Seattle can depend on a flood of restaurant openings when the calendar flips to June, as cooks attempt to reap the benefits of the crowds of vacationers and the heavy foot site visitors that comes with shades-and-shorts climate.
These roundups always include burgers, pizzas and tacos. However for individuals who groan concerning the lack of originality, our newest roll name — with 32 Seattle restaurant debuts — additionally consists of an Afro Latin fusion spot, a West African cafe, a Lebanese Mexican taqueria, an Italian pasta home with Korean tweaks, and a New American bistro with Filipino twists.
And talking of the Philippines, a well-known Filipino fried rooster chain lastly opened in Seattle — and is already plotting extra franchises across the Sound.
Learn on for particulars on these eating places and dozens extra.
SLU, Belltown, downtown, past
An enormous rating for South Lake Union is Paju, one of many high Korean eating places in Seattle, which moved from Uptown into greater digs on the Amazon campus. The up to date Korean bistro can have a wood-fired oven and extra kitchen devices to play with in an area that’s twice as massive as its previous restaurant. Paju’s best hits — the fried rice, seafood pancake and yellowtail crudo — will stay on the menu, however proprietor Invoice Jeong additionally added extra shared giant plates, together with a dry-aged rib-eye and, quickly, a roasted duck.
Jeong mentioned the 16-item menu is evolving till he will get a greater sense of the foot site visitors movement and viewers in South Lake Union. Paju now serves craft cocktails, together with each classics and Asian-inspired drinks, like a spiked vodka bubble tea. The 60-seat bar and restaurant is at present open just for dinner however lunch service might be added sooner or later.
The Amazon busy bees also can get Korean fusion sandwiches and tacos at Bleuwiches or espresso and bomboloni doughnuts at Social Fabric Cafe + Market in SLU.
Lenox, an “Afro Latin soul” pop-up, lands a everlasting dwelling within the former Jerk Shack house in Belltown, with an eclectic menu of Afro and Latin American fusions and road meals from the cuisines of Cuba, Puerto Rico and past. Anticipate bites equivalent to a beef empanada and the plantain and cassava fritter alcapurria, together with giant plates of pork stomach, rooster and steaks with Caribbean flavors.
A couple of blocks east of Lenox sit two different openings: the favored Neapolitan pie pop-up Good Shape Pizza opens contained in the Jupiter dive bar and the Malaysian spot Kedai Makan provides a second location in Belltown
Two big-name cooks, Tom Douglas and Brendan McGill, have opened uncooked bars not too long ago. Simply north of Pike Place Market, Douglas’ Half Shell replaces Etta’s, doing $2 oyster blissful hour from 3-6 p.m. every day together with shared plates, equivalent to peel-and-boil wild Gulf shrimp, Bristol Bay sockeye and wild Alaskan halibut.
Lower than a mile south is McGill’s Oyster Cellar; its 15-seat bar doubles because the kitchen, with the workers plating albacore crudo, smoked scallops and shucking $2 oysters throughout blissful hour (3-6 p.m., Tuesday-Saturday). Oyster Cellar additionally runs a stellar craft cocktail program, together with a stiff daiquiri.
Extra downtown eating choices for workplace employees: At Pike Place Market, Seattle Dumpling Co. does dumplings and handmade Chinese language noodles. On the Harbor Steps, La Pergola has a big choice of tequila and mezcal to go together with an eclectic menu of grilled octopus, lobster mac and cheese and ragu pasta. Close to the Seattle Conference Heart, Kas serves kimbap, rice bowls and different Korean fare.
On Eastlake, Rubinstein Bagels expands with its fourth department, and a half-mile north of it sits Yoksod Noodles and Thai.
In Interbay, Barrel & Bacon (an offshoot of Truffles N Bacon Café in Las Vegas) takes over the old Champagne Diner spot, doing consolation meals with Filipino twists, together with its signature crispy ube French toast with ube cream cheese, coconut strings, ube jam and condensed milk.
Capitol Hill to the South Finish
On Capitol Hill, Cheese Room Seattle takes over the previous Ristorante Machiavelli house and retains the deal with Italian meals. Anticipate giant parts of pastas, risottos and different dishes, together with sausage and polenta. There are beneficiant parts of crab ravioli, veal ragu pappardelle and saffron risotto for underneath $20.
Discerning palates might discover some delicate Italian-Korean fusion in these sauces, equivalent to fermented soy paste or a rice cream sauce. That’s as a result of Cheese Room Seattle is run by Heong Quickly Park, who owns two Korean bistros: Meet Korean BBQ on Capitol Hill and Chan Seattle within the Paramount Resort.
Close by, Koko’s does Mexican and Salvadoran grub, together with a chorizo burger and Salvadoran rooster enchilada, together with the same old tacos and burritos.
The massive opening, although, is in Rainier Valley, the place Jollibee drew about 100 die-hards at 9 a.m. for its Seattle debut earlier this month.
For the uninitiated, the famed Filipino quick meals chain has some 1,500 areas worldwide promoting buckets of fried rooster thighs and drumsticks, although it added a rooster breast sandwich in 2021 to compete with Popeyes and different American chains. In contrast to its opponents, Jollibee’s fried rooster comes with a aspect of gravy.
If you happen to don’t wish to take care of strains through the dinner and weekend rushes, the restaurant plans to launch on-line ordering later this summer time. Jollibee needs so as to add extra Seattle-area franchises after 2025, administration mentioned.
Reopening however with new road addresses: Lucky Chinese Restaurant at 6538 Fourth Ave. S. in Georgetown; and West Seattle’s Pegasus Pizza, now at 4520 California Ave. S.W.
Lastly, two bubble tea spots debut: Hyson Boba Tea Cafe within the Central District and Gaga Tea within the Chinatown Worldwide District.
North of the lake
In Ballard, Lupe’s Situ Tacos deep-fries Lebanese Mexican fusion tacos which can be filled with butter beef, garlic potato or harissa cauliflower. Started as a pandemic pop-up, this taqueria sits alongside the restaurant row on Ballard Avenue Northwest.
A couple of blocks north are two extra new spots: Dough Joy, the vegan doughnut chain, and Strega Pizzeria. The latter is from the couple Sara and Samuele Lucchese, who additionally run Pasteria Lucchese, a counter at native farmers markets.
And simply because the Ballard Brewery District loses one in style burger spot with the imminent closure of 49th Street Beast, alongside comes one other: Queen Anne Beerhall brings its smash burgers inside Nice Notion brewery, in a brand new challenge referred to as The Hall SmashBox.
For beachgoers, The Kite Cafe is the new tenant in the Golden Gardens Bathhouse, promoting deli sandwiches and picnic objects equivalent to charcuterie bins.
For College of Washington college students, Birrieria Pepe El Toro brings its in style birria tacos to the Ave.
In Greenwood, Jollof Hub West African Cuisines presents a variety of consolation dishes, from a Nigerian creamy soup constituted of floor melon seeds, referred to as egusi, to Gambian fare, equivalent to domoda peanut butter stew and the lamb jollof rice.
Close to Inexperienced Lake, Lil Woody’s and Darkalino’s, a burger joint and an Italian cafe, respectively, open underneath the identical roof in Tangletown. It’s the fourth Seattle department for the burger chain and the second for the informal Italian restaurant.
Additionally in North Seattle, Eat & Go Thai Street opens close to the nook of Aurora Avenue North and North 125th Road. And a half-mile northwest of that is Radiant Flavors Cafe.