The George - A Restaurant Review Through the Eye's of a Designer
Recently, my husband Tyler and I celebrated our 13th wedding anniversary. We were looking for a place we’d never tried before to commemorate the occasion and had heard a lot of buzz around one of Seattle’s newer restaurants, The George, inside the Fairmont Olympic Hotel. Not only did the menu have rave reviews, but the interiors looked stunning - an equally important aspect for me when choosing where to go, especially for fine dining.
Admittedly in this season of life with small kids and full work schedules, we were late in getting a reservation so the only time they had was at 5:00pm when the restaurant opened. It was perfect for me though because I got to see the restaurant and ooh and ahh over all of its beautiful design details before it was completely full.
When you walk in your eye is immediately drawn to the tall ceilings and gorgeous oversized chandeliers. They are simple in design, but their grandiose scale and use of materials make them absolutely stunning! They add warmth to the space both in their antiqued brass finish but also in the soft golden glow of the bulbs. They command attention but not in an overly loud way and I am always drawn to design elements that achieve this balance.
The perimeter walls still maintain some of the original neo-classical details of The Georgian restaurant that previously occupied this space at The Fairmont since the early 1980’s. It was a staple in Seattle and it is evident in the renovation there was an intentional effort made to marry the old and the new. The rest of the room evokes art deco vibes from the inlay chevron multi-colored marble floor tile, to the furniture and the brass and iron table dividers. The fabric on the bench seats throughout the dining room and the sweet dusty pink chairs are personal favorites of mine and tie in effortlessly with the colors in the floor.
If you’re curious if the food reflects the time and attention to detail put into the interior, you’ll be happy to know that it does. Everything we had was delicious and took a creative spin on a classic dish. The service was wonderful and they also gave us a complimentary dessert in honor of our anniversary. It was next level thoughtfulness. All in all, this was the perfect setting for us to celebrate 13 years of marriage. It dazzled all five of our senses and I think that is what fine dining is really all about.
