Seattle can count on a flood of restaurant openings when the calendar flips to June, as chefs try to take advantage of the crowds of tourists and the heavy foot traffic that comes with shades-and-shorts weather. These roundups always include burgers, pizzas and tacos . But for those who groan about the lack of originality, our latest roll call — with 32 Seattle restaurant debuts — also includes an Afro Latin fusion spot, a West African cafe, a Lebanese Mexican taqueria, an Italian pasta house with Korean tweaks, and a New American bistro with Filipino twists.
And speaking of the Philippines, a famous Filipino fried chicken chain finally opened in Seattle — and is already plotting more franchises around the Sound. Read on for details on those restaurants and dozens more. More A big score for South Lake Union is Paju , one of the top Korean restaurants in Seattle, which moved from Uptown into bigger digs on the Amazon campus.
The contemporary Korean bistro will have a wood-fired oven and more kitchen gadgets to play with in a space that’s twice as big as its old restaurant. Paju’s greatest hits — the fried rice, seafood pancake and yellowtail crudo — will remain on the menu, but owner Bill Jeong also added more shared large plates, including a dry-aged rib-eye and, soon, a roasted duck. Jeong said the 16-item menu is evolving until he gets a better sense of the foot traffic flow and audience in South Lake Union.
Paju now serves craft cocktails, including both clas.
