Citizen Cafe – Queen Anne
Recommended by: Our Server at Square Knot Diner is a resident of the Queen Anne neighborhood and mentioned a little known and underrated spot called, Citizen Café.
Description on the Citizen Cafe’s website: Welcome to Citizen Cafe and Bar. We are located in the lower Queen Anne neighborhood of Seattle, Washingon in the shadow of the Space Needle. We love our neighborhood and the people that we see everyday, as well as those who might be passing through, looking for a place to grab a bite or a sip. We also love creating food and drinks that are fun and delicious. Things are always changing with new specials for every season and creative new ideas for cocktails and dishes. Be at home in our cozy cafe or on our sun-drenched patio and let us take care of you.
Neighborhood/Type: Queen Anne
What we ate/drank: Pulled Pork Tacos, Korexican Tacos, Macchiato
Comments: Until our server at Square Knot Diner had told us about Citizen Café, we’d never heard of it. Maybe it’s because when going to Queen Anne we’re familiar with the businesses on Queen Anne Ave on top of the hill and the businesses on lower Queen Anne on Mercer Ave. Citizen Café is located on the lower western part of Queen Anne. When we did arrive, we were quite shocked how big the property was. In addition to the two story café they had a huge adjoining outside portion. Citizen Café is a bit of a unicorn in Seattle in that they serve 7:00am breakfast not only on the weekends, but also on weekdays.
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The bottom portion of the space is the café portion, where a lot of commuters are just ordering coffee to go. There is some counter space along the window and a few stools near the cashier, but the second story is where the main seating area is. Our server told us that the second story was added on only a few years ago. The space has a lot of character. You’ll notice the exposed brick throughout and the exposed wooden beams. Our server advised that prior incarnations of the space were a fire station, a horse stable and more recently storage for the auto repair business next door. An original touch is the pages of Anna Karenina wallpapered along the wall on the second floor.
We both decided on tacos for breakfast, the pulled pork tacos and the Korexican Tacos(see details in the picture below). I’m not sure why, but I wasn’t expecting much when we ordered our meals. Maybe we thought that they were mainly a coffee shop first and food would take a back seat in quality. We were happily surprised that their tacos were really good. I especially like their pulled pork tacos. I thought for the portion size and quality, the dishes were also reasonably priced.I’m more of a savory person than a sweet person, so the Korexican tacos were not a hit for me, but my wife loved them.
Our server was accommodating and friendly. I point this out because we were there with two kids-(2 yr old and a 3 month old). The place is really unique and we’ll be sure to add it to our list of places to take visitors or local friends. Just a warning, it’s not a place that can accommodate larger groups. I would say maybe 6 people max and even that’s pushing it. Citizen is coffee cafe/brunch spot by day and bar/cocktails in the evening.
Ratings:
Atmosphere: 4.50
Service: 5.00
Food/Drinks: 4.65
Bang for the Buck: 4.25
Overall: 4.50
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 recommendations to visit in the future: Our server(Brian) mentioned The 5 Spot as another option for breakfasts in the area when asking for suggestions.
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Square Knot Diner
Recommended by: Carmela, our server at Roxy’s Diner in Fremont recommended Square Knot Diner for really good breakfasts.
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Description on the Square Knot Diner’s website: No nonsense, straight-up diner food. All ages welcome.
Neighborhood/Type: Georgetown
Address: 6015 Airport Way South, Seattle, WA 98108
Music Playing: Don’t Blame Me by Thelonious Monk
What we ate/drank: Cinnamon Roll, Chile Cheese Omelette, Corned Beef Hash w/Two Poached Eggs
Comments: We have a family tradition of stopping by Square Knot Diner whenever we are headed to Seatac Airport for a trip. It all started when our youngest was born. The first restaurant we ever took her to was Roxy’s Diner in Fremont. Our daughters crying woke us up and Roxy’s Diner happened to be open at 7am on a Saturday. Long story short, we asked our server at Roxy’s Diner, if she could recommend other diners should we find ourselves in the same predicament. She suggested Square Knot Diner in Georgetown. Now, Georgetown is a bit out of the way for us, so we didn’t go there right away, but remembered it as an option if we were ever in the area. We’d never heard of Square Knot Diner before Carmela at Roxy’s Diner suggested it.
So fast forward a few months. We took our daughter on our first flight by plane to Texas. As paranoid first time parents traveling with an infant we left the house far in advance of our flight to account for any issues or delays that might occur. We checked and double checked and headed to Seatac. When we got on the freeway, we determined we were going to be at the airport super early, about 3 hours too early. We remember Carmela’s suggestion in Georgetown which is on the way to the airport and a tradition was born. Now we always build in some extra time to make a stop at Square Knot Diner for breakfast whenever we go to Seatac airport.
Their motto is so apropos-“No nonsense, straight-up diner food. All ages welcome”. This really is a no frills diner that feels like it’s stuck in time. From their old style booths, to the vintage signage and the U-shaped counter that you see in the movies when depicting a diner from the 50s. When we walked in to Square Knot Diner for the first time, I saw the U-Shaped counter and fell in love.
You won’t find any fancy breakfast dishes here, but you will get tasty hearty traditional breakfast meals that are reasonably priced. And true to their word, about all ages being welcome, our server could not have been any nicer, fawning over our daughter when we went there for the first time and in each subsequent visit. We’ve gotten various dishes during our visits, but we always get a cinnamon roll. That’s a given. It’s big enough for sharing and it has the perfect amount of frosting and cinnamon. I can’t forget about the music. I don’t know if it’s standard practice here, but on more than one occasion they were playing jazz. I’m talking Thelonious Monk, Coltrane, Mingus. Picture eating a corned beef hash early in the morning in an old timey diner listening to Thelonious Monk. It was surreal.
The atmosphere, the friendly service, the early hours(6:00am even on the weekend) and good bang for your buck are all the qualities of Square Knot Diner that we enjoy. Square Knot Diner will continue to be our stop-before-heading-to-the-airport tradition. And a special shout out to Carmela at Roxy’s Diner for the recommendation. We would have never have come here without it.
B
Ratings:
Atmosphere: 4.75
Service: 5.00
Food/Drinks: 4.25
Bang for the Buck: 4.50
Overall: 4.625
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 recommendations to visit in the future: Our server at Square Knot Diner is a resident of the Queen Anne neighborhood and mentioned a little known and underrated spot called, Citizen Café.
Related Articles:
Roxy’s Diner
Recommended by: Mark at Uneeda Burger
Description on their web: Real Eastcoast on the Westcoast. We mean it. Owner Peter Glick, a native New Yorker, brings classic Jewish deli staples to Seattle.
Neighborhood/Type: Fremont / Breakfast
Address: 462 N. 36th Street, Seattle, WA 98103
Music playing: Someday Soon by Harlem
What we ate/drank: Pastrami hash- Pastrami and home fries cooked crisp and topped with 2 poached eggs and a toasted bagel. Chicken Fried Steak- country fried steak w/gravy served with 2 eggs, home fries and a toasted bagel or toast. Caffé Ladro coffee. Roxy’s Deli Scramble w/Tots and pastrami.
Comments: We had a early Saturday errand to run near Fremont and looked for some breakfast places that would be open at 7:30am. We remembered Mark from Uneeda Burger suggested this place. There’s a parking lot next to Roxy’s which is rare for Fremont. Once you are seated at Roxy’s ask for a parking ticket, they’ll give you the ticket to put in the pay box in the parking lot.
The menu is extensive with 6 pages of choices. Their specialties are definitely brunch and corned beef / pastrami sandwiches. As you can see from the pictures their portions are huge. We turned the pastrami hash into one meal at the restaurant and 3 meals from the left over portions.
This is the type of place we’d bring our parents when their in town-a very straight forward hearty breakfast. Kind of in the same vain as Voula’s or Vera’s. The coffee they serve is Caffé Ladro.
