Spring Hill's Non-Precious Menu Revamp

If you're a fan of Spring Hill, you may have noticed the West Seattle restaurant has changed its menu significantly. Small plates now comprise roughly 75 percent of the menu, with just a few entree-sized plates rounding out the list (don't worry; the burger remains).

Chef Mark Fuller says this new format should make his destination-worthy restaurant more affordable, more approachable and a better fit for the neighborhood. It's also meant to dispel the notion that Spring Hill is only for fine dining, special events, or an expensive night out.

"I am not suggesting that a reputation of fine dining is bad, it’s just not what we are and we are trying to figure out what works for us here in West Seattle," he said in an email. Apparently Fuller had customers tell him they never would have come to the restaurant if it weren't for his legendary Monday night fried chicken dinners, discontinued back in July.

The previous Spring Hill menu, a more traditional mix of large and small plates, wasn't exactly ostentatious. However Fuller says the new dishes do away with anything that could be considered "fussy, pretentious or precious."

"I realized that we needed to tone ourselves down and relax a bit," he says. The restaurant has also switched to a more dress code for the front of house staff, and changed its water service, doing away with the filtered option. According to Fuller, the choice of water was simply meant as a nicety, but some patrons perceived it as an upsell.

However since this is still Fuller's kitchen, don't expect plates to be boring. The new menu includes halibut brandade fish sticks ($12), scallops with spicy pork cracklings ($14) and a $3 order of "cured butter with pan drippings" to smear atop warm rolls.

· Spring Hill [Official Site]
· All Spring Hill Coverage on Eater Seattle [-ESEA-]