nights. I was hoping to come sample valentines specials and also taste few more bites of the trout and beef tongue.
San Valentino menu special– you choose 3 appetizers to share, one entrée and two desserts. It was an easy choice.
We chose
Beef tartare
Beer caviar
Torchon of foie gras
Seafood bouillabaisse
Pane au chocolate
Affogato with espresso.
Tartare was delicious and refreshing.
Beet caviar was tasty!
Foie gras– you can never get tired of it. I like the side of fig jam too.
Seafood bouillabaisse — magic! Scallops, rock fish and little potatoes in oh so divine broth. It is less broths than traditional one but it is done so perfectly! They also had a ribeye and fried chicken to choose under the entrée menu but ever since they put up this menu (a month ago on their facebook), I’ve been dreaming about all the seafood. So we went with that bouillabaisse and just wow! It was a great choice.
Dessert– both affogato and chocolate pot were fantastic. As usual, I like the chocolate more. That creaminess!
Service
Always top notch! I enjoy their attentiveness whether it is a normal night or on a valentines night.
Drinks–
I’ve tried their cocktails before and they were quite well made. On my last visit, we’ve settled for a bottle of champagne. It was just right for the occasion. I’ve always taken advantage of their corkage service too. It’s $ 20 per bottle and 2 bottles per table. When you come with a few friends, this was a perfect way for you to share your favorite bottle or two with them.
We stayed till we were the last people there and didn’t feel any rush. After such a meal, one must chit chat and enjoy more bubbles! Got to talk to the servers and bartender that night about their closing. Most of them seem sad but also excited to be moving on to different things and to travel. Thanks for one last meal of amazing ness MPC and Chef Cormac :/​You’ll be missed dearly. I don’t think anyone can replace that trout happiness you’ve given me for the past few years. But I’m hoping and praying that one day, you’ll be back :)

I feel like I’ve just found my soul mate just before his execution. Dramatic but you get the idea, I hope.
After waiting years in hopes that I’d be taken on a date here my friends and I decided to visit on our own accord. It was perfect. The server was a blast, the HH is amazing, a stunning view and the food was divine. Crab stuffed deviled eggs, gorgeous burger, duck fat fried chicken, German chocolate cake with olive oil ice cream. I fell in love, it was heaven.
If you have a spare night prior to their close on February 15^th go visit. It’ll break your heart but at least you got the chance to say goodbye!

The restaurant is fantastic. We ordered a whole trout, which is pretty good. We also order beef tongue which is unbelievable good! Being a Chinese, I never thought western restaurant could make better beef tongue than Chinese restaurant. And this one turned out to be the best beef tongue I have ever had.
The price is a bit high and it is hard to find a parking nearby, but it still worths it :)

I’m a little torn on the star category, but I’m going to go ahead and award 5 based on prior experiences.
I love this restaurant. One of my favorites. I delight in bringing out-​of-​town guests here as a hidden Seattle gem.
That said, my first experience in the dining room vs the bar was a little bit odd. I love that they serve a full menu, and the laid-​back feal, and/​or private table option in the bar, so I almost always do that.
During restaurant week, they ran a special deal in the dining room, so we did that instead.
I was underwhelmed. They were initially not willing to accomodate my request for a vegetarian entrée (we’re talking about leaving the meat out of a pasta sauce, here, not a major departure from the menu). They later recanted, but it was just very strange. The food in the dining room was good. Not spectacular. When I asked for a side of the fries that kept marching by every couple of minutes I was shot down. Bar only. Really? Seriously? You can’t make a side of fries and drop it off at my table in the dining room? WTF.
I’ll be back, but the halo has gotten a little rusty.

