The only regret I have about this place is that I've been there a couple different times with a couple different guys on a couple different dates. On the second or third or fourth ... I really can't recall, Pat and Larry took notice and were kind enough to my date and I to spend an inordinate amount of time "talking shop" with us about their business because we expressed genuine interest. It almost broke my heart the next time I visited with date number 9,999,999. I almost felt like I was cheating on Pat and Larry.
They are passionate about their business. They will never try to sell you something they don't believe in. The wine and food are delicious and the musical talent has always been impressive beyond belief. Go! Enjoy!
BRAVO! BRAVO! BRAVO!
Walking in it seemed a little old and uninviting, until you meet the owners, whose warm demeanor quickly gave the place life. The husband directed us to choose any table we wanted, and when we asked about a wine list he pointed to the room and told us we could choose whatever we liked (because of the fact that it is a wine shop as well, all the wine is displayed around the room, which actually adds to the decor as well). We chose and excellent Cotes du Rhone, and found that most wines were very reasonably priced. (Take note though, that most bottles have a $12 corkage fee, even if you buy from the shop).
Next the wife offered us something to eat, we started with the Pesto Stuffed Mushrooms, the Crab Cakes, and the French Onion Soup. The Mushrooms had very good flavor as did the soup, I would give both 8/10. The crab cakes were just amazing, they were so good that we ordered two orders, definitely a 10/10. Then we ordered the lamb patties which are made in house, they were perfectly seasoned and served with cucumber and tzaziki sauce. I liked the lamb, but the tzaziki was underseasoned, it was mostly just greek yogurt. We then ordered the brie, which comes melted with almond, honey, and dried apricotes. It was delicious as brie always is, you can't go wrong there. Finally we had the Lemon Zest Cheesecake with Bluberry reduction. It was fantastic, I've never had  cheesecake that was so light in texture. My boyfriend even ate it and he claims that he hates cheesecake.
All in all, this is the perfect place to come and enjoy good wine and delicious food. It's a very quiet and relaxing place, not somewhere you come for a fancy atmosphere or decor, but for the love that the owners have for wine and food.
We will definitely be back, and I'm also excited to go on music night as well.
This really is the best kept secret in Shoreline. I'm a regular of many years and after reading the reviews, I think this place needs to be explained. Â The 4 & 5 star reviews are all correct, so let's talk about the negative reviews. Â They are also correct except for people who said the food wasn't good. Â They are flat out wrong. Â Those who complained that they weren't explained about what they were getting... Come on...if you're picky then ask. Â The owners are used to people knowing the food. Â This is a great place to come and chill, decompress. Â If you want great service, don't make music night your first visit. Â Yeah, the bathrooms are shabby because the owner does all the remodel himself. Â He's on a budget and paying as he goes. Â Your entertainment dollar is going into the food, wine, and music.
The person who was complained about the cover charge on the bill... it's on sign on the front door. Â Be sure and check that on music night.
The small plates are best quality and value north of Bell town. Â There is NO bad bottle of wine and the prices are amazing. Â This place should always be packed in the evening. Â They do support local music. Â They do get Peal Django (in a small Shoreline bistro..unbelievable). Â Â Come here to chill. Â Don't be in a hurry. Â Be patient waiting for water. Â Make conversation with Pat and Larry. Â Treat them like people instead of servents and they'll treat you in kind. Â Ask about wines, they will never steer your wrong. Â You will not get better food and wine for the price anywhere. Â Make this a regular spot and you will start to experience the rewards.
A strange, dark little spot which is like a garage-turned-wine cellar-turned restaurant. Emily and I stumbled in here (well, actually we tentatively peeked in here. The stumbling came after the delicious bottle of Argentinean Malbec "25 Lagunas").
Maybe we showed up before they were technically open; I'm not sure. But we were allowed to sit down- the sole customers at the time. The woman who owns the place wasn't especially chummy or formal, but we were chummy enough for all three of us, and before long, after our conversation echoed around the joint for a while, the music was turned on. There's a good chance the intent was to drown out our profanity. In any case, we liked it.
We asked the woman on duty (most likely the owner) to just pick us a nice Malbec and 25 Lagunas was one she said she'd been enjoying lately. Man, it was delicious--Emily and I both immediately stopped our conversation for a few beats because for a really reasonably priced wine, we weren't expecting all that fruity juicy happiness.
This place advertises house-made sausages and salumi, so I'll be back to check out those offerings. Meanwhile, this is an interesting, inauspicious, little-known stop-off on my dog-walk route. Pro tip: If you're a woman and don't want to be chased by cavemen, please skirt a wide perimeter around the bar across the street, whose back door is perennially held ajar by what appear to be felonious meth head gorillas on smoke breaks.
I'm giving this place 5 stars for my overall experience.
