There have been a number of new restaurant openings this fall in various parts of Seattle. We were only able to get to a few (more to follow next month). We also checked out one well-established restaurant you may have overlooked.
A New Thai Option in Ballard
In the heart of old Ballard, just South of the Hotel Ballard with Stoneburner and across the street from the Tractor Tavern a new Thai restaurant, Spoonfull, 5210 Ballard Avenue NW, 206.644.2993 https://spoonfullballard.com/ just opened up (end of October) for lunch and dinner seven days a week. We stopped in for lunch midweek. After searching for parking, we had the restaurant to ourselves. Spoonfull is a long and thin restaurant and bar with an entrance on 20th Avenue NW, also; parking would have been easier had we known that in advance.
We tried the spring rolls for a starter and Tom Yum (a thai soup with lemongrass, lime and chili paste and your choice of protein and the Phad Thai (a thai noodle dish with a peanut oil base, peanuts, and sauces generally both sweet and savory), both with chicken. We ordered each to be 3 stars for heat (out of five) and, possibly due to this being such a new restaurant, the Tom Yum came out very hot (at least a 4 if not close to a five) and the Phad Thai quite mild (at most a 2). It was hard to get past the heat to taste the ample flavor of the Tom Yum. The Phad Thai was flavorful and came in a very ample serving, easily enough to feed two (and this was a lunch time portion). Having sampled Phad Thai at many restaurants in town (every time we review one), this one was good to very good and possibly the most generous portion. We were disappointed with the spring rolls as they seemed too doughy without much filling.
Spoonfull has a full bar (very prominently) but this was lunch, so we stuck to Thai ice tea which was good to very good, compared to others in town. The service was both friendly and fast, but they were not at all busy when we were there. Overall, the food was uneven, as described above. It has a lot of competition in the neighborhood, but we would go back to sample other items on their menu or perhaps for two to split the very generous and good Phad Thai.
Something New in the Othello Neighborhood
If you are looking for a new Vietnamese food option on the South End of Seattle, Soufend Café, 6059 Martin Luther King Jr. Way South (on the North West corner at the intersection with South Graham) https://www.instagram.com/soufendcafe/ or order at https://order.snackpass.co/6700895f738587e5860af749?utm_source=qr also just opened at the end of October. The Café was busy with both take out and dining in. Many if not most of the customers were ordering in Vietnamese but there was no language barrier ordering in English.
Their regular menu is supplemented with a wide selection on the daily fresh board. Fresh ingredients is one of the features we liked about Soufend, so one should definitely consider the items on the board.
We tried the Bun Dac Biet All-in vermicelli with prawns, sliced pork and several other items and the Bun Bo Hue tacos and a soup special from the fresh board, Hu Tieu Nam—Phnom Penh Noodle soup. We also tried a Chicken with (fried) rice, also off the fresh board.
The Bun Dac Biet contains a fun variety of protein items—so diverse we were not always sure what some of the items in it were. They certainly justified the “all-in” label. It is a very filling dish, possibly too much food for one person for lunch. We would order it again if we were sharing family style with a few others.
The Bun Bo Hue—two beef tacos in soft flour tortillas with cheese, basil, sprouts onions and cilantro were not very unique. They were served with a spicy beef noodle soup—the spiciest item we tasted there. They tasted good, but we would probably try more items on the fresh sheet before returning to the tacos.
The Phnom Penh Soup with mixed seafood tasted fresh but, once again, was not particularly spicy.
The Chicken and Rice (English translation) was ordered by one of our guests who has visited Viet Nam They felt it very authentic, down to the bone in chicken being cut into chunks which can be a struggle to eat it without making a mess. The chicken was served over excellent fried rice. We would order it again, even with the bones.
We also sampled their Matcha latte with banana foam and a Vietnamese coffee. The matcha was entertaining in its presentation, both flavorful and colorful and the Vietnamese coffee did not disappoint.
Overall, everything tasted fresh, especially important with the seafood. Most items were not as spicy as we expected, but there were hot sauces available, if desired. The service was friendly but somewhat spotty, such as having to ask for napkins, chopsticks and silverware (which were not placed for self-service. This might be just getting the kinks out in a new restaurant.
Soufend Café has vegan and GF options, but the prices were higher than what we expect with almost downtown prices for lunch. There is a small cash discount, or rather a 3% surcharge for a charge card. Soufend Café is worth checking out if you are in or near the neighborhood. But it is a long haul for lunch if you are North of downtown. We plan to go back to sample more of the menu if we are in the neighborhood.
Well Established on Broadway: Annapurna Cafe
A well-established Nepalese and Northern Indian restaurant possibly known to many of you but that we had never visited, Annapurna Café, 1833 Broadway (just South of the Capitol Hill Light Rail station), 206.320.7770, https://annapurnacafe.com is well worth either a return or certainly a first time visit. Annapurna, named for a Mountain in the Himalayas, maintains a low profile on Broadway, largely because the main portion of the restaurant is in the basement.
For a starter we tried the Bhanta Choka with Crunchy Naan, one of their seasonal appetizers (not on the on-line to-go menu). That is a spiced potato and eggplant dip (with garlic, of course). It was flavorful and having the naan crispy was something new for us. Having tried it, we prefer our naan not to be crispy, but the dip was a good starter.
For our main course we shared Lamb Kofta, a lamb curry in a creamy cashew sauce, and Napali Khana with Chicken Curry, a tray with an assortment of dishes including dahl, a tomato chutney (spicy), saag, and two other dishes we were not familiar with (one being minced vegetables) and rice (white or brown). The flavors were varied and different (sometimes subtly, sometimes not) from what we were more accustomed to from Central and Southern Indian food).
Annapurna Café has a full bar (and the Yeti Bar) featuring a selection of Saffron Infused Vodka Cocktails and a wide array of flavored martinis and frozen drinks. We will need to sample these on a return visit. But we did sample a non-alcoholic Jal-Jerra, described as a popular Indian street drink that includes tamarind, turmeric, ginger, black pepper, and lemon juice. The Jal-Jerra can best be described as an acquired taste.
Annapurna is well established and has been recognized by several magazines and online reviews as one of the restaurants to try in Seattle. It was our first visit, and we were surprised by the extent of the differences between Nepalese and Himalayan food and the more central Indian food (or the Sri Lankan food) to which we are more accustomed. If you have not tried it is well worth visiting just to experience the difference. For us it is a convenient location (and it is right off the Capitol Hill light rail stop) so we do plan to return.
Dining Out is brought to you by Christopher Howard with the help of friends and family. For comments or suggestions (which we take quite seriously) contact us at 206.669.5956 or chh@f2t.com.
