Trendy Korean Corndog Chain Opens Its First Seattle Location

Welcome to the Eater Seattle restaurant tracker, a regularly-updated post with intel on the latest openings from around the city. In this update, a popular Korean corndog chain opens in the International District, Bellevue gets a mango dessert shop, and a farm-to-table gastropub from a wacky dinner theater company arrives in Woodinville.

Have intel about a newly opened restaurant, bar, cafe, or other food emporium that’s been overlooked? Tipping is essential: Send Eater the details over the Seattle tipline and we’ll check it out. Meanwhile, check out this other post for more of Seattle’s restaurant openings from 2019.

December 2, 2019

INTERNATIONAL DISTRICT — Chung Chun Rice Dog — a popular chain which has more than 300 locations around the world, including outposts in LA and San Diego — has quietly opened its first Seattle outpost in the International District. The restaurant currently has limited hours, with a grand opening coming this Saturday. Chung Chun is known for its variety of meats that are dipped in rice flour batter and fried like a corndog, with coatings ranging from panko breadcrumbs to Korean ramen noodles, served with a selection of sauces. The result is a chewy, mochi-like treat inside and a crunchy exterior. Status: Certified open. 502 S King St.

BELLEVUE — Mango Mango Dessert — a popular New York-based chain with 14 locations around the country — has officially opened its long-planned spot in Bellevue. Known mainly for mango-filled treats such as shaved ice, pancakes, and panna cotta, the shop also has some other sweet dishes, such as papaya snow fungus and almond soup. It’ll also be competing with Redmond’s Hui Lau Shan for the hearts of Eastside mango lovers. Status: Certified open. 103 Bellevue Way NE.

WOODINVILLE — Wheelhouse — a new farm-to-table gastropub from the wacky dinner theater circus Teatro Zinzanni — is now open at Hollywood Station, the Woodinville property that’s become a wine destination. It has a lodge-like vibe and a meat heavy menu, with short ribs, steaks, and pork chops for dinner, and a lunch service that includes pastrami reubens and an Impossible meatball banh mi. Status: Certified open. 14300 NE 145th St.

November 22, 2019

BEACON HILL — It’s been a good week for natural wine lovers. First, Capitol Hill gets the fun La Dive — now the highly anticipated Petit Soif arrives on Beacon Hill, opening its doors Saturday. This offshoot of the popular Fremont wine bar Vif promises an easy-going, neighborhood vibe, with glasses of organic, biodynamic, and low intervention wines, such as Domaine de Reuilly pinot gris and Papa Jaja cab. Customers can even share a bottle with others by purchasing two glasses at a discount, and having the rest of the bottle posted on a chalkboard. The food menu focuses on small bites, such as Spanish anchovies, prosciutto plates, and chicken liver pate with pickled raisins. Status: Opening Saturday. 3309 Beacon Ave S.

BALLARD — Equal Exchange Espresso — a decades-old co-op coffee company focusing on fair trade roasts — has reopened in Ballard after closing its original shop down in 2017. The new spot is next to Target on 15th Ave and Market St, with an expanded menu and more space. The shop now serves sandwiches, salads, biscuits and gravy, along with the usual thoughtfully curated selections of light and dark roasts from trusted producers. Status: Certified open. 1448 NW Market St.

DOWNTOWN — Croissants, toasts, sandwiches, and coffee dominate the menu at Skalka, a new cafe on Spring St, not too far from Pier 55. The bright, cozy space has some seating, but is mostly grab-and-go. There are also a variety of different types of coffee styles available, such as Vietnamese, Indian, and Russian, for those who want to mix it up. Status: Certified open. 77 Spring Street.

November 19, 2019

BALLARD — Raiz — an all-day neighborhood cafe serving Mexican food with Pacific Northwest flavors — has arrived on NW 65th Street. The cozy spot is from rising chef Ricardo Valdes and his friend Kenny Villegas, who have been running the taco stand El Xolo inside Capitol Hill bar Nacho Borracho since the spring. Biscuits with chorizo grazy, chilaquiles, requeson cheese pancakes with guava butter, and an assortment of sandwiches and toast are some of the menu highlights. Status: Certified open. 500 NW 65th St.

