The Rainier Club

We actually didn’t eat here but stayed overnight as a reciprocal member from a different club. We were locked out when we tried to enter and check in (it was really late) but that was a major annoyance considering we had been traveling all day. It’s a pretty decent location but the construction noise and street noise was horrible. Couldn’t sleep at all because there weren’t any curtains and the street light came through.
Totally dated amenities and the atmosphere was really heavy. Hard to describe but there’s a way to keep the same decorum without the heavy decorations… the room just felt creepy and haunted. Staff was good and friendly but I wouldn’t stay overnight here again.

Chefs table 8 course dinner was amazing. In the top three meals I have ever enjoyed dining out. We started with a lobster amuse bouche in a egg, followed by albacore tuna, foie gras, diver scallop, wild boar, lamb and then dessert. All paired with great wines and great conversation.

Was here for a rehearsal dinner for a wedding.
The venue is very fancy, well decorated, and staff is friendly.
Food was delicious.
Parking is a little limited, but there are spaces available.
The only downside was the painfully slow service. It took forever to get anything. Appetizers, drinks, our meal.
Just took forever.

Came here for a business meeting — nice spacious rooms with attentive staff. The food wasn’t particularly memorable and the room was super cold. I’m sure I’ll be back for other events, but I’m not racing back here.

I have eaten many dinners at the Rainier Club which I joined some years ago just for the food that Chef Morris was creating in the kitchen. Over the years the menu has evolved as he and his staff experiment. For some people the dining room is off-​putting. I for one prefer a venue where it is possible to have a quiet conversation over dinner with unobtrusive service. There is no attitude amongst the waitstaff.
As to the food! We just celebrated a birthday there with Chef’s Tasting Menu. About 7 small, creative, beautifully prepared and served dishes were placed before us. The birthday boy pronounced the offerings world class — on the level of the best restaurants in London or New York– and for a fraction of the price. We ate: smoked melon, micro-​greens, inhouse cured sausages and proscuitto, bison short ribs on spaetzle, a squash soup with curry foam, monkfish with chanterelles and bits of corn, and an array of local aged cheeses paired with marinated cherries, grilled figs, honey, and the like.
The wine list is comprehensive and has a range of prices. Wine is not cheap in any restaurant these days. I think they have something for most any budget. Kyle who heads the dining room is also the sommelier; he is approachable and very knowlegeable.
One of the contributors here mentioned bread that was cold and a selection of butters. I have never been served warm bread at dinner. A silver basket arrives with a selection of sliced breads like olive ciabatta, walnut studded load and some kind of flat bread. It is not supposed to be warm! There is only one kind of butter, not a selection. Never has, doubt ever will.
I will say, that not all of their offerings hit the gong. I don’t care for their caesar salad which comes in a parmesan shell. It is small and feels contrived.
Their 3 course bistro offerings are very reasonable at $ 25! Eating ala carte will cost more. They have outstanding cheese selection for a reasonable price – stuff you cannot get in a regular «upscale dining room.» Also their seafood salad which can be ordered as an appetizer or entrée is outstanding.
We are very fortunate to have Bill Morris at the helm. His staff do themed meals which are very interesting. Also you can book to eat in the kitchen which is a unique experience whereyou see close up the ballet and all the moving parts needed to get a # of entrees to each table together. It gives you a new appreciation of the art and labor of cooking.

A great spot quiet and classic with excellent, friendly service

If you’re old, white, and rich, this place is probably great. You can sit around in Corinthian leather armchairs and smoke cigars, or whatever the 1% is doing these days.
I’ve been forced to attend a number of family events here, and this place is nothing but a monument to pretention and ostentatious overconsumption.
Surprisingly, for a place this classy looking, the food is crap, and the service is crap (unless you look like you’ve got money).
Oh yeah, and they have a dress code. Who the hell has a dress code in Seattle?

Lovely place in Seattle to spend your time.

Superb and friendly — but unobtrusive — service. At its best, the food is outstanding, and the many specials are always wonderful. The chef has been extremely creative in meeting last-​minute needs, such as a vegetarian entrée, and the staff are always most willing to make sure you get what you want. Try the soup of the day: it is always excellent, as a friend once put it, «the only serious soup in Seattle» (though I’d say the same thing about Café Campagne).
Deeply satisfying, dignified, quiet. A delightful place to spend a leisurely evening talking with good friends.

It looks gorgeous and the ambiance is very classy and formal, but the food was so disappointing.
I went one night for a special dinner with my dad and some of his business friends and I was really impressed with the artwork, long hallways, and gorgeous dining and event rooms.
They have an extensive wine list and that was just about the best thing there, though the wines there were only very expensive, as one might expect.
I ordered the lobster bisque, which came out COLD and thin. It looked like oil that was separating from vinegar. It was cold and thin and flavorless with a big lump of lobster-​salad stuff in the middle. Even the lobster couldn’t cheer up the soup. I asked twice to get it warmed up and the waiter kept forgetting so I finally gave in and ate it.
For my main, I had the «diver’s scallops,» which sounded great. It was a good portion, but it, too, was cold. It wasn’t seasoned very well, either. It was definitely better than the soup, but it was very disappointing — could have gotten it almost anywhere else in town better and cheaper.
Finally, the best part of the meal: the bread. The bread was great, warm, and refilled often with several different kinds of butter. That was the only indication that someone remembered that they had a restaurant going on in there.

