Seattle has a lot of good restaurants and James Beard Award winners.  Matt Dillon is one of the most renowned of them all.  His Sitka & Spruce is considered a dining experience for all.  So I went there for my birthday!

It’s located in a space within the Melrose Market.  There are a lot of other “spaces” for stores there.  It’s tucked away in the back and almost seems hidden until you get back there.

The open kitchen concept comes into play here, as does the communal dining theme.  There are individual tables, but there is also on big communal table.  Single diners can sit at a “bar” facing the window if they wish.

The kitchen is all open and all the cooking done where everyone can see what’s happening.

The Farm to Table concept, as well as fresh daily ingredients also comes into play here.  The menu changes every day based upon what’s available at the market that day.

Here is that day’s menu.

We decided not to have any of the small plates, though they looked awesome on paper.  And from looking around, it also looked awesome. But we resisted and went for both mains instead.

Here is the Duck Confit.  So tender and smooth, the egg makes it even better.  Then the veggies were made perfectly also.  What a winner of a dish!

The Ling Cod was cooked to perfection, and accompanied by great veggies, the taste was just awesome as well.

Then of course we had to have dessert.  Parsnip cake, which was soft and delightful.  Along with a Salted Bay Leaf Ice Cream, which tasted so great.  One of the smoothest desserts ever.

This was one of the best eating experiences that I have had.  The thing that makes me want to go back is that the menu changes every day.  So there will be something different all the time.

I will be back!