I found one of the best melt-in-your-pork dishes in Lark, Seattle’s well established modern American restaurant. It was a nice surprise because we almost didn’t order it since there are lots of other choices. Lark presents its food tapas style with dishes meant to be shared and this is a great way to sample more of its menu. Besides the pork, I thought Lark’s pasta was good and if I have a chance to go back, I’d probably try a few more pasta and starter dishes. While the dishes are not as inventive as Eden Hill, this probably also means that there’s more food for the less adventurous to try.

Because I was with my Aunts and they enjoy vegetables, we tried more of the lighter starters such as mushrooms above and a Romanesco (broccoli or also known as Roman cauliflower) a la plancha tossed simply with Meyer lemon, anchovy and almond. The latter (not pictured) was very good especially since Romanesco is not something I find that commonly in most restaurants. One of the first starters that caught my eye was the eel with new potato salad. This was fine but I was a little disappointed that with the potato salad being cold, the eel comes out a bit luke warm and I would always prefer my unagi to be served hot.

I thought both pasta dishes were good. The ricotta and chard cannelloni had a bit more of a traditional taste given the braised meat even though it was goat. I also liked the chard because it has a hardier texture than spinach, which is the more usual filling. I really enjoyed the semolina gnocchi. The nettles and pine nuts made for a really nice twist on the usual pesto sauce and with the gnocchi lightly pan fried to give it crispy texture, I could have finished this on my own.

Of the three mains we ordered, the best by far was the pork belly & smoked sausage. This was served with grits, turnips and jalapeños. The pork was definitely slow cooked with the skin nicely seared and crisp – just melt-in-your-mouth tender. The other two mains paled in comparison – the duck confit is as duck confit usually is so no surprise there. We also had the scallops with roasted sun chokes and a yuzu salsa verde, which was okay. I think the best scallops we had were just simply grilled at Miller’s Guild the first time I was there (even they couldn’t repeat it on my second try).

Onto dessert…I’d actually forgotten what we ordered but both were good. Looking at the pictures, I think the next picture is of the pineapple tarte tartin with toffee sauce and a salted caramel ice cream on top. The bottom one shows the malt ice cream covered in a chocolate shell with hazelnuts.

On the whole, this was a good meal. I would go back because I’d love to try the different terrines and foie gras and the variety of cheeses Lark has on offer. Unfortunately I was too full to have a cheese plate. And of course, I’d go back for the pork.

Lark is in the Capitol Hill area of Seattle near Seattle University and the junction of Seneca St. and 10th Ave. – it has just moved to a converted warehouse space. Website: https://larkseattle.com.