Skillet Diner

Skillet Diner

Recommended by: The last time we met up for brunch with some local friends at Portage Bay Cafe, they mentioned Skillet Diner as having the same type of vibe and also having great brunches.

Description on the Skillet Diner’s website: The award-winning Skillet Diner opened in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Seattle in 2011. We’re a neighborhood joint doing our best to make the place feel relaxed, service attentive and easy, and the food approachable yet focused. We use fresh, locally-sourced ingredients and continually redefine the meaning of comfort.

Neighborhood/Type:  Capitol Hill

Address: 1400 E Union St #4150, Seattle, WA 98122

What we ate/drank:  Breakfast Burrito -fried chicken, three eggs scrambled, cheddar, hand-cut fries, pico de gallo, flour tortilla. Deconstructed Corned Beef Hash-brisket, roasted potatoes and carrots, onions, fennel, two eggs*. Kids pancakes and fruit.

Comments:  Skillet Diner has been around since 2011 and before that it was food truck, an Airstream Trailer called, Skillet Street Food since 2007. It’s located in Capitol Hill, so parking can be a bitch, but we luckily found street parking across the street. Tall ceilings  make the space seem spacious and the open kitchen gives the space energy.  Like a traditional diner, there’s lots of counter seating, but also a lot of booths.

I can see why our friends we met at Portage Bay recommended Skillet Diner. Their interiors are very similar-the lighting, the casual family atmosphere, the décor.   There’s a random piece of art hanging on the back wall with John F Kennedy looking out the back of a bus. I was curious, so I asked our server about it, but he didn’t know anything about it.

Your utensils and napkin are placed in mason jars, which are then used as your water glass. You’re also provided a dedicated water bottle, so you don’t have to wait for your server to refill your water.  Caffé Vita is served here, so a win there.

My wife got the breakfast burrito, which includes fried chicken, three eggs scrambled, cheddar, hand-cut fries, pico de gallo, flour tortilla.  We liked the inclusion of the fried chicken. For normal breakfast burritos you normally get bacon, sausage or sometimes shredded beef. Having fried chicken was a nice change. The hand-cut fries were too over-seasoned and almost impossible to eat because it was too spicy.

I got the Deconstructed Corned Beef Hash, which includes brisket, roasted potatoes and carrots, onions, fennel, two over easy eggs.  The pieces of vegetable and meat were a bit large, but tasty. Now, Seattle brunch spots have a strong “hash” game in this town. Portage Bay Cafe‘s  Farmer’s Hash, Toulouse Petit‘s Cured Pork Cheeks Confit Hash, Porkchop & Co.‘s Kimchi & Steak Hash and Roxy’s Diner‘s Pastrami Hash all come to mind. If I’m garding on the curve I would put Skillet Diner’s Deconstructed Corned Beef Hash in the middle of the pack. The Seattle hash game is fierce. It’s sorta like being in the SEC in college football.

Our daughter got the pancakes and fresh fruit from the kids menu, so happy camper in the house!

We’ve also had the fried chicken and waffles which is also quite good.

Service gave us recommendations, came around frequently for coffee refills and chased after us out the door when we forgot our to go box of leftovers.

They also have locations in South Lake Union, the Seattle Center and Seatac Airport. Surprisingly, they closed their Ballard location after the building they were in flooded.  Skillet Diner is a bit out of the way for us at the border of Capitol Hill and the Central District, but it’s a good brunch alternative if we are in the area. It’s also nice to know you have a good local option in touristy Seattle Center and Seatac airport.

Ratings:

Atmosphere: 4.50

Service: 5.00

Food/Drinks: 4.00

Bang for the Buck: 4.00

Overall: 4.40

Locals Only Factor: “Locals Only” grading-We’ll assign a grading as to how “local” a place is.

• • Well known or Touristy. Most locals don’t go there unless they have business dinners or visitors in town.
  • Most locals know about it
  • Locals “in the know” know about it
  • Only those who live close by know about it.
  • You’re in on the secret. Don’t tell anybody!

Servers customer recommendations to visit in the future: We mentioned to the customer next to us that we were at Skillet early in the morning, because our daughters woke up early. They mentioned that Lost Lake Cafe down the road is actually open 24 hours so if they wake up really early, this could be an option.

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