Star Chef Brendan McGill Is Planning a New Italian Sandwich Shop in Georgetown

Here’s some happy news for the Georgetown lunch crowd. Star Bainbridge Island chef Brendan McGill — of Hitchcock and Bruciato fame — is working on opening a new Italian sandwich shop in the neighborhood called Panino Taglio. It will be an offshoot of sorts to his new Downtown Roman-stye pizzeria Bar Taglio, with a selection of panini made from the same type of fluffy, long-fermented dough — crispy on the bottom, airy on the inside. Though there are still some details to finalize, such as a liquor license, McGill and his partner Nahum Ochoa (Bar Taglio’s chef de cuisine) hope to open sometime in early spring.

The new restaurant at 6003 12th Ave S will have an easy-going, pop-up feel to it. McGill has 18 months left on the lease for the space, which was formerly home to his mainland Hitchcock Deli outpost (the original is still on Bainbridge Island) and the short-lived Georgetown Deli and Market (which was sold back to McGill after it closed last year). Diners can expect a menu of about 5-6 different panini (not pressed, by the way, like many delis default to when it comes to the style), with a meatball selection and a few vegetable options, along with some salads. There will be beer and wine eventually, seating for 20, a round marble table near the front of the shop, and an outdoor patio when the weather allows.

Panino Taglio will also have a robust retail portion, selling pastas from McGill’s Bainbridge Island company, as well as deli meats. The simplicity of the concept and the finite amount of time before the lease is up allows for a little more flexibility on how to run the place, without committing to a risky long term strategy. Though the hours will be daytime-only to start, McGill says that could change if people are really beating down the door in the late afternoon. “It’s more fun this way,” he tells Eater Seattle. “We just want to feed the people.”

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