Restaurant Review: Ama Ama – West Seattle, WA

For our anniversary we went to Ama Ama for dinner. It’s a new restaurant in the former Guppy’s location for those that know West Seattle. It’s touted as an Oyster Bar, but is really oh-so-much more.

I had one of the best meals of my life. No exaggeration. The company was my wonderful other half of 3 years. The wait staff were readily around when we needed them and not when we didn’t, and were fun enough to be sassy and smart ass, but also got serious about recommendations when the time came for that.

We requested a table that was “a little bit private” rather than being in the line of tables with others, and were led to a lovely and very private booth in the back, near the counter where oysters were being prepared.

First, we ordered drinks. For me, a “Horny Pom” which was pomegranate juice, Hornitos, ruby red grapefruit and ruby red vodka. Luis started with a Seattle Maritime Lager to compliment the oysters. It tasted a bit lemony to me, and I liked the sip I took. My drink was positively delicious. Perfectly balanced, and just fabulous.

Luis started off with the half-dozen oysters, chef’s choice. I don’t know enough about oysters to tell you what kind they were, but there were two of each of various sizes, shapes, colors, and presumably flavors. What you have to understand about Luis is that he primarily eats for fuel. Granted, he likes and appreciates good food, and is an amazing cook, but in general, when deciding on something to eat his thought process is something like “what has the most protein, fewest calories, best nutritional info and then tastes good too?” With the oysters, he took 15 to 30 seconds to savor each one as it slid into his mouth. I’ve never seen him eat like that, and it was a joy to watch. I am not able to eat oysters due to my autoimmune issues, so watching him have such joy gave me a chance to share that experience.

We ordered a collection of small plates rather than having entrees. This ended up being a more expensive option, but gave us the opportunity to really try a large portion of what they had to offer.

First was the Ahi. It was described as “black pepper crusted sashimi grade tuna, flash seared rare. Served with saffron coconut rice and finished with a sake-lime butter, chive oil drizzle.” I couldn’t eat the Ahi (again with the immune issues – nothing rare or raw for me) but I ate a bite of the rice. It was an explosion of saffron-coconut goodness. When I dipped my fork in the sake-lime butter and chive oil and then took another bite of the rice, it was simply unbelievable. I have never in my life had rice that unbelievably tasty. It was smooth and creamy, with a cacophony of flavors that all seemed to harmonize just right.

Next, we tasted the Seared Scallop. “Large sea scallop seared and served on a parsnip parmesan blini with a wild mushroom tarragon cream sauce.” The scallop itself was tasty, but nothing more or less than a seared giant scallop. It was nicely cooked, which meant I was able to eat the outside part and my sweetie ate the inner, rarer pieces. The parsnip-parmesan blini was absolute sex. I took a bite and moaned my way through it. Not quite “When Harry Met Sally” moaning, but it was a good thing we had a more private table. I dislike most mushrooms for their texture, but the sauce was sprinkled liberally with rough-chopped chantrelles and was wonderful. The flavors were again very complex, but not so much that they came off as overly-complicated, or that anything should have been left out. Everything was there intentionally, and added to the overall dish.

At this point we ordered additional drinks. Luis had a seasonal beer – a porter which I did not taste, but he said was great. I asked the server for a suggestion of something not-too-sweet that would compliment what we had on the table. She suggested a mandarin cosmo. It was exactly as requested – not particularly sweet, but neither was it tart. It was citrusy and delicious, and went well with the next dish(es).

Our third dish was a pineapple tofu dish – ordered as a palate cleanser. “Fresh firm tofu marinated and topped with a spicy pineapple tobiko salsa.” The salsa was pureed pineapple, tobiko, and fresh red chilis. The tofu was fresh-tasting, and chilled ever so slightly. It was a wonderful palate cleanser – light and slightly sweet, but still held up on its own. I would love to see it in a larger variation as part of a vegetarian main course.

The one thing that was missing from the menu was much in the way of food for the vegetarian. One or two courses would probably be welcomed in a place like Seattle, where many folks don’t “do” meat. To Ama Ama’s benefit, there is a footnote on the menu that states that vegetarian options are available, just ask the server. I suspect the chef would be happy to whip up something for a veggie diner if need be, and I also suspect it’d be simply amazing.

Fourth dish was the salt cod cakes. “In-house salted cod seasoned with ginger, turmeric, garlic, cilantro, green onion, panko. Served with sweet coconut curry and tomato cardamom sauces.” I’d only had salt cod once before, so wasn’t sure what to expect. I was delighted with the dish we were served. It was quite salty, but nicely tempered by the sweet coconut curry. Delicious!

Last, but far, far from least, were the clams. “Steamed clams in a light Pernod pancetta cream broth served with fresh Bakery Nouveau bread.” I took one, and slurped out the little clam. It was tasty; it was your basic steamed clam. I tasted another. This one had been sitting deeper in the dish, and had some of the broth in it. The broth was positively amazing. After another mouth-gasm, I had to feed one to Luis. I told him “you HAVE to try this,” and fed him one. He looked at me wide-eyed as he chewed. The next bite held what I thought was a fresh, decorative piece of chopped tomato. Oh no. I was fooled. It was a cube of pancetta. With the sauce and the clam it was a rare and wonderful combination. Much sparkling of eyes and oooh-ing and aah-ing was seen and heard at our table. We fed them to each other, and by the end of the bowl were kissing at the table. Aphrodisiac? Or food so good you want to share it with the person you love? I don’t know. Go try them and you tell me. We sopped up every last drop of the broth with the accompanying bread. At one point I had a bit slightly miss my mouth, and ended up with the cream sauce dribbling down my chin. It tasted too good to care.

We rounded out the evening with a cup of decaf. French-pressed, not some percolator swill. With our coffee we tasted the dark chocolate cake and the lemon tart, brought in from Bakery Nouveau across the street. Some have said “save the $1.50 and go across the street for your dessert,” but the ambiance was so lovely that we wanted to remain at Ama Ama.

The bill came to $102. Not a cheap dinner, but certainly worth the money as an experience for an anniversary. I’d rather have an amazing experience than a trinket any day. We tipped $30, because it was that good.

Often, overly complex flavor combinations are very difficult to pull off. The line between just enough ingredients and waaay too many, especially when it comes to spices and oils, can be a very fine one indeed. The chef at Ama Ama managed to walk that line perfectly. Either the chef was having a REALLY good night or they have it together in a way that few restaurants in the Greater Seattle area do. Only the incredible sacrifice of a return visit will tell…