Shota Nakajima’s Taku headlines 29 new restaurant openings in Seattle

Shota Nakajima, the candidate for the “Top Chef”, opened Taku On Capitol Hill in early May, though this is technically a fresh start. Taku, originally conceived as a street food skewer concept, debuted in 2020 just before the pandemic broke out and closed shortly afterwards for safety reasons. Nakajima evolved with a quick-casual concept inspired by Karaage chicken. You can order five pieces or a bucket of Japanese chicken or chicken nuggets. Or get the fried chicken as a sandwich or in a rice bowl. This is Seattle so of course there are teriyaki dipping sauces that come with this bird.

For vegans, Bicycle dogs has found a permanent home in Ballard, preparing fast food dishes with chicken sandwiches, burgers and hot dogs. Cycle Dogs was a cart that was converted into a food truck at the time and now, after a successful fundraising campaign, is taking over the former room of the No Bones Beach Club. With a larger kitchen, Cycle Dogs will add mac and cheese to its menu, as well as other vegan home cooking.

Carmelos tacos, which was a surprise hit when it debuted in a walk-in window on Capitol Hill in 2018, has opened a second, larger location across from Seattle University. This Mexican restaurant has a larger student menu, including tortas and the trendy braised beef birria tacos with broth. The best tacos, however, are the campechano (chorizo, steak and potatoes) and for the vegans the mixture of mushrooms, guajillo chilli and garlic. Capitol Hill also gets a new food truck, Jalisco Antojitos, parked at 324 Broadway E. It’s very popular in northern Seattle Taqueria La Fondita of White Center added an outpost on the corner of Aurora Avenue North and North 90th Street.

Bombay burger Located near the corner of East Madison Street and 15th Avenue, the hotel offers burgers made with chicken, lamb, and beef flavored with Indian condiments, as well as non-meat patties, including paneer cheese and potatoes. French fries come with masala and chutney. West of this burger fusion lies Aviation wine + chocolate.

Finch & Pine Now a weekend brunch is served in the old Cafe Barjot. Capitol Hill Cafe serves tartines ranging from mushroom pie to maple-smoked salmon, plus fresh muffins and other baked goods for breakfast or lunch.

Dantini, The popular pizza pop-up that my colleague Jackie Varriano raved about in her pizza summary has found a permanent home in the Batch 206 Distillery. You can also take your pizza next door to the renowned Holy Mountain Brewing for a cold one. Located a mile south of Dantini MEDOR restaurant & Bar In the former Boat Street Cafe, Moldovan and other Eastern European home-style dishes such as cabbage rolls and dumplings filled with pork are prepared.

One of the hot openings this spring Holy bread made his debut in Portage Bay by Yasuaki Saito, one of the owners of London Plane. This popular bakery offers traditional and fused French, Japanese and Scandinavian pastries. For the time being, avoid Fridays if you don’t want to deal with lines. One recent morning, Saito had eight bakers and aides cranking out melonpan steamed egg sandwiches, smoked trout toast, and sandwiches to keep up with the hustle and bustle. This bakery is currently only open Tuesday to Friday and will also be open on Saturdays and Mondays in June. The bakery currently only offers toast and sandwiches, but is hoping to start selling sourdough and other breads this summer.

Fremont gets the Indian high-end bistro Rasai, Artfully composed dishes are served here, including entrees that range from a charcoal-infused lobster tail with chilli aioli chutney to a $ 42 duck entree with foie gras, Dakshin sweet potato crepes, and orange and tomato chutney. Even in Fremont, Just burgers just opened along North 35th Street.

The owner of the Blarney Stone Pub across from Pike Place Market, Martha Fletcher, has opened another Irish pub – Friends Public house near Climate Pledge Arena, where the Seattle Kraken will play in October. It is aimed at pre- and post-game fans with a bar with 129 seats, 14 televisions and a projector and 28 seats outdoors.

Magnolia gets Slice box pizza, which offers an extensive selection of vegetarian pizzas in addition to hot peppers and other staple foods.

Another option to take away Pad Thai and Curry comes with the arrival of to Ballard Koo Hoo Thai Street. Likewise, Isarn Thai Soul cuisinewith offices in Lynnwood and Kirkland expands to Ravenna. In the university district, Yang Guo Fu Mala Tang brings hot pot and noodles to Ave. And you can build your own bento box near the Amazon campus Bentoful with teriyaki, bulgogi and other rice dishes.

On the ghost kitchen front in LA Krispy rice is available for delivery in Seattle via the Citizens Go app. Psst. The same group overseeing this setup will also be bringing Umami Burger to Seattle by the end of the year.

For those with a sweet tooth: Thibault Beaugendre, who works in customer service at Amazon, has recruited a friend who was a baker in France and England to help him run a ghost kitchen called The French. Instead of relying on a third-party delivery service, Beaugendre bought a truck and delivers croissants, kouign-amann and baguettes (within a 40-mile radius of downtown). The French Guys will also sell their bread at farmers markets in Renton and Queen Anne.

Bell’s Cookie Co. There is now a shop in Green Lake with a dozen different types of biscuits, from snickerdoodles to souped-up varieties like “The Bells” with toffee, potato chips, chocolate chips and pecans.

Moonrise Bakery on Upper Queen Anne offers croissants and other puff pastries. The shop also has a natural wine list put together by the excellent folks behind the trendy Vif and Petite Soif wine bars.

Lil ‘Tiger Ice Cream The salon in Lake City is old-fashioned and has a time machine menu of banana splits and root beer floats.

Natural sweet palace An ice and juice bar is operated in the Al Bacha restaurant on Capitol Hill.

On the coffee front: Blessing Boona Coffee in Renton has expanded near Capitol Hill, specializing in beans from Rwanda, Burundi, Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda and other African countries, with an emphasis on “helping women-owned producers,” said owner Efrem Fesaha. Located next to Carmelos Tacos, Boon Boona plans to host poetry nights, musicians and pop-ups, and display the work of local artists on the walls.

bed makes egg, turkey and other sandwiches on Brazilian cheese bread and has just opened a new store on Capitol Hill. The cafe also serves organic Brazilian coffee, smoothies, and acai bowls.

In the central district, Melo Café serves coffee and Somali chai, and for snacks, there are empanadas from Rapa Nui Foods and Japanese filled bread bites from Umami Kushi.

Lassi & SpiceThe Indian café in South Lake Union has expanded to Wallingford and serves chai and lassi, as well as small bites like samosas and the hearty donut vada.