Up for a once-in-a-lifetime drink? Order the Restraining Order if you dare!
The Restraining Order is a shot of Jim Beam(I think it used to be tequila) and a slap in the face by a server of your choosing. I asked if a lot of people ordered it and found out that it’s very common for both men and women and was advised to go to Youtube to check it out. So here you go…..
Ratings:
Atmosphere: 3.5
Service: 5
Food/Drinks: 4
Bang for the Buck: 4.5
Overall: 4.25
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!
Eavesdropping Convos: None
Servers recommendations to visit in the future: Our server, Carmela(?) suggested Square Knot Diner as another family friendly and early opening breakfast place to visit.
Related:
Morsel vs Biscuit & Bean – The Battle of Seattle’s Best Biscuit Sandwich
Comments: This Seattle Food War is not as juicy as Paseo vs Un Bien or Ezell’s vs Heaven Sent, but they do have history. But before we get to that, a bit of our history with Morsel and Biscuit & Bean. We’ve always known about Morsel. It was known for it’s breakfast biscuit sandwiches and always had a line out the door every weekend morning. They used to be located one block down from their current location in a cramped old spot on The Ave(University Ave). If you wanted to beat the line you have to get there right when it opens. I remember one time I was 10 minutes early before Morsel opened. Nobody was there in line yet, so I figured I’d go to Safeway across the street to grab something really quick. I came back at 5 minutes after Morsel opened and there was a line out the door! Within 15 minutes it went from an empty sidewalk to a line out the door. They do not take call in orders on the weekends.
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The History Behind Morsel and Biscuit & Bean
Here’s the history of how these two places are related. Prior to 2013, the Morsel location on The Ave was a place called Nook, which as also revered for it’s biscuits. It was actually featured on an Anthony Bourdain show. It surprisingly closed down and that’s when Morsel was born and took over the space. In 2014, Morsel’s owner teamed with the owners of a coffee shop and opened up another branch in Ballard, which was called Morsel & Bean. In 2018, the owners went their separate ways and the owners of the coffee shop kept the space and changed the name to Biscuit & Bean while the owner of Morsel went back to concentrate on Morsel. We heard about Biscuit and Bean only this year and visited for the first time, not knowing the history. After trying Biscuit and Bean, we talked about how similar the biscuits were to Morsel’s and that’s when we did some research to discover the history of the two places. There are some subtle differences between the recipes and ingredients. And that’s what made us wonder. Which biscuit sandwich is better? Morsel or Biscuit & Bean?
Here’s the tale of the tape:
- Distance from our house: Morsel(4754 University Way NE, Seattle, WA 98105): 1 mile vs Biscuit & Bean(5905 15th Ave NW, Seattle, WA 98107): 3.5 miles
- Coffee Served: Morsel: Velton’s vs Biscuit & Bean: Conduit
- Established: Morsel: 2014 vs Biscuit & Bean: 2018
The Order For this Morsel vs Biscuit & Bean tasting, we tried to compare apples to apples so we got the 2 sandwiches from each location on buttermilk biscuits. You actually have a choice of cheddar, buttermilk and a special(For ex. garlic/oregano/parm). We wanted to let the sandwich ingredients do the talking, so we chose buttermilk. Both locations were very close to the tasting location, so we were able to compare fresh servings side by side.
The Rating System: For this Morsel vs Biscuit & Bean tasting, we decided to rate the meal based on the below. We gave an increased weighting for Service(2x) and Taste(3x) since we feel these are more important.
