Cafe Juanita
Italian restaurant · Kirkland
9702 NE 120th Pl, Kirkland, WA 98034
:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/20533263/33B32B4C_2939_4899_B8FF_362593131DA4.jpeg "Cafe Juanita by Holly Smith")
:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/20533269/IMG_3759.jpeg "Cafe Juanita by Holly Smith")
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/67120971/LS20150811_juanitacafe_001.0.jpeg "Cafe Juanita by Lara Swimmer Photography")
Highlights
Northern Italian fare with Northwestern ingredients, tasting menus
Northern Italian fare with Northwestern ingredients, tasting menus
"A well-regarded Eastside fine-dining destination where the newly promoted chef previously held a position earlier in his career." - Harry Cheadle
"Holly Smith’s Northern Italian fine dining restaurant feels old-fashioned, a quiet, low-key dining room tucked away in Kirkland. But the food is still outstanding and inventive. The menu changes frequently based on the seasons, but you’ll find bites that astound — we’re still thinking about an umami-rich foraged mushroom pasta we had there years ago. Notably, Cafe Juanita serves four different tasting menus: an omnivorous one alongside pescatarian, vegetarian, and vegan options. Couple that with a nonalcoholic beverage pairing you can opt for instead of wine and you’re looking at one of the most inclusive high-end restaurants in the metro area. If you drive: Don’t try to mess around by finding street parking. You’re going to drop $200 a person here before drinks, you might as well pay $10 for the valet service." - Harry Cheadle
"Holly Smith and her team have been holding down the fine dining fort in Kirkland for over two decades, and the northern Italian–influenced tasting menus haven’t lost a step. The focaccia is casually some of the best in the metro area, the little in-between-course surprises are thrilling, and the staff boasts an encyclopedic knowledge of the dishes being served. Tasting menus (which include vegetarian, vegan, and pescatarian options) are $205." - Harry Cheadle
"Where a lot of the region’s fine dining destinations lean on French and Japanese techniques, chef Holly Smith’s Cafe Juanita is an ode to Northern Italy. The Kirkland restaurant looks sleepy from the outside (it looks a little sleepy inside, too) but the food here is powerful. You’re likely to stumble across a bite you remember years later, whether that’s a truffle-filled cabbage roll, a foraged mushroom packed with an incredible amount of flavor, or something as simple as a freshly baked, pillowy focaccia. There are no a la carte options here and a meal costs $205, but the good news is there are separate tasting menus for vegetarians, vegans, and pescatarians." - Mark DeJoy
"For a special occasion dinner, Cafe Juanita in Kirkland is the ultimate venue. With a dark, sleek space that can only belong on the Eastside where the Microsoft executives play, it's a restaurant where you can dress up and propose to the love of your life over A5 Miyazaki wagyu and delicate homemade tagliatelle with chanterelles. Their tasting menus have both vegetarian and vegan options, which also makes Cafe Juanita versatile for a cuisine that tends to prioritize pork and butter." - aimee rizzo, kayla sager riley
