Bill the Butcher

Sometimes great, but consistency and selection is an issue. The other day I was in the mood for a great New York, but all they had was a lousy flank steak. I would expect a shop that calls itself a «Butcher» to have a wide selection of filets, sirloins, rib eyes, etc… but this is not the case. Don’t waste a trip on these guys — call first.

I’ll be honest, I don’t know a New York strip steak from a veal cutlet — I’m just not a connoisseur — so going into a butcher shop is a little intimidating. I kind of just want to say, «Please give me something that you think is good and that is easy to cook because I am dumb.» I tried something along those lines on my first visit, and the guy behind the counter didn’t know quite how to respond. I guess I expect a butcher to be excited about the meat and ready to make suggestions to willing idiots.
Regardless, we applied the teamwork method to finding a cut of beef, and the fellow did tell me exactly how to cook it (on the stove, in a pan, please don’t hate me). I followed his instructions, and it turned out perfectly. So in that regard, they definitely have the knowledge. I find their setup a little confusing. They have big chalkboards with meats and prices listed, but they don’t seem to keep them updated with whether or not they’re in stock. They also have things in the cases that aren’t on the boards, or maybe they are and I just don’t understand it. Either way, this system does not make ordering any easier.
Despite all the confusion, I have decided to only get my meat at this shop because it’s nearby, it’s a local business, and it’s high quality. I’m starting to get the hang of ordering (know before you go!), and I know the bacon is always excellent (thick cut, please). Maybe once I’ve been a few more times I’ll know what I’m talking about. But probably not.

Love these shops! The meat always tastes delicious, everyone is always friendly, and they support the local community! What more could you ask for?!
Pros:
In house smoked bacon-​OMG.
You can buy just enough for what you need
Delicious meat
Friendly staff
Supports community
Cons:
Sometimes they run out of stuff by the time I get there after work. One time they ran out of bacon, I was crushed.
Overall-​I love love love them.

I got a salt plate here today made with Himalayan Sea Salt that’s millions of years old and a giant steak to throw on it. I put the salt plate in the oven for about 45 minutes at 600 degrees and then just plopped the steak on the hot salt rock to cook it. Delicious can barely even begin to describe how yummy that was. I think I’m done cooking meat on anything else but salt rock. That was divine. Thanks for the recommendation.

It’s great having them so close. They have some very good meat and listen to feedback. They’re willing to source things for repeat customers (e.g. make different types of sausage and get in things they don’t normally carry).

I love this place! We’ve been going for over a year and Bill’s has been a great addition to the neighborhood. I’m pretty much addicted to their grass fed, dry aged ribeye steaks. Seasoned generously with salt and pepper and then grilled, they turn out to rival the majority of the Steak Houses I’ve gone to. The meat they carry is THAT good.
I also love that the guys behind the counter (Hi John and Nathan!) are knowledgeable about how to prepare the various cuts they carry. They always have great suggestions. If you happen to be there when they have the Gyoza Sausage that John makes, don’t pass it up! I couldn’t stop eating it.
Are the prices high? Yes. But in this case you really do get what you pay for. The flavor is noticeably better. Some would say noticeably different… because grass fed doesn’t taste the same as corn fed /​finished, but to my mind the difference is a GOOD difference. Especially the cuts that have been dry aged. It’s much richer, so you don’t need /​want as much.
I’m looking forward to trying some of the more unusual cuts they are now carrying. I also need to try the duck eggs they carry. I’ve not duck eggs before so that should be interesting.
If you haven’t stopped in, give these guys a try. You won’t be disappointed!

Service was fine, but it was a hot day, and there were flies all over the place, including on the meat on top of the counter. There did not seem to be sufficient measures to keep insects away from the product … I saw no bug lights or similar signs of insect control.
The grass fed ribeye that I bought for 22/​lb and did on my grill looked great but just didn’t taste that good … Maybe it’s my palette, which is more used to traditional corn fed beef …
I really want to support this retailer, but they need to step up their game to get me back.

Bill the Butcher has a nice atmosphere, plenty of condiment and spice add-​ons, fancy unique bottled sodas and teas that you can’t generally find in the grocery store, and has greatly improved their meat tracking and labeling since last year.
I do lol though, when I see that they’ve labeled sugar «local» because it was processed in Washington state. I don’t think that any tropical plant could ever honestly be called local…
Meat quality is high, and we always get our holiday roasts and turkeys from them.
Rain Shadow is better, though! We’ve also gotten holiday turkey there (and smoked it!) … you gotta be flexible when you make 3 to 5 turkeys each year…

Friendly butcher, fresh cuts of meat, to-​die-​for bacon.
Definitely on the pricey side.

This place is perfect, gorgeous case, high HIGH quality meat, and just the right amount of selection. I walked in and knew for a fact this was my new butcher (Sorry, Swinery!) Prices are surprisingly reasonable for this location/​quality/​et cetera.
Just as importantly: hot butchers supplying flirty, friendly, and fun banter. Kind of intrigued by the canned goods. We will be back.
Bonus: case with cageless/​veggiefed/​hippie eggs! One stop shop. I guess two stops, if you have to run down to Essential Baking for some bread.

