South Bank Projects

Hamburgers, processed sameness or monster meat feasts, are a staple at fast food joints and backyard barbeques across the world. So pervasive that they rarely rate a mention when I consider good food or new dining experiences but Cascadia Restaurant caught my attention.

The five o’clock queue surprised us but we found a nice corner of the bar to enjoy our burgers and Cascadia’s signature drink, the Alpine Martini. A small Douglas fir snowball bobbing in Absolut Citron vodka, slowly releasing it’s sweet goodness into the liquid for an evolving cocktail that tastes like Christmas trees.

Giada raved about Cascadia’s miniburgers and they have a cult following in Seattle but do they live up to the hype?

We sampled four toppings; barbeque lobster, black truffle butter, blue cheese and green pepper salsa, and each gave the lean beef patties a unique flavour experience. You can also choose wild King salmon or veggie patties if beef is not on your forte. We loved them, the barbeque lobster is a decadent delight and the green chillis a burning sensation but I’d pass on the black truffle butter in favour of Oregon blue cheese.

Good food and interesting cocktails bring in customers but the staff and ambiance turn them into regulars. Cascadia Restaurant has a loyal clientèle and the staff provide a great old world style service. Michael, our barman, reintroduced me to tokaj, a Hungarian dessert wine and gave us excellent recommendations to best enjoy the miniburgers. The best Happy Hour in Seattle.