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Capitol Hill food+drink | First look inside Broadway’s Herb and Bitter

(Images: Alex Garland for CHS)

(Images: Alex Garland for CHS)

Escobar

Escobar

With sun-drenched days like these, you might forget that Seattle has a need for retractable roofs but we think you’ll find the fancy new dome over the patio behind ready-to-open Herb and Bitter Public House pretty useful come November. Or maybe even on a sweltering, Seattle-hot summer day.

“It’s a one of a kind thing. It’s air conditioned and heated. An extra 1,000 square feet and can be used all year,” brags manager Scotty Vorenberg of the newest feature added to the longtime restaurant space transformed for Herb and Bitter’s new home.

CHS talked last August with Seattle nightlife veteran Jesus Escobar about his project to create a restaurant and bar based around simple “three ingredient” cocktails and Spanish tapas. Escobar led the project to build out Herb and Bitter inside the former Broadway pho joint — Than Brothers moved across the street last year. He said his love for the old 1923-built restaurant is part of what brought him to Broadway. The forgotten patio area behind Than Brothers was a pleasant surprise bonus.

Even with the massive wall of bottles behind the bar, eight varieties of barrel-aged spirits, and 20 beer taps, Escobar and Vorenberg both emphasized that Herb and Bitter is intended to be more than a cocktail bar with a tapas and shareable plate-oriented menu. Expect seasonality and change, Vorenberg said. Check out Seattle Met’s coverage for more on the food and drink.

Herb and Bitter neighbors longtime Broadway spiritual retailer The Vajra and the new home for Kismet Salon. The opening of the new public house is the first major new food and drink project to debut on Broadway after a continued flurry of openings in Pike/Pine. It joins Nacho Borracho, Bait Shop and the Witness as well as the recently sold Corretto in a small wave of booze-oriented, nightspots that have opened on Broadway in recent years. We should probably throw old-timer Highline into that list. How the small tribe develops in comparison to its cousins in Pike/Pine remains to be scene, er, seen.

Herb and Bitter will open for its first night of official service Tuesday. Vorenberg hopes locals will make a point to say hello.

“We just want to get an idea of who our neighbors are,” he said. “We don’t want to be a turn and burn kind of restaurant. We want to have a neighborly vibe going on in there.”

Herb and Bitter Public House opens Tuesday at 516 Broadway E. You can learn more at facebook.com/HandBPublicHouse.
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Capitol Hill food+drink notes

  • Fear not! John John’s isn’t going out of business. New owner Jeff Rogers tells CHS the pinball bar will be closed for a “fresh coat of paint and some new mural work.” June 14th is the planned re-opening date.
  • Celebrate the opening of Chophouse Row with a Thursday night party:Festivities will include an outdoor beer garden and live stage with performances by local bands Breaks & Swells and Lushy, as well as sounds from Seattle DJ Wesley Holmes. Food and drink will be provided by ground floor tenants Chop Shop Cafe & Bar, Kurt Farm Shop, Amandine, and Bar Ferd’nand, as well as neighbors Osteria La Spiga, Cupcake Royale, and Café Pettirosso. The party will take place from 5pm to 10 pm, and will coincide with the Capitol Hill Art Walk.
  • By the way, the project’s Chop Shop centerpiece from Volunteer Park Cafe’s Ericka Burke won’t be ready for the big party, CHS is told.
  • It’s A Drink for the Kids week — June 9: Moe Bar / June 10: The Neighbor Lady / June 11: Linda’s Tavern / June 12: Redwood Tavern / June 13: Hattie’s Hat
  • We told you about the arrival of Vaca Loca in the Broadway Alley. Now we can show you their latin hot dog:
  • Capitol Hill has a new donut shop. Kind of. Rodeo Donut comes to E Pike.
  • The future Hugo House will be neighbored by a new 11th Ave cafe.
  • Seven Beefdelayed until September.
  • Patio watch: Add Single Shot.
  • The Growl Store will feature taps. Of beer. To fill your growlers. Planning to open on E Madison this fall.
  • “Is Meat & Bread worth the hype?” the Seattle Times asks. Answer: unclear!
  • “Until relatively recently, herring was a culturally significant fish and a staple of the Seattle diet…
  • Meanwhile, Little Uncle declares it Herring Week 2015.
  • Monday brings Capitol Cider’s quarterly Apples get Paired dinner:
    Six chefs, six courses and six ciders! Be one of only 20 guests to join us at Capitol Cider for Apples Get Paired, a special six-course meal executed by six of the city’s top chefs. Each exquisite course is paired with unique ciders from Tieton Cider Works from Tieton, Washington. Six separate chefs will present their dishes at the table with cidermakers on hand to explain their special flavors and techniques, and why they pair well together.
    This edition’s chefs include Erik Jackson from the about-to-open Chop Shop.
  • FareStart’s Guest Chef Spectacular is Thursday, June 25.
  • Here’s what Restaurant Marron serves for brunch:

  • Happy birthday grandpa Jerry:

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paul
8 years ago

platos and raciones? well fuck me it must be good if its foreign words!