Bars+Lounges : USA : WA : Seattle : Boka Restaurant + Bar
Bars+Lounges : USA : WA : Boka Restaurant + Bar
Hotel 1000 is sheik. The eatery tied to it, Boka, follows suit. The dark lounge located street side of First Avenue is intimate and ever-changing, most notably due to a back wall and bar that is constantly spanning colors of the rainbow. The crystalline bamboo can easily be mistaken for stalactites, further confusing you into thinking that you’re in some kind of translucent cave. But isn’t that how a good bar/lounge makes one feel? If I wanted to be drinking in a well lit area I would go to the library.
Down to business. Boka offers adventuresome cocktails (non-cave themed) and a lineup of food in $3, $6 and $9 segments. The steel in the lower level is easily the mac-and-cheese topped with Rogue River aged cheddar. Being corndog obsessed, I’m familiar with deli prices, and $3 for a half pound of Boka’s M and C is by far a better deal than QFC’s. Delving into the $6 level, the can’t-miss item is the goat cheese with roasted tomatoes and flatbread. Goat cheese. There, I said it — again. Finally, the $9 roundabout easily offers the most enticing options, but what to do? Believing there to be a ceiling on burgers and oysters, I opted for the fish tacos and lamb sandwiches. The golden raisin relish pushed the well-adjusted, potato rolled bites to the top of my palette while the dryness of the fish tacos gave me satisfaction, but wanting a bit more.
It was the second time I had been to Boka. Being a downtown dweller, it is now firmly on my map for a unique atmosphere where quality food and drink can be had at ultra-reasonable prices.
Boka Restaurant + Bar Review by Philip K : Renton, WA
Damn, it's been awhile since I've "yelped" but this place has deserved a review for several months now.
The wife and I have been raising our baby for the past year and going out hasn't been easy to come by. So when the opportunity came up a while back, we debated two places - BOKA and Japonessa. Based purely on Yelp reviews, we picked BOKA cause Japonessa on a Friday night seemed like it'd be a longer wait and a little less laid back. And that little decision led us to the mother of all burgers...at least for me.
We met up with another couple and ordered a number of things off their happy hour menu. The clear highlight for me was absolutely the BOKA burger. I asked for the burger to be prepared "medium rare" and it came out "medium rare".
WHAT?!?
Now, maybe, I shouldn't be surprised that I got my burger prepared to the exact temperature that I wanted because you really should get your food prepared the way you requested especially when the server asks you. But I was surprised...all of us were. It was not cooked somewhere between medium rare and medium like most places. It was so perfectly cooked that I imagine Gordon Ramsey (sorry, watching way too much Master Chef) would have been pleasantly satisfied.
I think I stared at it for a good minute or two before I finally took a bite. And when I did, it was a Joey Lawrence "WHOA!" That burger was so juicy that it literally melted in my mouth. This is hands down the BEST MOTHER EFFING BURGER I have ever had in my entire life!! A new standard by which all others will be compared, possibly forever.
Oh, yeah, the truffle fries were pretty damn good too.
**Please note that if you order the burger medium or medium well or well done (that's really just being rude to the beef), then you may not have a fine burger that melts in your mouth.
Contact Boka Restaurant + Bar
Address 1010 First Avenue, Seattle, Washington 98104 | Phone (206) 357-9000
Contact Seattleite
0 comments: