CODY ELLERD
The new Queen Anne location of Via Tribunali.
|
New restaurants
In Seattle, a new restaurant seems to open every day. And when you've been to every bistro and café in your neighborhood, sometimes you just want something new. In that spirit, here's a list of noteworthy eateries that opened within the last year. Keep your eye on it; we'll be changing it frequently.
Ama Ama Oyster Bar & Grill
(West Seattle)
Oysters make up only a small portion of the seafood-focused menu at Ama Ama. But at 50 cents per half shell during the daily 4 to 6 p.m. happy hour, neighborhood residents are quickly learning where to go to feed their oyster craving.
Art of the Table
(Wallingford)
Chef/owner Dustin Ronspies, a boyish 33-year-old who previously made his living traveling and cooking on yachts for billionaires, creates a new themed menu each weekend in his catering kitchen and serves it to guests in the tiny adjoining dining room.
Austin Cantina
(Ballard/Crown Hill)
When someone invites you into his kitchen, you expect him to know what he's doing, and Austin Cantina owner and chef Jefe Birkner does. He and his crew serve up a proper Tex-Mex feast.
Barolo Ristorante
(Downtown)
Barolo Ristorante in downtown Seattle is all about lighting in a dining room where housemade pastas, grilled meats and seafood prove consistent in their inconsistency.
Betty
(Queen Anne/Seattle Center)
The much-anticipated sister restaurant to Lower Queen Anne's wildly popular Crow serves up creative cocktails, an admirable wine list, rich country pate and buttery morel-stuffed chicken thighs, among other specialties.
Boom Noodle
(Capitol Hill)
Boom, which is brought to you by Steve Rosen and James Allard, the two former tech-boom entrepreneurs behind conveyor-belt sensation Blue C Sushi, is not just selling noodles. It's selling a highly conceptualized style.
Cafe Presse
(Capitol Hill)
Le Pichet owners Joanne Herron and Jim Drohman bring their French culinary instincts to South Capitol Hill. This coffee shop, bar and cafe is at once gourmet and casual.
Cafe Sweet Posie
(Ballard/Crown Hill)
This tiny grab-and-go joint -- too small, even, for chairs and tables -- is destined to become one of Ballard's top breakfast spots.
Calamity Jane's
(Georgetown)
Calamity Jane's in Georgetown features fine comfort food (burgers, mac and cheese, weekly specials such as meatloaf, ribs and spaghetti) and cool cocktails.
Coupage
(Madison Park/Madrona)
Coupage in Madrona offers French-Korean dishes such as "petit kimchi," as well as lemongrass vichyssoise, shiitake cannelloni and a sensational burger enhanced with foie gras.
Gaudi
(Ravenna/Roosevelt)
Tapas and paella are the specialties at Gaudi in Ravenna. Don't-miss nibbles include deep-fried potato-rice-meat balls (bombas) and peppers stuffed with bacalao (piquillos).
How to Cook a Wolf
(Queen Anne/Seattle Center)
The fare at Wolf lives up to chef Ethan Stowell's reputation. Many a passerby has been spied lingering at the window of the Queen Anne restaurant, gazing up at the menu of Italian delicacies that tease them from behind a locked door, lost in visions of veal carpaccio, quince paste and pappardelle.
In the Bowl Vegetarian Noodle Bistro
(Capitol Hill)
In the Bowl Vegetarian Noodle Bistro on Capitol Hill puts vegetarian cravings first, with soy-based-meat dishes, tofu, curries, stir-fries and fresh veggie rolls.
Joule
(Wallingford)
Joule adds a jolt of the innovative to the Wallingford restaurant scene. The eclectic, expertly executed menu embraces kimchi and gnocchi, cornbread and sweetbreads, and much more.
Julia's Indonesian Kitchen
(Ravenna/Roosevelt)
Julia's is, above all things, a friendly place. Enjoying the delicious Indonesian cuisine they serve, however, is much Julia's is, above all things, a friendly place. Enjoying the delicious Indonesian cuisine they serve, however, is much easier than explaining what it's like.
Julia's on Queen Anne
(Queen Anne/Seattle Center)
Many of the breakfast and lunch items are the same here as they are at the other Julia's locations. Dinner on Queen Anne, however, is a different story. Entrees such as porterhouse pork chops with blackberry demiglace and grilled fennel, coq au vin and more are a romantic new step for the chain.
Koi Japanese Restaurant
(Bellevue)
Koi Japanese Restaurant in Bellevue has karaoke, waterfalls, koi, saketinis, skilled sushi chefs and a menu of favorites: teriyaki, sukiyaki, donburi, tempura and crab Rangoon.
