Black Bottle Postern in Bellevue offers a menu that stretches all over the globe — from Asian street food to Mediterranean shared plates along with a full bar and healthy wine selection.
Its online posting can be read as a joke. Or maybe put there so folks would just stop asking. But the answer to when Black Bottle Postern in Bellevue serves happy hour is listed as: “3 p.m.-6 p.m., 6 p.m.-9 p.m. and 9 p.m. to close.”
Those are the regular hours for this gastro pub, opened in March, near Bellevue Square. The Black Bottle bar in Belltown has been a popular happy-hour spot without offering much of a discounted happy-hour menu. The new Black Bottle aims to duplicate that success across the bridge.
The food seems more eclectic and the wine list a tad pricier than its Belltown location. But the concept remains the same.
The portion size is generous. The menu stretches all over the globe — from Asian street food to Mediterranean shared plates. There’s a homage to Zabar’s in New York City (the New Brooklyn Pastrami Bombers).
Just simple and comfort food. Those favorites from the Black Bottle in Belltown are here: spicy pork-belly-and-kimchi on skewers and the cult hit: garlicky, roasted broccoli florets served like a mound of popcorn.
Overcooked were the calamari and sausage in tomato sauce. Skip the acidic mess that is the prosciutto-wrapped baked potato drowning in balsamic vinegar.
Flatbread is a safe bet, the trendy happy-hour grub in bars now. Black Bottle serves some of the best: fresh, crunchy, olive-oil crust, almost like a deep-dish pizza, with interesting toppings. A rich and salty prosciutto and béchamel to pair with a big red and a meatless variation of roasted tomatoes and black olives topped with arugula — peppery and pleasantly tart.
This Bellevue bar is following the road map that made the original Black Bottle such a surprise hit when it debuted seven years ago in Belltown.
Its Belltown bar stood out because it’s a wine bar in a cocktailcentric ‘hood. It has a loyal following because it draws nearby apartment dwellers and the 40-and-older crowd, not hipsters and bar hoppers. And the savvy regulars knew the math — shared plates around $10 and many wine bottles around $30 — works out to be as good a deal as many happy hours nearby when you have a large party.
Black Bottle Postern, 919 Bellevue Way N.E. Three-hour validated parking at Avalon Tower. 425-223-5143, blackbottlebellevue.com
Tan Vinh: 206-515-5656 or tvinh@seattletimes.com