Exploring Kirkland: Cafe Juanita
Celebrating the foods of Northern Italy
Chef Holly Smith opened Cafe Juanita in the spring of 2000 to showcase her passion for hospitality and the cuisine of Northern Italy; interpreted through the finest ingredients from Italy and the Pacific Northwest.
At this northern Italian gem, James Beard Award Winner Holly Smith tracks the season with dishes like rabbit braised in Arneis wine as well as a clearer focus on vegetarian and vegan options than at many Italian restaurants. Cafe Juanita's award-winning wine list focuses on Italian producers and rounds it out with outstanding Pacific Northwest wines.
The cuisine of Northern Italy differs from the foods in the rest of this peninsular country in several ways including the type of fat, the pasta, and the proteins used. Most traditional Northern Italian recipes call for unsalted butter rather than olive oil, and cooks use much less tomato. Instead, they employ wine or broth and chopped herbs for flavor. The results can be extraordinarily elegant. And though there are many kinds of stuffed pasta, the flat and extruded forms of pasta that are so important further south take a back seat to polenta and risotto, a large variety of seafood, and to rich, hearty soups in the winter.
Excellent service is the hallmark of Cafe Juanita. The staff has received numerous accolades from guests, food media, and the James Beard Foundation. Recently, Cafe Juanita received a nomination for the James Beard Award in Outstanding Service and Outstanding Restaurant.
Located in Kirkland and surrounded by trees, Cafe Juanita is a romantic respite from Seattle’s endless cranes and Amazon Prime packages, feeling at once nostalgic and new. We can’t recommend this lovely fine dining experience more.