1. Brick & Mortar- Morsel has just moved into a much bigger and brand new spot when compared to their old spot down the street. There is no dedicated parking. Biscuit & Bean is in a stand alone building and they do have dedicated parking as well as drive thru window. They also have a patio. It’s a bit smaller than Morsel, but it doesn’t feel cramped. Winner: Biscuit & Bean(1)
2. Service – Both have similar systems- you order, pay, sit down and wait until they call out your order when it’s ready. The day we went it was a Sunday morning, so both places were equally busy with about a constant 4 or 5 person line to order. All seats were taken in both places. Biscuit & Bean wins hands down. They were pleasant and quick. We ordered the two sandwiches and it took about 6 minutes. You can peek into the kitchen and they just seemed like a well oiled machine. Morsel took longer, about 15 minutes, which is fine. It’s not outrageous, but the service was an issue. For example I was giving my order to the cashier, I was half way through giving the order and one of the other workers interrupted the cashier to ask a question when we were clearly engaged. Both the cashier and I were frustrated that we had to start all over with the order. Also, both places are busy and noisy, so it’s hard to hear them call out the order from across the room. I went up to collect the order at Morsel and just wanted to confirm the name that was called. The guy just said, “yeah that’s what I said” and turned around. No “Thanks for coming” or “Have a good day”. Truthfully, this is normally not a big deal, but I just felt some of the Morsel workers did not want to be there. This was easy to declare. Winner: Biscuit & Bean(2)
3. Value- The prices are very similar, but Morsel’s prices are a tad lower. Winner: Morsel(1)
4. Taste-
- Biscuit – The Biscuit & Bean biscuits were a little bigger, which is not why they were better than Morsel’s.The biscuits were also fluffier and lighter where Morsel’s were denser. Taste-wise, they were about the same. Due to better consistency, Winner: Biscuit & Bean(1)
- The Fast Break(Morsel) vs The Classic(Biscuit & Bean)-These are basically the same sandwiches with different names. Both have bacon, scrambled eggs, tomato jam. The main difference is that Biscuit & Bean uses Beecher’s Flagship White Cheddar and Morsel uses normal cheddar(orange). As you can see the ingredients are basically the same. The main difference can be seen in the picture above. The Morsel sandwich has a ton of egg. It’s actually thicker than the biscuit. Bigger is not always better. The egg just overpowered the other ingredients. Winner: Biscuit & Bean(1)
- The Spanish Fly(Morsel) vs The Signature(Biscuit & Bean) – Again basically the exact same sandwich which makes it great for comparisons. Both have prosciutto, fried egg, Mama Lil’s Pepper Aioli. The slight difference is that The Spanish Fly has spinach and smoked gouda. The Signature has arugula and manchego cheese. Although these ingredients are different, it’s still very similar. Both were good and not noticeably different. We’ll give the nod to Morsel due to the abundance of arugula, which made a slight difference. By the way, both eggs were cooked perfectly with yoke oozing. Winner: Morsel(1)
5. Other- Morsel has three choices of sandwiches-the two that are mentioned above and a veggie version. Biscuit and Bean also has a veggie sandwich, but also has a Greek sandwich and one called, The Market, which has apple chicken sausage, spinach, mustard aioli and apple butter, which is my wife’s favorite. They also have a cool display of their biscuits so as a first timer, you can see how big they are. More options give’s Biscuit Bean the point. Winner: Biscuit & Bean(1)
The Final Tally
| Category | Morsel | Biscuit & Bean |
| Brick & Mortar | 0 | 1 |
| Service | 0 | 2 |
| Value | 1 | 0 |
| Taste | 1 | 2 |
| Other | 0 | 1 |
| Total | 2 | 6 |
Summary: So by a score of 6 to 2, Biscuit & Bean is the Winner!!! Most of our other Seattle Food Wars have been pretty close, but this was a blow out by Biscuit & Bean. Both of the biscuits held up well, the ingredients combinations were spot on and both are filling. The difference is really in the execution of both service and making of the biscuits/sandwiches.
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Senor Moose
Recommended by: Reader who recommended after reading our Varsity Inn post about secret Mexican breakfasts.
