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Ba Bar Readies South Lake Union Location
The former Shanik spot will welcome pho fans on Saturday.
Another day, another South Lake Union restaurant… This time, it’s a second location of Capitol Hill temple to Vietnamese street food, Ba Bar. Owners/siblings Eric and Sophie Banh (who also owns Monsoon and Seven Beef) have taken over the space vacated by Shanik early last year. Because they’re good people who want to take care of their employees, the Banhs are giving everyone at all the restaurants a paid Thanksgiving off and opening Ba Bar SLU on Saturday, Nov. 26.
A few things to look forward to:
– Bánh cuốn, those delicious rice noodle rolls Ba Bar Capitol Hill currently sells only on weekends, will be a menu staple every day at South Lake Union. Eric Banh says his team is grounding the rice flour in house, filling the noodle rolls with ground Carlton Farms pork and woodear mushrooms, and topping with house-made chả lụa, a type of steamed Vietnamese sausage.
– Banh says he’ll be rolling out a “Saigon float”—a dark coffee with scoops of coconut ice cream, sweetened condensed milk, toasted coconut and peanuts that he enjoyed as a kid in Saigon—at both locations. Yes, please.
– Once the restaurant gets its bearings, Banh is planning to have a three-course family-style meal available for $18 per person. Think one dish with a big, bold flavor (like the clayfish claypot at Monsoon?) plus rice and soup and milder flavors, to encourage folks to eat the balanced way Banh says is typical in Asia.
Keep an eye on their Facebook page for any last-minute changes and open hours.
South Lake Union, 500 Terry Ave. N; 206.623.2711; babarseattle.com.
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