Rider’s Wave of Seafood and Meat Hits Downtown Today

With a massive wood-fired grill at its center and a menu stocked with meat and seafood aplenty, Rider opens today in downtown’s new Hotel Theodore. In the kitchen is chef David Nichols, who spent years working with celebrity chef Marc Murphy in New York and was most recently executive chef at Queen Anne Beer Hall. He’s joined at the restaurant by Jonathan Fleming, former general manager at Ciudad.

Diners can fill their plates with seafood, like salmon and halibut from the Pacific Northwest, and meats, like duck and dry-aged ribeye from Oregon and California, all of which can be topped with sauces ranging from chimichurri to bordelaise. Other menu sections include chowders and soups (including a seafood chowder but also an unexpected vegetarian version), salads, raw picks like oysters and wagyu carpaccio, and entrees like smoked chicken breast with celeriac, mushrooms, watercress, and mustard.

Rider’s 90 seats offer views of the grill and the open kitchen, and a 10-seat chef’s counter brings diners even closer to the action. The restaurant is open every day for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. An afternoon happy hour runs from 3 to 6 p.m., and a late-night version stretches from 10 p.m. to midnight. Brunch starts this weekend, offered from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.

Courtesy of Rider