Basque in Seattle

We went to Txori last year around this time and fell in love with the place. Swore we’d be back soon, and it took nearly a year to make good on the promise. Txori is a Basque Restaurant that is owned by the same people who run Harvest Vine (another Seattle favorite). Txori specializes in San Sebastian-style pintxos (small bites). It is a small restaurant located in Belltown.

As soon as you walk in, the open kitchen on your left entices you with amazing aromas. We chose a tall table-for-two (or three) across from the action in the kitchen. The location made it easy to watch the pedestrians walking by outside too. We ordered wine first - a glass of red for each of us. Nice! Then we started deciding on food. We skipped over all of the pintxos frios and went straight for the pintxos calientes. It was a cold day and we wanted just warm food. As a matter of fact, the wall heater by my feet felt amazing. Anyway, we ordered a handful of items to get us started. The dishes are served as they come up on the line. First was the scallop special from the board – one large, perfectly seared scallop sitting on a crust of bread with a tasty sauce. Just enough for two small bites each. My husband and I enjoyed it immensely. Next was the chorizo cocido with white wine. Again, just enough for two small bites each. The wonderful flavor lingered in our mouths until the arrival of the tartaleta de rabo de toro (braised oxtail tartlet). It came on a bed of potatoes and was another hit! Then, came the carmelized onion tartlet. Yum! Finally, we had the duck special on the board. I can’t remember the details of the duck other than to say it was delicious. We were going to order another scallop but then realized we were full. We skipped the wonderful-looking desserts for the same reason. We had some shopping to do so we reluctantly decided we needed to go.

This is a fun little restaurant that makes us feel like we’re somewhere far away. It’s a great place to linger and talk and eat and drink - slowly. We have never been disappointed here. Highly recommended!