Fish Story

When Christina Keff launched Flying Fish at the corner of 1st and Bell almost 15 years ago, Belltown was still called the Denny Regrade, a culinary wasteland considered far too sketchy for a classy restaurant. To be sure, Marco's Supper Club and Macrina Bakery had just opened to keep her company, but the concept of a local seafood restaurant with Asian overtones was considered, well, "too San Francisco."

But Keff had paid her dues: the Four Seasons in New York, McCormick & Schmick and the Hunt Club in Seattle. Her flavors were new and honest, with (for the time) unusual fish (branzino, opah) and exotic preparations (curries, stir-fries, lemongrass). Within a couple of years, the Fish was ranked one of Seattle's top restaurants and Chris herself was named Best Chef in the Northwest/Hawaii by the James Beard Foundation. Flying Fish caught on, took hold, and prospered. From the start, it was a hip spot, and as the line snaked out the door and her management responsibilities grew, Chris recruited a talented and unassuming chef Steve Smrstik to watch the stoves, and an experienced, New Zealand-born wine guy, Brian Huse, to build an award-winning wine list and run front-of-the-house. A four-year fling with a romantic South American (Fandango) didn't work out; Keff retreated to what she knows best, Northwest seafood. Kitchen managers came & went (Smrstik was succeeded by Angie Roberts; Huse by Guy Kugel), an oyster happy hour remained (4-6 nightly, 50-cent oysters).

And she turned her interests to sustainable agriculture and organic farming. On the restaurant's 10th anniversary, the menu for the first time carried these words: "All of our raw ingredients are organic or harvested from the wild."

Then, last month, prompted by a query from Belltown Messenger publisher Alex R. Mayer, Cornichon sent Keff an email:

Hi Chris, Cornichon has ears & spears in many places, & hears that FF is planning to leave 1st Ave for fresher waters. But where? and when?

Info much appreciated, Happy holidays,

This was the reply:

Hey Ron--no hard info as of yet. Will let you know as soon as I do. Hope you have a very happy holiday. Chris

And there she was, standing at the passe on New Year's Eve, making sure that every plate prepared by her kitchen crew passed muster. Cornichon was on hand.

10:00 Full house at Flying Fish. At the pass, Chris Keff doesn't exactly deny rumors that the restaurant is moving to South Lake Union. "No hard info," she says.

Didn't take long. This morning Nancy Leson breaks the news: Flying Fish has been reeled in by Paul Allen's Vulcan Real Estate, developer of South Lake Union, which he wants to make into a serious urban neighborhood. To that end, he's importing home-grown restaurants like the Fish. More power to him, and bravo to Keff as well. Just be sure you keep the Oyster Happy Hour!

Flying Fish, 2234 First Avenue, Belltown (for a little longer, then 320 Westlake Avenue N. in South Lake Union), 206-728-8595