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Joints: Travelers Tea Bar and Cafe

SEATTLE HAS LOUSY Indian food, right? Duck into this crammed–to–the–rafters Indian imports boutique, air buoyant with coriander and cumin, and watch that conventional wisdom go mano a mano with fragrant lentil soups; pan-fried, paneer-stuffed paratha flat breads; and some of the most interesting vegetarian fare going in Seattle today. Weekday lunches in the little afterthought of a cafe are simple and nuanced and $6 at their most lavish (go for the spicy chickpea curry plate with mango chutney; samosas aren’t as distinguished). The bigger deal are the multiplate feasts called thali, served weekend nights, loaded with the chutneys and pickles and cool yogurt raitas that add lush textures to spicy vegetable stews. It’s order–at–the–counter and please–bus–your–own—but a homemade cardamom cookie and a cup of the city’s best chai finish you up on a high note.

Find It: Travelers Tea Bar and Cafe

Published in the 52 Weekends issue of Seattle Met.











Kathryn Robinson
Kathryn Robinson
Senior Writer Seattle native Kathryn Robinson, award-winning restaurant critic and senior writer at Seattle Met, has been anonymously reviewing restaurants for over 30 years—first as editor of the Best Places guidebook series, then as staff critic at Seattle Weekly and contributing critic at The Seattle Times and Seattle magazine.  Midcareer she spent a year-long sabbatical studying comparative religion as a Knight Fellow at Stanford University where she had been an undergrad 10 years earlier, gaining a knowledge base she now calls upon for her monthly “Back Fence” column on our collective urban existence and the meaning it holds for our personal lives. In her off hours she is a partner and a parent—which means she has no off hours.