Seattle Restaurant Openings for 2022
Even during the continuing challenges of the pandemic, 2022 in Seattle has seen plenty of exciting restaurant openings. Here’s a running list of some notable places in the area that have opened recently. More new restaurants are featured here. Know of a spot that should be on this list? Send us a tip by emailing [email protected].
August 1
SHORELINE — Sodam Chicken is one of the best Korean fried chicken restaurants that’s recently opened in the Seattle area. The kimchi and kalbi are well-executed as well.
MADISON PARK — Parlour Wines recently opened as Madison Park’s only dedicated wine bar after operating as a bottle shop for several months. Beyond being the neighborhood’s only wine bar, it’s probably the only business in the city that’s focused on Italian natural wines.
DOWNTOWN — Mason’s Famous Lobster Rolls, a Maryland-based seafood chain, is bringing Maine lobster to Seattle. The location opens on August 4. The chain has been a hit in U.S. cities like D.C. and Charleston. This is the first West Coast location.
DOWNTOWN — Seattle restauranteur Ethan Stowell opened a second location of The Victor Tavern at the base of the 2+U office tower near Pike Place Market on June 29. Perhaps Stowell’s most casual restaurant concept, The Victor Tavern caters to downtown office workers with a happy hour (4 p.m. to 6 p.m.) menu featuring bites like beef tartare, spicy calamari, grass-fed beef burgers, veggie burgers, and fish and chips, served with $10 cocktails, $6 draft beers, and $7 glasses of wine.
DOWNTOWN — Renee Erickson’s newest business is a casual Northwest-style bar where you can order chicken wings, jalapeno poppers, and smoked oysters in the heart of the Denny Triangle.
WOODINVILLE — Walla Walla Steak Company, a steakhouse from the Revelers Club, the group that owns El Gaucho and Yellowhawk Resort, now has a location in Woodinville. It’s located in the historic Woodinville Schoolhouse No. 23, and opens along with a connected taproom from Walla Walla’s Crossbuck Brewing.
C-ID — Pipa Mountain Hotpot, a new restaurant the Pacific Rim Center, has been all over local food influencer accounts recently for its aesthetically pleasing piles of marbled beef and simmering bowls chili-red broth.
U DISTRICT — Call A Chicken, or CAC, is a new franchise from the owners of Sizzle & Crunch, a popular Vietnamese grill with two locations in Seattle. The name will inevitably be butt of some UW student’s joke, but it’s serving a solid-looking menu of fried chicken dishes with fried gizzards, spicy fried chicken sandwiches, a couple of types of wings, and more.
ISSAQUAH — Renowned Seattle Caribbean sandwich shop Paseo now has a fourth location in Issaquah’s Lake Sammamish Shopping Center.
MADISON VALLEY — Kamp Social House opened near the end of July on East Madison Street, serving snacks like fried chickpeas and watermelon ceviche and dinner dishes like confit jerk duck leg and mushroom risotto. There’s also a solid list of cocktails, including half-and-zero-proof options.
SODO — The Mariners’ new restaurant Hatback Bar & Grille and brewpub Steelheads Alley will open in August in the old Pyramid Brewing building, just across the street from T-Mobile Park. Hatback will feature American classics like burgers, pizza, and oysters. Steelheads Alley will host resident Métier Brewing Company, one of Seattle’s two Black-owned breweries.
TACOMA — The former Tacoma Rhein Haus space now hosts golf simulator spot Stadium Golf and a location of Seattle Mexican restaurant Poquitos.
WEST SEATTLE — Admiral Dembow Room has reopened under the ownership of Mark Fuller, the man behind the recently closed legendary fried chicken spot Ma’ono. The pirate-themed bar is now having a new life, and the menu might even see the Ma’ono fried chicken sandwich soon, according to The Seattle Times.
July 6
LYNNWOOD — A Korean barbecue chain that’s been hailed as Los Angeles’ best KBBQ is coming to Lynnwood’s Alderwood Mall this month. Baekjeong was founded by a Korean professional wrestler in 2003 and was brought to Los Angeles in 2012 by Michael Chon and the Kijung Hospitality Group. Legendary Los Angeles Times food writer Jonathan Gold listed the restaurant a decade later on his famously competitive 101 Best Restaurants list. The Lynnwood restaurant will be the first in the brand’s history to have a larger menu, which includes new lunch and bar menus, but will continue to only use USDA Prime grade meats and better, with customer favorites like short ribs and pork jowl.