PIONEER SQUARE — Mr. Saigon, the popular local fast-casual banh mi shop, has added another outpost in the city. There’s now a new location in Pioneer Square, joining the ones in Capitol Hill and Downtown. The menu centers around various classic and modern banh mi sandwiches, all on in-house baked baguettes. Noodle bowls, spring rolls, and bubble tea round things out. Status: Certified open. 161 S Washington St.

BELLEVUE — Fancy eastside dessert purveyors Fogrose recently held the grand opening to the Fogrose Atelier, a full-service, French-leaning restaurant at Soma Towers, serving up nitro ice cream, banana flambe, and cocktails. There’s a dinner menu with charcoal capellini and salmon persillade . But the showcase is still on the sweets side, where one can find decadent-sounding items such as a Russian Ballerina (pavlova with fruit, chantilly cream, kiwi sauce, and olive oil ice cream). Status: Certified open. 10606 NE 2nd St.

November 12, 2019

PORTAGE BAY — Two former Microsoft employees have opened up a new pizzeria called Johnny Mo’s in the spot formerly occupied by the original Red Robin’s, which closed in 2010. The restaurant serves up both New York thin crust pies and Chicago-style deep dish, in an apparent attempt to bridge divisive pizza partisanship (the co-owners had different tastes). There are also local beers, wine, and a few cocktails, such as hibiscus margaritas and pomegranate juice mojitos, which should pair well with any cheese-based debate. Status: Certified open. 3272 Furhman Ave.

BELLEVUE — Eastsiders looking for Spanish food have a new spot to check out. Castilla Restaurant and Tapas Bar has opened at Bellevue Square, serving up paella, small plates (patatas bravas, shrimp and chorizo pinchos) and jamon Iberico, a much-coveted cured ham sliced by hand from a hog’s leg. The dining room is spacious, with sleek lines, an open kitchen, and a large wood oven in the center of the restaurant. Early reviews on Yelp have been mainly positive, with several praising the bacon wrapped dates and attentive service. Status: Certified open. 504 Bellevue Square.

BELLTOWN — New bakery alert. Limoncello Belltown features a variety of Italian pastries, homemade pastas, and coffee drinks in a large, striking space that recalls a fancy European cafe. The spot is located a block away from the iconic Macrina Bakery and around the corner from Tavolata, so there will be plenty of competition. Those gnocchi and cannolis better bring it. Status: Certified open. 2326 1st Ave.

October 29, 2019

BELLTOWN — German Turkish street food has arrived on Second Avenue with Doner Box, a fast casual spot serving up lamb, chicken, and other doner kebab dishes (meat slow-cooked on a vertical rotisserie), topped with a variety of housemade sauces. Vegetarian options include falafel and fried tofu, while the drinks list features German and Czech beer. Founder and chef Vaness Vu grew up in a small town in the Czech Republic, near the eastern border of Germany, and has developed a menu that reflects that region’s mix of European and Middle Eastern influences. Status: Certified open, 2421 Second Ave.

CAPITOL HILL — Ballard’s well-respected coffee shop Bauhaus has opened up a new outpost in Capitol Hill on Harvard Ave E. This marks a return to the neighborhood that gave Bauhaus its start in the early 1990s, before financial troubles forced a move from its original location on Pine and Melrose in 2015. The new spot is cozy, with ownership planning to expand the menu beyond coffee and pastries to beer and wine (although a liquor license is still forthcoming). Status: Certified open. 515 Harvard Ave E.

BALLARD — Mainstay Provisions, a new specialty foods market and all-day cafe, recently debuted on NW 65th Street, right near the dividing line between Ballard and Phinney Ridge. The made-to-order cafe menu includes items such as frittatas, chicken and chickpea soup, corned beef sandwiches, and spiced butternut salads (and plenty of options for kids), while the market offers fresh produce and pasta, as well as local beer and wine. There’s also some serious restaurant pedigree. BJ Bresnik, Mainstay’s chef de cuisine, used to work at Renee Erickson’s acclaimed seafood restaurant The Walrus and the Carpenter. Status: Certified open. 612 NW 65th St.