Not five stars, Unilocal.Six stars.
People will have one reaction or another to this statement of mine, but I will own it — Madison Park Conservatory is the best restaurant in Seattle. With every bite I took of my food, I looked up to heaven and asked God what just happened. ‘Twas a State of Grace. Here is an overly dumbed down description of the foods that were enjoyed here at Madison Park Conservatory:
* Grilled beef tongue. Yes. Being Filipino, there are several dishes in our lineup that offer tongue. And from my experience, when you eat tongue, you know it. There’s a chewy consistency and a rough texture that’s very distinct about this muscle. But at MPC, if I ate this dish with my eyes closed, I could have easily confused this tongue with a tender piece of beef. Flavorful, juicy, and very well cooked.
* Foie gras, served with brioche toast, and a fruit jam. Why is this trio a good set? Because the foie gras has such a rich, creamy taste that it feels like you’re enjoying a great morning breakfast. Still reminiscing about that butteriness.
* Deviled eggs. While this sounds plain, the simplicity is tempered by the addition of dungeness crab. The crab constituted in with the egg yolk produces a thick, slightly salty mixture of perfection added back to the egg white. This was the first time I’ve seen each egg charged separately at $ 2 a piece, so although I wanted to eat a baker’s dozen, I wanted to save some of my remaining credit card balance for the rest of the food
* Brussel sprouts. Nice side piece that had a slight lemony flavor to it. Not too much to say except that it helped provide some variety to the protein heavy items above.
* Del Maguey Vida Mescal. The fact that a restaurant offers this libation is an automatic plus, as Mescal still proves to be a tough spirit to break into the Seattle drink market (and from the surveys I took while out and about in NYC, it seems nationwide in general).
I hope my menu provides a good sample of what you can expect from MPC. And, as the saying goes, you get what you pay for. The meals are pricey, but I believe fully worth it.
Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I rest my case.

What I love about Madison Park Conservatory (besides the food) is the fact that they have random deals. I’m not sure how my BF finds them but right now, if you follow them on Facebook they provide a code word you have to say to your server to get half off of food items on the menu. A much better deal than Seattle Restaurant Week!
I personally think MPC serves some of the most innovative and delicious dishes in Seattle. You don’t believe me? Follow their instagram (madisonparkconservatory), where they will tease you with pics containing foie gras, foraged mushrooms, oysters, freshly picked vegetables and roasted meats. I do love to torture myself by drooling over their instagram.
Everything I have tried here has been amazing. Some of the memorable dishes I’ve had are their fried rabbit, ceviche, duck rillettes, beef tartare with bone marrow tots, a pasta dish with smoked caviar and sea urchin and their king salmon with lentils.
Whether you’re looking for a place that is romantic, relaxing or you’re in need of great food, this is the place to go.

I had a nice dinner with a big group recently, and I have to say that for the price we were all underwhelmed. There were some pretty great dishes, but then there were just as many that were just «fine». For $ 90/​person, it should really be better than «fine».
Our real problem, though, was with the inexpert service. Our server was polite enough, but late and forgetful on several drinks, and didn’t know the restaurant’s policy on whether large groups had to be served family style. Things got slightly better as the night went along, but everything just felt awkward and strained. I know being a high-​end server is a tough job, and it’s hard with a large group, too. But some people can carry it off with panache, and can smooth over little confusions that come up.
So many places around Seattle can hit the ball out of the park in this price range, I just can’t see myself going back to MPC.

