OPENINGS
Ballard Brew Hall
This beer hall inspired by Seattle's thriving craft beer scene has opened inside SeaTac and is now serving burgers, fish and chips, and other hearty fare. As Eater Seattle notes, early Yelp reviews so far are unanimously negative, criticizing the spot for its overpriced food and poor quality and service.
SeaTac
The Barque Brontes Bakery Café
This cafe and bakery serving specialty coffee and baked goods such as croissants, cake, doughnuts, and sugar cookies from its sister company Dianne's Delights has quietly opened inside Pike Place Market and had its first Yelp review on March 10. To officially celebrate its launch, the cozy spot will give away free macarons and samples of coffee all day on August 24.
Downtown
Chef King
This recently opened Sichuan restaurant in Greenwood showcases a sense of humor on its menu, which includes playful options like the "Mr. and Mrs. Smith," the "Whatever" (chef's choice), and the "I Don't Know" (a surprise dish). There's also bubble tea, pork belly, steamed dumplings, pork trotters, cumin beef, sweet and sour fish, and spicy pork intestines with sweet potato noodles, but the real standout of the menu is something called "rock candy duck," made with duck that's been boiled, steamed, fried, and finished with a rock sugar sauce.
Greenwood
Chinese Sauerkraut Fish
Sauerkraut fish, a Sichuan hot-and-sour fish soup with a potent base that's been rising in popularity, is the specialty at this eatery, which recently opened a Redmond location and has now added a location inside Aurora's Asian Food Center. Sides include Chinese donuts, shredded greens, cucumber salad, and rice cakes.
Bitter Lake
Fog Rose
Bellevue's "ice cream boutique" specializing in schmancy liquid nitrogen ice cream has re-opened after closing for renovations this spring and has unveiled some new flavors, including Earl Grey, avocado, chocolate brownie, and vegan lemon poppy seed, as well as the option to get scoops dipped in chocolate.
Bellevue
Kizuki Ramen
A Tacoma outpost of the popular ramen chain Kizuki opened inside the Tacoma Mall on July 29, with the same menu of favorites like garlic tonkotsu, shoyu, and yuzu shio.
Tacoma
Mr. West
Mr. West, the downtown bar and cafe from the owners of Bottlehouse in Madrona, will open a location inside the former space of the University Village cooking store Mrs. Cook's, which closed in December after 42 years, on Saturday, August 3. The menu will include espresso, wine, beer, spirits, charcuterie, egg sandwiches, avocado toast, and more, while the space will feature a patio with a fireplace and a wine bar inside.
University District
Poke Square
This customizable poké joint billing itself as "the freshest poké bowl in Seattle" has opened an Eastlake location.
Eastlake
CLOSURES
Chili + Sesame Korean Kitchen
A tipster informed Seattle Met that this Korean eatery has placed a sign in its windows informing diners that it has closed due to family health issues.
Belltown
OTHER FOOD NEWS
Pop-up rooftop bar coming to Smith Tower
Looking for libations with a side of lofty views? Just for the summer, the famed Smith Tower (known for being the first skyscraper to grace our city's skyline and for being one of the tallest buildings outside New York at the time of its completion) is opening a rooftop bar called the Lookout, open to the public from August 8 until the end of September. (The pop-up may possibly be extended through October, weather allowing.) For an entry fee of $10 (which includes exhibits on the ground floor, an elevator ride, and a $5 credit towards food and drink purchases), guests will be able to enjoy beer, cider, wine, snacks, board games, a fire pit, indoor and outdoor seating, and of course, stunning vistas.
Mochi doughnut shop opening in International District
Get ready for crispy, chewy doughnuts: Dochi, a Japanese mochi doughnut pop-up hailing from Orlando, is opening a store inside the Uwajimaya Village food court by the second weekend of August. Co-owner Jason Lee is the brother of goPoké owner Michael Le, who he'll partner with for this project. Flavors include blueberry pie with pie crumble, ube glaze, cookies and cream with cookie butter drizzle, matcha Oreo, salted caramel and chocolate crisp, and taro with Fruity Pebbles cereal, to name a few.
