Hungry for news? Welcome to our Friday Feed, where we run through all the local food and restaurant news this week—and maybe help you figure out where to eat this weekend.

Toodle-oo, Tasting Menus

At the beginning of this month, White Center’s Tomo announced that it would no longer offer its tasting menu and would move entirely to à la carte ordering. The move aimed to make the restaurant more casual and less restricted by supply. This week, Off Alley says they will do the same starting August 1—the restaurant’s five-year anniversary. Similarly in search of more casual vibes, Off Alley will stop offering either the tasting menu option or reservations at that point. They’re hoping to lower the price of entry, and the overall price, but also, says chef and co-owner Evan Leichtling, trying to make the space more fun again, more like the raucous Lyonnaise bistro it was always meant to be.

Resurrection Watch: Sometimes the News Is Actually Good!

• Thai-ed down: If you heard a huge sigh of relief come from Ballard on Wednesday, it was because the beloved Thai Siam is back. The restaurant had closed two weeks ago as the landlord moved to sell the building. A combination of a price drop and supportive community made it possible for the restaurant owner to purchase the building.
• Overtaxed: Pam Jacob has always been very open and honest about the struggles of running Seattle’s only Trinidadian restaurant, Pam’s Caribbean Kitchen, which she opened in 2006. Earlier this month, she announced an indefinite closure, due in part to the restaurant falling behind on tax payments. Since then, Phinney Ridge Steel Band stopped by to help spruce up the space and Jacob says they will reopen on May 22.

New to You

• On the case: I got a voice memo Instagram question last week asking why there might be a line down the street outside of what used to be SZN—but now had a large LED screen on the outside. So first: Be like this, ask me questions; I love a little restaurant mystery. Second: It appears to be Kouyou Sushi, which claims to be the city’s first “double-track” sushi, with both a conveyor belt and mini-train delivering sushi. And the line? They offered free sushi for the soft opening that day.
• Matcha watcha: Vietnamese coffee shop Phê earned itself a pretty ferocious following through markets, events, and pop-ups, so when it softly opened two weeks ago in its Capitol Hill location, it was mobbed. After some time to regroup, the matcha specialist will try again this weekend to serve its viral banana pudding matcha latte, phô mai que (which the menu calls Asian-style mozzarella sticks), and traditional Vietnamese-style coffee—with options to enhance, like adding phở spice cream.
• Regal remodel: The owners of Regent Bakery (and its building) have revamped the space and concept and reopened as Raku Shabu Shabu House, reports Capitol Hill Seattle. The hot pot restaurant includes a veggie bar and free ice cream, per Instagram. Issaquah and Factoria locations of Regent remain open, and a Bellevue location is opening soon.
• Ballard blooms: A new “community-focused coffee and music pop-up” will open soon in Ballard called Garden Club Cafe.
• Ballard builds: The former Parish NW space on Ballard Ave will become a Moroccan restaurant called Andalucia, reports My Ballard.

In Their Expansion Era

• Another spoonful: Sugar Bakery, which has locations on First Hill and Queen Anne, will add a third on Capitol Hill, it announced this week on Instagram.
• Another soup bowl: Kayava, which opened its ‘artisan ramen’ shop in Fremont in 2024 appears to have picked up the space left empty by List in Belltown.
• Another scoop: Molly Moon’s Homemade Ice Cream will open its recently announced waterfront scoop shop to the public next Friday, May 23.
• Going south: Everett’s Momi Indian Kitchen will open a Green Lake location this Saturday with a menu so large it has a search button to help you find what you’re looking for.
• Going north: Tacoma’s Secret Burger Kitchen has opened a new location in Capitol Hill, serving its smashburgers from the former Bonchon location on Broadway.

Oh, BTW, here’s what you missed last week.