Bar Ferdinand

Bar Ferdinand Restaurant Review:

Chef Matt Dillon has seemingly done it all, so with his latest venture, hidden in the rear hallway of Chophouse Row, he pares back to the basics and composes an ode to the bounty of the Pacific Northwest. The space, with its dark décor, clean lines and weird spots of rusticity or mid-century details, gives little away, but the menu tells it all: this restaurant is about the chef and the ingredients and techniques he currently favors. The poetic-sounding dishes change daily, from “Freshly Dug Radishes” or “A Bear’s Salad” to “Side Striped Shrimps Are a True Puget Sound Treasure.” Flavors of the sea --- black cod, line-caught halibut --- marry techniques from across the seas, such as curing with kelp and sour rice. But the offerings wander, evident in a pizza that comes from the screaming hot wood oven. The dessert roster is small, usually noting an adorned ice cream (burnt honey with hazelnuts and rye) and a cheese, but, as this is a bar, the after dinner drinks selection is ample. Bar Ferdinand’s roots as a bottle shop show on the wine list, where natural wines and under-sung regions dominate and the servers will gladly talk you through the first-rate collection. Do settle in, though; this is not a place to rush through a meal, and the pace of service speaks to that.