South Sound Eats

Jan. 9, 2009 at 12:51pm

The Cliff House re-opens

Opening-day trip required a detour as storm closed highway to Browns Point restaurant

Posted by Ed Murrieta in Restaurant Openings
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The Cliff House re-opened for business under new owners Thursday. With the old owner sitting at the bar -- he was the one who observed that the closure of the Hylebos Bridge several years ago cut down on the number of customers who'd make the drive from Tacoma to the Browns Point restaurant -- the new owners couldn't have picked a more ironic day to open: a day after a rainstorm closed Marine View Drive on the outskirts of the Tideflats to Browns Point. Even so, about two dozen diners -- presumably Browns Pointer or Northeast Tacoma residents who had made their ways home via roads other than flooded-out Marine View Drive -- enjoyed meals at The Cliff House's downstairs' bistro when I dropped in for for a burger and a look-see. Upstairs, where the atmosphere is more formal, only one table was occupied.

While the new owners promise changes in the near future, the current changes are subtle -- mostly to the downstairs bistro, whose bar now has a more open feeling thanks to the removal of a clumsy overhead storage rack.

Chef/co-owner Michel Frejd has retained some Cliff House favorites such as cioppino and fish and chips while adding dishes like pappardelle with white truffle oil. Overall, the menus upstairs in the dining room and downstairs in the bistro/lounge are a couple of bucks lower than they previously were. The pappardelle is $16 upstairs, $12 downstairs. Grilled lamb T-bone with mushroom risotto is $14 downstairs, $22 upstairs. A 12-ounce New York strip is $16 downstairs. A 14-ounce New York strip is is $24 upstairs. Beef is grass-fed from Eastern Washington. Lamb, poultry and pork is domestic. Fish is wild-caught.

I settled into a window seat downstairs, ordering a burger and enjoying the view. The Cliff House burger has long been one of my favorite in town; it was an ample patty on a warm ciabatta bun. Now $10 rather than $12, it's still good burger -- a half-pounder cooked on the rare side of medium-rare and served on a toasted, just shy of scoreched, kaiser poppy-seed bun, with a side of crispy frites -- but the old version had better presence.

Even so, the view of Commencement Bay remains just as stunning as before. Also remaining are house psychics, Shirley Teabo and John SKYrMAN, who'll ply their crafts on Tuesday nights.

I'll be back and report more ...
The Cliff House Restaurant

6300 Marine View Drive, Tacoma; (253) 927-0400
Bistro/loung hours: 11:30 to 11 p.m. Sundays-Thursday and 11:30 a.m.-1 a.m. Fridays-Saturday. Dining room opens 5 pm Tuesday-Saturdays, 4 p.m. Sundays.

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