We came last night per JP’s desire to have a drink and a bite outside with a view of water. Despite all the water around Seattle, there really aren’t many establishments that meet this specification (outside of Alki, Shilshole Bay and the two star touristy waterfront along Alaskan Way).
Madison Park Conservatory is located next to McGilvra’s and is across the street from Lake Washington. What’s odd is that there’s not any signage for MPC. All the outside tables in front were taken, with an estimated half hour wait, so the hostess suggested that we try the Library Lounge upstairs that also had outside seating. There’s not outside tables in the lounge — instead, there’s a metal counter (that seats maybe eight people) facing the lake. Space was available and we took a seat. Score! What was nice too is that despite the sunshine, it wasn’t that warm and there was a chill breeze blowing — but the building’s layout protected us from the wind and we were comfortable.
We ordered martinis (an eye-​popping $ 12 each), a «bowl» of fries, fried rabbit, risotto bolognese and crab-​stuffed deviled eggs. The drinks were decently made, but the gin line in the glass was rather far below the rim. Skimpy!
Our waitress was a beautiful young woman whose service was outstanding. However, the food was so-​so. The chef could’ve showed more skill.
The risotto bolognese, consisting of a meat sauce and topped with a fried egg — had much much, too much, oregano in it — making for an unpleasant dish. The fried rabbit was served with sauerkraut and little tiny thin bits of fried potatoes, which were kind of like those Butterfield potato sticks that you could buy in a can a few decades back (well, maybe you still can). The rabbit meat itself was fine and substantial. The problem (more so for JP than me) was that the batter crust on the rabbit was overloaded with paprika — paprika is a spice that should be mostly seen and not heard. JP couldn’t eat the rabbit, but I finished it for him (I look upon paprika a lot more benignly than say, rosemary).
The soft fries, served with a ketchup-​like chutney and also a bold garlic sauce, were okay but sure did have a lot of parsley. On the other hand, the crab-​stuffed deviled eggs ($ 3 each) were quite good, with the crabmeat possessing a light hint of lime. JP puzzled why when the food runner brought out the eggs he referred to them as «dos huevos» (two eggs) considering that the menu didn’t call ‘em that. For dessert we split a Crème Catalana ($ 8). The carmelized sugar crust was bitter and the brulee-​like filling not particulary smooth.
The relaxing vibe in Madison Park Conservatory (love the Charlie Chaplin poster at the head of the stairs) is different than the bar & grill feel of the other eateries on Madison.

This is the place to be for happy hour! Oh so charming, and when the weather is nice, the small deck upstairs is the perfect place to relax while imbibing on the wonderful drinks and grub and taking in the scenery.
This is a quaint little spot across from the Lake in Madison Park. Wonderful, friendly service. The drinks are fresh — I had two Greyhounds and tried my friend’s margarita, which was the special for happy hour. Note: they salt just half the rim so you can choose when and if you want salt with the drink. How very thoughtful!
The food is where it’s at though, for me. The beef tongue, as countless others have mentioned, was perfectly prepared. The grapes were a little too pickled for my less-​than-​daring-​with-​tart tongue. I can consider that a personal problem, not theirs.
Finally, I tried an oyster shooter which I found wonderfully crisp and well paired with their garlic citrus concoction.
I’ll be back during sunny weather!
We also shared the caesar salad and risotto bolgnese, with a side of fries (of course!). The fries were delicious and plentiful. I recommend them! Pretty straightforward crispiness. The caesar salad was solid, and the croutons were slightly chewy, giving them a unique and nice texture. In my opinion, the risotto was just meh. I wouldn’t recommend it.

My awesome specimen of manliness, surprised me with a birthday dinner in the private room upstairs, that opens up onto the patio and a gorgeous view of the water.
Since I am usually the one to pick out fun culinary adventure, I was pleasantly surprised. Madison Park Conservatory is not a big restaurant, but they serve up some fantastic flavors. Granted, it is not a small price tag, but hey, did you expect anything else in Madison park ;-)
The private dining room, which I highly recommend for parties of 10 – 14 people, resembled an elegant room in a private home. Beautiful thick wood table with crisp white linens and a library wall. Keep the patio door open for fresh air and a beautiful view. Service was impeccable. Attentive without intrusiveness, our server was ready with menu and wine suggestions and plenty of humor.
Our party shared a lot of dishes. Most of the menu, in fact. Here are some notable items, although Conservatory’s menu changes frequently:
— Deviled Eggs. This is a house specialty, and they are worth at least having one.
— Fresh Oysters. I always prefer kushi or kumamoto, and usually pass on other varieties.
— Grilled Beef Tongue. Melt in your mouth tender & rich, an absolute must.
— Seared Scallops. Perfect sear, but one of the accompaniments blew me away. It was a mixture of wild mushrooms, lightly smoked and sauteed — absolutely delicious.
— Rib eye steak. No description required. Gorgeous piece of meat cooked to a med-​rare perfection.
Plenty of great wines to choose from to compliment your meal.
My friends and I had a wonderful time. You can’t go wrong with this establishment for any occasion!

