West Seattle food/drink: Opening day’s finally in sight for Locöl

(WSB photo by Christopher Boffoli)
When Locöl officially opens for business at noon Monday, it’ll be one week short of January 17th, 2010, the day we first told you about the plan for a neighborhood beer/wine bar at 35th/Kenyon. Tonight, another soft-open test run put Locöl proprietor Kyle Duce and team that much closer to opening day. And what a transformation along the way – here’s what the ex-tanning salon looked like inside, last January:

(January 2010 WSB photo by Mary Sheely)
The view from a similar perspective tonight:

(WSB photos from here are all by Christopher Boffoli)
This is one of several “soft open” nights for Locöl, to make sure all the bugs are worked out. Here’s Kyle, in the plaid shirt, talking with patrons:

Locöl, as reported before, is serving food as well as beer and wine. Covering tonight’s event for WSB was photojournalist Christopher Boffoli; we asked him to find out more about the menu, to add to what was mentioned in our mid-December sneak peek – that information’s after the jump:

Christopher reports the menu’s broken out as: Snacks, Soups, Salads, Sandwiches, Special, and Sweets – caveat, this is unofficial information; it’s what he found tonight, but certainly the proprietors can and might change it at any time:

Snacks: (all dishes $4 except for the cheese plate which is $10)
Chicknuts (spiced chickpeas and pumpkin seeds)
Chard Chips (salted and spiced)
Bread and olive oil
Cheese plate (assorted local cheeses)
Marinated olives

Soups: ($5)
Butternut Squash Soup
White Bean and Pistou Soup

Salad: ($6)
Shaved Fennel
Locöl Greens with Oranges and Goat Cheese

Sandwiches (you can add bacon to all for $2 extra)
Horseradish Pulled Pork $9
Gruyere and Arugula Panini $7
Eggplant, Tomato and Kalamata Olive $7

Special:
Pasta Gratin (mac and cheese with braised cabbage and white beans) $8

Sweets:
Infused Truffles (creamy dark chocolate truffles infused with various flavors) $9
Pumpkin Creme Brulee $6

Back to the decor – note the art on the walls:

Locol will be among the stops for next Thursday’s West Seattle Art Walk, 6-9 pm. Speaking of hours: It’ll open Monday, says Kyle, with its official hours – noon to 2 am.

ADDED SATURDAY NIGHT: Commenters wanted to know what beers are on tap, for starters. We sent a note to Kyle; his reply: “We are starting with Schooner Exact Golden, Big Al’s IPA, Fremont Pale Ale, Old Seattle Lager, Georgetown 9 lb hammer, and Odin’s Ruby.”

34 Replies to "West Seattle food/drink: Opening day's finally in sight for Locöl"

  • Jay January 8, 2011 (2:27 am)

    ..but what beers are on tap?

  • kc January 8, 2011 (7:47 am)

    Wow, looks great!!!

  • Jtk January 8, 2011 (8:01 am)

    Whats with all the pumpkin stuff? Halloween is over!

  • DC January 8, 2011 (9:28 am)

    menu looks fantastic. can’t wait to check it out

  • LisaM January 8, 2011 (9:42 am)

    looks like this may be our new Bohemain! (Which I loved) w/o the stiff drinks tho..

  • I. Ponder January 8, 2011 (9:44 am)

    There goes the neighborhood! I’m starting a petition to save the remaining tanning salons.

    Seriously, it looks amazing.

  • RPH January 8, 2011 (9:53 am)

    Congratulations Kyle, Kristi, Shane, et al! As we used to say at the Frontier Room, “The wood makes it good!”. Fabulous finish on the wood slab bar, like buttah! Big Al’s IPA. It’s about time we had some culture on this side of peninsula. So glad you finally got ‘er done!

  • Krystal January 8, 2011 (10:06 am)

    Somewhere within walking distance from my house! I cannot even tell you how excited I am!!!!

  • Christy January 8, 2011 (10:09 am)

    You guys it looks SO DAMN GREAT! Can’t wait to come visit and check it out, you all should be very proud!

  • Gaz January 8, 2011 (10:10 am)

    Is the hipster look mandatory to enter or can everyday joes go as well.

  • Lindsey January 8, 2011 (10:16 am)

    Looks amazing!! WOW!! so glad to finally see the layout. I think Locol is gonna be my second home!

  • WSB January 8, 2011 (10:27 am)

    Gaz – In case Kyle doesn’t reply, let me say that he’s met both Patrick and me, and nonetheless still insisted the two of us (over 50 and as completely unhip as you can possibly get, not to say you can’t be hipster at 50+, just that we are not) are welcome there, even not in our official capacity. Maybe hard to tell when looking at photos, but it does not feel pretentious in the slightest … just warm, woodsy, cozy. – TR

  • DaveB January 8, 2011 (10:43 am)

    I second Jay’s question.

