No More Buffet Brunch, No More View from Palisade?

View of a cruise ship from Palisade, September 2009

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One of Seattle's off-beat pleasures has long been a celebratory meal at Palisade, the fancy restaurant facing Downtown Seattle from the Elliott Bay Marina at the base of Magnolia bluff. The Restaurants Unlimited property gets dinged for being stodgy and overdecorated, but its Sunday brunch, at 30 bucks, was a deal, the service is elegant without being stuffy, and the view as good as anything from West Seattle.

So it's with regret that we report that the view of Downtown is now subject to interruptions from visiting ocean liners tied up at the new cruise ship terminal. And the serpentine brunch buffet, (laden with half-shell oysters, cracked crab, prawns, all manner of eggs, meats and cheeses, salads, pastries, and desserts) has been cut back, way back. Its replacement, called the luau buffet, consists of smoked salmon, some fresh fruit, and a pancake station, and is no longer the main event but a prelude to an "entrée" from the kitchen (steak and eggs, for example) that now costs more like $35 a plate. It's only a good deal by comparison; they nail you for $27 if you only go for the buffet. Everything comes swimming in butter, even a lobster BLT on a 3-inch slice of fried brioche. Next time, Salty's!