Delicious meats and great service. I’m a fan of this place and some more!
I came to check this place out and ended up buying some Linguica ($ 6.99 a pound) and Mangalitsa belly bacon ($ 9.00 a pound) (see pics). Major plus: they offer samples of their cooked meats so you can sample before committing. Fun!
At first, I was apprehensive about spending the extra money on specialty meats. I always assumed that the local QFC/​Safeway deli/​meat counter would suffice. Bill the Butcher has made me a convert. Meat at this butcher shop is quite different from the meats you can get at QFC/​Safeway. Bill the Butcher’s meats are much more flavorful. They’re definitely at a different tier.
I cooked two dishes with the meats I purchased and the meats ended up being the highlight of the dish; they made the dish. Furthermore, I’m confident that the results that I got cooking with these meats could not have been achieved had I used meat from QFC/​Safeway. Bill the Butcher has definitely carved a niche for those who desire quality meat products. It’s also quite affordable.
The shop sells some other items (e.g., lentils, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, etc.). They all looked very fancy.
Overall, I’m confident this is a great place to go if you’re looking for quality meats and quality service. I’m very impressed.

So, yes, there was the whole Stranger article which raised EXTREMELY valid problems. I too felt duped initially.
However, Bill The Butcher seems to have gone and done everything I would have hoped for in restoring my faith in them. They now keep track of where every piece of meat is from and have a source book to boot. Also, they have updated their signage to be much clearer on which things are local, natural, and/​or organic.
I hope they will continue with the transparency and if so, they will continue to get my business.
Also, the meat is REALLY GOOD.

So I went back to Bill the Butcher today. And I think he has responded well to the problems with transparency of where each type of meat, egg, cheese etc is sourced. He now has a ranking system (i.e., natural, USDA organic, etc) which he displays on the meat counter explaining exactly what each rank is. He also has a booklet at the meat counter describing each farm that contributes meat or diary products to his shop.
Signs were up for fourth of July recommending certain meats and cuts, and under each one, Bill listed the farm from which it came. Now you can tell what is local and what is organic, etc., and you can decide for yourself how to best suit your needs.
I appreciate the shop’s response to the problem, and honestly, the staff that work there are really helpful, knowledgeable and pleasant. I know it can be pretty difficult to regain people’s trust. I myself still rankle a bit thinking about how I felt deceived before. But I think Bill the Butcher has really made a good faith effort to address concerns.

I ducked in to buy some of their designer, hard (er) to find natural sodas, but that’s all I’ll be purchasing here, unfortunately.

I was very enthusiastic when they opened in the neighborhood but unbelievably disappointed when I read the expose article in the The Stranger.
I was equally disappointed with Bill the Butcher’s response.
I DO want quality grass fed, certified organic, quality meat. I would pay a premium for that. Instead I feel there is just intentionally vague and deceptive marketing.
Big opportunity missed.

The staff here are soo nice and helpful. full of info. They may not be able to tell me which cut of meat comes from which farm, but I know their meats are far more local than Safeway or other local supermarkets. I have has some of the best steaks, lamb and pork (I work in the neighborhood) from Ross and will continue to support them. They have assured me the meat, eggs and cheese come from local vendors and the quality bears that out.

While my partner Rob S. gave Bill 4 stars and I was going to do so also I wanted to wait until I had the chance to taste my rib eye we got before doing up a review. So lets start off kids with a visit to the butcher named Bill. Back when I was a wee kid I remember going to a butch called Stewart’s Meat Market out in bfe Mekena (sp) past Roy during my families camping trips and picking up some sausages, jerky and peperoni. I really miss those days of getting local meats from a local butcher. But then came along Bill. I was a wee skeptical at first with all this talk of fancy natural grain fed blah blah and how it tasted so much better. Upon entering the shop everyone was very friendly and real talkative and were more then happy to explain cuts, where the meats came from and how things are done. The shop was quite clean and nicely set up with retail in the center and around the shop. Along with the meats there is also the fancy kind of eggs, some cheese and raw milk (which I’d love to try). As Rob S. has stated we got two 1 inch cut of rib eye. We are meat eaters and damn proud of it! So now on how well the rib eye turned out. It was a freaking food orgasim busting up all in my mouth! We did not cook the meat any differently then we do normally. Eight or so minutes each side in the oven with some seasoning and blue cheese, nothing fancy. The meat was sooooooo damn tender that I almost didn’t need a knife to cut into it! That right there told me that this was some good beef. As for the taste, sooooo tender and juicy! This beat TKO ANY store bought beef by a frakin long shot! This was along the lines of high end steak house quality! Trust me I’ve done high quality steak house and know my shit! Some might balk at the price but let me just say you get what you pay for! This is local beef, grain fed, no getting pumped up with bullshit antibiotics mistreated beef. If you don’t believe me, I dare you to cook up two of the same cuts one from Bill’s and one from QFC or Safeway. NO actually I double triple dog to the one billionth power to do it! Bill don’t change what you are doing to the meats cause it ain’t broke so don’t you dare try to fix it! We WILL be back!

First visit here today but sure to not be our last
We are carnivores for sure in this house hold, we must have Red Meat so when I saw on the
Blog that we were getting a butcher, in the Madison Park area I was like we need to check this out, so we saw a couple reviews pop up on here and we decided to go today and take a look
Not only did we look but we samples some Sausages and talked with the people here, and tried not to drool on the glass case with the meats in it, I was oh so happy to see they have Porterhouse Steaks, I asked the guys at the Meat counter in the Grocery store and they are like what is that? so you know that wasn’t happening, I would of gotten a couple Porterhouse but the BF was like lets try the Rib Eyes they really look good and they did, but next time my choice of steak
we are gonna grill these Rib Eye up tomorrow I can’t wait, also all there Meats are Dry Aged and get a sample of the Andouille sausage it was Smokey goodness