Alebrijes Kitchen takes its name from the alebrije, the vividly imagined spirit animals of Mexican folk art, and carries the idea into its logo: an original alebrije blending a Quetzalcoatl-style dragon with an orca, a nod to the restaurant's Pacific Northwest home. Chef/owner Marcos de la Cadena previously ran Cocina Esperanza in Ballard before joining forces with Eric and Julie Reinhardt of Smokin' Pete's BBQ, longtime friends from years working in kitchens together, to open Alebrijes Kitchen in Crown Hill.
The kitchen sources fresh, local ingredients and makes everything from scratch, down to the corn tortillas, working Mexican cooking traditions with Northwest ingredients folded in. It's set up as a proper sit-down restaurant, built for settling in with a cocktail rather than moving quickly.
Regulars keep up a running debate over the salsa, and the room's atmosphere and service get consistent praise even from diners who land on different sides of that argument.
The kitchen sources fresh, local ingredients and makes everything from scratch, down to the corn tortillas, working Mexican cooking traditions with Northwest ingredients folded in. It's set up as a proper sit-down restaurant, built for settling in with a cocktail rather than moving quickly.
Regulars keep up a running debate over the salsa, and the room's atmosphere and service get consistent praise even from diners who land on different sides of that argument.