Why Come Here? Takes on Korean cuisine you won’t find anywhere else, affordable food worth the trip to Seattle
As our trip to Seattle was primarily for the purpose of attending Katherine’s cousin’s wedding, we were left with precious few meals to choose on our own. One, to be precise – a Thursday lunch. After scouring food blogs and message boards we settled on Tom Colicchio favorite Revel, an “urban Korean comfort food” joint located in the Freemont area (just north of downtown). As this was the only place we ate out during our time in the Emerald City, I realize I am grossly under-qualified to make the statement I’m about to make: If you go to Seattle, you absolutely must eat here.
Revel has everything I want to see in a restaurant. The vibe and waitstaff is laid back. The decor is playful, with faux-sixties pop-art paintings of celebrities like Mr. T. adorning the walls. There’s a back deck with outdoor seating. And the food is creative, yet true to it’s Korean roots and pretty cheap withmost dishes under $10, and only one over$15. It’s also absolutely incredible.
The menu is divided into five sections: salads, pancakes, dumplings, rice and noodles and is meant to be shared, although each item is probably enough for one person if you’re not too hungry. The table receives a quartet of dipping sauces of different consistencies and spice levels, all which we found pretty tasty. The only drawback of Revel is its no reservation policy. While this wasn’t a big deal for a weekday lunch (we sat right away), waits can easily exceed an hour at dinner time.
What We Ate:
Dungress Crab Noodles 
The tangy, creamy and spicy red curry and seaweed noodles combined to create a flavor we all agreed we’d never tasted before, but certainly needed to taste again. Absolutely amazing.
Short Rib Dumpling 
Big, juicy dumplings filled with perfectly braised short ribs topped with shallot and scallion.
Pork belly Pancake (kimchi, bean sprout) 
The pork belly and kimchi are baked into the pancake. It’s very good on it’s own, but it’s great when topped with the various accompanying sauces.
Revel
403 N 36th St. (Francis & Phinney Aves.)
Seattle, WA
Restaurant Website
