December brings winter cheer and new restaurants to Seattle

December is traditionally the month where small children rip the wrapping paper off the stack of presents under the tree, but this year it’s the month where all of Seattle’s new restaurants are ripping the brown paper off their windows and opening their doors to the public.

It’s been a busy month for the area, which gained a vegan Vietnamese restaurant, a Japanese-Peruvian spot and a dessert shop selling ice cream bowls that look like Muppets, among so much more.

Read on to see what’s opened since our previous roundup in early November and what's coming soon.  

Open: Roji Monster Ice Cream 

The first U.S. location of this Taiwanese dessert shop that makes ice cream into monster faces softly opened in early December. The menu offers a standard spread of Taiwanese-style coffee and tea, toast, and soft serve ice cream, but the signature comes with googly eyes. Shaved ice, stacked in the shape of a furry monster face, complete with eyes, comes in a handful of flavors and colors, including green Uji matcha and purple sweet potato, plus a choice of two toppings, like rice dumplings, honeycomb or mango passionfruit jam.

Open: Jackalope

The long-awaited Tex-Mex spot from Jack’s BBQ now serves the owners famous Texas brisket in enchilada form, alongside a full menu of Texas-style treats like San Antonio puffy tacos and chile con queso. But there’s also a few Pacific Northwest treats on the menu, like a ceviche tostada made with local rockfish and a campechana – think seafood cocktail – with Dungeness Crab and wild Texas shrimp. The drink menu toes a similar line with plenty of mezcal and the Lone Star State classic of ranch water.

Open: The Cottage Bakery

After years of honing his craft in his home kitchen and pop-up bakery, Conor O’Neill opened the doors to his Edmonds shop this month, giving more consistent access to his sourdoughs, pretzels, shortbreads, and chocolate chunk rye cookies. The new shop also sells take-and-bake pizza dough and currently offers a slate of Christmas treats available for pre-order, including pumpkin pie and coffee cake.

Open: Dick's Drive-In, Bellevue

While Seattle still mourns the (temporary) loss of the beloved burger chain’s Capitol Hill location, the Eastside finally gets a permanent location after years of driving across the water and months of a food truck serving the famous specials. The eighth outlet of the local treasure opened its doors at Crossroads Mall this week with a grand celebration as befits the first Bellevue venture for the company since 1974.

Open: Stumbletown Ballard

The nickname for this small pocket neighborhood at the corner of 3rd Avenue N.W. and N.W. 65th Street makes a delightfully fitting moniker for the casual bar and sandwich shop that opened earlier this fall. A big patio and a short but sweet list of tap beers and wines by the glass make it a hot spot to settle in for an Italian-style sandwich on Seawolf bread. Currently, they serve the sandwiches just Friday to Sunday, but the bar is open with a food truck on-site on Thursdays – recently Where Ya At Matt and Pecos Pit.

Open: Founder’s Club

As part of its huge $25 million remodel, Downtown’s historic Fairmont Olympic Hotel created a speakeasy-inspired new reservations-only bar. “Hidden” behind a bookcase, it features lots of rich colors and leather seating for the 30 guests allowed in at a time and cocktails by well-respected local bartender Jesse Cyr. If you’ve ever wondered what a $70 cocktail tastes like, this is the bar for you – though they do have some less-shockingly priced selections, with the featured cocktails averaging around $30.

Open: Made in House

The owners of Georgetown’s Bopbox took over the central Fremont space from Silence Heart Nest and features a counter-service dining room similar to Bopbox’s and also a new concept that is a takeout deli featuring Korean classics like gimbap, japchae, salads, and soups. Heartier offerings include the Made Daily plate featuring an assortment of their deli case that day, a daily bento and bibimbap, but all parts of Made in House focus on – as the name implies – scratch-made foods, especially those honoring the owner’s Korean heritage and local, seasonal ingredients.

Open: Electric Cello

Slipping into Georgetown quietly late this fall, this sweet bistro from the Oola Distillery folks uses their acclaimed spirits as the inspiration for small plates. Cocktail flights paired with appetizers, oyster and vodka pairings, and Nordic-influenced dishes like broccolini with lingonberry and grilled citrus pesto bring fresh ideas to the space previously occupied by Hitchcock Deli.

Open: Crackle Mi

Joining an increasingly honed genre of crisp Vietnamese fast casual restaurants (Sizzle & Crunch, Banh Town, Banh Mi Deluxe, Mr. Saigon) around the city, a slight enhancement of the classic banh mi shops, Crackle Mi opened in the former Gather space in Ballard in November. Beyond the large menu of sandwiches, rice bowls, big salads, and noodles, this spot earns kudos for the comforting house soup with spareribs and radishes.

Open: Ba Bar Green

One of the city’s best-known Vietnamese restaurants opened this vegan walk-up window on the side of their South Lake Union shop. The grab-and-go plant-based menu departs from the classic Vietnamese dishes served at Ba Bar’s other restaurants, branching into Lao cuisine with crispy rice salad, Malaysian Laksa, and Korean garlic and kimchi fried rice.

Opening: Bake Shop

This bakery, café, and mini-mart in Uptown opened this week and is ready to serve its spelt focaccia and Yukon gold potato rolls with mustard, ham, and sharp cheddar to customers. The intriguing sounding menu includes herby Caesars and chickpea salad on a roll among the pastries, wine and sandwiches. But bring your own cup, as one of the focuses of this new shop is minimal waste.

Opening soon: Señor Carbon Peruvian Cuisine

This pop-up gone permanent officially begins welcoming customers to its Pioneer Square location on December 22, offering Seattle a menu full of traditional Peruvian foods – including the Nikkei and Chifa dishes that come from the country long history of immigration from Japan and China, respectively. The soft opening menu gives a peek at the variety of dishes, including a traditional ceviche with plantain chips, tuna nigiri served with crispy quinoa, and a creamy pasta huancaina with grilled shrimp.