22 new Seattle-area restaurant openings, including Sumo all-you-can-eat sushi

Our monthly roll call of new restaurant openings covers the South End, the Eastside and the North End. In the South, we found two, new all-you-can-eat deals for sushi and grilled meats. On the Eastside, we have tips on how to get in on the hottest new dim sum spot without waiting three hours — as many did last month. And up north, a big-name Seattle chef debuts a grand bar restaurant in Edmonds. For more details, read on.

South End

In Kent, Sumo All-You-Can-Eat serves a smorgasbord of sushi and Asian comfort food for $29.95. Just from word-of-mouth, the line has been long during its soft opening. You’ll hear more about this popular all-you-can-eat restaurant, as Sumo plans to open five more branches in the Seattle area over the next two years, management said. Unlike a buffet setup, all sushi and hot dishes from spicy tuna rolls to karaage fried chicken are made to order. You can order up to 15 dishes every 15 minutes, using the QR code menu. (There won’t be enough room at the table to fit more than eight plates at a time anyway.)

About 30 varieties of sushi, sashimi and rolls are offered daily featuring crab, shrimp, tuna, salmon and eel, though the highlight at Sumo might be its hot plates and deep-fried offerings including grilled New York steak, tempura shrimp, the deep-fried battered coconut shrimp, takoyaki octopus, curry katsu pork and fried rice.

To avoid the line, check the waitlist online before you go. You can also put your name on the online waitlist from home. Sumo runs a cheaper $19.95 weekday lunch special with fewer sushi items, but you can still get the full menu if you pay the $29.95 dinner rate during lunch. It’s less crowded during lunch.

Or if you prefer all-you-can-eat grilled meat on a stick, Shinya Shokudo in Tukwila runs its “Tabehōdai” deal where you can order an “unlimited” number of beef, chicken, pork and veggie yakitori for $35. Note that only at its new Tukwila branch can you get this daily special at all hours. At its locations in Seattle and Redmond, the “unlimited” deal starts at 9 p.m. Monday-Saturday and at 3 p.m. on Sunday.

In Federal Way, home of arguably the best Korean cuisine in the Northwest, there are three more hot spots to try: the rice bowl cafe Bibim Express, the Korean-Mexican fusion counter GoGi on the Go and Moobongri Soondae which specializes in blood sausage.

In Renton, Shawarma Tiger does gyro and lamb dishes. A half-mile north is GameTime Pho Tavern, which does the deep-fried catfish that’s all the rage at Vietnamese restaurants. After we ran our story on this trendy dish, readers flooded our inbox with questions on how to score this secret menu item. This new Renton restaurant makes it easier for you: there’s no 24-hour reservation required. Walk-ins are accepted for the catfish feast (cost is about $17.50 per pound and the largest catfish weighs 10 pounds).

Speaking of Vietnamese food, The Pho opens in Burien.

The Eastside

Redmond

Seattle’s Jack’s BBQ, which specializes in Central Texas-style brisket, makes its Eastside debut. At this carnivore’s den, even its signature salad comes with beef belly bacon. For vegans (why are you eating at Jack’s?), there are beer-braised oyster mushrooms. A favorite among the meat connoisseurs is Jack’s dino-sized beef rib served on Thursdays. And on Fridays, its beef rib comes with flour tortillas. That Friday special made the cut for our list of 30 best tacos In Western Washington last year.

Five miles north is the Filipino fusion Neighborhood Cafe doing lechon burritos, ube biscuits and lumpia chopped salad. Also LUMI Cafe, the popular Korean dessert and milk tea spot in Lynnwood, expands to the Modera Overlake complex.

Bellevue

The wait for a table at Sun Sui Wah, one of the year’s big openings, ran three hours long after fans read our story about its hush-hush soft opening last month. The wait is up to two hours now. Your best bet to score har gow shrimp dumplings and sticky rice is to go on Mondays or Tuesdays. Otherwise, check the online waitlist and plan accordingly. Or come in a pack. The dim sum mecca only takes reservations for parties of five or more. For dinner, this Cantonese restaurant isn’t as packed, so you can get a table without a reservation. But note that this shopping center, Bellevue Marketplace, houses so many big-name restaurant tenants that it’s hard to find parking during the weekends.

Wild Wasabi Signature is a swanky sushi-and-teppanyaki spot for the expense-account set that offers 100 different sushi rolls and A5 wagyu beef and other fancy cuts. For Hunan cuisine, hit Shaoshan Impression for braised pork feet and sauteed lamb. All the takeout staples are also available from fried rice to mapo tofu.

In Issaquah, Bobae, a hit in Kirkland and Redmond, expands north of Confluence Park.

In Kirkland, Uptown Pho by the waterfront serves its namesake noodle topped with filet mignon. Two miles north, Ding Tea + 36^th Streets Vietnamese Coffee does bubble tea and trendy Saigon and Hanoi iced coffee drinks. Asian international students also come for the panini-pressed banh mis.

In Woodinville, the Graze Craze shop specializes in charcuterie boards along with party platters and picnic boxes.

North End

Edmonds

Ethan Stowell makes his debut in the North End with The Victor Tavern, a bar restaurant that can seat at least 200. A half-mile east of the ferry terminal, the space boasts a dozen TVs and a gaming area with three mini bowling lanes and shuffleboards. The Victor Tavern is currently in soft opening mode but is in the process of making its upstairs gaming area handicap-accessible before it does a full opening.

And a stone’s throw away is Stillhouse Coffee. In related news, the owners of Walnut Street Coffee in Edmonds have moved on, but the coffeehouse will remain under new ownership.

Lynnwood

Yeh Yeh’s, the best Vietnamese deli in the North End, has competition now that Banh Mi Land has rolled into town. About two miles north, Seoul Bowl, a hit with college students in Seattle for its rice bowls, Korean fried chicken and Mexican-fusion burritos, expands to Alderwood mall.