Food was good — some things were outstanding and some were just okay. The menu changes constantly, but our favorites when we were there were the dungeness crab deviled eggs, black cod rillettes, and seared sea scallops with morels. Caesar salad is totally not worth it for $ 12. Service and atmosphere are pleasant. One star off because prices seemed higher than they should have been.

Madison Park Conservatory
No, it’s not a conservation hall, nor a performance space though their place does an excellent job of conserving fine dining in seattle and they perform their culinary expertise beautifully.
MPC is the place that i recommend to my friends whenenver they’re visiting and have random strangers experience because this place is what propels seattle into a new culniary level. This is the place where foodies should go so that they can taste exquisite execution in flavor balances and plating. to say i love this place, is an understatement.
every dish i ordered was wonderful (i had the rabbit sausage to start and the cornish hen as my entrée with a crème brûlée as a dessert) and i can’t wait to go there again.
actually, i’m probably going to try to go this weekend. i miss this place.

Can you say amazing? Say it with me, amazing.
I’m not this impressed by a meal very often. I am lucky that I’ve had a few really excellent meals in the past few months but this one really stands out. Wow!
One of my steadfast dining partners and I came to Madison Park Conservatory this weekend for dinner. We had been talking about going since they opened but hadn’t gotten around to it.
When we left he said this was one of the best dinners we’ve had together. I’d have to agree!
We each had a glass of wine. For entrees I had the whole trout and he had the filet. Yes, this place is pricey.
For sides we had the greens and the duck fat potatoes.
The trout was beautiful and one of the best pieces of fish I can remember eating. It just melted in my mouth. Even my company who doesn’t eat seafood agreed to try a bite and was stunned by how delicious it was.
It was divine!
The sides were great. Admittedly at $ 9 each they should be great.
We ordered the Columbia Bakery bread and butter which was very good. We speculated that they perhaps churned their own butter. This was not your normal butter. So creamy with almost a cheesy consistency. Just great.
For dessert we shared the cookie platter which was a lot of cookies! We managed to eat most of them and washed them down with coffee.
Service was impeccable. Atmosphere was minimal but intriguing. You just have to try it!
My only gripes: they forgot to give us our boxes of leftovers! I didn’t realize this until on my way home but was kind of bummed.
I would highly recommend Madison Park Conservatory to anyone looking for a nice dinner. Be prepared to pay a pretty penny for the experience and wonderful food.
The chef was featured as Best New Chef in Food and Wine for 2012. I can certainly see why!

Came here recently for a First Friday Lunch Club event. The crab feed was amazing — the crab was first boiled to cook it, then seasoned and thrown in the oven to reheat, with a smoky log and lots of parsley and other seasoning. It was amazingly delicious — and completely unlike any other crab I’d ever eaten. Yum!
The potato chips (waffle style), red spotted lettuce salad, and Riesling I ordered with the lunch was AMAZING. Service was really nice, the tables were all pushed together into one long table in the center of the restaurant (you can’t get more family style than that!) And it was overall a great event. I can’t wait to come here for dinner sometime.

I was really looking forward to finally coming here… and I was very sorry to be disappointed.
We started with a meat plate, which was ok. The rabbit was not good. Neither of us wanted to eat it. But sausage and proscuitto were both great.
I ordered the Louisiana Shrimp — it came with shrimp on a bed of leeks and a poached duck egg on top. It just wasn’t very flavorful. The egg was too done — t didn’t run out like it was supposed too, the shrimp were almost rubber from being overcooked and the leeks just didn’t add any flavor.
My husband’s dish on the otherhand was very good. We may come back just to order the the beef short rib on top of a yam risotto. It was like extremely flavorful, just delicious. Which of course, made me even more disappointed with my lackluster dish.
I really wanted to like this place… maybe we’ll try again another time.

