Thaiku
After a decade in Old Ballard, one of the city’s most distinctive Thai restaurants settled into a more mellow existence in a converted Craftsman on Phinney Ridge. “Sweet’s not really what we do here,” says a server, before handing over a menu with entire sections dedicated to both grilled skewers and green papaya salad. Farther down the roster, hunks of pork belly fall apart in a restrained coating of five-spice curry, while tender cod and rice noodles arrive ready to wrap in lettuce leaves. Fu Kun Wu, the adjacent apothecary-styled cocktail bar from the Ballard days, now occupies a little chamber by the entrance, and a patio shaded with Singha umbrellas and copious bamboo delivers a surprisingly sultry vibe on a busy stretch of Greenwood Ave.