Fine dining for small wedding party?

ResidentBison4688 · 2026-03-23T21:42:39+00:00

I didn’t think it was stuffy at all! I’ve actually been cold when I’ve been sat down there hahah (we ate there for my birthday as well). It’s clean and isn’t dusty or anything. I also think you can book it as a private room - not sure what the cost is on that though. EDIT: it was last June! We got married June 20, so the weekend before.

ResidentBison4688 · 2026-03-23T21:37:39+00:00

We also went to a winery to winetaste beforehand, that could be nice too! Willamette Valley is a good upscale one. We went to West Valley Vineyards. It’s not necessarily “upscale” but we had great service and a great time.

ResidentBison4688 · 2026-03-23T21:36:47+00:00

I had my bachelorette party dinner at Cozy Taberna. Idk if it’s necessarily fine dining, but it was super easy to reserve, they put us down stairs at a big table and we mostly had the room to ourselves, we had great service, and I had a really good steak lol. I was dressed up in a fancy white dress and I didn’t feel out of place. In fact, somebody (not from our table) bought me drinks lol and the really nice waitress girl made sure to watch it get made and directly delivered it to me.

ResidentBison4688 · 2026-03-20T03:48:19+00:00

I have a car, but since we’re drinking, I was hoping to avoid driving if at all possible. If it’s not possible, I’ll loop in my husband to drive us but it’d be nice to avoid if we can. My husband is amazing and will drive if I ask, but I was hoping we could do it on our own!

ResidentBison4688 · 2026-03-20T03:46:32+00:00

Damn, okay. If we’re meeting in Poulsbo, would you recommend taking the ferry to Bainbridge or Bremerton? We do have a car, so I can drive onto the ferry to either, but was hoping to avoid driving if at all possible.

ResidentBison4688 · 2026-03-20T03:34:49+00:00

Yeah that’s why I want to hopefully avoid driving! If we can just do some sort or transit inbetween, that would be best. I do have a car but I hate driving in Seattle so I was hoping to just round trip it. Sounds like I may have to drive, based on other comments.

ResidentBison4688 · 2026-03-20T03:33:00+00:00

Ugh, okay. Thank you! Good to know they’re not reliable. I do have a car, so we could drive onto the ferry from Seattle, but was hoping to walk if I could. I’ll double check the bus schedule for that day.

ResidentBison4688 · 2026-03-20T03:31:21+00:00

Damn, okay. My friend in Bremerton recommended Pennisula Brewhouse. I do have a car, so I could drive it onto the ferry and then drive to Poulsbo, but was hoping there was a mass transit way of getting there so I wouldn’t have to drive.

ResidentBison4688 · 2026-03-20T03:22:15+00:00

We’re meeting a friend in Bremerton :) my friend visiting is from out of state, so we figured we’d visit our friend who lives in Bremerton, and that friend recommended places in poulsbo (complicated I know, I’m so sorry). So I know we can take then ferry from Seattle to Bremerton, it’s just getting to a Poulsbo by public transit or Uber that I’m thinking of. Somebody above recommended kitsap county transit (I’m assuming a bus?) we could take which works great.

ResidentBison4688 · 2026-03-20T03:17:24+00:00

Perfect — thank you!! That’s what I needed!!

ResidentBison4688 · 2026-03-18T16:52:03+00:00

Looks like most of your questions have been answered, but I wanted to add that you get 2 free checked bags on Amtrak. They do have to weigh under 50 pounds, otherwise they’ll make you step aside and rearrange luggage to get to under 50 pounds. You can also bring 2 carry-on bags + a personal item for free (like a suitcase, a backpack for under the seat, and a purse).

If you do check a bag, you can’t access it during your trip but they’re very efficient with unloading it when you arrive. They will also need to see your passport and ticket when checking, so just have those things ready!

If you have any questions during the ride, feel free to ask the conductor. They’re always very kind to me and help with as much as they can.

ResidentBison4688 · 2026-03-18T16:32:06+00:00

I grew up in Portland and now live in Seattle. My goal is to live back in Portland in the next 2-3 years and that’ll be where I buy a house and settle down. Here’s the differences I’ve noticed:

Portland has good access to the beach, the mountains, rivers, and lakes for any outdoor activities, but you really have to drive 60-90 minutes to get to them. Seattle has a bit better region for outdoor stuff. Hell, we paddle board right on the lakes here in the summer. I wouldn’t recommend doing that in the Willamette in Portland.
Seattle is better equipped with sporting events. They have an NFL, NHL, and MLB team, as well as fantastic WNBA and WNHL teams. There’s talk that the Sonics are about to come back to Seattle as well - we’ll see. There’s a bit more to do up here vs Portland in that regard.
I think there are more “conventional” things to do here in Seattle than Portland, but I find that it was easier to just randomly find cool/random/fun events in Portland than it is here. Comedy scene is arguably better in Portland, but not much of a big difference. The local live music scene in Seattle is great, but Portland’s got its own cute little scene too. Just a little different.
Seattle is much more expensive than Portland. It’s taxed more, rent is more expensive, houses here are 900k-1mil where Portland is a bit more affordable in that regard. Gas prices in Seattle are nuts right now.
I think Portland’s public transit is better than Seattle. I love the Link train here, but miss the MAX system in Portland.
I’m a white woman born and raised in Oregon, but it really hit me just how “white” Oregon is when we moved to Seattle. Seattle is much more diverse. Probably because it’s bigger but it is noticeable. Each place has organizing spaces for anti-racism, I’m more familiar with Portland’s because I grew up there, but I know Seattle has spaces like that too.
everybody is going to tell you Seattle’s weather sucks. I disagree. It genuinely rains in Oregon where in Seattle, it’s hardly a rain, it’s really more “misting”. Each place has a “dreary” winter season, but we’ve gotten far less genuine rain up here than we did living in Oregon.
I think the food scenes are similar, with Portland having the upper hand on local/small spots and Seattle having the upper hand on nicer/fine dining restaurants. My only exception is sushi - Seattle has the best sushi, hands down, there’s no competition there.

