I had been living in the Seattle area since 2014, and yet I had never heard of one of the most remarkable experiences one can have in this city. It took my sister coming to visit, and surfing the internet to find fun things we could do, to bring it to my attention. I’m talking about Great Wheel Private Dining, courtesy of The Fisherman’s Restaurant.
For those of you who are unfamiliar with Seattle, its downtown waterfront includes a Ferris wheel that has 42 gondolas, one of which even has a glass bottom, and each gondola can hold up to eight people (with the exception of that one VIP gondola, which only accommodates four.) The wheel extends 40 feet beyond Pier 57, putting you right over Elliot Bay. It is covered in 500,000 LED lights, and on some nights there is a colorful and spectacular light show.
But on very special Fridays and Saturdays, you can make a 7 pm reservation to have a meal as you ride. For some reason you have to be at least 21 years old for this experience. For these meals, each car only accommodates 2-4 adults because of course they must make room for a table. And a finely appointed table it is.
The menu is fixed, but there is a vegetarian option if you place your order in advance. (The fixed menu stands to reason, because it would be rather inconvenient to discover that they had screwed up your order while you were up in the air.) At the time of this writing, the fixed menu is as follows:
- Chilled Prawn Cocktail w/our Famous Housemade Cocktail Sauce Classic
- Caesar Salad with Housemade Croutons & Dressing
- Alaskan Sourdough Bakery Fresh Sourdough Bread
- Classically Grilled Salmon w/Roasted Chef Vegetables & Wild Rice Pilaf
- Decadent Chocolate Pot de Crème.
- You can also pre-order a bottle of wine for an additional fee.
You have to arrive by 6:30 pm, as the wheel waits for no man. Be sure and hit the restroom before boarding, because needless to say, it will be your only opportunity during this experience. You wait in the restaurant’s bar, where you’re given an opportunity to order your beverages. They begin boarding at 7 pm and the adventure starts at 7:30.
I was grateful to discover that the waiter doesn’t ride with you. It would have been awkward to have a stranger enclosed in that space with your party the entire time. Instead, they seat you in your gondola, then provide the beverages, prawns, salad and bread, and you ride the Ferris wheel while eating those, and then they stop for each gondola, and they clear the table and then provide the main course and dessert and refresh any drinks as needed, and away you go again. It’s all quite efficient.
In the meantime, you’re enjoying a good meal with good company. (Hopefully. Before inviting anyone, give the group dynamics serious thought, or that may be a tense ride. We were fortunate to be in good company.) You’re also taking in the view of the Seattle skyline as well as Elliot Bay and the Olympic Mountains to your west. It takes about 2 minutes to complete a single rotation, and there are many of those. It’s really quite romantic. It would be the perfect place for a proposal.
Bridgetender that I am, I’m embarrassed to admit that I don’t enjoy heights, and there were a few moments of panic as the wheel came to a stop and our gondola rocked back and forth. This wheel is 175 feet tall, after all, making it the largest observation wheel on the west coast. But it doesn’t even come close to the 17 Tallest Observation Wheels in the World. For some sobering perspective, the largest one is in Dubai, and it’s 820 feet tall. I don’t think I’d be up for that, with or without a meal.
So, how much does this little jaunt in downtown Seattle cost? Way too much for me to comfortably say. For most people it would be an extreme splurge. But fear not. You can ride the Ferris wheel, sans meal, 7 days a week for 1/10th the cost, and still have a wonderful time.
I’ll leave you now with some photos that Dear Husband took during our very unforgettable and extremely delightful night. Enjoy!
Travel vicariously through this blog. And while you’re at it, check out my book! http://amzn.to/2mlPVh5
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