You may have driven past this place numerous times and kept going because it is not all that inviting from the outside. The ambience inside could also use a woman's touch. Having said that, during my travels in Europe, I would actually look for the small, hole in the wall restaurants and diners - ones that looked like it was a mom and pop kinda place. Generally, the smaller, "grungier" looking places had some of the best food I've ever had in my life.
Have I had better food in my life? Yup. Have I had as yummy of food at this price point in the Seattle area? Not really.
I'm not usually a fan of creamy pastas. It may be because in most American restaurants they just use too much darn cream. I had the Linguini Provence. It was really tasty. The Greek Fries were also delicious.
Larry was friendly and helpful and so was the cook.
I hope that you will go give this place a chance!
We have lived in Shoreline for awhile and have always wanted to stop by the bistro but never did until last night! Happy Hour is great, food was delicious and the piano player playing in the background was a lovely touch! We ate and drank a good amount and spent very little---we will be back for sure as many of you other Shoreliners know there is not much to choose from around here!
Review Source:If I hadn't found this place via <a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2Frestaurant.com&s=c5fe485af4df376130bee54f875814d79c4d7913e1258123b1206d2bdbf4873b" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://restaurant.com</a> I would never know this place existed even though I live in the neighborhood.
Well hidden in a wine shop is a very small, quaint bistro owned by the friendliest married couple around.
Personal attention and good small plates. Nice to grab a quick bite to eat and pick up a couple of bottles of wine, too.
Awful Awful Awful Awful. The live music was good. The food was terrible. By far the worst meal I've had in the Seattle area. Most of the food tasted canned, from a box, etc. Steak bites: 4 pieces of steak in flavorless runny sauce. The three florets of cauliflower in the cheese cream sauce was okay. They were out of a few things already and they had a condensed menu because they were showing live music. What? There was a lot of fabric covering walls, but if you looked behind them the space seems shoddily put together. (You can also see evidence of this in the storage room/bathroom). STAY AWAY. I am so sad I went.
Review Source:Wow, I can't beieve the negative reviews I've just read. Â I've been coming with a friend every couple of months for a mid week respite from the cares of the day and have never had a bad meal. Â I enjoy the muscians and the small plates that we share with glasses of wine. Â
Feed back is always good for a business. Â I hope Larry and Pat read them and make any necessary changes. Â As for me I've been satisfied.
Awful! We were excited to hear about a wine bar/restaurant in our neighborhood so we went to check it out. Â We ordered a few things: salad, app, and dinner. Â Not only was it not fresh and didn't taste good, it was also over priced! Â Our app was supposed to be bruschetta, not too hard, but it tasted like something out of a jar and the bread was white bread that had been "toasted" but tasted burned. Â The salad was spinach, from a box I'm sure, a few toppings and some pre-made dressing (at least do something homemade). Â The dinner was $15.00 and it was a huge bowl of noodles with canned tomatoes, canned mushrooms, and tasteless meatballs. Â So sad! Â I think canned sauce would have been much better. Â If they would use fresh ingredients and get someone in there that could cook, they would have a chance. Oh, and don't go if you like to eat in under an hour, it takes a while...
Review Source:We've been there a few times, and I have a little mixed feeling about it.
While the food was OK, and we did like the fact that we could buy any wine in the room and pay only a small corkage fee, we didn't like the cramped seating. Â If you plan on going to see one of the musicians that come through....just don't plan on talking to anyone, you can't hear. Â The room is too small for most of the music.
Go on an "off" night, enjoy the little apps and some wine.
The North City Bistro is a hidden gem. We would not have thought to look for such good, home made food, fine wine and live music in a  little, old, bland strip mall in little, old, bland North City, but we learned about it during the Jazz Walk a couple years ago. The Bistro's personality leans towards unpretentious, unique and cozy. We like it for yummy small plates terrific wine, and no-cover music during the week (usually) as well as music (with cover) on the week-ends. They have a good Happy Hour, too.
Review Source:My family and I are a fans of small locally owned bistro's and are all for supporting those types of businesses. When I learned of the North City Bistro was down the street from my aunt's house I was excited. We spoke to her neighbor who had tried the bistro and he suggested someplace else in Edmonds. Wish I had heeded his advice...
We browsed the Bistro's online calendar and found a night that had a jazz performer and promptly called the bistro and made our reservations for 6 in the wine bar so that we could dine and enjoy the musicians.
We got there and the restaurant was packed, a good sign we thought. After standing around in the entry we finally were able to flag down Pat; (one of the owners) who looked absolutely overwhelmed.
