The Room
Bar Melusine opened on East Union in 2015 — the Sea Creatures group's most-feminine, most-Champagne-driven dining room. The room is intentionally bright: white walls, gold-and-marine accents, a marble bar at the front, a hand-painted Melusine mural along the back wall.
The format is bistro-Champagne. The Eater Seattle list has held Bar Melusine on its best-bar rankings every year since opening. The raw-bar programme has earned a serious neighbourhood following.
The Food
The raw-bar programme runs Pacific oysters, hamachi crudo, scallop ceviche, mignonette-and-Champagne pairings. The hot kitchen runs steamed mussels, baked clams, the seasonal-rotating Pacific seafood plates. The brunch service handles a serious eggs-and-Champagne programme.
Champagne programme is one of Seattle's deepest. Cocktail bench runs Champagne-cocktails: a working French 75, an Aperol-Champagne spritz. Service is the Sea Creatures group standard.
Best Occasion Fit
First Date: The marble bar at Bar Melusine is one of Capitol Hill's most-reliable first-date seats. The Champagne-cocktail programme is the natural opener, the raw-bar shares well, and the room's bright register reads as warm without becoming theatrical.
Solo Dining: The bar at Bar Melusine is one of the better Seattle solo-dining seats. The raw-bar programme, a glass of Champagne, the small-plates menu fills the meal.
Birthday: Birthdays at Bar Melusine are Champagne-led, raw-bar-friendly, photo-friendly affairs the room handles with the Sea Creatures group's practiced warmth.