Happy hour here is terrific. There is a bar at the top has a wonderful view and you can watch Madison Park beach go by. The deviled eggs are good as well, but just asking the bartender for the custom drinks makes the most difference.
We’ve also had dinner here and it is tasty and eclectic. A great addition to the madison park scene.

Special food, good for a special occasion. Good wine and beverage selection, well-​trained staff, unique and high-​quality food. I had the beef tongue plate, which was listed as an appetizer but was enough for my dinner. It was really good — I had never had tongue before and it was not what I was expecting! Loved the pickled veggies too. The other highlight of our meal was the watermelon salad, which at first I refused to sample because the combo of watermelon, ham, and cheese seemed too weird to me. I’m glad I finally gave in — I need to learn to make something like this myself because it was so good. The combo of salty/​sweet… I should have known.
The only issue with this place was the noise. It gets really loud, and my parents had trouble conversing with me and my friend. Maybe not the best place to go with older folks or if you’re trying to get to know a new date.

Two Food and Wine Best New Chefs of 2012 last night @ MPC. Jenn Louis (from Lincoln in PDX) made the drive from Portland to do a little collaboration with Cormac last night featuring albacore tuna. While waiting for the main course Jenn took a little time to come over to our table and chat with us for 5 minutes and that is where I got my temporary tattoo! Yes, you are thinking… wow how do I get one of those? The answer is, damn I don’t know, you just had to have been there.
Our meal consisted of albacore belly poke, a pasta pocket filled with some spinach and a hint of ricotta (strozzapreti), the main course of albacore loin over israeli couscous, and finished with dessert.
Each course was great… well prepared, not delivered to the table on top of each other, simple and damn tasty! The fail of the night was the dessert though. An ‘ugly cookie” is what the translation meant and it was not really that ugly, just impossible to eat. The cookie was shaped like a baseball and so I thought I would attack it with my spoon. Epic disaster as a piece shot from my spoon covered in the blueberry compote. After ricocheting off my napkin (thankfully) it fell to the floor. I continued to eat the egg white cookie full of nuts a lot more carefully. It didn’t really go with the meal and kinda was a disappointment at the end.
The bar was closed so I didn’t get the opportunity to try one of their manhattan drinks, but next time for sure! I would absolutely come back for another event, monday night dinner series, or regular day to try other dishes up MPC’s sleeves.

Happy Hour Review! A short visit to Madison Park and a quick eat. We opted to situate ourselves outside on the patio, taking in partial views of the park and the lake. A pulchritudinous server, her name Ashley I believe, provided wonderful service and intriguing dialogue on gourmet fare. What we consumed:
A dozen Treasure Cove pacific oysters — savory with a crisp, clean finish. The absolute best tasting oysters on the half shell I have had in a long, long time!
A mini dish of MPCeasar salad with dreamy house made croutons (chewy texture w/​infused anchovy olive oil, addicting!), fresh greens, and cheese — amazing, however I wished for more on my plate!
Burger: not really what I had expected and was more a medium rare cooked patty then what was requested (medium) and on the bland side. I would pass on this one next time; it seemed a bit out of place amongst the other items ordered. (Quick question: why did I order a burger here anyway?)
Best of the night: grilled beef tongue — unbelievably soft, delicate and perfect with minature pickles, mustard, pickled grapes and toasted bread. So goooood!
I enjoyed my visit and hope to return for a lovely dinner in the near future.
On a related note: congratulations to Chef Cormac Mahoney for winning Food & Wine’s 2012 Best New Chefs award!

MPC
5 stars
I did not know they had Happy Hour or the upstairs bar with patio overlooking the lake. I was so surprised. We popped in and did not want to leave.
The drinks were only so-​so. I am going to say that is because the bartender, self admitted, was not a bartender and was just filling in. I would say, based on how the bar is stocked… this place would normally be amazing.
The food is awesome. I started with the oysters, $ 1.50ea. They were huge. My wife started with the cheese plate. It was a good portion with bread and fruit. She was extremely happy. She also had the nettle soup. It was bright green and had a wonderful fresh flavor with a light mouth feel. I had