October 11, 2019

CAPITOL HILL — Fast casual Korean restaurant Oma Bap, which specializes in customizable bibimbap, opened a location on Capitol Hill near Cal Anderson Park. The new restaurant retains the Central District’s format, which lets customers choose a base of rice, noodles, or salad. From there, they can add vegetables, meat like short ribs or pork belly, and toppings like kimchi, pickled radishes, sesame seeds, a fried egg, and sauce. The restaurant also offers five pre-developed bowl options. The Capitol Hill restaurant serves a few new dishes like sliders, rice cake skewers, Korean pancakes, fried chicken, and Korean beer and wine. Status: Certified open. 1640 11th Ave.

BELLTOWN — Japanese fried chicken specialist Kaarage Setsuna has developed such a following over the last few years that it’s relocated to a bigger space nearby, with double the seating capacity as the original. The menu is the same, with owner Yoshi Matsumoto’s Japanese-Hawaiian specialties like spam rolls, loco moco, poke bowls, and regular and spicy kaarage chicken. Status: Certified open. 2421 Second Ave.

BELLEVUE — The weekday lunch rush is proof Qian Express Chinese Ramen House is a runaway success. Diners rave about the bone marrow noodle soup, which is served with a glove so diners can nibble on the bones floating in the broth. Other standouts include the house special noodles, beef stew, and the complimentary deep-fried peanuts. Diners order by scanning QR codes. Status: Certified open. 10660 NE 8th St.

October 9, 2019

Kin Len Thai Night Bites/Facebook

U DISTRICT — What is the market saturation for Korean fried chicken? Another specialist, U Dupbop, has appeared in the University District. In addition to fried chicken, the menu also consists of poke, rice bowls, and bento boxes, all at cheap prices. So far, Yelp reviews are mixed. Status: Certified open. 4124 University Way NE.

RAINIER BEACH — A new pho restaurant in Rainier Beach is also garnering very mixed reviews, with feedback all across the spectrum. Pho Hanoi specializes, as the name indicates, in the popular Vietnamese soup, pho, plus other dishes like bun cha Hanoi and bun bo hue. Status: Certified open. 9447 Rainier Ave S.

FREMONT — Kin Len Thai Night Bites specializes in a long menu of Thai food like crispy pork wontons, banana blossom fries, pork rice dumplings, chicken curry roti, beef hot pot, and crab papaya salad. There are also a few dedicated vegan dishes, like taro fried rice and baked mushroom medley with rice noodles. The restaurant caters to the late-ish night crowd, staying open til midnight seven days a week. Status: Certified open. 3517 Fremont Ave N.

September 24, 2019

BALLARD — All-day breakfast spot Vera’s closed in December and has reopened as Vera’s Pizza and Bar, a 21-and-over spot serving slices and whole pizzas until 1 a.m. There are a few quirky topping options like bacon cheeseburger and chipotle taco, plus six local beers on tap. There are promises of Jello shots and boilermakers in the future, too. Status: Certified open. 5417 22nd Ave NW.

BELLTOWN — Belltown Pub is under new ownership and is now Towne Pub. The bar is still dog-friendly, as before, making it one of the few such places in the neighborhood. The bar opens early on football Sundays, and stays open til 2 a.m. every day pouring Seattle-made beers, bar staples like nachos, onion rings, and wings, and burgers with a long list of sauce and topping options. The meat comes from Don and Joe’s Meats in Pike Place Market. Status: Certified open. 2322 1st Ave.

PINEHURST — Indian restaurant Mani’s Kitchen has closed, and it’s replaced by a Mexican restaurant called Casa del Mariachi. The new restaurant serves staples like pozole, chicken mole, enchiladas, chilaquiles, and more. There’s also a kids’ menu of hot dogs, quesadillas, and chicken enchiladas. Status: Certified open. 12327 Roosevelt Way NE