After closing the Belltown original last year, owners Scott (also the chef) and Heather Staples moved their immensely popular Restaurant Zoe. The couple took some time off over the remainder of the summer and remained on hiatus through the new year. Rejuvenated, the duo recently resurrected their paean to European cuisine in the Capitol Hill neighborhood. 
Restaurant Zoe recently made the move from Belltown up to Capitol Hill to bigger digs. — Photo courtesy of Flickr user James CallanLocated in the space next to the new Oola Distillery, the new, now larger Restaurant Zoe sits across the street from Skillet Diner and Marjorie, another gourmet delight that made the exodus up the hill from Belltown. An interesting highlight of Zoe’s menu is the wide array of foie gras and pate, unctuous and satisfying in its decadence. Elegant service includes an amuse bouche course, and menu choices range from wild boar preparations to Bolognese to ricotta gnudi. A standout is perfectly prepared poached salmon. Otherwise, choose among a selection of small plates, soups, salads, and pastas, as well as Mediterranean-inflected entrees. Decadent desert fare includes salted caramel macaroons with peanut powder topping and bon bons made with Woodford Reserve bourbon, called “Bour”bons. Cute. Interestingly enough, in the game of restaurant musical chairs resulting from Zoe’s move, its old spot was taken over by award-winning Chefs Brian McCracken and Dana Tough. Known for their restaurant, Spur Gastropub, the pair has opened a new venture, the Coterie Room, in the old Zoe footprint.
USA TODAY 10Best
Seattle Restaurant Zoe Re-Opens in New Neighborhood
About John Ferri
A native of Tacoma, Washington - Seattle’s smaller sibling to the south - journalist John Ferri has lived everywhere in and around the Pacific Northwest. He started college in Bellingham, lived in the San Juan Islands, and finished college in Pullman, Washington, before living and working for a time in Spokane. He then moved to Florida, where he lived and worked in Tampa and Ft. Lauderdale before returning to the Puget Sound area. When not working full time as a writer and editor, including stints for The Tama Tribune and New Times, John spent years in the hospitality industry as a fine-dining restaurant server and manager. He counts himself lucky to have worked under some of the most awarded (and even celebrity) chefs and sommeliers in the entire Pacific Northwest. Although he never obtained his certificate through testing, John has studied wines extensively. And as a former home brewer, he's a student of craft beer and is immersed in the region’s industry-leading microbrewery movement. Having grown up amid the natural wonders of the Seattle area, John is an accomplished hiker. Another result of a Northwest rearing is his penchant for strong, dark-roast coffee, which he slavishly grinds and brews at home or enjoys at any Internet café that has great espresso. You'll only find him there, however, when he’s not in search of the next best deli, wine bar, hiking trail, book shop or brewery . . . or revisiting an old favorite.
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