By Megan Hill
Ciudad and its sibling cocktail spot, Bar Ciudad, carve out a welcoming retreat in a busy industrial corner of Seattle’s Georgetown neighborhood. Entering the restaurant’s concrete walls, past the large patio and massive wood-fired grill, you’ll feel transported – perhaps to Spain or Morocco, maybe to Turkey or Southeast Asia, or possibly to South America.
The small restaurant weaves together threads from various cultural influences, but each bite achieves a remarkable harmony. Ingredients like harissa, lebneh, za’atar, haloumi, sambal and chimichurri help build a diverse and deeply flavorful meal here.
Chef Aaron Willis was recently brought on as chef at Ciudad, and he oversees the enterprise’s two main aspects: the restaurant, and Bar Ciudad, located across the courtyard. Willis infuses the menu with experiences from his travels around the world.
Lunch and dinner are served inside the main restaurant, where proteins and vegetables are fired to perfection. The menu, which is the same for both meals, consists of sections that range from small plates to sauces to vegetable dishes to proteins – mainly meats – sold by the quarter, half, or full pound. Housemade flatbread helps tie it all together.
At first glance, the format may seem confusing, but the idea is that guests – and ideally, diners coming in groups – can build a meal that combines whatever looks good. There are sandwiches and a chef’s choice option if things get too overwhelming, but theoretically your table will be filled with a bright array of plates and platters and dips of your choosing. There’s really no wrong way to go about it.
“You can take a tour around the world or pick a theme to stick to,” Willis says. “You can create whatever experience you want.”
The concept of communal eating is central to the experience at Ciudad. And that extends to Bar Ciudad, a walk-up window dispensing adult beverages for enjoyment on the large patio. Parties and pop-up dinners add a lively scene when the weather is nice. Patrons can pair the drinks with spice-rubbed rotisserie chicken, sold by the whole or half bird with sides like vegetarian dirty rice, potatoes, and a wedge salad, plus other accompaniments. Eat outdoors, inside the bar, or take your food to go.
The drinks menu in the restaurant consists of twists on traditional cocktails, like the roasted beet margarita and the Old Fashioned with five spice. The Ciudad mule is built with a housemade ginger beer. A handful of draft beers concentrate on local options like Manny’s Pale Ale, Two Beers, and Holy Mountain, and wine includes regional and international bottles of red, white, rose, sparkling, port and sherry.
In a unique twist, the restaurant’s bar serves shots of what it dubs “break even bottles,” high-end liquors sold at cost with the idea of allowing patrons to try expensive options at achievable prices.
