2007 Best New Restaurants
Our picks for the best eateries to open in 2007.
Matt’s in the Market
Opening date June 27, 2007.
Why we love it Verve. There’s a reason Seattle’s food lovers followed the six-month remodeling closure of their favorite closet-size restaurant in Pike Place Market like it was the Superbowl—they were jonesing for a jolt of the fabled energy that made Matt’s kitchen the wildest zone in town, and its fresh fare some of the most creatively unrestrained. Verdict on Matt’s 2.0? Seven hundred more square feet of exciting.
What to order Seafood so fresh, those fish-tossers outside might have just fastballed it through the window. Choose the daily special (the chef chose it because it looked best that day) or, at lunch, the legendary oyster sandwich.
Who to bring Out-of-towners, who will achieve tourist nirvana when they look out the historic half-moon windows and get an eyeful of Pike Place Market, its huge sign, the pig, the bay, the ferries, the Olympics, those airborne fish.
But sheesh… Double a restaurant’s size and halve the wait, right? Yeah, right. Matt’s takes reservations, and you’d be wise to make them.
Matt’s in the Market, 94 Pike St, Pike Place Market, 206-467-7909; www.mattsinthemarket.com
Opal
Opening date May 27, 2007.
Why we love it Splendor. It was the happiest surprise this year: an intimate bilevel geode on the penthouse level of Queen Anne, shimmering in iridescent gold and offering a menu full of ambitious global innovations that simply dazzled. Occasional formal gestures, from the covered butter dish to the careful service, don’t obliterate its status as a neighborhood restaurant so much as elevate the category altogether. A stunner.
What to order Off a menu that reads pretentious (aged goat-cheese emulsion, anyone? Peach espuma?) come plates so artistically composed, you expect a certain formal predictability of flavor. Then you take a bite of something simply exuberant, its flavors unexpected and frisky; its textures luscious as comfort food. (In other words, order one of everything.)
Who to bring Whomever you want to cuddle up with between the emulsion and the espuma …it’s a swell stage set for a promising date.
But sheesh… Espuma?
Opal, 2 Boston St, Queen Anne, 206-282-0142; www.opalseattle.com
Tavolàta
Opening date January 24, 2007.
Why we love it Electricity. The biggest restaurant news of 2007 was the unveiling of Ethan Stowell’s homage to the late-night Italian pasta joint, planted in the heart of Belltown and launched to thundering acclaim. After midnight, when the open kitchen’s jumping and the Belltown prowlers pack the house, the vibe is unparalleled.
What to order The housemade pastas are simple and satisfying, but to be dazzled you must go with the carnage—a lamb shank, a double-cut pork chop, a grilled T-bone bigger than your face.
Who to bring Whichever of your night-owl friends cuts the streetest profile against sandblasted cement walls and dusky candlelight.
But sheesh… Be sure that friend has nothing interesting to say, because you will not hear it above the roar—particularly if you’re sitting at the huge communal table.
Tavolàta, 2323 Second Ave, Belltown, 206-838-8008; www.tavolata.com
Published: November 2007
