Two Seattle-area restaurants make Esquire’s ‘Best New Restaurants’ list

Esquire magazine unveiled its 40th annual list of the 40 Best New Restaurants in America this week and two Seattle-area restaurants — made the nationally sourced list.

Chef Brendan McGill’s Seabird was ranked No. 12, while chef Brady Ishiwata Williams’ Tomo was ranked No. 30.

In deciding what makes a “best new restaurant,” the magazine’s editors — Jeff Gordinier, Joshua David Stein, Omar Mamoon, and Kevin Sintumuang — wrote that they were always “hooked when there is soul and a story to go with delicious, inventive dishes. It’s hard to deny the reflection of lived experience imbued in a menu, a wine list, a cocktail, atmosphere.”

McGill’s Bainbridge Island hyperlocal seafood-focused Seabird drew the attention of the editors for the restaurant’s “creamy uni French toast, halibut ceviche with zippy leche de tigre and jalapeño crema, and sablefish in a delicate almond broth fortified with spicy salsa macha.”

McGill responded to the accolade on Instagram by saying, “It is truly humbling for our little island restaurant to make a splash that can be heard across the country, especially in the wake of the challenges of the last few years.”

As of Friday afternoon, the island’s soon-to-be hot spot, which opened in April, had plenty of reservations available for next week and the weekend, though they might disappear after this recent press.

Earlier this year, our restaurant critic Tan Vinh sung the praises of Tomo, which is former Canlis chef and James Beard Award-winner Williams’ first solo restaurant, and was so highly anticipated that it amassed a 15,000-person waiting list months before it opened.

Vinh fell in love with the vegetable dishes and the steak, writing that the restaurant was often at its best “when it tries to shatter your preconceived notions of how ingredients should taste or be served.”

Mamoon – who reported on both Tomo and Seabird — was enamored not only with Tomo’s atmosphere (in his words, it was like “dining inside the Death Star, in the coolest way possible”) — and highlighted the root-beer flavored kakigori (which Vinh also enjoyed), calling it a “refreshing finish to your meal.”

Tomo’s 22 seats have been highly sought after since the restaurant opened in September 2021 (which raises the question of whether a restaurant over a year old can really be considered “new?”), and this amplified spotlight is sure to make it even more difficult to get in there.

Take Vinh’s advice and take your chances as an early-bird walk-in. The tasting menu isn’t available, but there are still winning dishes to be had.