Smith, the newest pub to open on 15th Avenue, has gotten more than its fair share of press recently. On its first day, the Seattle blogs were already raving about how great it was. Lots of Seattle notables visited and plenty of hipsters followed suit. The blogs even went so far as to declare that the curse had been lifted. You see, Smith moved into the “haunted” space on 15th that was previously occupied by Cypress, Kozak’s, Maguire’s, Mango’s, and other such duds before that. None of these places lasted longer than 6 months. It was beginning to seem unlikely that any restaurant would ever be able to make it in that location.

While it may be a bit premature to claim that the curse has lifted, I must admit that all signs are pointing that way. The space looks entirely new, yet it also looks like it has been there forever. Unlike the previous restaurants, Smith just feels really comfortable. Plus, Smith is the latest venture of Linda Derschang of Linda’s and King’s Hardware fame, and, if anyone knows how to open up a good bar in Seattle, she does. When we visited last month, the place was packed full of hipsters which, as the Capitol Hill Seattle blog points out, weren’t anywhere to be seen on 15th Avenue before. That must mean that Smith is actually drawing people up from elsewhere on Capitol Hill. If that’s not a sign that the curse is broken, then I don’t know what is. It wasn’t quite as busy tonight, but there was still a decent trickle of nice, normal, non-hipster types (like us) coming in to grab a drink and check it out.

As I mentioned before, Smith feels really comfortable. If you’re a fan of taxidermy, that is. Yes, Linda does love her taxidermy. Although there are many deer heads, stuffed birds really prevail here. The interior of Smith is very dark, with dim lighting, stone tile flooring and dark wood everywhere. Although there are big front windows and lots of open space, the place is a bit gloomy (but in a good way.) There are many tables and booths, including the now-ubiquitous communal table in the middle of the room. Smith is what I imagine a hunter’s den would look like, but on a much larger scale. Although it is summer and cheerfully bright restaurants with patios are better suited to my mood right now, Smith will be a perfect hideout when the rainy season hits.

In keeping with the hunter theme, the menu at Smith features lots of meat. It is a rather odd menu. I feel like I like reading and thinking about the menu more than I actually want to order off it, but that may be because I don’t really eat much meat. Meaty options include steak (served rare), burger (served rare), fried duck legs (think duck corndog) and trout…wrapped in ham. There are some vegetarian choices but they are mostly just vegetables, not really full meals. We ordered the Devils on Horseback which are dates stuffed with blue cheese and wrapped in bacon. It’s tough to go wrong with that combination so, unsurprisingly, they were very good. We also shared an order of fries which were served attractively in a tall mason jar lined with brown paper. Our beet salad consisted of thinly sliced beets dressed simply with olive oil, garlic and fresh thyme. A plate of yummy greens rounded out the meal. They had all of the salty, brothy goodness of Southern greens but weren’t cooked to death. Everything was really good, although we didn’t exactly leave Smith feeling full. Maybe an order of poutine instead of fries would have solved the problem. Poutine is a Canadian specialty which consists of French fries and soft cheese curds covered in gravy. I’m so getting that next time! Overall, even though the menu frightens/intrigues me, I will definitely be returning to Smith. It is a really great addition to the neighborhood. I hope it lasts! Smith is located at 332 15th Ave E.