DOWNTOWN — Salt District is a new casual Italian restaurant on Pier 55 on the Seattle waterfront by the owners of Elliott’s Oyster House and Metropolitan Grill (E3 Restaurant Group). John Vega, who previously ran E3 Restaurant Group’s catering program, is the restaurant’s executive chef. His menu includes snacks like cheese and charcuterie boards, sandwiches for lunch, and pasta, steak, branzino, and lamb osso bucco for dinner.
DOWNTOWN — Tiger Sugar, Taiwan’s premier brown sugar milk tea chain, has arrived in Seattle near Pike Place Market. The Instagram boba sensation entered the U.S. market in 2019 with two wildly popular locations in New York City. This is the chain’s first location in Washington, and it has plans to expand in the state.
FREMONT — Carnelian Bay, a new bar from the owner of Stampede Cocktail Club, Paul Shanrock, is “a luxury resort on a subtropical moon.” The sci-fi-themed immersive bar, where mystery narratives are told through the cocktail menus, is located on a patio next to Dreamland Bar and Diner (another one of his bars) and is serving craft cocktails with snacks like loco moco, kimchi pineapple pork belly skewers, and green papaya salads.
BALLARD — Wallingford takeout shop Secret Congee, a darling among local food critics for its experimentation with the humble Asian porridge dish, has relocated to a larger space on Seaview Avenue in Ballard with 14 indoor seats and 10 outdoor seats. The dishes are largely the same as at the previous location, with favorites like the slow-cooked beef and kimchi congee and the tom yum shrimp congee remaining on the menu.
BALLARD — Capitol Hill wine tasting room Aluel Cellars is opening a second location on Northwest Market Street this month, providing residents of Ballard with a good spot to sample Washington wines in a neighborhood without many dedicated wine bars.
GREENLAKE — Popular Tacoma banh mi shop Toast Mi has expanded into Seattle’s Green Lake neighborhood. The shop serves classic banh mi sandwiches as well as rice bowls, salads, and drinks like milk and fruit tea.
GREENWOOD — Bar Sur Mer, a bar behind FlintCreek Cattle Co., is serving Spanish-influenced tapas in Greenwood. Owner Eric Donnelly took inspiration from San Sebastian’s ubiquitous pinchos bars for his new concept, where he’s serving snacks like marinated squid and clam salad served in a compound butter made with chorizo spices, beef tartare with uni, and tomato and manchego salad with yuzu, according to Seattle Met.
SLU — Lakeside, a fine-dining restaurant serving prix fixe dinners, is now open in South Lake Union’s new Lake Union Piers Development on the waterfront. The restaurant space will offer excellent views of Lake Union and the Seattle skyline, according to a press release.
CAPITOL HILL — A shop specializing in Korean corn dogs, simply named Korn Dog, is now open in Capitol Hill, providing an alternative for those who prefer oozing mozzarella and crispy batter to cream cheese with their hot dogs.
June 3
BAINBRIDGE ISLAND — Brendan McGill’s newest restaurant is converting the former Hitchcock restaurant space on Bainbridge Island into an inventive seafood and vegetable restaurant called Seabird, scheduled to open June 9. The kitchen will be led by chef Grant Rico, who’s bringing some Japanese techniques (like using local kelp-based broths) to bring out the best flavors in local seafood. The space features a granite-covered raw bar where oysters will be shucked and art by local artists. In a bold and hopeful leap away from the pandemic restaurant reality, Seabird will be dine-in only.
MONTLAKE — Oxbow, a highly-anticipated bagel shop from Jesse and Kit Schumann, the owners of Sea Wolf Bakers, opened a couple of weeks ago next to Italian restaurant Cafe Lago. The sourdough bagels, served with a few spreads (salmon, sun-dried tomato, scallion) have already gotten a shoutout from food writer and bagel expert J. Kenji López-Alt. The shop is also serving espresso from Hyacinth coffee, beer and wine to-go, and pastries like scones and biscotti. It’s takeout-only for now, but seating will be added later (when the owners feel safer about COVID-19) along with pizza in the evenings.
