Chef Philippe Thomelin was born in France and found his culinary home in Andalusia. Now he's thoroughly ensconced at the restaurant he started five years ago Olivar, in the historic Loveless Building on Capitol Hill.
The space was originally occupied by an charming café called the Russian Samovar, decorated in 1931 by Vladimir Shkurkin, a classically-trained Russian artist who created murals based on a Pushkin fairy tale about a swan that turns into a princess.
A great location, opposite the Harvard Exit, just down from the Deluxe Bar & Grill (another Capitol Hill institution), but unlucky: after the Samovar came Byzantium, then Bacchus, then Fork, then CoCo-La-Tida, then darkness.
Thomelin had worked in top local kitchens (Il Terrazzo, Cascadia, Voilà Harvest Vine), taught cooking classes and run his own catering company, Olive Tree. Opening his own place was a big leap of faith, but he's surrounded by evidence of a fairy tale with a happy ending.
Meantime, Belltown's Black Bottle, which turns 8 this week, continues its run as Seattle's most successful gastropub. It has grown, twice actually, into vacant spaces next door; it has seen the birth of one sibling in the very next block (The Innkeeper); another in Bellevue (Postern). In eight years, its menu has evolved only a smidge, which is a sure sign the owners got it right the first time around:
Lamb meatballs with sumac hummus, braised oxtail, steamed clams, "broccoli blasted," an array of flatbreads, $2 tacos during happy hour. Congratulations to proud parents Chris Linker and chef Brian Durbin.
Olivar, 805 E. Roy, Seattle, 206-322-0409 
Black Bottle, 2600 1st Avenue, Seattle, 206-441-1500 
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