Mount Baker’s Missing Fine-Dining Restaurant Resurfaces

Chef Toshiyuki Kawai announced plans today to reopen his French-Japanese fine-dining restaurant Iconiq at 1421 31st Ave. S on Mount Baker this October, which will mark a year since he closed the restaurant temporarily to deal with a personal matter. Kawai also floated the possibility of a few casual pop-ups in June and July.

When he put Iconiq on hiatus, Kawai said he was headed to Japan to deal with a “family emergency” and hoped to reopen a month or two later. Today’s Facebook post revealed instead that he had a personal health issue that he felt was better treated in Japan, where he could be close to his family during recovery. “Last October I was ill and needed some treatment,” he wrote. He assured everyone he’s doing much better and should be back in October “with a greater passion and even more knowledge of Iconic cuisine.”

Iconiq opened in 2017 in the former home of A La Bonne Franquette, and it quickly won over critics, so this should be welcome news to anyone missing the chef’s unique blend of French and Japanese cuisines. In a review last summer, Seattle Met said, “This restrained dining room offers reassurance that pleasing people needn’t negate ambition.” The Seattle Times had a similar experience last spring: “Iconiq has the relaxed demeanor of a neighborhood place [...] Yet the food and service has the refinement you expect when appetizers are in the double digits and entrees hit $30.”

• Iconiq [Facebook]
• All Coverage of Iconiq [ESEA]
• At Iconiq, Respect the Unexpected [Seattle Met]
• Iconiq: Refined Cuisine in Mount Baker Will Have You Coming Back for More [Seattle Times]