Jonesing for a cold pint in the sun? Optimism has more than doubled its outdoor seating to better accommodate social distancing. Looking for a month's supply of popsicles? Seattle Pops is back and selling frozen treats by the case. Seeking comfort in familiar places? HoneyHole and Pike Place's Crumpet Shop have reopened their kitchens. Read on for those and more food-world updates, and for more ideas, check out our full in-person dining directory, our takeout & delivery directory, and our guide to Seattle farmers markets.
Jump to: New Openings & Returns | Pop-Ups | New Specials | Future Openings & Specials
NEW OPENINGS & RETURNS
Casco Antiguo
The Pioneer Square location of this Mexican restaurant and cantina reopened this week for dine-in and takeout. Stop by from Tuesday-Saturday for your taco and margarita fix.
The Crumpet Shop
Comfort yourself with fresh and buttery crumpets with a variety of toppings once more at this Pike Place institution, which returned for takeout this week.
Dreamland Bar & Diner
This disco ball-laden all-day breakfast and booze spot in the former space of the Red Door fits all the prerequisites for quirky Fremont. Menu items are accompanied by phrases that could have been taken straight out of an old fairytale book if, as Eater reports, they weren't invented by the staff. ("Whenever I dock at the Floating city my first meal always starts here," reads a quote from the fictional Captain Cypress beneath the Right Side Up Pineapple French Toast.) On top of a nice little beer list, they also have a plethora of fun drinks, like a vegan grasshopper slushie made with coconut cream that sort of looks like a grasshopper itself. We don't expect anything less from the team behind the nearby Stampede Cocktail Club. They're open daily for dine-in.
HoneyHole
Everyone's favorite late-night sloppy-hot sandwich spot is reopening this Saturday, August 15, for takeout and pickup.
Logan Brewing Company
Located on the retail level of the Maverick apartment complex, this brand-new Burien brewery and taproom has a spacious outdoor seating area that faces Town Square Park. Stop by their grand opening on Friday, August 14 to try their Speed Runner IPA and their Easy Mode blonde ale.
Momosan
The International District outpost of Masaharu Morimoto's popular ramen spot has reopened its dining room and expanded its menu to include some Kushiyaki grill items like chicken, tebasaki, and salmon.
Optimism
The Capitol Hill brewery is the first business to be approved for the city’s new free street closure permits, more than doubling its capacity by expanding seating to Broadway Court for outdoor drinking (and co-working!). Christopher Frizzelle checked out the new digs: "I'm drinking coffee in a thermos that I brought from home because Optimism doesn't mind if you do that (I thought for sure they were going to make me pour it out when I got here, but they didn't). I'm also drinking the endless sparkling water they offer here for free (my body is 70 percent sparkling water). If I want to get up and go get more coffee nearby, or a donut, or a snack from the grocery store, and bring it back here, they're fine with that," he said.
Raygun Lounge
The pinball area remains closed for now, but this popular lounge/old-school gaming destination is now fitted with sidewalk seating. They also have limited-capacity indoor tables for small groups of the same household and limited-capacity shopping.
Rapport
The new residents of the former Roy Street Coffee & Tea space planned for their bar to offer a self-serve wine station, but that's on hold due to COVID-19-related restrictions. For now, they're offering a small selection of bottled wine, cocktails, beer crowler fills, and limited food items, reports Eater. They're open for online ordering and dine-in.
Roquette
You can now order cocktails and snacks for delivery from this French-inspired Belltown bar. Order via Tock.
Seattle Pops
Surprise! After announcing their closure earlier this summer, the Wallingford popsicle shop has returned with Back to School Pop Packs, which you can preorder by the case in flavors like Very Strawberry, Zesty Lime, Peach Perfect, and Kona Coffee.
Wide Eyed Wines
Chophouse Row's new wine shop opens their doors this Saturday, August 15. Stop by from 1-5 pm to take home some bottles from around the world. If you like what you taste, consider signing up for their Bottle Rocket Wine Club, which gets you four bottles of natural, biodynamic wine every month for $99.
