The Palladian Building’s transformation into a boutique Kimpton hotel is bringing a new bar and a seafood restaurant to the corner of Second and Virginia. The menus are the work of Walter Pisano, the man who has been cooking Italian at Tulio for more than 20 years (don’t worry, Pisano isn’t vacating the Tulio kitchen). 

Shaker and Spear (I’m spelling out “and” per Seattle Met house style, but the restaurant uses the very on-trend plus sign) will serve  seafood, aiming for a menu that’s neither spendy nor heavy. This might be a paillard of grilled rare ahi with harissa butter, beets, and a winter bread salad, or suppli (little risotto balls, lightly fried and similar to arancini) with cod. Graham Baba is designing the dining room. 

Also on the ground floor of the Palladian: a bar called Pennyroyal—check out the rendering above. A rep for the project says it will have “more of a European vibe” (though plenty of local spirits on the back bar) and some shareable cocktails like a rotating punch bowl. The bar snacks here will be along the lines of a little glass jar of mussels pickled just a bit in a house brine with some chilis...European, indeed.

The Kimpton team intends these restaurants to serve both the hotel and the neighborhood at large, similar to Tulio's role over at the Hotel Vintage. The intended opening date is January 2015, though obviously when there's an entirely new hotel in the mix, schedules are subject to change.