Description on the Senor Moose website: Our love for Mexican food began nearly 30 years ago. As we traveled deeper into Mexico, we quickly discovered it’s heart. The food.At Señor Moose, we celebrate comida tipica, the cooking found in central plateau Mexico’s fondas and backroom kitchens. From moment one I have written down recipes, watched and made notes as I have talked to women in fondas (small homey restaurants) road side places, houses and markets, most often in the states of Michoacan, Jalisco and Nayarit as well as in Mexico City. We have been fortunate to have had wonderful creative women helping me in the house who cooked with what there was that day, what was interesting at the market, food they prepared for their families from memory, recipes from mothers, grandmothers and aunts—and a few of my favorite men as well. We took notes as they cooked, or as we cooked together. The food at Señor Moose is a result of those jottings. Not to mention a stunning effort from our amazing staff. We try to stay true to real FONDA food, food that tastes as much like it does in Mexico as possible.
Neighborhood/Type: Ballard
Address: 5242 NW Leary Way, Seattle, WA 98107
What we ate/drank: MACHACA CON PAPAS – Hash made with shredded beef, potatoes, and onion cooked together and topped with two eggs. Served with tortillas and refried beans and tortillas. CARNE DE PUERCO EN CHILE VERDE – Tender pork simmered in tomatillo sauce, served with refried beans and tortillas. Horchata Latte, Hot Chocolate
Comments: Not taking into account taco trucks, because you know we love us some taco trucks, but in our opinion there are really three tiers of Mexican restaurants in Seattle.
- The fancy modernish ones like Barrio, Mezcaleria Oaxaca,
Chavez(RIP), Fogon Cocina Mexicana, Poquitos - The mid-tier ones like D’La Santa, La Carta de Oaxaca, El Quetzal, Casco Antiguo, El Borracho,
418 Public House(RIP) - The hole-in-the-wall cheaper ones like La Conasupo, Mendoza’s Mercado, Taco Chukis, Gorditos
We believe Senor Moose is in the mid-tier and is the best Mexican restaurant in this category.
I’ve been to a Senor Frog’s, Senor Iguanas, Senor Bear. So whenever I hear the word “senor”+ an animal name, I don’t really have high expectations. The restaurants are typically American versions of Mexican food that specialize in happy hours and flowing tequila, but lacking in food quality. We have an exception here in Seattle. Don’t let the name fool you. To say that Senor Moose has some of the best Mexican breakfasts in Seattle is not an accurate statement. To say Senor Moose has some of thee best breakfasts in Seattle is a more appropriate statement.
Our understanding is that the owner lived in Mexico for 20 years and upon her return to the US opened Senor Moose having accumulated recipes over those years and now the restaurant is run by her daughter. Senor Moose was opened in 2004. For some reason in my head, it seems to have been around longer, but one thing is for certain, as long as I can remember there has always been wait times to get a table due to its popularity. If it’s a weekend and brunch time, forget it. Dinner time, forget it. Our time to go if we can is normally weekday mornings, which is rare. We typically go to Senor Moose either before or after doctor appointments to Swedish Hospital down the street. After our latest visit to Senor Moose, we were reminded of how good the food is and how infrequently we come here. For us Senor Moose is the perfect candidate for a delivery service via Caviar, Bite Squad or Uber Eats. We can still enjoy the food, but won’t have to deal with waiting especially with an infant and a toddler. Although we rarely use these services, I think we’ll need to for Senor Moose. We’ve only been here for dinner once, but have been to many breakfasts.
Senor Moose’s location is in an old house over 120 years old. They open every day at 8:00am, where most places only serve breakfast on the weekends. The space is filled with Mexican folk art, gorgeous photos for sale and colorful décor from the pink and red walls with blue trim to the green bar wall to the bright blue floral pattern on the dining counter. Senor Moose is divided into 3 sections. The first section is counter seating, diner style, when you first walk in the door. The second area is the main dining area to the right with individual tables that probably seats 25 people. The last section is the bar in the back.
