We have been wandering to the South, East and North, possibly overlooking some developments closer to, but not quite in, downtown. And, while downtown, Belltown seems a bit far to walk for lunch, and later on the parking situation can be intimating. So, it is possible we have neglected this close neighbor and we felt it was time to revisit Belltown.
We think of Belltown as older, separate from and West of South Lake Union (Amazontown), but our recent experiences suggest it draws much of its patronage from the newer part of town, at least during the day (lunch and happy hour). But, during the work week it can be less crowded than the South Lake Union establishments tend to be.
Once we got over our fears of distance and parking, we found many options, some new, to choose from in Belltown.
A New Southwestern Option
Well, fairly new: Hatch Cantina, 200 Bell Street, 206.285.7190, https://hatchcantina.com/, opened just over a year ago at the corner of Second and Bell. We checked them out for a weekday lunch. They were not crowded at that time. What crowd they had was loudly talking Amazon related business. They accommodated us when we requested a quieter area (and even turned down the music volume for us). They were not heavily staffed for lunch (one server); their heavier traffic is apparently weekend brunch and happy hour.
The restaurant is named for the Hatch Chile, a generic name for New Mexican peppers grown in the Hatch Vallery region of New Mexico. There are several types of Hatch peppers, so their heat can vary. The chef, Pill Crowder, grew up in Durango, Colorado (part of the “Southwestern” cuisine region) who grew up learning his grandmother’s recipes, some of which are incorporated into the offerings at Hatch Cantina.
The menu is clearly labeled for dietary preferences and provided us a fairly wide selection for lunch. We sampled the featured Hatch Green Chile Soup. It had good flavor but was not as spicy/hot as we expected. The soup came with a choice of tortillas, we got blue corn, and three house made sauces/salsas. We also shared the Chile Colorado tacos which were both flavorful and somewhat spicy. Of these, the tacos were a clear favorite, but we would order both items again.
We splurged and ordered dessert, both the peach cheesecake flautas and the fried ice cream (ice cream rolled in cornflakes before whatever frying is done). The two desserts went very well together, especially with the chocolate ice cream. We would order both again, if we were in the mood for dessert.
Hatch Cantina has a full bar and we sampled one of their featured drinks, the Hot and Bothered Margarita. As the name suggests, it is spicy; we would rank it good, not outstanding, so we would probably sample other featured drinks next time.
Overall: we liked this new Southwestern option and we do plan to return. Parking was not as much an issue as we expected, at least during the work day. We may go back to try the brunch. There are some interesting brunch menu items. (We have never heard of a chicken fried ribeye before.)
Rumored to be Among the Best Happy Hours in Town
After doing a little research we heard that List Restaurant, 2226 1st Avenue, 206.441.1000, https://www.listbelltown.com/, had one of the best happy hours in town, and we were not disappointed. Opening at 4 p.m., they offer happy hour seven days a week, and all day on Sunday and Monday. The happy hour is half price on the food items and several featured drinks have discounted prices.
We tried a Saturday happy hour so it was not too crowded. We understand on other days you will definitely want to get there early. We sampled the half price items with the black truffle gnocchi, the steelhead with cilantro pesto on a bed of farro and the meat balls. We accompanied this with a “Plum Blossom” and a “King Bee.” We liked all three food items with differences of opinion among us on which was best, but if you like gnocchi, you will like this preparation with the creamy black truffle sauce. The truffle flavor came through just enough to add that extra dimension to the dish. The Steelhead was fresh and flavorful on top of a nice, chewy, bed of farro. And the meatballs (beef and pork) were straight forward and filling.
The Plum Blossom, plum vodka with orange tincture, lemon juice and rosemary infusion was light and fruity, but not overwhelming so — very easy to drink. The King Bee was a sweet variant on a Manhattan with a honey bourbon combined with both chocolate and walnut bitters as well as the sweet vermouth.
Since this was happy hour, the featured drinks were $10 each and the food items were half price (usually $10 or less). Overall, two of us ate a full meal with drinks quite reasonably, especially for this close to downtown.
List opened in 2008, so many of you may be familiar with it already. But, if you are not, it is certainly worth checking out, and we intend to go back soon. We cannot say this is the best happy hour in town, but it is in contention. And on most days you should try to get there early as it is not a large venue and it fills up.
On the Border
The border of Belltown, that is. Patagon, 1610 2nd Avenue, 206.256.7520, https://www.patagonseattle.com/?utm_source=extnet&utm_medium=yext, is a hotel-based restaurant with an Argentinian theme at Second and Stewart, right where the grid bends (one of many definitions of the Southern Border of Belltown). We had no trouble getting in without a reservation, but that may depend upon how full the hotel is and whether there is a conference in town.
We split the spinach salad, the “pork belly,” which is really roasted brussel sprouts with minced pork belly, and the brisket cheeseburger. The sprouts and pork belly was easily our favorite and we would certainly order it again. The spinach salad was big enough to split and was good, but the dressing was bland making the salad not particularly memorable. The same could be said for the cheeseburger, a double burger with cheese in the middle, except that it came with a very generous quantity of fries, more than two of us could eat. And, if you want your burger anything other than medium, be sure to specify since they did not ask.
Patagon has a full bar including some reasonable glasses of Washington wines available. We accompanied the meal with a glass of the Januik Merlot. All of this was reasonably priced for a downtown area hotel-based restaurant. This is a grill themed restaurant, and the featured steaks were a heftier price, but for rather large cuts. Overall, it was not expensive for downtown area.
The service was very prompt and friendly. But read your tab: there is a 20% service charge added that was not mentioned in the menu or by the server. This service charge goes 16% to pooled tips and 4% to the hotel “to support wages and benefits.” And, inappropriately, they add the charge before the sales tax.
As we walked through Belltown we found many more places worth revisiting. We expect a sequel to this issue.
Dining Out is brought to you by Christopher Howard, now retired from law firm life, but still dining out, together with friends and family who help chose and sample the restaurants. Send comments and suggestions to him at chh@f2t.com or 206.669.5956.