With great event space and surprisingly good food, the Rainier Club may feel stuffy and is a reminder of a bygone era, which is a bit rare these days in Seattle. I recently attended a breakfast meeting here, and the facilities and food were excellent. I had some of the best scones in my life, plus a very tasty hash, which was a nice modern take on the dish. The coffee, however, was what I would expect in the 1950s and probably one of the weakest cups I’ve had in awhile. The restrooms have some interesting and very polished fixtures, and part of the fun was to wander into different rooms to look at pictures and the history of people and places. I will probably never be a member at the Rainier Club, but I would look forward to the next event here.

Mediocre food
Great service
Uptight atmosphere
I don’t get the allure…

Attended a wedding over the last weekend at the Rainier Club and it was an amazing event at an amazing venue.
The beauty of the building alone was a great show in the middle of downtown Seattle.
I ordered the chicken for my meal and it was perhaps the best wedding chicken I have ever had the pleasure of eating. The salmon was also a fan favorite at the table.
Overall it is a great location and venue for a wedding and highly recommended for the service and experience.

Mediocre food
Poor service
Unpleasant atmosphere
Why waste time with this place when there are lots of other fancier places than this that deliver on the above aspects… unless you are over 50, this is not the place for you

What an awesome place. I attended a business meeting here and the food was fantastic — the service was even better. In the scheme of things, Rainier Club could be a stuffy, outdated and «past its prime» location, but it certainly is not.
I would highly recommend having food here if you ever have the chance!

I recently attended the Jazz Night at the Rainier Club. They bring in the best talent and offered an incredible dinner. The featured artist was internationally renowned guitarist Brian Nova. Brian has played with other musical artists like Steve Miller, Herb Ellis and Joe Pass. Be sure to check out Brian’s gig schedule at
.
Chef Bill Morris is a phenom and is quite the culinary master and artist.
If you ever get a chance to enjoy yet another incredible evening out at the Rainier Club, be sure to hang out in the kitchen with Chef Morris and his monthly Chef’s Table. It is an experience that you will remember for a lifetime.
Should you become a member? Absolutely yes!
Pax.
B

As good as it gets. Normally I do not Unilocal too far from my home in Redondo Beach, but I have to allow an exception for the Rainier Club as the best private dining — and the consistently best dining, private or public, anywhere I have eaten, and I have eaten all over the globe, in the finest restaurants of Berlin, London, LA, Hawaii, etc. Bill Morris is a world class chef, and the Rainier Club provides world class service to match.
A disclaimer of sorts is that I am still a non-​resident member of this club, but my point is that I choose to remain a member for one reason only: because over and over the Rainier Club provides the highest level of service, the most gracious lodging, and the best dining available in Seattle, on par with any dining and service anywhere. Whenever I have cause to return to Seattle it is always my very first choice.

The Rainier Club is incredible. The mansion on 4^th Ave houses so much political, social, and local history within the walls that the building itself is deserving of 5 stars, however there is the Club establishment that really deserves the praise.
The Rainier Club has some the most extravagant and elegant events you could imagine in our city. The culinary team in the kitchen churns out classic dishes with experimental twists. The service staff is as cordial as any of the city’s top steak houses. And the management and event planning teams have years of top-​notch experience that allows for them to create perfection.
My office had our holiday party here last week and everything was absolutely delightful. I would not have changed a single thing. Three cheers to the planning that went into everything to create a great evening!

I agree with Jake K. as a reciprocal member, this is the best place yet. We had a suite for less than a room in the nearby 4-​star hotels. The parking lot is right next to the club and step from the side door. The location is excellent. We walked to both Belltown and Safeco Field.
They did overcharge us for the room but it was adjusted upon our return home. The two negative ratings are for people with axes to grind — disregard.

Ahhh… one of the joys of being a member in a private club is the reciprocity you get across the country at other clubs. It makes it better when they have their own accommodations so you don’t have to leave the premises and can be entertained in one central locale.
The Rainier club was absolutely delightful — the accommodations and amenities of an old four-​star NY style hotel without the NY price. I was booked into a suite made from what looked to be two smaller rooms that contained a lounge area, bedroom, walk-​in closet, and two bathrooms. Both rooms had A/​C and were well decorated with what appeared to be mahogany furniture.
Since I arrived rather late and my friend wanted to go out to eat, we ended up just getting some small plates from the kitchen delivered while we dusted off a few pre-​celebratory bloody marys. The cheese board was well selected and complete with no less than six different cheeses and the shrimp cocktail was well dressed with an avocado and mango salad to accompany the five tails.
The workout area was great and had plenty of weights, aerobic machines, and other accouterments to complement a workout. The wine room was absolutely impressive with its well stocked cabinets and various aged labels generously donated by the membership.
Certainly a great experience — my only regrets lied in not being able to sample more of the kitchen — all the more reason to come back when I’m in Seattle again!