Nikola’s, the second incarnation of the restaurant by the same name from Costas Antonopoulos (who also owns the property from the rug shop through Murphy’s, across to the north end of the block), has been getting mixed reviews. As one friend put it, it’s still very much a Greek diner in the style that made sense 20+ years ago. Now that the groggy Sunday brunch crowd waits in line to spend $20 on brioche french toast with artisanal acai-maple syrup, perhaps time has passed it by.
So it shouldn’t be too surprising that a sign popped up on the marquee this week announcing “Mejari Fusion Sushi Coming Soon”. So, does this spell the end of breakfast at Nikola’s?
Not quite: according to the waitress we spoke with, the restaurant will soon operate under new owners and the Mejari name, and while it will be serving “fusion sushi” for lunch and dinner, it will continue to serve the existing Nikola’s greek diner menu for breakfast, as well retain of the existing Nikola’s waitstaff.
I can’t say that I’ve ever heard of a restaurant operating with quite such a split personality before, and it feels like someone just doesn’t want to let go, but, on the other hand, there are some who swear by the breakfasts there, so who knows. And keeping around a breakfast menu that doesn’t involve the word “heirloom” does sound attractive.
(Thanks for the tip, Janey Elliot!)
What ever happened to doing just ONE thing, very very well?
There used to be the Crown Hill Cafe at 85th and 15th NW operated by a Greek man and his Japanese wife. So, a fusion like this is not unheard of.
Sounds like a great idea to me. Rents are getting so high in the city, and so many retail spots are only used part of the day. Awesome creative thinking, two businesses in the same spot with the same tools – doesn’t require the overhead of buying two sets of equipment. I can see potentially a lot of challenges – but really, best of luck with this.
Just what Wallingford needs — more Asian food. (Which I love and eat often.) I keep hoping we’ll get something we don’t already have — such as a burger place like Uneeda or L’il Woody’s.
The aesthetic of the place is off putting, so much so that I can’t imagine going there…take it that the place will continue on in its present visual state?
I give it four months. I wish restaurateurs would know their audience. We regularly drive from Wallingford to Columbia City just to go to Geraldine’s for breakfast.
This does look like something that’s not going to last that long.
Geraldine’s is great. I’d love to have another Mexican in the neighborhood (more like Rosita’s). Another branch of Skillet would be fantastic but I probably don’t need to live that close to their poutine.
Oops – should read “Mexican Restaurant.”
So much food is processed and full of who knows what GMO stuff. For some People there are immediate negative health issues from processed foods. So yes, we seek out the local and the “heirloom”. There’s always Julia’s where the sysco truck makes regular deliveries. Such a sweet staff there, but not the greatest food. I agree a high quality burger joint or old fashioned diner serving locally sourced food would be a great addition to the neighborhood
Wish the new set-up the best. It’s a huge space really and on the basis the dual operation may make some sense. Love that the staff is staying on. Nice touch.
Personally I’ve found the current menu to be fresh, tasty and well worth the visit. I’ve taken others there who have expressed similar sentiments. The place used to be packed when it was Rusty Pelican where the food was very tired looking and tasteless. I was so pleasantly surprised when I tried this new version of Nicolas. I just don’t understand why the place hasn’t been packed. Yes, the physical restaurant is a bit drab but it’s clean and more than adequate. This is Wallingford, we don’t particularly do upscale here do we?
When I saw this, I thought “yeesh, another Asian restaurant in the hood?”
I’d be interested to know how many we have. Off the top of my head I’d guess 8-10, just along 45th?
Like others are saying, it would be great to see something a little different. Along the lines of Uneeda, the Giddyup on Leary is great space (fancy burgers like Uneeda).
I did a quick google map search and found these Asian food joints (note that I’m not against them, I would just like to see some balance):
Musashi’s
Kozue
May
Shima
Satay (sort of asian)
Yoroshiku
Teahouse Kuan Yin
Moon Temple
Miyabi 45th
Teriyaki Madness (don’t know if this counts)
Djan’s
If you don’t count Satay or Teri Madness, that’s nine.