POP-UPS
Barkada
The Maple Valley pop-up Nomo's Smoothies and Bowls will come to Brian Madayag's seafood-focused spot in Edmonds for one day only on Sunday, August 16.
How to Cook a Wolf
Ethan Stowell's Queen Anne restaurant is pivoting to shellfish with its How to Cook a Crab pop-up, a Dungeness crab boil that you can enjoy on their newly expanded patio or at home through next Tuesday, August 18.
The Pine Box
Think fondly of your favorite John Hughes heroine while you tuck into juicy pork tamales paired with draft flights of tequila and mezcal and a Pretty in Peach hard seltzer cocktail at this Tamale Ringwald Pop-Up, which will take place this Saturday and Sunday, August 15-16.
Rione XIII
Speaking of Ethan Stowell, the Capitol Hill Italian restaurant is serving up fresh halibut sandwiches at its latest cheeky pop-up, A Fish Betwixt. Score your "fishwiches" with Old-Bay french fries, special cocktails, and fresh-squeezed lemonade daily through next Tuesday, August 18.
Tarsan i Jane
Through this Sunday, August 16, the acclaimed Fremont Valencian restaurant will offer XITA's burgers and pork sandos (named after Tarzan's chimpanzee friend) for pickup. You can also add on snacks, and desserts, plus a Blood Orange Honey Wheat Ale or Imperial IPA from Bad Jimmy's.
NEW SPECIALS
DeLaurenti Specialty Food & Wine
The Pike Place specialty Italian grocery store is giving away a bag of Cici’s Handmade Italian Lemon Cookies (perfect with coffee or tea) with every purchase of $75 or more while they last.
Salt & Straw
The Portland-based ice cream shop is channeling fireside stories, roasted 'mallows, and skillet breakfasts with their new lineup of camp-inspired flavors. Try the Salted Hazelnut Praline S'mores (homemade vanilla bean-laden marshmallows, chocolate pudding ganache, and "pralined" graham cracker crunch), Buttermilk Pancakes, Bacon & Eggs (griddled blueberry coffee cake "pancakes" smothered in Vermont maple syrup and topped with bits of brown sugar bacon, swirled into custardy pancake batter ice cream), and Huckleberry Cast Iron Corn Bread (a vegan salted vanilla coconut ice cream base with wild huckleberries and hunks of crispy-edged housemade skillet cornbread).
Soi
The Northeastern Thai restaurant will celebrate its third birthday with five special cocktails on Saturday, August 15. Get yourself a Pineapple Daiquiri, Paloma, Classic Moscow Mule, Tamarind Whiskey Sour, or Bee’s Knees from 3-9 pm for just $5 each.
FUTURE OPENINGS & SPECIALS
Gather Kitchen + Bar
Chef Ryan Donaldson's eclectic Ballard restaurant will reopen its indoor and outdoor dining rigs for daily brunch, starting next week.
Katsu Burger & Bakery
The local Japanese fusion burger joint known for its deep-fried tonkatsu-style patties and unique milkshakes is continuing its affinity for ampersands (see: Katsu Burger & Bar and Katsu Burger & Sushi) with a new outpost in Edmonds offering house-made milk brioche buns, mini pies, palmiers in matcha and kinako-black sesame flavors, cookies, and croissant-muffin hybrids, Eater reports. The opening date is still up in the air.
Molly Moon's
Continuing its tradition of "Baracky Road" and other ice cream flavors named after presidential candidates (with the exception of the human Cheeto/man-baby currently residing in the White House), Molly Moon's plans to release Joe Pie-den Kamà la mode on National Voter Registration Day this September 22. All proceeds will be donated to the nonprofit When We All Vote.
Nirmal's
Oliver Bangera, the owner of the excellent Pioneer Square Indian restaurant Nirmal's, plans to open a new commercial kitchen in Factoria, which means denizens of the Eastside won't have to cross the toll bridge for perfect tandoori chicken.
CLOSURES
Copal
Citing COVID-19-related setbacks, Matt Dillon's Pioneer Square spot known for its barbacoa dishes has closed its doors after four years of business.
