Molten chocolate cakes are now available at Hot Cakes on Capitol Hill. You can also roast smores on little grills at your table.
Molten chocolate cakes are now available at Hot Cakes on Capitol Hill. You can also roast s'mores on little grills at your table. Hot Cakes

Now Open
• Like its wildly popular Ballard location, Hot Cakes Molten Chocolate Cakery on Capitol Hill serves chef Autumn Martin’s signature molten chocolate cakes, as well as cookies and boozy milkshakes. But there are also some notable additions at this location, including cocktails, soft-serve ice cream with an organic smoked chocolate magic shell, an outdoor fire pit for “gathering and storytelling,” and hibachi grills for roasting s’mores right at your table.

• A neighborhood staple in Mount Baker and Ravenna, Mioposto has opened a third location in West Seattle, which also offers pasta, antipasti, small plates, and wood-fired pizza in a family-friendly atmosphere. For adults, there’s also house-made Limoncello.

• From the people behind Bastille Cafe and Bar, Stoneburner, Poquitos, and Rhein Haus comes MacLeod's Fish & Chips in Ballard, which serves sustainable, long-line-caught wild Pacific cod with organic, hand-cut Russet potatoes, along with fried salmon and halibut next door to Macleod’s Scottish Pub. The full menu, which also includes pub dishes like shepherd’s pie and Scotch eggs, is also available at the bar.

• Chef Eric Stapelman has completely reimagined the Capitol Hill space that formerly housed his upscale izakaya restaurant for the more affordable and approachable Vivre, a French bistro that serves classic dishes such as steak tartare, chicken liver pate, escargot, steak frites, and roasted pork belly. The all-French wine list is priced to move, with bottles of whites, roses, and reds all priced at either $25 or $40.

Now Reopened
• Beloved temple of beer, made-from-scratch food (including gloriously cheesy pizza), and sports, Bill’s Off Broadway has reopened after a two-year hiatus during which its 100-year-old, one-story building was transformed into a multi-story, mixed-use structure with 95 apartments above it. The menu is a little bigger and there are now eighteen beers on tap, but thankfully many of the original fixtures of the humble and charming restaurant remain.

“Anybody that has a history with Bill’s Off Broadway is going to walk in there and know they’re in Bill’s Off Broadway,” longtime owner Don Stevens told CHS. Hooray!

Opening This Weekend
• Mighty-O Donuts is bringing their certified organic, preservative-free, zero-trans-fat, un-artificially-colored-or-flavored, cholesterol-free vegan doughnuts to Ballard. To celebrate, they're holding a weekend-long grand-opening celebration. From August 14 to 16, you can get a free doughnut. Additionally, if you come dressed as your favorite superhero, you'll be entered to win a doughnut a day for an entire year.

The Ballard Mighty-O will have an exhibition bakery where you can watch the doughnuts being made from scratch, as well as a parklet on Market Street.

Crush Is Closing
• Chef Jason Wilson and his wife Nicole have announced that they are closing their Madison Park restaurant Crush, open since 2005, after dinner service on Friday, August 28. The Wilsons also own downtown's Miller's Guild in the Hotel Max and plan to announce a new restaurant later this year.