CAPITOL HILL — Maripili Tapas Bar, the much-anticipated restaurant from former JuneBaby pastry chef Grayson Corrales, is finally open, serving tapas informed by her time recently working at a two-Michelin-starred restaurant in Galicia, Spain. Dishes in a sample menu include typical tapas like tortilla de patatas, charcuterie, and of course, Galician-style octopus.
CAPITOL HILL — Sankaku, which means triangle in Japanese, is Seattle’s first restaurant focused on the country’s most famous triangle-shaped food: onigiri, rice balls covered in nori and filled with pickles, preserves, and salted fish. The restaurant also serves home-cooking-style dishes like Japanese curry, vegetable side dishes, and house-made pickles.
SOUTH LAKE UNION — Noodle/Bar is the new restaurant from the owners of Plenty of Clouds, a popular Sichuan and Yunnan restaurant in Capitol Hill. Chef Travis Post is using Washington wheat to make handmade noodles in dishes like dan dan mian. He’s also serving cold and hot chicken buckwheat noodles, all served alongside a robust cocktail list.
SOUTH LAKE UNION — Manna, a new commissary kitchen and daytime cafe from the owners of Mbar and Mamnoon, is scheduled to open this month. The kitchen will supply grocery stores in the area with grab-and-go meals and other snacks, while the cafe will serve salads, sandwiches, pastries, and coffee.
SOUTH LAKE UNION — Bloom is a new fast-casual-style restaurant offering make-your-own bento boxes with choices of protein (like turkey meatballs, king salmon, and glazed tofu) along with grains, vegetables, and pickles) for the SLU lunch crowd. There are plenty of gluten-free and vegan options, and though the business focuses on health, Seattle Met reports the dishes are well-crafted and don’t skimp on flavor.
DOWNTOWN — Salt District, a new casual Italian restaurant from the owners of Metropolitan Grill and Elliot’s Oyster House, is scheduled to open on Pier 55 this month. The menu includes pasta, cured meats and cheeses, sandwiches, and classic Italian entrees like branzino. It’s also going to have a large cocktail and wine list.
PHINNEY RIDGE — Arc is a new restaurant serving food inspired by the mesh of Korean and Mexican cuisines found in Los Angeles, paired with wines from Baja California and cocktails, located in the former Park Public House space. It’s a collaboration between North Star Diner and Shanghai Room owner Travis Clark and a longtime bar manager for Tom Douglas’ restaurants, Todd Hamm.
WOODINVILLE — Cava Azul is a large modern Mexican restaurant scheduled to open June 20 in the center of Woodinville. Its 100-seat dining room will offer views of the kitchen, and it will be open seven days a week with brunch, lunch, and dinner services. Dishes include an aguachile calamari salad with radish and jicama and mole with half a chicken, paired with a selection of agave spirits and cocktails.
KIRKLAND — The owners of Mbar and Mamnoon are also opening a restaurant in Kirland’s Totem Lake this month called Hanoon. It will serve baked goods and lunch items and fast-casual meals for dinner. It was originally scheduled to open February, but the opening was delayed.
May 9
CAPITOL HILL — Kent-based restaurant and food truck Paperepas Venezuelan Food is bringing its empanadas, arepas, and plátanos to Capitol Hill. The new restaurant, located in the Broadway Building at 1620 Broadway, is opening in the next few weeks.
CAPITOL HILL — Marco Casas Beaux, the man behind the Boca Restobar restaurants, is opening an Argentine bakery and pizzeria on Capitol Hill. Argentina’s residents come from all over Europe, and Casas Beaux says its bakeries are packed with pastries from all over the continent, along with some uniquely Argentinian creations like medialunas — sweeter, smaller versions of French croissants. The Argentine pizza — a thick, cheesy pie verging on a deep-dish pizza — will be made with a naturally leavened dough and served alongside some classic Italian cocktails. The restaurant should be open in a few weeks and will be located at 426 Broadway E.
CAPITOL HILL — Money Frog, a pan-Asian restaurant from the owners of Taurus Ox and Hangry Panda, serves unorthodox dishes like a yakisoba cacio e pepe, Mongolian sukiyaki beef with chili peppers and chrysanthemum greens, and, staying true to the name, chicken-fried frog legs. Co-owner Khampaeng Panyathong says though the restaurant just opened, it’s moving next month to the former location of Adana, a space with more of a fine-dining vibe that’s closer to the center of Capitol Hill, while the current space turns into another location of Hangry Panda. It’s currently located at 903 19th Avenue E.
