Ice cream cakes have come to Molly Moon’s, Ada’s Restaurant and Bar in Phinney has re-opened, and the Hyatt Regency Seattle brings an Italian restaurant and a new location of Daniel’s Broiler with a whiskey bar. Read on for more essential food news and upcoming events. For more options, check out our list of food and drink specials to try in December, our ultimate guide to where to eat out for the 2018 winter holidays, and our full food and drink calendar.
OPENINGS
Ada’s Restaurant and Bar
This Mediterranean restaurant and bar near the Woodland Park Zoo, which closed in October, has re-opened under new ownership. Owner and chef Ayhan Barlas, who previously worked as the executive chef at the South Lake Union location of Daniel’s Broiler, will reprise the restaurant’s previous menu and add some new Turkish dishes.
Phinney Ridge
Andare and Daniel’s Broiler
The Hyatt Regency, the largest hotel in the Pacific Northwest, opened downtown on December 10 and includes two new restaurants: a new location of classic Northwest steakhouse Daniel’s Broiler with their signature USDA prime steaks and seafood, live piano, and a whiskey bar called the Rickhouse Whiskey Bar with over 36 whiskey barrels on display; as well as Andare, a fast-casual Italian bar and restaurant with items like duck pizza. The hotel also features the Market, a retail area with cafe seating serving coffee, pastries, salads, sandwiches, and more.
Downtown
Heartbeet Organic Superfoods Cafe
After 10 years in their original Roosevelt location, the health-conscious cafe known for their plant-based grain bowls, smoothies, and juices is re-locating to Queen Anne and is now softly open from 10 am until 5 pm daily in their new location. Their grand opening and 10-year anniversary party will take place on January 1.
Queen Anne
Pho Rolls
This Vietnamese restaurant, which opened in Bellevue and had its first Yelp review on November 20, serves banh mi, spring rolls, egg rolls, pho, and other Vietnamese staples.
Bellevue
CLOSURES
Alchemy Bar & Lounge and Vine & Spoon
Following the news that their Capitol Hill deli By the Pound was facing eviction for owing $75,000 in unpaid rent, restaurant group F2T Hospitality’s other restaurants Alchemy and Vine & Spoon in West Seattle are also being evicted for owing tens of thousands of dollars in rent, according to Eater Seattle. F2T has announced that By the Pound will be reopening and rebranding as Bar Justice (the name of the deli’s hidden speakeasy) with the help of a “strategic partner.” Vine & Spoon has been closed for the last week but says it has found a new investor and will reopen—Eater Seattle speculates that the investor is the same strategic partner behind the reopening of By the Pound.
West Seattle
OTHER FOOD NEWS
Molly Moon’s and Icebox launch collaboration
Local ice cream cake business Icebox has partnered with Molly Moon’s Ice Cream to offer ice cream cakes in all of their stores as of this Thursday, December 20. The cakes currently come in five flavors, including vanilla birthday cake, chocolate birthday cake, mint chocolate chip, peanut butter chocolate, and chocolate caramel. They’ll be offering free samples on Friday from 7-9 pm at their Queen Anne location and on Saturday from 7-9 pm at their Wallingford location.
Nirmal’s gets a new chef
Nirmal Monteiro, the chef at Pioneer Square’s beloved Indian restaurant Nirmal’s, is leaving the restaurant and has been replaced by chef Ashish Bagul, who has spent time cooking at five-star hotels in India and plans to host special events highlighting regional food in his new role at Nirmal’s.
Sun Liquor pulls eggnog from shelves
Local spirits company Sun Liquor has opted to pull its highly in-demand small-batch eggnog, which has earned a cult following, from shelves this year after a quality issue that made it too thick to pour easily. Customers who purchased the faulty batch are eligible for a refund or replacement. Bottles of the eggnog without quality issues are available for sale at Sol Liquor Lounge, the Capitol Hill bar that formerly went by Sun Liquor Lounge and re-opened under new ownership, from December 21-25.
Locust Cider merging with Dirty Bucket Brewing
Woodinville-based cider company Locust Cider is merging with neighboring Dirty Bucket Brewing to become Locust Brewing Co. on January 1. Remaining Dirty Bucket Brewing merchandise will be marked down at the brewery next weekend (Dec. 29-30) as the owners prepare for the name change.
