:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/61276377/threepastas_ilcorvo16.0.0.0.jpg)
James Beard Award-nominated chef Mike Easton has a new Italian restaurant called Il Nido in the works in West Seattle, with plans to serve dinner five nights a week and weekend brunch in a renovated 100-year-old log house near Elliott Bay. A more substantial menu, full service, a family-friendly environment, and evening and weekend hours will make it a perfect foil to Easton’s lunch-only, weekday-only Pioneer Square pasta place, Il Corvo, which is one of Seattle’s most popular modern dining destinations. This could be one tough reservation to score.
At Il Nido, which means “the Nest,” the Italian menu will feature plenty of seasonal produce and, thanks to a bigger kitchen and more time, more “delicate, intensive handmade pastas.” “You don’t see tortelli or ravioli on the menu at Il Corvo very often because it would take an army of people to make enough to put it on as a lunch special,” Easton says.
And the space — all 3,000 square feet of it — will be much more expansive than the cramped quarters of Il Corvo. The so-called Alki Homestead (2717 61st Ave. SW), which dates to 1903, has past lives as a residence and as a restaurant. In fact, this Thursday, ll Nido is reinstalling the original neon art-deco Alki Homestead sign on top of the restaurant.
The design will balance modern and rustic touches, with slab tables, a river rock fireplace, and contemporary chairs and fixtures. Dining areas will include a front lounge area and a small bar seating six. “At Il Corvo, we tried to create a space that wasn’t stuck in any time period,” Easton says. “Il Nido should also have that timeless feel.”
The opening timeline is up in the air right now because of the extensive renovation process underway. “I’d love to see it open in time for spring, but that’s a pretty ambitious goal,” Easton says.
