Mistral Kitchen Is Closed After Eight Years In Denny Triangle

Mistral Kitchen, the sprawling, high-end restaurant in Denny Triangle that spent plenty of time on the essential Eater 38 list over the years, appears to have closed after a little more than eight years in business. Two tipsters alerted Eater Seattle to the news, with one citing an eviction notice on the door referring to $29,000 in debt. While the restaurant’s website is still active, the phone has been disconnected and the online contact form failed to send a message.

Chef William Belickis opened Mistral Kitchen in late 2009. The 5,000-square-foot restaurant included a sometimes-confusing collection of experiences: an upscale cocktail lounge called The Jewel Box that served Korean- and Spanish-influenced tapas, upper-level lounges, a main dining area, a kitchen counter bar, and a pastry counter bar for those ordering just dessert.

In an interview in 2015, Eater wrote, “Over the past five years, Belickis has guided his reincarnated restaurant to the upper echelon of Seattle’s dining scene, all while paying attention to an ever-changing neighborhood. ‘I’m not afraid of change,’ [Belickis said] without hesitation. ‘You have to be willing to adapt.’” Before Mistral Kitchen, Belickis ran a much more low-key, 40-seat Belltown restaurant called Mistral, also for around eight years.

Perhaps Mistral Kitchen’s high-end approach finally put the eatery at odds with the skyrocketing number of Amazonia office workers seeking lunch and happy hour deals in South Lake Union and its bordering neighborhoods. Some of Josh Henderson’s more upscale restaurants in the area, Vestal and Bar Noroeste, also closed recently, as did downtown’s glitzy Circadia. It’s still unclear what exactly the fluctuating region surrounding Amazon’s boom can and will sustain.