Goodbye Capitol Hill Tequila Parlor, Hello Eastern European-Jewish Restaurant

Seattle’s growing cadre of restaurants serving Jewish fare will soon have another member in Dacha Diner, which will focus on Eastern European and Jewish specialties on Capitol Hill. The restaurant will replace hot-pink tequila and taco parlor the Saint, which owner Quentin Ertel opened in 2008 and renovated extensively late last year. Ertel has sold the building to Tom Siegel and Joe Heffernan, the owners of the Independent Pizzeria.

Inspired by the New York Jewish food of Siegel’s upbringing and his time as partner in a catering business in the Czech Republic in the early 1990s, Siegel and Heffernan will serve Eastern European and Jewish breakfast and lunch staples like dumplings, cabbage rolls, blintzes, brisket, latkes, borscht, and pickles. Dacha will also serve coffee and drinks based around infused vodkas. But they’ll replace the building’s hot pink exterior.

Dacha Diner is the latest in a recent explosion of restaurants serving Jewish dishes. The latest is Capitol HIll neighbor Dingfelder’s Delicatessen, currently serving classic Jewish deli items, like corned beef and pastrami sandwiches, half-sour pickles, and chopped chicken liver, from a walk-up window. Standard Bakery and Napkin Friends food truck are both developing Jewish delis right now, too. But Dacha Diner certainly looks to be putting its own spin on the trend, perhaps more akin to the Russian cuisine served at renowned Kachka in Portland.

• Jewish Deli Now Serving Corned Beef From Capitol Hill Walk-Up Window [ESEA]
• Capitol Hill Tequila Bar The Saint Flaunts a Hot-Pink Makeover [ESEA]
• Dacha Diner bringing Eastern European comfort food to Capitol Hill [Capitol Hill Times]
• The Independent Pizzeria [Official]
• All Coverage of Independent Pizzeria [ESEA]