Food & Drink
Read More ›
Chain Restaurants Are Flooding Seattle, And We Love It
Are these chains changing our local dining scene? Who cares, as long as ice cream and ramen are involved.
Listen, Seattle: It’s time to loosen up about chain restaurants. If Din Tai Fung has taught us anything—besides how to have the patience of a preschool teacher while waiting for a table—it’s that sometimes really great food can come from bigger businesses. (And sometimes, not so much: RIP, Old Spaghetti Factory.) Now, the trend is making room for smaller or international chains serving mostly casual, quick meals and desserts to set up shop. These spots are all opening soon:
Tentenyu Ramen
Opening July 28, this Kyoto-based ramen shop will be serving big bowls of shoyu (soy sauce) broth and a popular chicken broth.
Capitol Hill; tentenyu-us.com
Hokkaido Ramen Santouka
More ramen: This one from the northernmost Japanese island of Hokkaido with a long-simmered pork broth and an AI robot to greet you at the door, as of Aug. 5.
University Village; santouka-usa.com
The Halal Guys
Long a New York favorite, these gyro slingers will be opening the doors in early August, covering everything with their signature (reportedly super addictive) white sauce.
Pioneer Square; thehalalguys.com
85°C Bakery Café
Lines still occasionally snake around the Tukwila location of this Taiwanese bakery, so it’s good that Lynnwood is getting its own shop in August—likely not the last we’ll see locally from these guys.
Lynnwood; 85cbakerycafe.com
Sugar Factory
If the Kardashians like it, it’s good enough for us. An over-the-top spot for fancy sundaes and doughnuts, this chain with locations around the country (and the globe) is coming to the Bravern later this summer.
Bellevue; sugarfactory.com
Salt & Straw
This Portland ice cream purveyor is already a Seattle legend after collaborating with Tom Douglas on the most amazing coconut cream pie ice cream last year. Now, we’re getting our own location—two, in fact—this winter. Can we have a Wiz Bang Bar, too?
Capitol Hill and Ballard; saltandstraw.com
In my fantasies, this list would also include both an In-N-Out and Shake Shack, a Momofuku Milk Bar, a Blue Bottle Coffee and a Waffle House. Keep dreaming, huh?
Follow Us
Restaurant Roundup: Literary Libations and Tequila on the Docks
Here’s what was served up recently in the Emerald City.
There are still three weeks until Thanksgiving, but the spread of offerings this year at Seattle-area hotels is already impressive. Whether you’re traveling in the city or simply don’t want to deal with dirty dishes, the cornucopia overfloweth. Enjoy a feast at the Four Seasons’ recently remodeled Goldfinch Tavern, or a three-course meal at The…
Best Coffee Shop: Drip Drip Coffeehouse
This women- owned and minority-operated coffee shop gained popularity for its Vietnamese-style coffee and matcha flights. The former is brewed with a phin—a Vietnamese coffee press in which hot water slowly drips through coffee grounds—yielding a bold, concentrated brew. Drip Drip’s phin-brewed coffee comes in sweet and savory flavors, including banana, salted egg yolk, coconut…
Best Brewery: Stoup Brewing
Like any good craft brewery, Stoup has a little chaos to it. Dogs tuck under tables, kids tear into snacks, food trucks hum in the background, and friends squeeze together at long tables. Husband-and-wife Brad Benson and Lara Zahaba opened the original Ballard brewery with their friend Robyn Schumacher in 2013, amid the neighborhood’s craft-brewery…
Best Bakery: Bakery Nouveau
If one pastry can explain Bakery Nouveau’s appeal, it’s the twice-baked almond croissant, dipped in simple syrup, filled with almond cream, and sent through the oven twice. Co-owner William Leaman, who has more than 35 years of experience in professional baking, was named one of the country’s Top 10 Next Generation Chocolatiers and captained a…