Flatstick Pub opening location in California
Popular local mini-golf and beer bar Flatstick Pub will open a location in Sacramento next spring through a licensing deal with a California company called Tipsy Putt, which will independently own and operate the Sacramento location. Co-owner Sam Largent notes that the deal is not a franchise agreement, but a licensing deal for Flatstick’s name, logos, and games.
Elysian Brewing Co. closing temporarily for renovations
Elysian Brewing will temporarily close its Capitol Hill brewery for some renovations beginning on December 23 and plans to re-open in the spring.
Chef Joe Bayley takes over at Ciudad
Seattle chef Joe Bayley, a Chopped champion who started the Filipino-inspired Spanish tapas pop-up La Colonial and who ran a Kickstarter campaign to open La Colonial as a brick-and-mortar restaurant in February, has replaced Ciudad chef Aaron Willis. (It’s unclear what Bayley’s plans are for the future of La Colonial.) Bayley will add some Spanish touches to the menu but plans to keep things mostly the same.
That Brown Girl Cooks planning to open restaurant in Central District
Kristi Brown and her son Damon Bomar, who run the “Seattle soul” catering business That Brown Girl Cooks, are planning to open a restaurant in the upcoming Liberty Bank Building at 24th and Union in the summer of 2019. The name of the new project has not yet been revealed.
EVENTS
FRIDAY, DEC 21
Naked City Brewery Goodbye Party
The beloved Greenwood brewery and taphouse will bid adieu with live music and “lots of laughs.” Come to pay your respects and pick up discounted merch, bottled beer, wine, and $6 crowlers to go.
Solstice Tasting
Taste a lineup of beers chosen specifically for the winter solstice, including a trio of bright Abbey-style Tripels.
DEC 21-23
Fifth Annual Dark Beer Fest
Cozy up with dark, rich brews all weekend. They’ll have 25 taps of local and guest taps, from special releases to barrel-aged beers and more. Dec 21-23, noon-midnight.
DEC 21-30
Holiday Tea at Hotel Sorrento
Instead of gazing at a virtual Yule log video, take your tea beside an actual roaring, crackling hearth at Hotel Sorrento’s Fireside Room, a Mad Men–worthy old-school vision in opulent ochre mahogany paneling. You can nosh on posh teatime fare—like freshly baked chocolate-filled croissants with butter and jam, cucumber and cream-cheese finger sandwiches, and chocolate espresso pots de creme with strawberries—as you sink into a squishy high-backed leather chair and enjoy sounds played on a baby grand piano. If you’re lucky, you might even spy the ghost of Alice B. Toklas, who is said to roam the halls of the hotel.
SATURDAY, DEC 22
Anniversary + Festivus = Festiversary Party
In celebration both of one year of business since re-opening and the Seinfeldian holiday, Full Throttle Bottles will release a new beer brewed in collaboration with Michael of Mirage Brewing, along with the traditional Festivus pole, airing of grievances, and feats of strength.
Boba Street x Nordstrom Pop-Up
While you do your Christmas shopping, grab a pick-me-up in the form of boba tea, in flavors like jasmine, matcha, or peppermint milk tea. Twenty percent of all proceeds will go to Food Lifeline.
Latkepalooza
Hanukkah may be over, but latke season never ends. This potato pancake fest will have live DJs, drinks, “’90s vibes,” and lots and lots of greasy fried goodness.
SUNDAY, DEC 23
addo Themed Brunch: Grinch Who Stole Christmas
If Whoville had five-course holiday tasting menus (who’s to say they don’t?) they might resemble Chef Eric Rivera’s brunch inspired by How the Grinch Stole Christmas.
Pho T&N Pop Up Sunday Brunch
At this brunch pop-up, chef Thai Nguyen, who’s an alum of Daniel Boulud’s famous Michelin-starred New York restaurant Daniel, will prepare steamy, comforting bowls of pho sourced with top-notch ingredients from Hitchcock, including local dry-aged beef, Bainbridge Island organic stewing hens, Olympic Peninsula mushrooms, and more, accompanied by drinks like Vietnamese coffee, whole young coconuts, and pho broth Bloody Marys garnished with pickled peppers.
