Tom Douglas’s Dahlia Lounge Is 25 Years Old

Before Tom Douglas was Tom Douglas, before building owners and developers would stand on their heads to get him to even consider opening a joint within their walls, he launched Dahlia Lounge the same way most fledgling restaurateurs do—atop a precarious stack of sweat equity, savings, credit, personal loans (from Douglas’s wife’s uncle Clarence, no less), and good, old-fashioned, andrenaline-inducing fear.

Douglas’s first restaurant opened its doors on November 15, 1989 at its original location at 1904 Fourth Ave. It went on to define the era in Seattle’s food scene, earn a few James Beard awards, move to its current digs at Fourth and Virginia, and cement its Seattle icon status.

The stories of Dahlia’s early years would make a fine book. But for the month of November, the restaurant is recounting some of its legends in menu form. Five courses, served family style, incude lobster shiitake potstickers, rotisserie five-spice duck, pear tart with caramel sauce, and little anecdotes about each dish, as well as the ethos, logistics, or natural disaster that brought it into being.

Dinner is $75 per person. Another $25 gets you some beer and wine pairings, custom made for this event: a Dahlia Anniversary Wine (a cab/merlot blend) from Chinook Winery and a glass of Dahlia ESB made by the folks at Pike Brewing Company. And some bubbles, naturally, since this is a celebration and all.

The menu (see it on the Tom Douglas Restaurants website) happens through November 30 (contact the restaurant for reservations) but the regular dinner service will also be in effect.