Off Alley is a restaurant on Rainier Avenue South in Columbia City, Seattle. Eater Seattle has said the restaurant serves Pacific Northwest "bistro food".[2] The menu changes often and has included chilled tomato soup, turnip with rabbit heart, lamb tongue with wax beans,[3] eel and farro, pork and prune pate, air-cured bison, and fried lamb's brains.[4] Off Alley also operates as a wine bar.[2][5]
History
Established in August 2020,[6] the business is operated by chef Evan Leichtling and partner Meghna Prakash[7] in a space which previously housed La Teranga.[8] In 2021, Heather Haddon of The Wall Street Journal wrote, "Off Alley began requiring diners to show proof of vaccination in late July. Co-owner Meghna Prakash said customers have generally been supportive but online backlash is taking a toll. Off Alley has received negative online reviews from people who haven't dined there, and she has been called discriminatory, Ms. Prakash said."[9] In 2023, the pop-up Street Catz was held in the space during April 5–9.[10] Off Alley implements a 20 percent service charge, as of 2023.[11]
Reception
Off Alley was included in The New York Times' best restaurants list in 2022.[12][13] Brett Bankson of Eater Seattle said the business "is about as personal as restaurants get" and wrote, "Off Alley is a rare spot that concocts a synergy between wine and food, where menu decisions are in the service of educating guests and celebrating producers."[2] The website also included Off Alley in a 2023 list of 38 "essential" Seattle restaurants.[7]
