New gastropub Quinn's is mighty genial

"Our menu is very meat-forward," said our server.

Indeed it is. The food menu at Quinn's, a new Capitol Hill "gastropub" (doesn't that word sound like a malady?) run by Restaurant Zoë owners Scott and Heather Staples, is a veritable festival of meat, from house-made sausage to ruby trout to wild boar sloppy joes.

My vegetarian girlfriend asked the server if he could recommend anything, and he pulled up a chair and studied the menu with her. She ordered a pear salad, which she loved; her friend ordered black lentils and curry-roasted cauliflower, and enjoyed it as well.

While it may not seem like much on the surface, that extra moment of attention from a server was kind of unprecedented for the new, metropolitan Seattle. Usually, when my girlfriend inquires after vegetarian options, most servers will robotically direct us to the salads with poorly disguised contempt. Our server at Quinn's never lost his affable manner, never seemed to hold us in judgment -- and when we finished our meal, he even recommended a few other neighborhood bars we could visit.

We didn't need to. The drink menu at Quinn's is formidable, with an excellent selection of Trappist ales and tap beers; a wine list that includes half-bottles; a bourbon and whiskey population that counts Pappy Van Winkle, Elmer T. Lee and Basil Hayden among its citizens; and an array of classy signature cocktails that's refreshingly free of infused vodkas or Red Bull. Recommended is the English School Sidecar, whose tartness makes it a near-perfect aperitif, and the Spanish-American Beauty, a mildly sweet cocktail of Aria Cava Estate Brut, Real Muscatel and a brandied peach.

The food is as good, or better, as you would expect of the Zoë crew. I love the meatball sliders: tiny braised "burgers" on bite-sized buns. Though overpriced at three for $5, they're very enjoyable and a worthy lead-up to the bigger plates. I was wildly curious about the foie gras and chicken liver mousse, the smoked trout salad with pickled onions and the braised lamb shoulder with polenta, but ultimately I decided to put them off for future visits and go with the menu's sole comfort item, a grilled ham and gruyere cheese sandwich.

It was superb, as was my friend's curry-roasted cauliflower -- the second time in a month I've enjoyed a cauliflower dish. This could become an ugly trend, in which I actually do something my mother used to order me to do. It's a brave new world in which I eat cauliflower willingly, and Quinn's is doing more than its part to bring that new order into being.

Plus, the place simply looks great. This thoughtfully designed, split-level space is what every new metropolitan restaurant should be. The iron, concrete and hardwood accents are modern, but not forbidding; the chocolate-brown walls don't suck up light; and the floor-to-ceiling windows feature a striking checkerboard of frosted and clear panes of glass near the ceiling, which minimize the dreaded fishbowl effect. And for once, the mezzanine seating doesn't seem an afterthought; it's as comfortable as the ground level, and perhaps even more so.

Our server visited us several times on that mezzanine to make sure we were enjoying our food and cocktails, but he never hovered and never pushed us to clear his station. I can count on one hand the number of recent servers who have gone to such lengths to make us comfortable. It's all part and parcel of the overall Quinn's experience, which is one of almost unfailing geniality. Its menu and decor both speak well of the establishment, but to Quinn's credit, they're not the only ones doing the talking.

Quinn's is at 1001 E. Pike St., 206-325-7711

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