Seattle Restaurants | Silence-Heart-Nest

You've already read a couple of couple of Seattle restaurant and Seattle bar reviews in my quest to find the best restaurants and bars in Seattle, but I've got something new for you today. This is my first breakfast/brunch/lunch cafe type of establishment I'll be reviewing. It's called Silence-Heart-Nest, and it is nestled in the heart of downtown Fremont. Here we go.

My wife and I actually ended up in Fremont in the first place in a pretty funny way. It was right after the big snowstorm that happened in December, and the night before our car broke down at a gas station in Fremont. It wasn't an engine problem or anything; the key actually got worn down enough that it no longer properly pushed down the tumblers in the ignition. Basically the key in our car stopped working. It was a pretty strange night.

Needless to say, the locksmith met us at the gas station the next day, so we walked to Fremont to meet him. We live in the Wallingford area, so it wasn't a long walk. And the snow was gorgeous, so we hiked over there. Once we met the locksmith (a great guy who will be reviewed later) he told us it would be about an hour before he'd be done working, so we walked over to Silence-Heart-Nest to grab a bite to eat. We'd never heard of the place before. We went there because it looked inviting.

When we first walked in to Silence-Heart-Nest it looked like what we expected it to look like - a cafe in Seattle. It wasn't spectacular, with a bunch of small tables spread throughout, a little breakfast bar people could sit at, and a couple of booths. The place was clean, but definitely gave off the vibe of a place with it's own style. In this case, that style is vegetarian, with a little bit of an extreme liberal vibe thrown in (what I mean is, when you walk in, you know it could be put together a little better and run a little better, but it's almost as if everyone is suffering a little because it's what is supposed to be done - probably doesn't make much sense, but I'm okay with that).

When we sat down our waitress was not friendly but not rude. I think she could tell that we were neither regulars nor necessarily the demographic they like to attract. I don't think that necessarily affected the level of service; again, I got the feeling you were supposed to suffer a little. I ordered an orange juice that came out pretty warm, and my wife ordered an espresso that after about 3/4 of the way done was refilled with coffee (she was not impressed).

The food, once it made its way out, was okay, but slightly overpriced (I think that is what you can expect at a place that bills itself as strictly vegetarian). I would give the food a passing grade. It didn't blow me away nor make me queasy. I had biscuits and gravy and a blueberry muffin. My wife had eggs Benedict. It was a nice cafe breakfast. And once our water was gone, it was never refilled. As you can tell, the service was a little suspect.

For my first Seattle breakfast restaurant review, it was a little shaky. I think it's safe to say I probably won't be going back again, both because the food and service were a little shaky and because it isn't really my scene (I have nothing against vegetarians or the whole super left wing vibe - and I'm not grouping them together - but I felt like people were eyeballing me the entire time). To get some of that Fremont vibe, it might be worth checking out once.

In the end Silence-Heart-Nest was just okay. If you get stuck in Fremont and need to eat and nothing else is open, I'd give it a shot. Otherwise, there is enough other selection around to have a better experience (and I hate giving even slightly negative Seattle restaurant reviews, but I just can't help it here).

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Have you been here too? Don't let me be the only one to review this great Seattle hot spot. Let everyone know what you thought by leaving a comment.