Skip to content

Food & Drink

A Big Week For Atoma

Year-old Wallingford hotspot nabs best new restaurant awards

By Rob Smith December 4, 2024

Left: Interior of a rustic restaurant with wooden furnishings, exuding a charming Atoma vibe. Right: Person holding plates with various small appetizers, ready to delight guests during this Big Week event with toast and pastries.
Photos courtesy of Atoma

It’s only Wednesday, but it’s been quite a week for Atoma.

The Wallingford restaurant has racked up some impressive honors this week, including being named Esquire’s Best New Restaurant in America. Earlier this week, Eater also named the year-old Wallingford hotspot its Best New Restaurant.

“When I learned that Johnny Courtney had peeled off from Canlis, one of the best old restaurants in America, I couldn’t help but be intrigued. When I saw that his own restaurant, Atoma, occupied the bottom floor of a Craftsman house in Seattle’s Wallingford neighborhood, I was charmed. And when I read the menu, I was excited,” Esquire wrote.

“Fermented radish cakes with geoduck and clam-belly aioli. Crumpets with koji butter. Dungeness crab with crab phat sabayon. Atoma’s in the Pacific Northwest, so you know the menu will change with the seasons, but one mainstay is a crispy, savory, flower-shaped cookie that’s pumped with a soft cheese and sweet jam made from Washington’s finest Walla Walla onions. Pair that with a glass of good grower Champagne and tell me you’re not excited, too.”

Eater also praised the restaurant, which Courtney and his wife, Sarah, opened in the space once occupied by Seattle favorite Tilth, which closed during the pandemic after a 14-year run. “Atoma occupies a Wallingford Craftsman house,” Eater Editor Harry Cheadle wrote. “The dining room is crowded and cheerful. The cocktail menu is loaded with puns. But the deliberate casualness conceals the ambition of the kitchen. There are dozens of “new American” or “Pacific Northwest” restaurants in Seattle that put local and seasonal ingredients at the forefront of what they do, but it feels like Atoma just raised the bar.”

Seattle is full of great restaurants. It’s a culinary capital of America. But this one totally stands out.

Follow Us

Restaurant Roundup: Take a Bite of the Latest Seattle Food News

Restaurant Roundup: Take a Bite of the Latest Seattle Food News

Here’s what was served up recently in the Emerald City

Seattle is a special place to eat — you know it, we know it — so it’s not exactly a surprise when local culinary talent makes the headlines. Nevertheless, it’s always worth throwing a little more shine to the spotlight — take a peek to find out which star gained some national acclaim this week,…

Counter Culture: Time Out Greek & American Restaurant

Counter Culture: Time Out Greek & American Restaurant

Cozy Mountlake Terrace gem delivers every time

Time Out Greek & American Restaurant, a hidden gem in Mountlake Terrace, has been serving up delicious comfort food since 2004. Founded by Emmanuel and Georgia Flemetakis, this family-owned restaurant is now run by the next generation of the Flemetakis family. The menu is packed with classic Greek comfort food, offering everything from gyros and…

Scramble for a Table

Scramble for a Table

Where to eat Easter brunch around Seattle, even with the egg supply running low

Egg dishes are in high demand during Easter brunch. This year, that demand is running into a national egg shortage. Seattle Port Commissioner Sam Cho used to run Seven Seas Export, an international trading company that once shipped 2.5 million pounds of eggs to countries like South Korea during Asia’s bird flu outbreak in 2016….

How You Can Own a Piece of Olympia’s Rich History

How You Can Own a Piece of Olympia’s Rich History

Olympia Distilling launches equity crowdfunding campaign to expand distribution

If the term “It’s the water, and a lot more” means anything to you, here a chance to own part of local history. Olympia Distilling Co. has launched an equity crowdfunding campaign for the public to invest in what it calls “the next chapter of the Olympia story.” Funds raised through the campaign will help…