Kurrent Restaurant + Bar
(Capitol Hill)
Kurrent is the very picture of a Belltown-style restaurant and bar -- which would be peachy if Kurrent were in Belltown. But it's located in Capitol Hill's Pike/Pine corridor. Kurrent may acquire that Pike/Pine feel over time, but for now, it's a strange fit for the Hill.
La Côte Crêperie
(Madison Park/Madrona)
Crepes like Le Fermier (chicken, mushrooms and crème fraiche) and La Complete (eggs, ham, Emmental) are substantial enough without gorging your belly or gouging your wallet.
The Monkey Bridge
(Ballard/Crown Hill)
This Vietnamese eatery, which serves curries, pho and many other traditional dishes, is named for the bamboo crossings that link Vietnamese villagers to their local markets. The simian association comes from the monkeylike postures travelers make as they cross them.
Ocho
(Ballard/Crown Hill)
Ocho's owners, Zach Harjo and Gelsey Hanson, have quietly transformed the former site of Matt's Gourmet Hot Dogs into a sexy tapas bar that is luring crowds from the well-worn Ballard Avenue bar circuit over to the western reaches of Market Street.
Opal
(Queen Anne/Seattle Center)
Opal on Queen Anne is a jewel. It's brief, pricey menu features gorgeous contemporary American dishes, including a mushroom and potato "shortstack" and king salmon with salmon eggs.
Qube
(Downtown)
Qube in downtown Seattle is a flashy Asian/French eatery. Order three-course dinner sets or a la carte (the better plates include the portobello burger, crab/linguica chowder and salmon tartare).
Spazzo Italian Grill & Wine Bar
(Redmond)
Local restaurateurs the Schwartz Brothers (think Daniel's Broiler and Chandler's Crabhouse) garnish with the staples of Italian fare: Garlic, fresh herbs and cheeses. Pastas, salads, slow-roasted meats and unique pizzas as well as house made desserts and espresso grace its menu, too.
Squid & Ink
(Georgetown)
At any meal, Squid & Ink's menu would have you believe that vegans are as omnivorous as all the rest. The food is satisfying, stick-to-your-ribs comfort chow, and there's a decent bit of fake chicken and fish on the menu.
Steelhead Diner
(Downtown)
Steelhead Diner serves kicky cocktails, dreamy desserts and entrees that use Pike Place Market-fresh products: Uli's sausage in glorious gumbo, Beecher's cheese on the Wagyu burger, Chukar Cherries saucing wild salmon.
Taste (at Seattle Art Museum)
(Downtown)
Head chef Christopher Conville's menu takes a sustainability-minded approach to New American, in dishes like barley risotto with spring peas, beans, yellow onion and truffle and weathervane scallop strudels with melted leeks, mushrooms and a spiced-carrot reduction.
Tavolata
(Belltown)
Tavolata in Belltown serves simple, rustic Italian fare: everything from house-made pastas to octopus salad and a hefty, delicious T-bone.
Tidbit
(Capitol Hill)
Combining Italian and Spanish cuisines, this Capitol Hill bistro boasts a friendly staff and serves tapas (hence the name) and offers a fine wine and dinner menu. With a range of tastes, from crepes to clams, Tidbit is equally capable of filling an empty stomach or providing a quick bite.
Trellis
(Kirkland)
You'll find fresh, unfussy but refined food at Trellis in Kirkland. Delights include pan-seared chicken, crisp duck breast, Pacific seafood soup, grilled steak and a superb burger.
Tutta Bella Neapolitan Pizzeria (South Lake Union)
(Eastlake/Lake Union)
Certified pizzaiolo Joe Fugere has a passion for pizza that earned him the official blessing of Naples-based Associazione Vera Pizza Napoletana.
Txori
(Belltown)
This Belltown cafe specializes in small dishes called pinxtos. A toothpick or stick impales various toppings, like stuffed peppers, anchovy and chorizo, to a slice of baguette, and the combination is often eaten standing up in a Spanish tavern with a glass of wine or a strong coffee.
Via Tribunali (Queen Anne)
(Queen Anne/Seattle Center)
At Via Tribunali's second location, as at the first, thin-crust pies are built inside and out with Italian imports, for which Neapolitan chef Dino Santonicola says there's no substitute.
Volunteer Park Cafe & Marketplace
(Capitol Hill)
At breakfast, Volunteer Park Cafe makes French toast with caramelized bananas and vanilla ricotta filling. For dinner, there's cassoulet, bouillabaisse, meatloaf and slow-braised lamb shank, among other comfort-food favorites.
Zayda Buddy's Pizza
(Ballard/Crown Hill)
Ballard's only Minnesota-style pizzeria serves a pretty decent slice, with paper-thin crust and generous toppings. They don't go overboard on the cheese, and the slices are tender; you can easily cut them with a fork, if that's your thing. There's also Midwest comfort food and lots of beer.
|
|
|