  • JIMI January 8, 2011 (10:57 am)

    LOOKS GOOOOOOOD. WILL COME IN TO GIVE A TRY.

  • Findlay January 8, 2011 (11:09 am)

    Hope there’s free wi-fi and an IPA on tap!

  • J&J January 8, 2011 (11:50 am)

    You guys must have been in there a bit before our group because I recognize some of the people in the pics. But we got there a bit after 9pm for the “soft open” and it was packed! It was awesome to see so many people out in force supporting a new local establishment. And yes, warm, woodsy, & cozy are the best words to describe. We’ll definitely by Locol regulars!

  • mollsworth January 8, 2011 (11:56 am)

    This is exciting! Can’t believe we have a cool, cozy place within walking distance. *heart flutter* Can’t wait to check it out.

  • Lindsey January 8, 2011 (11:59 am)

    I’m so exited for you guys! Place looks fantastic.

  • crystal January 8, 2011 (1:35 pm)

    This place looks great, I can’t wait to check it out!!

  • WSB January 8, 2011 (5:00 pm)

    For the “what’s on tap” questions (we’ll add to the story too) – I sent Kyle a note. His reply: “We are starting with Schooner Exact Golden, Big Al’s IPA, Fremont Pale Ale, Old Seattle Lager, Georgetown 9 lb hammer, and Odin’s Ruby.”

  • JumboJim January 8, 2011 (5:45 pm)

    I can vouch that I live within a few blocks and there is not a single hipster on my block. It’s just not that kind of neighborhood – so not to worry, when the people from our street are in there it will be as unhipster as you can imagine.

    And by the way – if you are worried about how you look compared to hipsters you may need a drink, so definitely check it out. Personally, I can’t wait to walk over when they open, and stagger home after…

  • H January 8, 2011 (8:26 pm)

    Not too excited about a $5 pint.

  • Ken January 8, 2011 (10:15 pm)

    So how do you get the umlaut (I think that’s what it’s called) to show up over the second “o” when you type the place’s name?

    • WSB January 8, 2011 (10:38 pm)

      There is a shortcut for it, but I will confess that my shortcut involves finding an earlier story (or an online use) and cutting and pasting!

  • foodisgoodfood January 8, 2011 (11:24 pm)

    laughing at the short cut. I do that kind of stuff all the time and always think I’m the only one…

    Welcome, Locol!! …hoping you have some hard cider too since beer gives me unwanted tattoos. :)) But seriously, CHEERS!

  • angelescrest January 9, 2011 (12:34 am)

    Hold ALT key and type 129 on number keys to the far right: ü ü ü
    ALT + 154 for Ü Ü

    Make sure number lock is on. (for PCs.)

  • DonS January 9, 2011 (9:44 am)

    Umlaut-o is Alt+148 or Alt+0246 = ö
    Therefore, Locöl. Easy!

  • yeah-me January 9, 2011 (11:02 am)

    I stopped by to peek in the window. Looks amazing inside..but the exterior is a tad shabby. Hope they paint the door and clean up the dead flower beds so the outside is a smashing as the inside.

  • angelescrest January 9, 2011 (4:22 pm)

    I was stuck on the ü…please forgive.
    We so look forward to Locöl.

  • miws January 9, 2011 (5:27 pm)

    Yöü are förgiven, angelcrest! ;)

    .

    Mike

  • Kate January 9, 2011 (8:49 pm)

    Feedback on the website: the site disables the “back” button on my browser– always an annoying feature.

    Also, I don’t see the hours on the website. I could only find them here in this article.

  • christopherboffoli January 9, 2011 (11:57 pm)

    FWIW, on a Mac the umlaut is: “Option u” and then whatever letter you’re putting under the umlaut.

  • bettytheyeti January 10, 2011 (11:36 am)

    ü

    Ü who knew? Such an informative blog. @Jumbojim-the new hipster! Or is that the un-hipster, yeah you betcha, I can’t wait for my visit to Locöl. @TR thanks, for outlining the dress code!
    I am feeling an urban ski to sea coming on in the event another snow-in, Locöl at the Highpoint and Beveridge pub on the return. Disclaimer: skiing on snow cover hilly roads a wrong thing to do. Leave it to the professionals.

  • JumboJim January 10, 2011 (4:38 pm)

    $5 pints?? Maybe I won’t be hanging out there all that much. I’m a bit price sensitive and that’s a tad too high for me….
    That said, I just looked at their menu online to verify the price and couldn’t find it listed there. The food prices in the story look okay – guess I’ll have to discover/drink for myself…

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