New Year Brings New Foods to the South End

by Agueda Pacheco Flores

The holiday frenzy means many of us cook exquisite homemade meals for our families toward the end of the year. While it's a labor of love, all that work can leave people a bit burnt out on kitchen duty. With 2024 in full swing, it might make sense to take a step back and give yourself a little break. Luckily, the South End has got you covered.

Home to a variety of foods from around the world, Seattle's South End offers a satisfying variety of cuisine, from Ethiopian at the iconic Cafe Ibex on Rainier Avenue to burritos at the recently relocated Tenoch Mexican Grill in Beacon Hill — just to name a few. Plenty of new places came into the South End last year, particularly in Beacon Hill, like the aforementioned Tenoch Mexican Grill (which was outpriced and displaced from the Chinatown-International District), and Cloud Cafe. There were also some restaurants with long-standing connections that returned after having been previously displaced, like longtime watering hole Baja Bistro and CheBogz (run by the daughter of the owners of the now-defunct Kusina Filipina).

This new year welcomes even more new nosh spots and some old friends to new places, too. From Guamanian comfort food in Beacon Hill to Indian street food in Columbia City, here's a quick roundup of new South End eats.

The Station in Columbia City

3000 S. Alaska St.

For 13 years, The Station has been a beacon of Beacon Hill. As its name suggests, sitting next to the Beacon Hill light rail station is as much about being close and convenient to the community as it is about staying connected. That's why later this month owners Leona Moore-Rodriguez and Jose Luis Rodriguez will open their new location in Columbia City at the Sonata Apartments on Rainier Avenue, just kitty-corner to Columbia City Station. "Fingers crossed for the 15th of January in time for the MLK march," said Moore-Rodriguez as she served up some espresso in Beacon Hill.

Spice Waala in Columbia City

5024 Rainier Ave. S.

With two locations already, in Ballard and Capitol Hill, Spice Waala is hoping to open its third location in Columbia City by mid- or late January. Owners Uttam Mukherjee and Akanksha Sinha, who are Columbia City residents, have always wanted to be a part of the community's food scene, as they already liked to dine around the neighborhood. "Funny story — we almost started with our first location in 2019 in Columbia City but the deal fell through at the last minute," said Mukherjee via email. He added that they wanted to bring Spice Waala to the area because there's a lack of authentic Indian food south of I-90.

Recetas de Abuelita and Outsider Pizza in Beacon Hill

3005 Beacon Ave.

Recetas de Abuelita and Outsider Pizza finally have a brick-and-mortar spot after many years serving grub outside the Plaza Roberto Maestas. While they are taking orders to go from their new spot in Beacon Hill (which sits just right of Homer), owners Noemi Rivera and Juve Rivera are waiting on permits from the City to be able to serve customers who want to dine inside their new space. Rivera, who runs Recetas de Abuelita, says she hopes her customers know she hasn't moved too far, and that she's still serving authentic Mexican, with less of the deep-fried stuff and more of the natural, traditional ingredients of her ancestors.

familyfriend in Beacon Hill

3315 Beacon Ave. S.

The restaurant familyfriend has kept a low profile. Owner Elmer Dulla, a TOMO alum, says news of the restaurant has been organic and circulated purely by word of mouth. He hasn't used social media at all to promote his new restaurant. That doesn't mean it hasn't caused some commotion. Opened in December of last year, familyfriend is serving up Guamanian comfort foods, like buelos mnglo, bulgogi rice, and a kewpie burger. Dulla says he wanted to open a restaurant in the South End because the culture here is "more genuine and nice."

Stevie's Famous in Beacon Hill

4864 Beacon Ave. S.

It's called "famous" for a reason. This Burien pizza has made its way to the Clock-Out Lounge in Beacon Hill. Stevie's likes to keep it simple. Its pies usually don't have more than two toppings, but they sure do have a heck of a lot of cheese, from grana, aged mozzarella, and burrata to gorgonzola and ricotta — expect a cheezy pizza.

Featured Image: Aakanksha Sinha (left) and Uttam Mukherjee (right) are the co-owners of Spice Waala. The Indian street food restaurant recently opened a spot in Columbia City. (Photo courtesy of Spice Waala.)