How do you make a restaurant stand out these days? Perhaps by doing something no one else is doing.
When Arthur's opens in the former Angelina's space in the Admiral District at 2311 California Ave SW, later this month diners will probably notice that owners Rebecca Rice and Sara Levin are very hands on, and that first they join the very few places in West Seattle that are open for breakfast. But the The foundational idea behind the restaurant is to provide a neighborhood friendly and destination driven restaurant and bar that offers a place for friends, neighbors, and guests from all walks to gather over good food in a beautiful and entertaining space. One aspect of the concept for Arthur’s is the idea of “clean eating” which suggests that whole foods, those that are un- or minimally processed, refined, and handled is not only better for you but delicious. So many foods brought to you by giant corporations have been "flavor profiled" and focus group tested to maximize the profits not their health benefits or natural unprocessed taste.
Arthur’s is named after Rice's father whose picture will be behind the bar and whose lineage is Australian.
Rice and Levin have deep experience in the industry. Rice actually started when she was 15, working as a "Sandwich Artist" at Subway, then later on to FX McRory's, up to Capitol Hill where she spent time as the Manager of Neumos , opted to start a restaurant called Spitfire in Belltown. "I like creating a space and an environment for people. I take a lot of pride in doing that, in making each person's experience unique to them," said Rice.
Levin began her restaurant career at Peso's on Queen Anne Hill where she stayed for 3 1/2 years before moving on to the Matador where she served as General Manager in Ballard and later opened the West Seattle and Tacoma locations. It was back to Queen Anne for four years at Mezcaleria Oaxaca until the chance to do something unique came along. "While I was there I had the opportunity to create a unique clientele, and I really grew to love that. I'm really looking forward to developing that again here in West Seattle."
Rice explained more about their idea. "When you see our menu you will understand. If you say the word 'Healthy' people think you are a health food store and I think that pigeonholes you in a way. Clean eating to me is something that doesn't feel heavy. You are not cooking with a whole ton of oil. You've got a lot of greens. If there are sauces involved they're not very heavy. I like letting food speak for itself."
If you pay attention to food trends, you may think that's what they are about. This isn't 'power bowls' or alkaline balance plates served on the run. "You have that kind of trend," said Rice, "We have more of a sit down, cafe style menu."
They are working toward options for dietary restrictions "So our menu fits everyone" and will bring those on as they get going. "We want to have a very basic menu as we start off so we make sure that we execute properly and have a nice consistent product and then we get to augment from there."
The chef is Ian Welch whose background is at Spitfire and The Great Nabob. "He's absolutely wonderful," explained Rice," I'd be sitting at work and he would whip up something knowing that I like lighter food. You don't need a salad every day. I'd love something different that doesn't feel heavy and cheesy."
Just a sampling of some of the kinds of foods you will find at Arthur's:
Avocado, heirloom tomato, fresh herbs, lemon juice, presented open face sourdough bread, served with cheese curds .(You can substitute gluten free bread)
Chia seeds, almond milk, seasonal fruit, toasted nuts.
Eggs, chorizo sausage,tomato, red onion, cilantro avocado pan sauce, cheese curds. Served with grilled sourdough bread.
- Rainbow Quinoa Lunch Bowl
Roasted squash, quinoa, red onion, watercress, dried cranberries, balsamic vinaigrette and then you pick a protein (grilled chicken, cured trout, marinated lamb, egg).
Marinated lamb, hummus,minted yogurt, roasted red peppers, feta cheese, fresh baby greens, served on Turkish bread
Arthur's will be open at 8am and close at 10pm (Fri and Sat. till 11pm) with the same menu all day. Food will be available for take out or through some of the delivery services, such as postmates.com or others but "We will see what pans out."
The space can hold 96 people and the company will employ 20 to 25 staff member. Rice and Levin both feel lucky that the space was in good shape so the changes are "mostly paint" though they did level out the floors, brought in a shuffleboard table and installed a new bar top. They will be serving beer, wine and cocktails. There will be a local focus for certain beverages but Australian wines like Shiraz and Malbec will be available too.
"If you are not there for a full meal, it will be a nice place to kind of hang out and wander around with a drink," said Rice.
"We definitely wanted to make sure that folks that enjoy family style or bar style can come in. We all come from bars and especially with a space that big I don't want to pigeonhole the concept into one direction. If we only had the bar it could be something totally different but we wanted to be all inclusive," said Rice.
Given that kind of space, they will be able to put together tables for larger parties for dinner or a meeting.
If your preference is for breakfast for dinner, or if you just feel better about knowing where your food came from, and think factories are places where people should make things but not food, Arthur's probably has what you are looking for, served by people who know how to make it right.
