I love sitting in a beloved neighborhood restaurant; it truly warms my heart. And though I live close to the pocket of North Seattle that encompasses Ballard and its subsections of Whittier Heights, West Woodland/Stumbletown and Loyal Heights, I had never been to Take 5 Urban Market until recently.
It was a gorgeous spring Saturday, with cherry blossom petals dancing around in the breeze. The line at Take 5 — a corner shop at Northwest 70th Street and Eighth Avenue Northwest that recently reopened after a catastrophic fire in 2024 — reached the door, nearly every table inside was taken and the ticket-printer in the kitchen never stopped buzzing. There was so much laughter in the air from neighbors who were excited to see this spot humming again.
I couldn’t resist the sandwich special of the day — a white Reuben ($16.75) made with turkey, coleslaw, bacon, horseradish mayo and Swiss cheese. My friend got the Take 5 Reuben (also $16.75), swapping the turkey and bacon for corned beef and swapping sourdough for rye bread.
The sandwiches here come a la carte — but they are substantial. If you’ve got a sweet tooth, there’s a pastry case with cookies, bread pudding, chocolate mousse and more. Plus there are plenty of bags of chips for sale.
Even after a yearlong closure, and with a packed house of customers, the kitchen moved like a well-oiled machine. The bacon on the white Reuben was the crispiest, most perfectly cooked bacon I’ve had on a sandwich in years. The coleslaw was just the right amount of sauced, providing great crunch and flavor. I know my colleague Bethany Jean Clement is a fan of the breakfast sandwiches here, and I look forward to coming back to check one out — along with a slab of bread pudding.
If there isn’t any room at Take 5 the next time you visit, don’t fret: There are three other lunch spots within walking distance that are worth checking out.
Blazing Grill, located a stone’s throw from Ballard High School on 15th Avenue Northwest, took over a former pho and teriyaki restaurant, giving the space a refresh inside: bright white paint, new tables and a few TVs. The menu centers on gyros and shawarma, available as plates, sandwiches and salads, plus a handful of sides.
The chicken shawarma sandwich ($12.49) comes with a small salad and a cup of tzatziki sauce; add fries and a drink for an additional $4.99. The gyro plate ($15.99) features a pile of thinly shaved beef and lamb gyro meat atop saffron rice plus a salad, pita bread and tzatziki.
That shawarma sandwich is practically perfect, with tender, spiced grilled chicken layered in with lettuce, pickles, pickled red cabbage and garlic that gets wrapped up in a thin, pliant bread, griddled until crisp. The fries are skinny and crisp while the salad has a bright vinaigrette and more of that crunchy pickled red cabbage. The gyro plate is also solid and offers a hefty portion.
Speaking of hefty portions, the relatively new Shark Bite Ceviches on the corner of Northwest 65th Street and Third Avenue Northwest is serving up what seems like a pound of salmon ceviche for $16. Served with a pile of crisp corn chips and topped with nearly an entire avocado, eating this much ceviche by oneself feels like the equivalent of eating a tin of caviar. It’s too indulgent!
Don’t get me wrong: The ceviche, minced with red onion, tomato, mango and plenty of herbs, is wonderful — it just feels designed for a party, not to be eaten solo on a busy street corner. There are also halibut and shrimp ceviches plus a veggie option with portobello mushrooms and a healthy amount of fresh dill ($13).
The last stop on this upper Ballard lunchtime tour is Stumbletown Outpost (which recently moved into the former Joli space, leaving the building that now houses Shark Bite). The daytime menu here features Italian-inspired sandwiches, with nearly a dozen options, including vegetarian and vegan sandwiches, all of which come on special ciabatta buns from Sea Wolf Bakers.
The spicy sheep cheese and coppa ($14) with sun-dried tomato spread is exceptionally good, as is the vegetarian ($11) with smoked mozzarella, artichoke hearts, sweet peppers, arugula and balsamic.
Want to visit for dinner? After 5 p.m., you can get meat and cheese plates, plus various Italian-inspired fried things like calamari and arancini, and from Thursday through Saturday, there are a handful of pasta options available, too.
If you go
Take 5 Urban Market: 6757 Eighth Ave. N.W., Seattle; 206-420-8104, take5urbanmarket.com
Blazing Grill: 6315 15th Ave. N.W., Seattle; 206-453-5534
Shark Bite Ceviches: 6256 Third Ave. N.W., Seattle; 206-250-7693, sharkbiteceviches.com
Stumbletown Outpost: 618 N.W. 65th St., Seattle; 206-420-7259; stumbletownseattle.com
More
Jackie Varriano: covers the food scene in the neighborhoods around Seattle. She loves digging into stories that discuss why we eat the things we do — and when — in our region and beyond. Reach her at jvarriano@seattletimes.com. On Twitter: @JackieVarriano.