Nordstrom Grill at Bellevue Square is now open. It was announced in August that the Grill would be returning due to consistent customer feedback.
The restaurant, located on the second floor, includes a full bar, along with booths and tables for dining. The menu features items like The Best Part of French Onion Soup, Prime French Dip, Hand Cut Steak Frites, Pastrami Melt On Rye and Halibut With Lemon And Capers.
Nordstrom Grill closed in March 2018 and Department Bento, Tom Douglas’ first restaurant on the Eastside, opened later that year. The quick-serve eatery offered Japanese bento-boxes that were customizable. Nordstrom had only in-store restaurants for over 35 years before opening this restaurant.
Back in early 2018 Downtown Bellevue Network’s website and its related social media properties, received over 100 comments from our followers, most of which stated their disappointment with the Grill closing. Re-opening less than two years later, customers will likely be satisfied with the re-opening.
Nice to have The Grill back, thank you, Nordstrom! It was fairly crowded mid-Saturday, we were told it would be a 35-45 minute wait for a table so we opted for the bar. It was great to feel the energy in this space again! During the 45 minutes spent at the bar, many empty tables remained so they have a few kinks to work out at the hostess station. Thankfully, the layout is familiar, though not as warm or inviting as it could be. The choice of Shaker-style, blue-painted cabinets mixed with trendy “modern” furnishings is an unsophisticated choice (charcoal or midnight color cabinetry would have been better). The front 3rd of the restaurant is open so shoppers can view the diners. Fortunately there is a bit more privacy in the back area which is nice even though the decor is also rather ‘ho-hum’, particularly the art and hard surface floor. The banquettes that run parallel to the bar are unnecessarily narrow for two people to dine comfortably and the table/chairs opposite the banquettes should be switched out for banquettes like the original Grill. A few favorites remain on the menu but I feel the menu is a work in progress. The portions are smaller or altered in some way. “The Best Part of Onion Soup” was 2-3 times larger than it should have been for an appetizer – a large, soggy slice of French onion soaked bread with cheese melted on top. The delicious tempura-style shrimp are no longer included in smaller Crab Louie and should be an option for the shrimp. I’m sure everyone will have comments on their individual favorites or missing dishes, but all-in-all, a good start that requires a bit of refining for the comfort element everyone enjoyed so much. B+
We are coming for the Thanksgiving week and hope to lunch at the Grill! We have missed it a lot and hopefully favorites like the crab bisque will still be on the menu! Here’s to hoping it is as fantastic as the old Grill was!