We told her that we had a reservation for 6 people at 7pm in the wine bar for the music and we are all present and ready to be seated. She asked us to wait and she would check. We waited and waited and waited some more. During that time, a random server came over to check on us and when we told her that we have a reservation, she actually asked us back, "WE TAKE RESERVATIONS??" Â At this moment in time, I should have known better and walked out, but we decided against. Finally Pat came back, looking even more frazzled than the last time. So now she tells us that she has a table for 4, I restate state that we are 6, so would you recommend that we come back another time? Â She actually said yes, we should come back later. Â What!!?? Excuse me? We stood there dumbfounded... While we were considering leaving and going elsewhere, she returned and found us 2 tables and pushed them together with no view of the band because they did not want to raise the screen between us and the wine bar. We could hear the music which was fantastic but just couldn't see the performers. I was a little perturbed to say the least.
Ahh, finally we can drink wine, eat and be merry. So, we decided on a bottle of something red and 5 glasses because my sister doesn't drink. After 20 minutes Larry (the other owner) appeared with our bottle of red wine and set it down on the table and just walked away. We at the table are just looking at each other like, are we supposed to BYOWO, that's bring your own wine opener?? Because I've never had a sommelier place a bottle on a table and just walk away. OK, so Larry reappeared, 10 minutes later with 2 wine glasses and sets in front of me and then in front of my sister, who gave it to someone else. Then he realizes he's forgotten to bring the wine opener. OMG, really!!???
OK, another 10 minutes passes by and I see Larry and flag him down, and sarcastically I ask if we're supposed to bring our own wine glasses? He responds, that he's just sent one of his staff to Safeway to pickup some more glasses as they've just run out. Wait for it, wait for it wait for it.... Oh he was just kidding. Huh, huh, huh... NOT!! This time he brings out enough glasses and gives one to my sister, who kindly states she doesn't drink thank you. However, Larry was quite persistent at making her take the glass and even went on to pour the wine in her glass, after she said she doesn't drink a few times. Â After all we had been through now we have to deal with a pushy wine owner who doesn't realize some people have sulfite allergies or religious convictions that prohibit alcohol consumption. Get a clue!
Finally, he opens the wine and it was fabulous. We order dinner and it was mediocre at best. My girlfriend ordered the baked goat cheese, which was literally a bullion cube size of goat cheese drowning in spaghetti sauce with 5 kalamata olives and pita bread. A very sad display of what you wouldn't expect for $7.
I didn't even venture to the restroom, as Pat had situated our table with a great view of everyone who didn't know how to turn off the restroom light after they did their business. Overall décor in the eating area is hideous. Reminded me of my grandmas house in the 1970's. The weird divider shade between wine bar and bistro seating looks like a shower curtain. I remember thinking; I really hope Larry and Pat bistro is on Gordon Ramsey's show Kitchen Nightmares. I can't believe this place is still running in today's economy. Absolutely crap food and equally as worthless service.
NEXT!
Night out with the girls and we had a great time. Dinner was reasonably priced- two bottles of wine, 3 entrees and 2 apps was $120 including tip. The owner/operators were very friendly and helpful in selecting wines. Plates were small portions that are very simply made. I appreciated the concept of letting the wine be the star but don't expect too much from the food. I'd come back to have a bottle of wine and hang out in the wine storage side.
Review Source:This was my second visit to North City Bistro & Wine Shop. The first time, I went primarily to listen to a friend of mine, Carole Miguel, perform. I had the tiramisu and it was delicious--there was barely enough to go around at my table. Tonight I went with my husband and was able to sample more things from the menu: steak bites, hot artichoke dip, Moroccan meatballs, baby scallops, Caprese salad. All of it was delicious!
Review Source:I visited this bar with some friends and family on a Friday night. Â The service was friendly but not very attentive. Â The food was mediocre and overpriced. Â The bar was lacking a liquor selection but the wine was excellent. Â The selection is quite small for a wine shop/bar. Â They had one cab to choose from. Â It was tasty though...
They had live music that was excellent, it was the one redeeming quality.
They have LOTS of wine for purchase by the bottle but I wouldn't recommend this place for tasting. Â
I would not recommend this place if you are looking for good food, goof service, or exciting ambiance....
I would absolutely stop in here to see local artists and get a cheap but tasty glass of wine
We came here to meet friends. Â It was nice that they feature local artists, which is why we went.
Unfortunately, we found the decor in disarray (no walls in bathroom?). Â The wines were pushed by the bottle (but we could have bought by the glass which we weren't told.) Â Also, you select your own wine from the walls, which conceals the price you will be charged for the bottle. Â Cheaper wines are far below eye level.
We were surprised to find a cover charge on the check after spending over $100 for some medicore appetizers and wine.
Finally, the biggest sin for any wine bar, it was very hard to get water to the table and we were browbeaten for it every time.
Makes Purple look like a bargain.