“Welcome to Wallingford: No End of Asian Food or Pharmacies”
I like all of the restaurants we have, but someday I’d like a good steak or nice chicken or pork chop dinner.
Groan! Not more sushi! Fusion sushi? Come on. And if it HAS to be Asian, can’t we at least get a decent Vietnamese place?
One litmus test is whether a restaurant that serves dinner (yeah there are some breakfast, lunch places only) is not open till at least 11pm on Friday and Saturday. To me that’s a sign in Seattle anyway that it won’t last. Many of us get off work late. Eating dinner at 9pm or 10pm especially on a weekend is quite usual, in much of Europe as well. Anyhow, I do wish them luck.
Don’t forget Than Brothers, Sea Thai, Silver Tray, Jhanjay, Issian and Ramen Man. That makes 17. And technically Afghanistan and India are in Asia, so add several more. Let’s see how many countries are represented in WFord:
Japan
Thailand
Indonesia (Satay, right?)
China
Korea (Teriyaki Madness)
Afghanistan
India
Italy
Greece
Ireland
Vietnam
Mexico
Turkey
USA USA USA USA
Why don’t you ask the waitstaff if they are paid
There was a time when posters were asked or kept from posting illegal, salacious or slanderous posts.
Wallingford could use a quality local sandwich place similar to Potbelly or Homegrown along 45th. Subway (meh) was really the only sandwich place I could think of and that turned into Than Bros.
As mentioned earlier up, Wallingford could also benefit from a place that serves dinner late. Currently Dick’s and Rancho de Winchells are the only options that I can think of…
There’s a sign in the old Night Light Nails space that says ‘Coming soon – Mr. Gyros.’ Wonder if it’s the same people as the food truck?
Yes, it’s the same Mr. Gyro’s. Will publish as soon as I know more.
Wallingford. Gezzzzz, so negative.
This sounds like a completely terrible idea. Restaurant ambiance/decor is important – I’d say particularly for a sushi restaurant. You simply can’t have a place that is Greek diner by day, (convincing) sushi joint by night. And eating at Nikola’s reminds me of eating in my grandmother’s dining room, which isn’t going to entice me to go there for either purpose.
I would so love an amazing Wallingford brunch place. I mean, you know, I realize we have other neighborhood problems that are more important, but maybe we could solve them over amazing brunch? 😉
It would be wonderful to have an Ethiopian restaurant in Wallingford!
Maybe it’s really going to be Greek sushi (σούσι?) You get olive oil (of course) and lemon juice for your raw tuna, instead of wasabi and soy sauce. I seriously think someone with a deep knowledge of Greek cuisine and some real culinary ambition could take a similar direction and do real well.
Really? Thai, Japanese sushi, Japanese noodle, Japanese izakaya, Malay, Chinese, Vietnamese, tea, etc, and there’s too much similarity? If we had a paella place, a tapas place, a French bistro, a pizza place, a pasta restaurant, a Greek taverna and an English pub would you be complaining that there was too much European food?
All of those properties look so tired, I hope Murphy’s does it right! We need some entrepreneurs from Ballard to jump over the hill and open up something cool…and delicious!!
I loved Nikols when they had small pizzas and spaghetti. I loved it. I was sad to see they reoened with plain americalstyle food. I hope the Greek and Italisn influence wil reign.
I hope the news is true about Mr Gyros. I agree about a decent sandwich shop. I live 3 blocks off 45tg, but often drive to Greenlake or Ballard for something decently healthy. I really think most of the spaces on 45th are too big to sustain a resturant. If they could figure out how to divide the spaces, and still stay in business and bring in diversity, that would be awesome. At least we have the little gem of Cantinetta.
Mr Gyros is a good fit for E. Wallingford. Another (hopefully) late night option, and the gyros I’ve had from them in Greenwood and their food truck have been tasty.
Our GRAND OPENING COMING SOON
new managment.
“Check our specials”