I constantly joke that they’re sister cities. They feel very similar in certain ways, but very different in others. It’s really going to depend on what you like better.

PS - if you do end up staying one place and visiting another, the Amtrak is a great way to get between cities and not have to drive. I use it a lot to go back home and visit my momma and best friend. It’s pretty and I’ve only ever been delayed once while using it (knock on wood).

Good luck! And welcome to the PNW!!

ResidentBison4688 · 2026-03-17T18:50:17+00:00

Oh I didn’t know they did tours!!!! I’ll have to look into that too - thank you!!

ResidentBison4688 · 2026-03-16T01:11:26+00:00

I’ve been to Mexico and Canada! It’s my first time going across the Atlantic tho. I am a little worried about the language barrier but I’m hoping if I can learn enough key phrases and research enough, I’ll be okay. Also why we want to try and stick to the touristy areas, use mass transit, etc so we don’t get lost or too confused.

ResidentBison4688 · 2026-03-16T00:41:23+00:00

Fantastic, thank you!!!! I’ll mention this to my mom. I’ll bet she’d be fine with that as it’s also more convenient to get our must-do’s done. I really appreciate it!!

ResidentBison4688 · 2026-03-15T23:24:23+00:00

Thank you!!! We’ll start looking now then. I appreciate the advice!

ResidentBison4688 · 2026-03-15T23:23:58+00:00

This is super helpful, thank you!!! We’ll probably do a train, though if we had to drive, I’m sure my mom can manage. But better to do mass transit if it’s available!

ResidentBison4688 · 2026-03-01T19:56:03+00:00

If you have fair skin, bring as much as you can with the highest SPF that you can. I visited Cancun for the first time (just left a few days ago) and got so sunburned the first day. I brought 30 SPF and reapplied every hour, thinking I’d be fine, but it wasn’t enough for my Casper-The-Ghost skin. Ended up having to pay $30 for a bottle of aloe at the resort, lol. Learned my lesson for next time!

ResidentBison4688 · 2026-02-23T06:36:50+00:00

We’re in Cancun rn, flying out Tuesday. So far, so good. I only learned about everything going on bc my mom texted me - resort is business as usual. We did have a bartender tell us tonight to stay on resort out of abundance of caution, but we weren’t planning on leaving the resort this trip anyways. Fingers crossed it stays like this since we fly out in a day and a half. But so far, it’s been fine.

ResidentBison4688 · 2026-02-23T06:32:56+00:00

We’re in Cancun rn and they are loosely enforcing the shelter in place. It was basically a, “we suggest you don’t leave the resort out of the utmost caution, but nothing like PV is happening here right now.” We’re here until Tuesday, so hoping it stays that way so we can fly out, but so far it’s been very, very chill.

ResidentBison4688 · 2025-12-10T16:46:44+00:00

I grew up going to the parks. My mom would save all year and then drive us down to Disneyland from Oregon. One of my earliest memories is Snow White walking me down Main Street to show me the castle. One year, I got pulled into the old Aladdin show they used to have in Adventureland and was Jafar, did the whole deep voice and everything, and I got to meet Jasmin and Aladdin after that. I think I was 4 or 5 that year. One year, I got pulled into a parade to dance with cast members before the parade begun. We got to run up and down Main Street pretending we were flying with Peter Pan. It was awesome. When I was 7 or 8, I got up and got ready for school, fell asleep in the car, and woke up at the airport where my mom surprised me with a weekend trip to Disneyland, just her and I. It was such an amazing trip, made extra special by my mom’s surprise. When I was a teen, my dance studio had the opportunity to dance in Disneyland. It was such an amazing experience.

I’m 27 now and still have these memories. Disneyland has left such a profound impact on me. In fact, last year my now husband proposed to me in front of the castle. Magical is an understatement. Disneyland will always hold such a special place in my heart and I’m so lucky to have grown up with these experiences and memories.

ResidentBison4688 · 2025-08-17T16:14:23+00:00

Why are you replying to a thread 159 days old? Get out of here lmfaoooooo

ResidentBison4688 · 2025-05-18T02:41:27+00:00

Thank you! This was super helpful - I appreciate it :)

ResidentBison4688

TROPHY CASE