Chef Grant Rico, the former exec chef at Seabird, has opened up the Greenwood American Bistro in their place, together with his biz partner and (former culinary school roommate) Or’el Anbar. They’re doing new American dinner service with “lite lunch” and “lite breakfast” options, as well as a weekend brunch program. Standouts are the braised lamb in black garlic mole with Brussels and sunchokes, a huge and cheesy lion’s mane mushroom sandwich with red onion jam and sunflower herb sauce, and the bone marrow side with chimichurri and caramelized onion.

After 13 years, Ballard’s beloved brunch spot, the Fat Hen, closed in September, and springing up in its place just a month later is A Lamb’s Quandary, specializing in… more brunch but with a waffle theme. (Regarding the name, owner Nelson Wong explains that he is the lamb in question, per his zodiac sign, and the quandary is what to do with the restaurant he’s bought.) The answer turns out to be to make waffles in all kinds of permutations, like a waffle sandwich with Szechuan brisket and housemade kimchi or a waffle topped with maple syrup, ricotta, and blueberry compote. There’s also an elaborate hash brown scramble with optional fried chicken accented with lemon zest and scallions. No lamb on the menu yet, but it’s still early days.

In November, Alex Johnstone and David Rothstein, owners of the combination bakery-CSA Salmonberry Goods, took over their childhood corner store in Sunset Hill. They’ve turned it into an oasis of seasonal produce, eggs, wine, and more goodies from local producers. But you can also just treat this as a bakery — Salmonberry’s rustic sourdough loaves, focaccia, and bagels are among the best in town. They even started making their own pasta. Is there anything they can’t do?

Frelard Tamales used to be a walk-up window in Green Lake but as of August it’s a full-service restaurant inside Fremont’s El Sueñito Brewing (which owners Osbaldo Hernandez and husband Denny Ramey also run). You can still get the comforting tamales with plenty of veggie and vegan options that made this place famous, but do yourself a solid and check out the expanded menu. The carnitas tacos are meaty and rich but balanced by a sharply acidic salsa, but the real star are the corn tortillas, which are crisp but still pliable and so, so satisfying to bite into.

In November, Joe’z Bayside took over the former Little Market bodega space on Furhman Avenue in Portage Bay, sharing the building with the second location of Dude’z Woodfired Pizza (no relation). Zany spelling aside, Joe’z is popping off with breakfast sandos and burritos in the morning, and lunch from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. with mains like the Oklahoma smashburger, the veggie curry hash burger, and the elusive-in-Seattle chopped cheese. Beer, wine, and espresso drinks are also available, as well as ice cream by the scoop.

Cheers! Hong Kong is the newest dim sum spot on the Hill; it soft-opened in November in the huge, 2,000-square-foot space formerly home to Lionhead. The shop is serving a large menu of Hongkonese classics alongside the dim sum small plates, e.g., soup noodles, fried rice, and baked spaghetti — as well as, per the name, beer and craft cocktails. Owner Sen Mao, who also owns Dumpling the Noodle in Wallingford and Kirkland, says he’s long wanted to open a shop on Broadway, and with a menu designed for sharing, a flashy neon interior, and a list of colorful and very Instagrammable drinks, Cheers! HK is in a pretty perfect location for his concept.

Back in September, chef Taylor Cheney of Yalla opened her new Arab cuisine window seemingly overnight, then dropped the news on Seattle once it was all set up. Inside Montana Badlands on Lower Queen Anne, Hayati has a larger kitchen than Yalla does, allowing Cheney and her team to expand on their saj-based menu on the Hill. Hayati is doing mostly mezze, like raheb (charred eggplant dip with herbs and pomegranate pips) and ujjit zahara (dill-and-chili–battered fried cauliflower with garlicky toum and fermented chili paste), and even luscious desserts like Palestinian kunafa. Hayati means “my life” in Arabic, used as a pet name, and accordingly, these dishes are designed for sharing with all your besties.

The owners of the legendary Shiro’s — namely executive chef Masaki Nishioka but not namesake Shiro Kashiba, who sold the restaurant a decade ago — opened ShoMon Kappo Sushi in early September in Belltown, somehow leveling up on their already-flawless omakase game in the process. The tiny 14-seat sushi-ya features an L-shaped counter and a hyper-intimate dining experience (“kappo” is when they prepare everything out in the open), with plenty of variety in the thoughtful courses. Recent plates included grilled miso butterfish, skipjack tuna sashimi with Walla Walla onions, and a 26-day dry-aged bluefin tuna nigiri. Go on a cold day and take advantage of the heated seats on the cool Japanese robot toilets. 

Serving coffee by day and cocktails by night, this South African cafe is in the historic and supposedly haunted Butterworth Building—the space was Seattle’s first funeral parlor, built in 1903, with the original choir balcony still extant. The Karoo is named for a vast semi-desert region in South Africa, and the decor reflects the name, with abundant zebra stripes and cheetah prints. Open since October, there’s EDM music happening on weekends, and the menu of drinks and bar bites includes some not-commonly-seen-around-here items—sausage rolls, boerewors sliders, South African wines, and several drinks made with Amarula, a cream liqueur made from marula fruit, or baobab fruit–infused gin. 

In the Lake Hills area of Bellevue, Tasty House is the latest of four or five Sichuan restaurants to pop up in the 148th-and-Main neighborhood recently — although to be fair, it replaces Szechuan Chef, so it’s a lateral move. Fresh off a remodel, the strip mall spot is serving updated versions of the super-spicy Sichuan suspects, like mapo tofu, Chongqing hot chicken, and boiling beef all loaded up with chilis and your choice of organ meats. Tripe and intestines are repping strong on the menu, but a taste for them isn’t required, as many dishes are served without ‘em. A love for capsaicin, however, is mandatory.

Chef Kristi Brown has combined her projects That Brown Girl Cooks and Communion R&B in her new quick-service spot inside Metier Brewing Company’s Madrona taproom. Menu highlights include berbere whiskey-glazed wings, a vegan veggie-and-hummus sandwich on focaccia, and the Luther Vandross Sandwich — a departure from the famous Luther Burger, made with a beef patty and doughnuts for buns, this version has fried chicken, aioli, sweet potato salad, and roasted red onions. 

Seattle’s most famous soul food spot is now... inside a Renton Harley-Davidson dealership? Ms. Helen’s was a Central District mainstay all the way back in the 1970s, but had to leave its 23rd and Union location after the 2001 earthquake. Namesake owner Helen Coleman then bounced around Seattle kitchens for years, but in 2022 Coleman and her daughter, Jesdarnel Henton, announced a plan to open a new restaurant in the Midtown Square development — a plan that fell through because the pair couldn’t raise enough money. So now Ms. Helen’s, the restaurant that refuses to die, is back in a motorcycle shop. Don’t worry about all this, just be thankful you can still eat Ms. Helen’s yams, greens, and smothered pork chop. Keep an eye on the Facebook page for changes to its opening hours, and get there early to avoid sell-outs.