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Two years ago when we learned that a Phillip Starck-designed luxury SLS Hotel was destined for the new Fifth and Columbia Tower (preserving Seattle First United Methodist Church), there were whisperings that it might house a restaurant from the world famous James Beard Award-winning chef José Andrés. Those rumors are now confirmed: The Spanish chef will bring his cuisine to Seattle when the 184-room hotel opens in 2017.
Slated to occupy the bottom third of the 660-foot, 43-story office tower, the new hotel will include 30,000 square feet of food and beverage offerings headed up by Andrés. SLS luxury hotels are currently in Beverly Hills, South Beach, Las Vegas, and the Bahamas, with six more (ours included) slated to open across the U.S. over the next two years. When the Seattle hotel was first announced in 2013, we knew it would have at least two restaurants and a bar, and that Andrés was the culinary director for the SLS group, but we didn't know if the Seattle restaurant(s) would be his own work until now. Many credit the chef with introducing the concept of small plates to the U.S., and The Seattle Times says he's been called "the face of Spanish food in America."
