10 New Venues in Seattle for Spring 2021 Meetings and Events

Seattle’s historic Fairmont Olympic will debut a $25 million renovation to its lobby, lobby bar and event spaces on April 30. The glamorous new 1920s-inspired bar, called Olympic Bar (pictured), will offer daily breakfast, lunch and dinner service along with afternoon tea on the weekends. There will also be a speakeasy-style library bar, accessible via a hidden bookcase in the lobby. All of the hotel’s key event spaces—which span 28,000 square feet, with the largest space holding 650 people—have also been renovated. Later this year, the 450-room hotel plans to open a maritime-themed restaurant on the former site of its famous Georgian Room, which closed in 2015.

BOCA Restobar & Grill opened in Belltown’s former Queen City space in February. The restaurant serves grilled meats with Argentinian influences, along with lighter fare like grilled octopus and empanadas and a wide selection of Argentinean wine and specialty cocktails. The dining room, which seats 110, features bold colors and moody lighting. It’s the second location of the Argentinian steakhouse, whose first location is located on Capitol Hill.

The Bell Harbor International Conference Center debuted a multimillion-dollar renovation in September, which features new meeting room configurations, expanded prefunction areas, enhanced audiovisual capabilities and lighting and more. Connectivity and accessibility was also a major focus of the revamp, which also added additional accessible seating, device power access and updated technology. The conference center features 100,000 square feet of conference, meeting and event space featuring 180-degree views of the Olympic Mountains, Mt. Rainier and the Seattle skyline. Highlights include the 4,156-square-foot Harbor room, which seats 300 or holds 450 for receptions, as well as the 9,000-square-foot Rooftop Plaza that holds 500.

Communion, a new soul food restaurant from chef Kristi Brown, opened in December in the Central District. Brown, who is also the owner of catering company That Brown Girl Cooks, serves Southern fare that’s influenced by the nearby Chinatown-International District as well as her Kansas City upbringing. The restaurant, which is located on the ground floor of the Liberty Bank Building, seats 55 inside and an additional 24 people on the patio. Spaces inside the colorful venue include a central communal table, leather booths, a bar and a chef’s counter overlooking the kitchen.

The University of Washington’s natural history museum opened its new facility in October 2019. Called the Burke Museum, the 113,000-square-foot venue was designed by Olson Kundig and features a large collection of fossils, artifacts and American Indian art; it was designed in consultation from 29 local tribes and a Native American advisory committee. For events, there’s a variety of spaces including the Grand Atrium, which features contemporary Native art and has space for 80 people (or 100 when connected with an adjoining classroom). The Cascade Room, which has floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the campus, as well as built-in audiovisual capabilities and two larger projectors, holds 80 (or 200 when connected with the adjacent lobby). For larger events, the Special Exhibits Lobby can also be booked; it seats 200 or holds 250 for receptions.

Light Sleeper, a wine bar on Capitol Hill’s Chophouse Row, opened in December. The wine selection from co-owner Ezra Wicks focuses on natural and biodynamic offerings; there’s also a small menu of soups, salads and pizzas. The bar has also been offering take-home meal boxes with food, meats and desserts from local farmers and fishmongers. Once pandemic-related restrictions ease, the venue plans to offer a selection of cocktails and host its own wine-focused events.

Bizzarro Italian Cafe, a funky, art-filled space opened by chef and visual artist David Nast in 1986, opened a second location in White Center in December. Bizzarro Italian Cafe White Center takes over the former Noble Barton space and serves a menu of handmade pasta and other comfort food with an emphasis on locally sourced ingredients. Like its Wallingford location, which had taken over a former auto shop, the new space features eclectic artwork and vintage artifacts.

Open since February 2020 is the Courtyard Seattle Northgate, a new five story, 119-room property about 10 minutes from downtown Seattle. In addition to a full-service business center, an on-site fitness center, and a casual restaurant serving breakfast and dinner, there are two meeting rooms featuring a combined 630 square feet of meeting space.

Chef and restaurateur Ethan Stowell opened a third location of his popular Italian restaurant, Tavoláta, on Stone Way in September. The eatery offers a rustic feel with dark-wood flooring illuminated by various eye-catching fixtures. The 4,000-square-foot space offers both indoor and outdoor dining with two covered patio options. However, the centerpiece is long, communal tables, as tavolata means "table" in Italian. The menu mirrors its sister locations with handmade pastas, pizzas and hearty proteins, all paired with Northwest and Italian wines and a seasonal cocktail list. Aside from private dining options, Tavolata is also available for full buyouts. Stowell’s chefs offer custom menu options as well, including family-style multicourse dinners and wine pairings, live cooking demos, and reception happy hours with passed appetizers and an oyster bar.

Vegan restaurant Allyum opened in West Seattle in January. The eatery focuses on plant-based foods and gluten-free fare, with menu items like lentil “meatballs,” mushroom-fried “chicken” and roasted cauliflower gumbo; there’s also an emphasis on local produce. The restaurant comes from Dahli Strayer, the opening owner of Luna Park Cafe, and Ally Rael, who has worked at local eateries like Little Prince, Whale Wins and Damn the Weather.