Spice Waala, the beloved Seattle restaurant known for its authentic Indian street food, is expanding to Columbia City in January 2024. The new location, located at 5020 Rainier Ave S., will feature the same menu as the Capitol Hill and Ballard locations, with a focus on affordable, high-quality Indian cuisine.

Image: Spice Waala
"We live in the neighborhood," said Uttam Mukherjee, Co-Founder and Chief Feeding Officer of Spice Waala. "This area is extremely diverse, and it is underserved when it comes to Indian food as there aren't any restaurants South of I-90 until Kent or Renton. We've long thought of opening in this area and our first location in 2019 was almost Columbia City."
Spice Waala's menu features a variety of kathi rolls, which are wraps filled with a variety of meats, vegetables, and sauces. Meats in each wrap are marinated for 36 hours before being grilled. Other popular items include snacks like the Bhel Puri, a crunchy and tangy combination of savory rice puffs coated with tamarind and cilantro chutney, garnished with raw onion, cilantro, and fried chickpea batter.
Seasonal soft serve ice cream is another Spice Waala favorite at the Capitol Hill and Ballard locations. Flavors rotate each month and reflect the season. The new Columbia City location intends to offer soft serve ice cream, however due to equipment delays this location may not have soft serve available immediately at opening.
The new Spice Waala location will also participate in the organization's own food justice initiative, the Bhojan Program. Through this initiative, Spice Waala partners with Seattle nonprofits to serve 200 meals each week, no questions asked. Prior partners include Rainier Valley Food Bank, Asian Counseling & Referral Services (ACRS), Lifelong, and Global Acts of Compassion.
Spice Waala has served 32,000 meals through the program since its start, and Mukherjee said that they intend to expand the program with the Columbia City opening.
"We are in the process of understanding what organizations we can partner with and what is the best way to do so," said Mukherjee. "We currently partner with Asian Counseling & Referral Services (ACRS) that is close to Columbia City."
Spice Waala's new Columbia City restaurant joins the organizations two existing locations in Capitol Hill and Ballard. The company was founded in 2018 by Uttam Mukherjee and Dr. Aakanksha Sinha, who share passions for a love of Indian food and influencing social change. The company is committed to using fresh, high-quality ingredients and serves authentic flavors from the streets of Calcutta and New Delhi.
Spice Waala is a great addition to the Columbia City dining scene, with locals excited by the opening announcement. The organization expects to open in January 2024.
Spice Waala: Website | Menu | Order Online
Spice Waala Phone Number: 206-466-5195