Whither Belltown Fine Dining?

First Mistral, temple of gastronomy, hushed inner sanctum of the molecular, closed six weeks ago. Then Lampreia, sacred (and almost secret) destination for Seattle devotees of haute-cuisine, put itself up for sale. Now Cascadia, that hardy and trendy hybrid, is out as well.

All three owner-chefs have their reasons, and they're not even the same reasons. Mistral's William Belickis is on to a more ambitious project, a suite of restaurants that needs more space (and more investment) than his 32-seat chapel. Scott Carsberg of Lampreia has long wanted a space he can actually own, and is moving to the Gallery building, under construction at the corner of 2nd and Broad. And Kerry Sear, having hit his stride by combining popular mini-burgers with high standards of Northwest cuisine, is leaving Cascadia's grand, high-ceilinged space after ten years and returning to the fold of the new Four Seasons at First & Union.

So, by the end of summer, Belltown's top three dinner houses will be g-gone. What will come in their place? The rent's too high for mid-range chains like Red Lobsters or Applebees...though not for dance clubs and lounges. With food costs skyrocketing and labor shortages climbing, it makes less sense than ever to fill the menu with $20 tuna tartare and $30 salmon en papillotte. But a super-premium cosmo for $15, shaken by a $10/hour bar dude with a dollar's worth of booze, that's a no-brainer.

Between Lampreia and Cascadia stands Del Rey, a Capitol-Hill-style lounge (dark inside, live music, tequila) with a line out the door. Could this be the future of Belltown? Or indeed of fine dining everywhere?