Senor Moose is known for their chips, but be careful that you don’t ruin your appetite before your main dishes come out. We started off the day with a hot chocolate and a horchata latte. I don’t normally drink sweet coffee drinks, but it’s not often you see horchata lattes in Seattle and I figured if they do food so well, the latte will most likely be good too. It is a bit on the sweet side for me, but my wife who doesn’t normally drink much coffee, loved it. On this particular occasion we had the Machaca Con Papas and the Carne De Puerco En Chile Verde. The Machaca Con Papas is shredded beef, potatos and onions cooked together. You also get two eggs. I think most people get it scrambled, but I like to get my eggs over easy so I can mix the yoke with the rest of the dish. Sooo good. As much as I loved the Machaca Con Papas, the Carne De Puerco En Chile Verde is my new current favorite. Look at the picture below. They are not chintzy with the pork. Also, sometimes I find tomatillo sauce to be a bit sour for my liking, but Senor Moose’s is tasty with a hint of sourness, but not too much.
Machaca Con Papas-Hash made with shredded beef, potatoes, and onion cooked together
and topped with two over easy eggs
The portions are massive. I happened to finish mine, but didn’t need a lunch and actually had a late dinner that day, because I was so full. My wife ate about 1/3 of her portion and boxed up the rest. Our server was nice enough to give her extra tortillas to take out and transferred her hot chocolate to a to-go cup before we left. Both dishes were superb, but Senor Moose has a selection of so many dishes it’s difficult to have a “favorite” and order the same thing over and over again like I do for so many other restaurants. I tend to order something different every time I come to Senor Moose.
Because the portions are massive and you can basically split one dish into two or even three meals, the bang for the buck is definitely there. I’d probably wouldn’t take a visitor who wants to go to the most trendy hip place to Senor Moose. I would take somebody who has a great appreciation for tasty authentic Mexican food first and foremost, who doesn’t care seeing and being seen at new hip place. For example, my parents who have lived almost their entire lives in Los Angeles and love Mexican food would love Senor Moose.
Ratings:
Atmosphere: 4.75
Service: 5
Food/Drinks: 5
Bang for the Buck: 4.75
Overall: 4.85
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!
Eavesdropping Convos: None
Servers recommendations to visit in the future: None when we visited Senor Moose, but as mentioned above we thought Senor Moose was the best Mexican restaurant in Seattle for the mid-tier price level and probably the best overall Mexican restaurant in Seattle. A reader suggested that we try D’La Santa Mexican Cuisine & Grill and promised we would be impressed.
Related Articles:
- Varsity Inn – The Diner With The Secret Mexican Menu
- Battle of The North Seattle Taco Trucks
- D’La Santa
- Our Top 15 Best Seattle Dishes of 2018 (Part 1)
Recommended by: Lara(?) at Kona Kitchen
Name: Varisty Inn
Description on their web: They don’t have a website
Neighborhood: Wallingford
Address: 1801 N 34th St, Seattle, WA 98103
Type: Brunch
Packed?: Was not busy when we arrived shortly after opening, but was almost full when leaving around 9:00 am on a Saturday
Music playing: None
What we ate/drank: Beef Fajita Omelette, Carnitas in Tomatillo sauce with corn tortilla and hash brown. Side order of cinammon roll.
Comments: From the outside and from appearances as you first walk in, you’d think this is a greasy spoon diner, that isn’t always the cleanest, but I’ve got to say, the place is dated but immaculate. Varsity Inn is only open for breakfast and lunch. It appears there are a lot of regulars that frequent the place due to many customers being greeted by name as they walk in the door. Where most popular Seattle brunch places are packed with youngsters and young families, Varsity Inn seems to cater to regulars who have been coming here for years and years. They have your typical diner fare, but truthfully we’ve never had any of those dishes. Then why do we go here?
This is listed as a secret but what is the secret? You can see a copy of their menu online and you’ll notice it looks like your standard diner breakfast go to’s. The secret is that they have Mexican specials that are not listed on the menu that are just as good or better than nearby Pablo y Pablo, Senor Moose or Barrio, but cheaper. The portions are huge and you’ll surely need a box for leftovers. Take a gander at these….
