Avila, the restaurant that Alex Pitt and Jared Carpenter opened just this past fall on 45th Street, has closed. A note on their Facebook page reads:
Thanks so much to all our patrons, staff, and purveyors over the last year. Avila’s doors are closed, but we created a lot of great times and great food, and had fun doing it!
So sorry to hear that, Alex and Jared. We’ve had some fine meals there, and really enjoyed the experimental and playfulness you put on: the Sunday “family style” meals, the Farmers Market Challenge (bring anything you bought at the Wallingford Farmers Market, and they would prepare a meal, Iron Chef-style, around it for you), and the may odd and intriguing dishes.
These are people who truly loved food and realized their dream of owning and operating their own restaurant. It’s a crying shame to see it go.
Oh, damn. We had a couple of amazing meals here as well. We loved Avila.
Oh no! This restaurant is the one MOST recommended by anyone when I tell them I live in Wallingford and the one I was most looking forward to trying! How could such a beloved and well-recommended place close? 🙁 “dislike”
This is very sad. It was such a great restaurant.
Very sad. We had some fantastic brunches there.
Everytime I stopped there since they became Avila, they were closed. I used to like the small deli counter before they remodeled….not sure if they still had that once they reopened. Too bad, it was a nice place. But not surprising with what seemed to be odd hours.
It is a tough business! I’m sorry to hear they’re closing, after so much hard work in getting it up and running. I wish the best in the future for
it’s not surprising sadly. the menu looked great, but the atmosphere was less than inviting. The interior just did not seem approachable. They needed a consultant to warm up the interior and draw people in. Food cannot stand on it’s own. I know, I have family in the business now and have been a chef in the past. I almost approached them once with suggestions as to how to improve the space, but it was just after they remodeled and I thought that was the look they were going for. It just fell short. But, like I said, the menu was fantastic.
sorry to say i never got to try the food. we stopped in one night for dinner but left because we were REALLY craving a fancy cocktail (they only serve beer and wine). i never heard anything about this place prior to my visit…i just realized it was there not too long ago after a trip to Fuel. can someone please open a decent bar in this space now that it’s available? i feel like that’s the only thing the 45th strip is lacking…
I went there several times. Seems that if they had more business advice, they might have made it. i liked it very much. Really nice people who tried so hard. I loved the Sunday dinners. I hope there are not stuck with a long term lease.
I have wanted to try it but found it difficult to figure out, never seeing people inside. Sorry they couldn’t keep up and market harder.
Judy
Damn. Wallingford loses a great panini and a couple of really nice guys. Hope they go on to greater things.
Very sad. They were great and the food was delicious. they even put up with my two poorly behaved children with grace which isn’t easy. and I never even got to try their pineapple upside down cake..
What a loss! We’ve had some wonderful meals there. Wish we could have eaten there more. Great talent, food sensibility, and people. I’m so sorry to see Avila go.
Am shocked! We just had a fantastic family dinner there this past Sunday with friends. Really bummed to see it go. Best wishes to the proprieters and thanks for giving us a great little neighborhood restaurant for the past year.
Very sad to read this here and on the Seattle Times food blog. I really enjoyed the food at Avila (particular salivation goes to the slowly cooked seaweed-wrapped-then-seared salmon); agreed, however, that the decor/welcoming ambience wasn’t quite right. Thumbs up to the owners and employees on future endeavors, and fingers crossed with respect to what’s next for the space.
This restaurant was mediocre. In addition to a bad decor, the seats and the arrangement of the tables were deficient. The services was just ok for Seattle: correct, slow, not engaging or helpful.
The food was not that good either. I once ordered crab benedict and it came with a piece of bacon. I did not know that a crab benedict included bacon. The menu did not say it either. Creativity is very welcome, but you need to include all the ingredients in the menu.
To cap it all, this restaurant was overpriced, as many others of this kind in Seattle.
This combination of things–and the confusing name “Avila” (also a beautiful town in central Spain, but no Spanish influence in the cooking at all)–do not work for so long in the business. I hope that many other owners in the area realize this, and learn from basic mistakes: lack of appeal, confusing names and menus, and unjustified high prices.
Avila’s creativity was very welcome and their prices appropriate to the ingredients and talent they utilized. It was a joy to have them in Wallingford. But I’m sure the Rusty Pelican can continue serving your fine dining needs.
It’s so sad that John does not understand that when you order a dish, you want to know all the ingredients; and that when you spend over $20 on you breakfast, you want good service and atmosphere. I am also sad that John goes to the Rusty Pelican for fine dining (what a horrible place!) even though he is a pijo.
I don’t mind Rusty Pelican at all. What is a good alternative in the neighborhood that does not have music at such a high volume you can’t be heard when you order, not to mention having any conversation with your fellow diners? Open for suggestions, but not Julia’s.
The Avila folks were great, but food was spotty and unpredictable. What’s a pijo?
I think the Rusty Pelican is fine, decent food, good prices, grama decor, but it’s comfortable. Wish the bar was more appealing, but you wouldn’t go in their for a ddrink only. I think Eva’s in Tangletown is the best restaurant Wallingford/Greenlake has going for it.