Roving Cheese Shop with Brimmer & Heeltap Pop-Up Wine Shop
The wandering cheesemonger teams up with Brimmer & Heeltap for a monthly cheese and wine pop-up, usually the last Sunday of every month (some exceptions around holidays).
MONDAY, DEC 24
Rider Feast of the Seven Fishes
The downtown hotel bar will host its spin on the Italian feast of the seven fishes with a seven-course tasting menu with an abundance of seafood.
Wrap it Up!
Let a kind elf take care of your last-minute gift wrapping while you kick back with some booze. All proceeds will go directly to the Furry Faces Foundation to help animals in need.
WEDNESDAY, DEC 26
Bubbles!
Bar Ferd’nand will get festive and effervescent with a tasting of sparkling wines, or as they call it, “juice with tiny orbs of suspended excitement,” including white, pink, and red varieties.
The Growler Guys Seattle’s 2nd Anniversary Celebration
Don your most atrocious knits and hang out with the Growler Guys in commemoration of their first two years of business. They promise “fun, giveaways, and hugs.”
THURSDAY, DEC 27
5 Year Anniversary Party
Bad Jimmy’s will celebrate five years of business with food from SoSo Good, lots of beer, and free pint glasses for the first 50 people to buy a pint.
Champagne Showcase Part II
Due to popular demand, Downtown Spirits will reprise their sought-after sparkling wine tasting, which will feature 56 different kinds of champagne, crémant, prosecco, cava, and sekt from all over the globe.
The Clutch: Wink Doughnuts Pop Up
At this event inspired by “old-world European salons,” local artists, writers and creatives can mingle over vegan and gluten-free Wink Doughnuts.
Tallulah’s Turns 5!
Celebrate Tallulah’s fifth birthday by dancing to funk by DJ SuperLover and grabbing a free slice of cake.
SATURDAY, DEC 29
I LOVE SEAFOOD!
See food and eat it at this seven-course family-style dinner celebrating fruits de mer.
The Original Coffee Break: Ethiopian Coffee Ceremony
Cultures all over the world have their own traditions for gathering and sharing a cup of something caffeinated while socializing: teatime, the Swedish practice of fika, the coffee break. As the birthplace of coffee, Ethiopia has developed a daily ritual around the brew that lasts a couple of hours and honors the process, from roasting the beans to steeping to sipping. (According to Ethiopian legend, coffee was first discovered by a goatherd named Kaldi, who noticed his flock seemed to dance with energy after getting hopped up on the red berries of a shrub, and decided to try them himself.) At this event hosted by Milen Medhane—owner of the Ethiopian cafe and restaurant Kaffa Coffee in Rainier Beach—and Atlas Obscura Society Seattle field agent Christopher Blado, guests can participate in an authentic coffee ceremony that includes pan-roasting fresh beans and heating and pouring water from the jebena (a traditional water vessel).
Pop-Up: Late Shake
Late Shake is a new Portland milkshake pop-up and the brainchild of Grahm Doughty, creative director of PDX-based Dapper & Wise Coffee Roasters. He’ll be bringing unique, creamy blends like the Honey Bee Shake (Bee Local honey and Jacobsen sea salt topped with a flower and bee pollen), the Double Gold Shake (fresh turmeric, ginger, apple, and cayenne topped with Fruity Pebbles), and the Honey Bear Shake (chocolate, hazelnut, and cardamom) to La Marzocco. Vegans need not miss out: There’s also a dairy-free option made with cashew ice cream.
SUNDAY, DEC 30
Signature Drink Presentation with the 2018 US Barista Champion, Cole McBride
Want to drink coffee prepared by the best barista in the country? At this event, Cole McBride, who triumphed at the US Barista Championship in 2018, will present, demonstrate, and serve his winning coffee cocktail, which features an espresso shot pulled for twice the normal length, double-filtered, chilled into “a clean tonic devoid of crema and sediment,” and put into a CO2 charger with citric acid and yuzu zest imported directly from the farmer.
Check out our New Year’s Eve calendar for food events on December 31.