Indian restaurant set to replace Tango
Following the news that Capitol Hill tapas favorite Tango has shut its doors after 19 years, a new Indian restaurant called Zaika is now poised to take over the space in September after an initial soft opening period. The restaurant will bring an Indian influence to the happy hour scene, with cocktails, bites, and a modern, millennial-friendly aesthetic.
Ba Bar's Central District location closed for renovations
The beloved Vietnamese restaurant Ba Bar has temporarily closed its Central District location for the next few weeks while making some renovations to its kitchen. In the meantime, fans can find favorite menu items like $6 cocktails, $3 beers and mimosas, oxtail pho, vermicelli noodles, and 60 cent chicken wings (!) at a lunch pop-up at sibling restaurant Central Smoke.
Dynasty Room closure delayed
Great news for fans of the semi-permanent pop-up cocktail bar Dynasty Room (which took up temporary residence inside the space of the International District's iconic dive Four Seas Restaurant while it was awaiting demolition and was originally set to close at the end of this month): The building's demolition has been delayed, so Dynasty Room will get to live on until February. If you haven't yet tried the bar's Asian-inspired bar snacks and herbal- and tea-infused house cocktails, consider this your chance to do so before it's gone.
Harry's Beach House close to opening
Capitol Hill-based cafe Harry's Fine Foods is almost ready to open its West Seattle spinoff Harry's Beach House in mid-August. The Alki spot will serve the same brunches and "seasonally driven fare" as the Capitol Hill location, with more variety thanks to a larger kitchen, as well as cocktails and natural wine.
Stoup Brewing expanded
The popular Ballard brewery Stoup Brewing has added 6,000 square feet of production space, tripling its production size. The expansion is a step forward for the brewery's vision of adding more barrel-aged, mixed-culture, and sour beers, as well as bottling and canning its beers for retail.
Restaurant from Witness team opening in Broadway Grill space
In October, owner Gregg Holcomb and chef Jesse Elliott of Capitol Hill's Southern-inspired craft cocktail spot Witness will open a new restaurant, tentatively called Olmstead, in the space of the late, legendary LGBTQ hangout and bar/restaurant/venue Broadway Grill, which closed after 22 years in 2013. (The Stranger's Dominic Holden mourned the loss of the spot's "racy menu of grilled chicken with whipped yams," "glass chandelier that looked like Carmen Miranda's headgear on steroids," and "plastic clientele that looked like Carmen Miranda's backup dancers on Social Security.") The new venture hopes to revive some of the essence of the spot's previous incarnation and will pay tribute to it with a few dishes on its menu, like a chicken and brie sandwich with caramelized onions. Karaoke, trivia, and dancing may also be in the cards.
Seafood restaurant coming to Fremont
The new Cedar Speedster building in Fremont, which will be home to Rachel Yang and Seif Chirchi's Revel after it moves out of its temporary South Lake Union pop-up location as well as an upcoming location of Bellingham's Aslan Brewing, will also house Local Tide, a new seafood restaurant coming later this year. Local Tide, which got its start as a Pike Place pop-up, will serve dishes like seafood cake banh mis, rockfish rice bowls, Dungeness crab rolls (made with freshly cooked live crabs), and other small bites, sandwiches, and salads.
Iron Chef star opening ramen restaurant in the International District
Celebrity chef Masaharu Morimoto, who rose to fame on Iron Chef, will open a location of his acclaimed ramen and yakitori izakaya restaurant Momosan inside the International District's Publix building (also home to Hood Famous Cafe and Bar) in September. The spot will feature Morimoto's tonkotsu and tsukemen (noodles with broth for dipping), as well as his signature beers produced in collaboration with Rogue Ales and wines made in collaboration with Mondavi.
