There were many sad farewells of established Seattle-area restaurants in 2025, but also many new openings to balance it out. This month, we checked out two new restaurants well
worth trying and one well-established niche brewpub.
New in U Village
A while after DeLille Winery moved into the old (and large) Redhook building in Woodinville, they added a restaurant to their campus. That restaurant has been well-received and garnered national attention, including receiving Wine Spectator’s 2023 award for Excellence. Building on that success, DeLille announced it would open a restaurant in University Village, and many of us have waited patiently for its opening, which was delayed a few times. DeLille En Ville (4601 26th Ave. NE, Seattle; 425-686-8915; https://delillecellars.com/delille-en-ville) did finally open late in 2025 in the southwest corner of University Village. We made it over there to check it out.
DeLille En Ville has a French influence but features local ingredients when possible. We took advantage of a special two-for-one offer to DeLille wine club members. Since we are “club members,” they brought an amuse-bouche, which was a dollop of crab salad on a house-made potato chip topped with roe; it got mixed reactions from us, but it was free.
Only one dish to report on here, because we both wanted to try their Croque Monsieur, which we both ordered with the side salad instead of fries (“frites”). A Croque Monsieur, the French name translating roughly to “Mr. Crunch,” is a ham and cheese sandwich on toasted or even fried bread. It is also available with a fried egg on top (making it a Croque Madame, “Mrs. Crunch”). We have had the opportunity to sample this sandwich several times in the past few years, and the ones at DeLille En Ville passed the test; it was good,
although not especially crunchy. This is a French bistro comfort food, and we would order it again here when in the mood.
Not surprisingly, DeLille En Ville offers wine flights as well as many wines by the glass or bottle and a full bar. We shared a flight of three vintages of DeLille’s D2 wine (which is offered to wine club members at half price). D2 is reliably good, and it was interesting to compare three vintages side by side.
We plan to return to try other items on the menu once we recover from the stress of parking at U Village.
New on Southeast Lake Union
On the shores of Lake Union, beyond an I-5 overpass, we found Lucerna (1201 Eastlake Ave. E., Seattle; 206-295-0099; https://lucernaseattle.com) located in the historic City Light Pump House (the building with the tall stacks). Lucerna opened in December, right in the heart of the Fred Hutch neighborhood. The restaurant is in a beautifully restored building sandwiched between biotech offices.
Lucerna’s menu has a soup, salad, and sandwich focus. They also offer main courses for dinner, but one must check their Instagram page to get updates on those: https://instagram.com/lucernaseattle.
We tried the Eastlake Club and the veggie sandwich and started with two of their soups: celery root and potato leek. The soups were flavorful — indeed, rather heavily and a bit unusually seasoned. We would order them again. The Eastlake Club was composed of smoked turkey breast, bacon, avocado, tomato, pickles, and pickled red onion with a rosemary aioli, served with potato chips (not house-made). It was very good, and we will order it again. We were tempted by the veggie club sandwich (pictured here) with roasted red peppers, caramelized onions, tomato, sprouts, hummus, and feta, and we would like to try that next time. Having had both soup and sandwich, we did not leave room for Lucerna’s featured dessert: chocolate chip cookies drizzled with caramel sauce. Lucerna’s sandwiches are available as lettuce wraps, a gluten-free option.
Lucerna does not have a large interior seating space, and it filled up by the time we were done. We noticed they were even busier with takeout orders than with those dining in. They informed us that dinners are not yet busy, and they do not yet have a happy hour, but plan to. Lucerna is owned by Backal Hospitality Group, based in Manhattan. Apparently they consider serving the Seattle biotech crowd to be a good investment.
Lucerna has a deck in back with a direct view from the southeast corner of Lake Union, with stairs down to a secured entrance from the floating walkway below the Fairview Bridge. They have not yet worked out the permissions to open that access, but when they do, they may have access from the water. We are enthusiastically looking forward to returning when the weather warms and their deck is open. Hopefully, they will have established their happy hour by then.
A Decade of Gluten-Free Fare in SODO
Just a few long blocks south of the Starbucks headquarters, we visited Ghostfish Brewing Company (2942 First Ave. S., Seattle; 206-397-3898; http://ghostfishbrewing.com), soon to be celebrating their 11th anniversary. Ghostfish is an entirely gluten-free establishment (food and drink) that has developed something of a national following in the gluten-free community
(they ship various beverages). We were there on a Sunday early evening, not a local game day, and the place was full.
We tried the blackened cod tacos and the sweet potato and kale tacos, as well as a bowl of chili and an order of onion rings. The tacos had soft corn tortillas and were a hit. The cod was fresh, although the blackening spices were fairly light. The sweet potato and kale tacos were the spicy ones. Our gluten-free participant already wants to go back for more of these tacos.
The bowl of chili was served with red onions, American cheese, and sufficient meat. The chili had only minor spice burn and was heavy on cumin, but it was satisfying. The onion rings were a generous helping. The gluten-free batter (based on rice and corn) on the onions was fluffy and slightly sweet.
All of Ghostfish’s brews are gluten-free, but neither of us who went there drinks beer, so we cannot evaluate those. They also rotate local (regional) ginger beers on tap and have a very limited selection of wine available. Overall, Ghostfish is a gluten-free establishment that can satisfy all diners.
Dining Out is brought to you by Christopher Howard with help from friends and family. Comments and suggestions are welcome and should be directed to chh@f2t.com or 206-669-5956.