The North City Bistro evolved out of a private wine club, so food--and service--came later as an after-thought. The service is not professional by any means--I suspect it is more of a "mom-and-pop" outfit with a couple of youngin's thrown it to take up the slack--but the food is pretty good, and the wine selection extensive. There's also some nice beers on tap to quench one's thirst on those hot summer nights, and the jazz music is always nice and much appreciated.
Review Source:We went on a friday night not sure what to expect, and found there was live music and a tap dancer. Â It was a very nice experience. Â I don't recommend the food, but I do recommend going for the live music and wine. Â Every friday, saturday night I believe there is live music. Â The food was ok at best and we did order three of four different items. Â The service wasn't very good, but it got the job done. Â As other reveiws noted, I'm confused by the "under construction" look the place had. Â If you haven't been here, do think you should try it one night during the live music.
Review Source:Ive been eyeing this Wine shop for a while as I sit across the street having coffee at the Laughing Ladies Cafe. My chance came to visit  when I needed to use the Laundromat next door. (Very scary run down Laundromat, I might add). Actually the whole little strip mall area is quite neglected looking and run down, which is what kept me away for so long.  But what better to accompany a day at the laundromat than drinking good wine?
My friend and I ventured inside as the "Wine Shop" portion was opens at 2:00. The Bistro part doesnt open until 5:00. Â The moment we entered the door we were transported away. Â Its like walking into a hidden wine cellar in italy. Â Beautiful purple walls and lush curtains hanging from the ceiling. Tall bar tables with tall chairs and white table cloths. Â The Wine shop has a granite counter top bar and rustic tables all set up amongst colorful shelves of wine. What a glorious thing to look at while dining.
The owner was there and took us under his wing. We sampled some delectable wines at the bar and ended up spending a couple of hours there drinking and eating some yummy hummus. Â We ended up buying 3 wonderful wines, and I look forward to going back for a proper sit down dinner.
I cant wait to go back and start exploring more wines.
We have been to this quaint little shop three times now and are glad we kept trying.
The foods quite good: a lot of small plates that are great to share while sipping. Â
The wine selection seems to be good, but I don't have the discerning pallet to advise a discriminating buyer (other yelpers seem to approve). Â
The owners are friendly and quirky (a plus).
$12 corking fee.
The downside(s):
This placed looked (and still looks) like it's been under construction for months and months. Â The tiny little deck that juts into the parking lot has been covered with sheet rock scraps etc since we first spotted it. Â We'd almost given up on the place since it was closed whenever we swung by (closed Mondays).
Service: Â The servers we've encountered were not professionally trained/polished. Â Helpful and nice, but not super attentive.
Despite these critiques, we'll be back.
Like I said, quirky can be a good thing.
Give them a try!
This is in my new favorite top 5. Â We went on a Thursday night so they were not busy, and were seated in a romantically lit wine cellar. Â Several of the small plates are half price before 7 pm during the week, and between my husband and I we sampled most of them. Â The food was really good - don't be scared and try the roasted cauliflower if you like it at all. Â And they were the best crab cakes I've ever had. Â They are a little free and easy with raw onions, which my husband hates, so if you share that dislike check when you order.
Review Source:Maybe I'm just a fan because it is so close to my house but it is a cute local joint, not fancy. Â The owners are nice, they have an amazing wine selection, great small plates, and live music on the weekends. Â You can sit and eat in their wine cellar area (kinda cold sometimes) but cool atmosphere.
Review Source:I'm hesitant to review this place negatively, because they support live, local musicians. So, I do hope they continue to do that. They just need to get better at the rest.
I arrived with my husband, who was playing there, and I got "the look" the one that says "oh God, it's a musician's wife, she'll want free food." I promptly explained that I'd pay for dinner and drinks and whatever - I was not a freebie.
So, I ordered my first wine, which was "OK," but not great, and the only wine menu I got was by the glass, and so help me, even though this is a wine bar, the wine list included a "Rose," no other detail, just "Rose," not what vintage, what vintner, nothing. Also, I am at a loss, still as how one orders a bottle there. No one offered me a list nor guidance about this.
The food was, well, interesting. I ordered a pasta/shrimp dish which sounded yummy, but the pasta was whole grain (un announced), so it was much like eating shrimp cereal, and the shrimp was butterflied, UNPEELED, and overcooked.
I was ignored a lot. I would have had another glass of wine if anyone asked...
So, the upshot is, the food is eh, the wine is eh, the atmosphere is kinda cute, and it's great that they bring in live music. Here's hoping they improve.
We ate outside on the "patio" area. Â Some of the small plates are half price from 5-7 Tues-Thurs. Â We had the crab cakes, caprese salad, & lamb patties. Â
It was a little odd, there seemed to be a lot of crazy looking people walking around the area shouting and what not, but I guess that's Shoreline. Â
Wine was dec and service was good.
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