We’ve read their Yelp and Google reviews and we’re flabbergasted that most people do not order these dishes. We ask our friends about their favorite places for Mexican and nobody ever mentions Varsity Inn. I think it’s one of those things where people who want normal American diner food go here specifically for that and people who may want Mexican have no idea Varsity Inn serves it nor would they have any reason to know they serve it unless they were tipped off or happened upon it by accident.
The staff is always nice and engage in small talk. I don’t know if they have a bin of toys, but the first time we came in, our server provided out daughter a toy cell phone to play with while we waited for our meals to come out. There is a small parking lot, but street parking can be a bitch especially lately due to the new construction of condo/apts in the neighborhood.Good recommendation, Lara!
Note: This is not to be confused with Ravenna Varsity Restaurant, which is a totally different restaurant.
Ratings(Scale 1-5)
Atmosphere: 3.0
Service: 5.0
Food/Drinks: 4.50
Bang for the Buck: 4.75
Overall: 4.40
Locals Only Rating: Locals “in the know” know about it.
Server recommendations to visit in the future: The staff was pretty busy, but a customer sitting next to us made small talk with us since our daughter just started walking. He mentioned a Mojito as a place we’d might want to try.
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Name: Kona Kitchen
Description on their web: a casual family dining experience where you’ll find a tempting array of Hawaiian and Japanese dishes prepared with the care of a home-cooked meal
Neighborhood: Maple Leaf
Address: 8501 Fifth Ave NE, Seattle WA
Packed?: It’s always busy, but it’s big by Seattle standards, so we’ve never had to wait. We’ve also never had issues with parking.
What we ate/drank: Kim Chee Fried Rice, Loco Moco, Dah Braddah Omelette(Portuguese sausage, jack cheese, green peppers, onions), Saimin, Hamburger Steak
Comments: They serve lunch and dinner at Kona Kitchen and even have a bar/lounge section for karaoke on Fridays and Saturdays, but we always come for breakfast. It’s the nearest thing to local Hawaiian meals you’ll find in Seattle. We’re familiar with Hawaiian food and while I wouldn’t tell out of town visitors to go out of their way to eat breakfast here, it does hit the spot if you have a hankering for Hawaiian grindz.
I had to translate some of the menu jargon such as Ono, Keiki, Loco Moco, Broke da Mouth, Braddah for my wife when we first started coming here, but she’s now an expert. See below for translations.
Kona Kitchen also feels like a real Hawaiian place, very homey and relaxed. I get the feeling a lot of folks in the neighborhood frequent the place. We overheard a few of the customers say they eat there every morning! It’s also one of the few sit down diners in Maple Leaf that serves breakfast, so it’s always busy, especially on the weekends.
Like most Hawaiian places the portions are huge. Also, Hawaiian breakfasts consistently incorporate two of my all time favorite processed meats-spam and Portuguese sausage! So my go-to is normally the Dah Braddah Omelette, my wife’s go-to is the Loco Moco and my daughters is Saimin. There is a lot of parking but be careful, the parking lot is all buss up.
One fun bit of inside info is that the place is owned by Yuji Okumoto, the actor who played Chozen in Karate Kid II. He’s the one who kicked the Karate Kid’s ass.
Translation:
Ono – Delicious
Keiki – Kids
Loco Moco- hamburger patty on rice with gravy poured over it and a egg on top
Broke Da Mouth – Broke The Mouth, Ex. This Loco Moco soooo delicious it broke da mouth.
Da Braddah – The Brother
Grindz – Food
Buss up-Busted Up / Broken
If I never see you plenny long time, bumbai we go to Kona Kitchen. Dey got big kine kau kau.
Translation: If I haven’t seen you in awhile, let’s meet at Kona Kitchen later on. They have large portion meals.
Ratings (Scale 1-5)
Atmsophere: 3.5
Service: 5
Food/Drinks: 4.25
Bang for the Buck: 4
Overall: 4.25
Locals Only Rating: Locals “in the know” know about it
Server restaurant recommendation to visit in the future: Varsity Inn by our server(Lara?)
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