Goldfinch Tavern

Four Seasons and Ethan Stowell Restaurants

Opening an Ethan Stowell restaurant in the Four Seasons Hotel Seattle might just be a mark of genius and change the way Seattle looks at hotel dining. The hotel wants guests to have a Pacific Northwest experience without having to leave the premises, and also give the residents and other locals a place they'll want to go frequently.

Ethan's first restaurant, Union, was located at 1^st and Union right across the street and they liked being downtown. However, when the recession hit, 15,000 jobs were lost within six blocks of the restaurant. "It got really hard to be downtown," he recalls. "Now the economy is strong and Seattle is a fast-growing city. It's time to get back downtown." Ethan's downtown desire matched the Four Seasons commitment to re-do their restaurant. "We've wanted to renovate for awhile," says Four Seasons General Manager Ilse Harley. "The structure of the room made it difficult for dining in the bar and we turned away business." With Executive Chef Kerry Sear leaving to be the executive chef/director of food and beverage at TCS Expeditions (a travel company that runs the "Around the World" program for Four Seasons), and Chef Jelle Vandenbroucke leaving for a new challenge (Four Seasons Hotel Boston), the time was right.

While they agreed about what they wanted to accomplish, they also had to merge two company cultures. As it turned out, not so hard. "I'm really excited about the partnership," says Ethan. "Their culture matches ours, being customer- and employee-driven. It's wonderful to see a larger company have that mentality. They're known for hospitality and offering the experience of friendly, professional service. They're in agreement with us that it should be the default downtown restaurant for locals." Ilse agrees. "Ethan has a similar thought process about his employees. We're very employee centric and do lots of training. Our restaurant employees have been working in other areas of the hotel so they know even more about the hotel. Ethan's food and beverage service director has been doing lots of beverage training so that the service style here will match his restaurants. The employees are really enthusiastic about the food."

Their casual conversation evolved quickly into the reality of having an individual restaurant feel inside a hotel. While it is an Ethan Stowell restaurant, the executive chef, Joe Ritchie from Mkt., is now a Four Seasons employee as are the rest of the kitchen staff. "It's like one of my own and will be part of my rotation. I'll visit it just like I visit my other locations," says Ethan. In the beginning, Goldfinch will offer lunch and dinner. Traditional hotel breakfast will be available to guests in the restaurant space and there will be a barista in the lobby, but breakfast won't be created by Ethan. "We agreed that we should ease into the partnership-it's new to both of us, and we don't want to shoot for more than we're capable of doing. Ultimately, I'd like to ease into breakfast and maybe even catering."

The menu will be seafood centric, but will also offer Northwest beef, pork and chicken. "It all needs to be casual, approachable, clean, with great presentation. Locals are engaging, knowledgeable about products, and enjoy time around the table; the food has to match," explains Ethan. Ilse adds, "Travelers want to experience Northwest seafood and we'll have a raw bar focus. But we'll have a selection of steaks also. Like other Ethan restaurants, there will be a lot of sharing of plates. If someone wants a comprised plate as a full entrée, we can do that, too. You can come in for a glass of wine and some oysters or a great bottle of wine and a steak; either way you'll leave happy."

According to Ilse, using the name Goldfinch Tavern has raised some eyebrows. "People say 'a tavern at the Four Seasons?' But that's just the point. A tavern can be upscale, and it does help deformalize the idea of a restaurant at Four Seasons. Using Washington State's bird in the name underscores the idea of using ingredients indigenous to the area. People, who often haven't been here, have the perception that we're pretentious because we're high end. We work hard to avoid perpetuating that. We're almost manic about service issues and while Ethan agrees with us, he is also changing us. We're redefining fine dining together."

Goldfinch's style, look and atmosphere, will feel Northwest. "The kitchen has been so well maintained, it's practically new," says Ethan. "The restaurant as a whole will be swankier than one of my own. We want existing clientele to be comfortable with the changes and to continue the success Four Seasons has had, as well as draw new guests in." Design ideas are to bring the water and maritime elements in-if you haven't been there, you may not realize what an incredible water view they have. To take advantage, they are opening a wall and transforming the lobby and restaurant into a continual space. A new curved couch will show off the lobby fireplace, and the bar will move to the center of the restaurant, with a fireplace to the right at one of the pillars, next to a communal high table. Tables throughout will be conducive to dining-no tiny, hold-a-few-glasses tables. A second private dining room will be in front of the existing room, each will hold 16-18. The new room can be used as a pre-function room, or opened for dining room overflow.

Late June is the hoped-for opening. Mark your calendars.

Goldfinch Tavern
Four Seasons Hotel Seattle
99 Union Street
Seattle, WA 98101
206-749-7070
www.goldfinchtavern.com

www.fourseasons.com/seattle

Photo credits: Geoffrey Smith

Connie Adams/June 2015