These Restaurants Are Making the Industry Better: Check them out during Seattle Restaurant Week

a/stir 

Formerly Capitol Cider, this community-focused Capitol Hill restaurant has kept its dedicated gluten-free and nut-free roots. A/stir is known for its American cuisine with Mediterranean flair, and probably the most extensive cider list in the city. Plus, the downstairs floor doubles as an events space with frequent live music and art happenings. A/stir is EnviroStars-recognized, meaning it has been certified as a Washington business changemaker, adopting eco-friendly practices both externally and internally. 

For SRW, a/stir is offering three- and four-course meals (at $35 and $65, respectively), with items like Turkish shepherd’s salad, fried cheese curds, beef or chicken marinated skewers, Painted Hills Farms half-pound burger, and desserts like tahini-chocolate mousse or beet-ginger-orange sorbet. Capitol Hill. Dinner is $35 and $65. 

Osteria la Spiga 

Recently celebrating 26 years on Capitol Hill, this institution for handmade pasta and dishes represents the flavors of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. During the height of the pandemic, owner and chef Sabrina Tinsley developed the Future of Diversity program, an initiative that showcases chefs of color through regular pop-ups at Osteria la Spiga. This year, the program is shifting their focus to offer workshops and support for chefs. 

For SRW, Osteria la Spiga is offering a three-course meal for $50. Savor appetizers like grilled polenta smothered in cheese fonduta, spring salad, or slow braised pork shoulder; entrees like saffron tagliolini with asparagus, or ricotta gnocchi with housemade sausage; and vanilla panna cotta, sorbetto, or flourless hazelnut chocolate cake. Capitol Hill. Dinner is $50. 

Pidgin Cooperative

Founded by brothers Zachary and Seth Pacleb, catering company Brothers & Co. brings together local and wild grown Pacific Northwest ingredients in dishes as eclectic and diverse as their own backgrounds. Their passion for locally grown, sustainable practices that minimize waste extends to wider issues as well. In alignment with a vision that challenges inequities in the industry, the brothers’ next evolution is forming Pidgin Cooperative, one of the few worker-owned restaurant projects in Seattle. “By supporting us during SRW you are investing in a new future for Seattle restaurants and a more sustainable model of business ownership in the hospitality industry,” said Zachary. “You will also help to strengthen our region’s food economy with every delicious bite you eat. It’s a win, win, win!” 

For SRW, Pidgin Cooperative will be at Ballard’s Fair Isle Brewing on Mondays and Tuesdays offering a four-course meal of popcorn with nutritional yeast and sichuan spices, celeriac and apple salad, spicy lamb biang biang noodle (a veg option is available too!), and butter mochi for dessert. Ballard. Dinner is $50.

Mojito

Mojito’s colorful exterior makes it easily visible from Lake City Way, and inside, the family vibes and Latin American and Cuban dishes keep customers coming back for more. Former dishwasher-turned-chef and owner Liam Wersom has been with Mojito’s for all of its 23 years, and in addition to great food, giving back to community is just a way of life. With funding from Good Food Kitchens, Wersom and the Mojito team makes hundreds of free community meals each week for organizations like FamilyWorks, the UDistrict Food Bank, and more. Thanks to a new initiative by Good Food Exchange and Lettuce Help Center, Mojito is also able to use reclaimed surplus food in their community meals and restaurant dishes, diverting good food that would have been on its way to the landfill. 

For SRW, Mojito has a special lunch menu for $20 with empanadas for appetizers, and your choice of a ham, chicken, pork, or veggie sandwich. Dessert is tres leches cake or fried plantains. Dinner for $35 ups the entrees to choices like pollo a la parrilla (grilled half chicken with rice, beans, fried yucca and tostones), or lechon asado (roasted and marinated pork). Lake City. Lunch is $20. Dinner is $35. 

ChuMinh Tofu

Right off of 12th and Jackson St. is ChuMinh Tofu and Vegan Deli, an all-vegan spot for Vietnamese dishes and a buffet. The restaurant has also become synonymous with compassionate mutual aid efforts in Little Saigon. Chef Tanya and “The Eggrolls” (volunteers named after ChuMinh’s popular appetizer) have a regular free Sunday meal for anyone in need. In 2022, King County Councilmember Joe McDermott awarded Chef Tanya the Martin Luther King Medal of Distinguished Service. 

Check out ChuMinh Tofu during SRW for lunch ($20) or dinner ($35). Lunch includes their famous egg rolls, a banh mi or rice plate, and sesame ball or tapioca pudding for dessert. Dinner adds several options of pho and vermicelli dishes. International District. Lunch is $20. Dinner is $35.

Spice Waala

For authentic Indian street food, Spice Waala is where it’s at. Earning rave reviews for their signature green chutney, kathi rolls (meat or vegetable fillings wrapped in grilled roti), and chaat, a variety of snacks, Spice Waala is just as known for their social impact mission. “[We] started with the core values of being a business that bridges the gap between business and social justice,” said Uttam Mukherjee, who owns the restaurant with his wife Aakanksha Sinha. In March 2020, they started a Bhojan program that continues to provide hundreds of vegetarian meals every week to Mary’s Place and the Community Lunch on Capitol Hill. Showing the same care for their team, they also offer staff a robust and thoughtful compensation and benefit model. 

For SRW, try Spice Waala’s special $20 lunch combo at any of their three locations. The combo includes papdi chaat — Indian nachos made with potatoes, chips, and chickpeas, topped with chutney and sweet yogurt — and kofta curry and basmati rice. Ballard. Capitol Hill. Columbia City. Lunch is $20. 

The Lakehouse Bellevue

This farmhouse concept restaurant owned by James Beard Award-winning chef Jason Wilson captures the very best seasonal ingredients from farm and sea to table. Right next to the W Hotel in Lincoln Square, The Lakehouse specializes in dishes that reflect the Pacific Northwest and Bellevue’s sense of evolution and excitement. Think wagyu steak and eggs or congee with Chinese donuts for breakfast, and oysters or duck birra tacos for lunch. The Lakehouse’s dedication to greatness extends to the whole team as well. Earlier in the pandemic, Wilson’s wife and business partner Deborah Friend Wilson started a wellness program that offers regular check-ins, and coaching on topics like burnout, stress management, substance abuse, and more. 

For SRW, The Lakehouse offers a three-course lunch ($35) with items like beet salad, fish and chips, and tiramisu. Dinner ($65) adds entrees like raviolo with fava beans and wild mushrooms, and Thomas Cattle filet mignon. Bellevue. Lunch is $35. Dinner is $65. 

Askatu Bakery

Family-run Atsuku Bakery is Washington’s only dedicated top nine allergen-free bakery that always excludes wheat/gluten, dairy, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, fish, shellfish, soy, sesame, potatoes, corn, and anything artificial. Baking this way was born of necessity since the owner’s child was diagnosed in infancy with food allergies. The positive side of adapting to avoid allergens means a bakery that might be one of the few places safe to eat for others with food allergies. Askatu Bakery excels in plenty of other areas too, for example, they have a platinum certification from EnviroStars, meaning they recycle, compost, upcycle food scraps where possible, and participate in the Too Good To Go program that reduces leftover waste. They also participate in the Give a Meal Program that helps fund Good Food Kitchens, a program that supports chefs and restaurants making free meals for our communities. For SRW, Askatu Bakery is offering two lunch options for $20 and $35, featuring their take on banh mi, the “banh vi” with either lemongrass marinated pork belly or mushrooms, and tropical fruit jelly or tea cookies, and a passionfruit drink. Belltown. Lunch is $20 and $35.