Low-acid coffee cafe headed to First Hill
The Seattle company Trucup, which produces low-acid coffee for people who aren't able to drink coffee due to health issues and distributes it online and to hospitals and healthcare providers, plans to open a cafe called Trubistro inside First Hill's new Murano building in September. The cafe will also offer light bites like salads, fruit, and pastries, plus wine, charcuterie, and flatbreads in the evening.
Mezcaleria Oaxaca becomes El Mezcalito
According to a press release, Mezcaleria Oaxaca, the Queen Anne Mexican restaurant with a wide selection of mezcal and owned by Roberto Dominguez of La Carta de Oaxaca in Ballard, is changing its name to El Mezcalito. The name will differentiate the restaurant from Mezcaleria Oaxaca in Capitol Hill, which has been under different ownership for the last three years. Staff and management at El Mezcalito will remain the same, as will the menu (save for a few new additions).
EVENTS
FRIDAY, AUG. 2
Epicuriositease: A Sampling of Earthly Delights
Feast your eyes on darkly titillating performances as you delight your taste buds with wine tastings.
Princi Seattle | Summer Like an Italian
Console yourself over the fact that you're not traveling to Milan this summer by spending Fridays honoring the history of aperitivo with Italian bites, gelato, and live music. If you're still not consoled, you can enter a contest to win a trip to Milan.Â
AUG. 2-3
Hawaiian Nights
Canlis knows how to throw a party. Seattleâs illustrious fine-dining institution is notorious for its extravagant New Year's Eve blowoutsâthis yearâs Hawaiian-inspired luau featured real waterfalls, a koi pond, and live animals; the previous yearâs glamorous 1950s-inspired affair boasted a period-accurate, Spady-family-approved re-creation of a mid-century Dickâs Drive-In; and a prior ski-chalet-themed soiree had hot tubs, real snow, and Saint Bernard dogs. A ticket doesnât come cheap, though, so itâs all the more exciting that theyâve decided to throw an âunfancy, laidback, lowbrowâ weekend bash in their parking lot this summer for the rest of us non-one-percenters. Theyâll transform the lot into an island paradise with an actual pool, and have teased thatched tiki huts, a pig roast, a bar, pizza, kalbi ribs, shishito peppers, and mac salad. Bring your bathing suit.
AUG. 2-31
Li'l Woody's Dessert Month
Seattle is host to a wealth of bakers and ice cream makers. For the month of August, local burger joint Li'l Woody's is teaming up with some of the city's favorite up-and-coming sweets suppliers, like Natalie Popkave of Bee and the Baker, Christina Wood of the sourdough pastry pop-up Temple Pastries, Kait Winowitch of Cake Life Everyday, and Kevin Moulder of Tres Lecheria (a tres leches spinoff of Cubes Baking Co.). Each week, a new special will arrive on Thursday and be available through the weekend, or until they sell out. On the schedule: the Bee and the Baker's blackberry fig pie with a bacon blue cheese crumble inspired by Liâl Woodyâs âThe Fig and the Pigâ burger (August 1), Temple Pastries' fig, anise and hazelnut "cruffin" (August 8); Cake Life Everyday's "liâl cupcake burgers" with vanilla cake, brownie "patties," and vanilla Swiss meringue buttercream lettuce and condiments (August 15), and Tres Lecheria's mole-flavored tres leches cake slice with spiced chocolate cake, peanut butter, and sesame (August 22).
SATURDAY, AUG. 3
KURB Street Food Pop-Up
Scoop up street food like banh mi burgers from Mobile Burgerz at this curbside pop-up.
MONDAY, AUG. 5
Author Talk: The Big Bottom Biscuit
Big Bottom Market in Sonoma County, California, is not named for large posteriors, but for their generously sized, flaky, Southern-style biscuits that draw visitors from near and farâand which were named one of Oprah's favorite things. Now you too can feast like the billionaire mogul-philanthropist herself with Michael Volpatt's cookbook The Big Bottom Biscuit, which will share his secrets to achieving his signature baked good at home. At this event, Michael will share stories from his shop and sign copies, and guests will get to try a bite from the book.
