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Bramble House Makes Comfort Exciting

Lia Lira's seasonal fare is at once homey and surprising—and only a 20-minute ferry ride away.

Allecia Vermillion
Author: Allecia Vermillion
1 min.read

Chef Lia Lira’s egg yolk raviolo, mixed pea salad, and Wagyu New York strip.

A renovation gave this 1940s cottage on Vashon Highway new life as a restaurant, but the homey vibe lingers in tables clustered in the former living and dining rooms, the mismatched china, and chef-owner Lia Lira’s tendency to step out of the kitchen to talk wine or take orders, the way home cooks often do double duty as servers. Bramble House’s orderly list of starters and mains feel as comfortable as the environs but Lira, a Vashon native, has the culinary chops to make Northwest familiars like king salmon feel as undiscovered as the dishes she made in her days in highest-end kitchens like Jean-Georges in New York.

Steamed clams in white wine is unexpected and textural thanks to a dose of arugula-basil pesto and a shower of frisee. An oversize raviolo comes filled with egg yolk, dusted in parmesan, and served in chicken jus—only the halo of spinach wrests it back from indecent levels of decadence (the sticky toffee pudding, however, goes there without hesitation). Seattleites often view Vashon as a suburb, separated by only a few miles of water, but its proximity and the (relatively) sane waits for the 20-minute ferry ride offer a flash portal to a quieter pace usually found farther north in the San Juans—and dinner that feels like you truly got out of town. 

While You’re There: Venture to Point Robinson on the easternmost tip of adjacent Maury Island to marvel at the views, the tidepools, feats of driftwood-based beach architecture, and the tiny lighthouse that’s been guiding vessels since 1885. 

Published in the Destination Dining issue of Seattle Met.




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Allecia Vermillion
Allecia Vermillion
Allecia Vermillion has spent a decade at Seattle Met, arriving as food and drink editor, and expanding her role over the years. She served as the magazine’s editor in chief until moving into a newly created executive editor role in 2021. She spearheads Seattle Met’s food and drink coverage and oversees home design content. Allecia’s writing has earned her multiple journalism awards and two James Beard Award nominations over the years. A native of Portland, Oregon, Allecia began her writing life as a newspaper reporter in the Chicago suburbs before making a grateful return to the Pacific Northwest. She has an English degree from Washington University (no, the one in St. Louis) and a masters in journalism from Northwestern University. She lives in Seattle with her husband and two children.