HALLER LAKE — Lotus Pond Vietnamese Cuisine is Aurora Avenue’s newest Vietnamese restaurant — and a favorite of Monsoon and Ba Bar co-owner Eric Banh. It serves all kinds of pho and noodles soups, vermicelli noodle bowls topped with grilled meat, shrimp, and shrimp cakes, as well as grilled beef wrapped in betel leaves at 12752 Aurora Avenue N.
DOWNTOWN — Slices USA, a Dallas-based high-end pizza chain owned by Michael Franzese, a former capo of New York’s infamous Colombo mob, recently opened in Downtown Seattle. You can try the the Sicilian-style pies at 809 Olive Way, Suite C.
DOWNTOWN — The George, the new full-service restaurant of Seattle’s Fairmont Olympic Hotel opened last month as part of a $25 million renovation of the hotel’s dining and lobby areas. Chef Thomas Cullen says he intends to make it the top restaurant in Seattle by achieving unparalleled breadth and quality in his menu with pasta dishes, sashimi, huge seafood boils and towers, dry-aged steaks, and more. The restaurant’s design, with vaulted ceilings and zigzagging green, black, pink, and white marble tile floors, is stunning. You can find The George at the back of the lobby area of the hotel, which is located at 411 University Street.
CENTRAL DISTRICT — Cafe Avole, an Ethiopian coffee roaster and shop in the Brighton neighborhood, has moved to the Central District’s Liberty Bank Building, right next to chef Kristi Brown’s Communion restaurant. The owners served free food during the pandemic at their last location and regularly hosted popups. The Liberty Bank Building is located on the corner of 24th Avenue and East Union Street.
BELLEVUE — Xi’an Noodles, which serves chewy house-made biang biang noodles drenched in chili oil at a counter-service restaurant with a few tables in the University District, opened its largest restaurant yet at 1075 Bellevue Way NE in Bellevue last month. The new restaurant has an expanded menu featuring grilled lamb, beef, and chicken skewers dusted with cumin and chili powder, along with noodles, mango sago, and sweet red bean soup.
KIRKLAND — Kati Vegan Thai, which has a popular South Lake Union restaurant serving all-vegan renditions of classic Thai curries and rice and noodle dishes, recently expanded to The Village at Totem Lake mall in Kirkland. It’s located at 12540 120th Avenue NE #110, Kirkland.
BALLARD — Wero, a new modern Korean restaurant in Ballard, used to be the American gastropub The Gerald, until owner Wes Yoo decided to serve his cultural cuisine instead as part of his journey to embrace his Asian identity. Now, diners can find dishes like wagyu zabuton steak ssam served with a variety of banchan, gochujang wings, and Korean-style steak tartare on the menu. It’s located at 5210 Ballard Avenue NW.
BALLARD — Renton-based brewery Bickersons Brewhouse recently took over the former Peddler Brewing space at 1514 Leary Way NW in Ballard. Like Peddler Brewing, it will continue to host food trucks and monthly events like pun slams and astronomy nights.
SKYWAY — Salima Specialties’ second iteration has quickly turned turned into an important gathering place for King County’s Cham population, a mostly Muslim Indigenous group from Southeast Asia. The halal menu includes dishes like “Cham bao,” made with fluffy dough wrapping around shrimp, jicama, wood ear mushrooms, carrots, and a quail egg all cooked in toasted coconut milk, and a satisfying oxtail soup. It’s located at 11805 Renton Ave S.
PIKE PLACE MARKET — Shama is Pike Place Market’s new fine-dining Moroccan restaurant that serves m’rouzia, a meltingly tender lamb shank with Moroccan saffron and a chicken dish cooked with bitingly sour preserved lemons and briny green olives, both served with fluffy couscous. The restaurant overlooks Western Avenue and is located at 1501 Pike Place #200.
WEST SEATTLE — Lillian Anaya Quintanilla has been selling her golden-brown, crispy pupusas and banana-leaf-wrapped tamales at farmers markets around the Seattle area for more than 10 years. In March, she finally opened her first restaurant, Lily’s Salvadorean Restaurant, in a spacious location at 2940 Southwest Avalon Way in West Seattle, which also has a full bar serving beer, wine, micheladas, palomas, and margaritas.