University Village
2685 NE 46th Street
Seattle, WA 98105
206.527.6089
http://www.liamsbistro.com/

One sweet summer afternoon mid-week, my pusher and I found ourselves needing to make a run to the University Village, so we decided to stop at Liam’s Restaurant for a late lunch.   For those of us with mobility challenges, restaurant dining a bit before or after the  most popular hours works well,  because we have more table choices and fewer other diners to navigate around.

Liam’s is owned by Beecher’s Handmade Cheese—the Seattle cheese empire that almost single-handedly gave mac and cheese a respectable seat at the restaurant table, both by its comforting self and in its more dressed-up versions (e.g., with prawns, prosciutto, or kale).  We called ahead, and when we arrived, the hostess gave us our choice of available tables, as well a nice bottle of water and a menu.  We picked the table that was the easiest to wheel to–close to the front of the restaurant and on the perimeter.

At Liam’s the delicious choices include the aforementioned mac and cheese dishes, arancini with a Beecher’s smoked surprise inside, mushroom tarts, sandwiches, and salads, as well as “comfort” foods beyond mac and cheese, such as the amazing chocolate pudding in the featured photo above.  How nice that these dishes are accessible to all of us!

Parking:   The south end U village parking garage offers wheelchair parking close to an elevator, which takes you to the ground floor.  From there, it is a short sidewalk trip to Liam’s on the northwest corner at the end of the newer section of the ever-growing University Village complex.  One nice thing about this parking arrangement is that if you are coming back to your car from Liam’s you’ll be wheeling right past Molly Moon’s homemade ice cream shop and can step in for a second dessert or a pint to take home for later.

Entrances:  The entrance to the restaurant is flat and the door, though a little heavy, is manageable.  The hostess station is right in front of the door, so you can get help if you need it.

Tables:   There are many accessible tables at Liam’s that don’t require wheelchair diners to disturb the meals of others as they find seating.  Liam’s has a year-round deck with a gas fireplace, and the tables near the entry to the deck easily accommodate wheelchairs.   The deck is the first area to fill, but—no worries—there are easily accessed and moveable tables and chairs in the main dining area, too, with ample space around them.

Restrooms:  The path to the restrooms takes you through the entire restaurant to the back, where a long ramp with two nice railings leads to a hallway and the restrooms.  It was easy to navigate the path without asking people to move, and the ramp is gradual enough so the pusher did not complain on the trip back up.  Restrooms have handicapped stalls and easily accessed toilet paper.

Photos of interior space online:  Not on the Liam’s website, but yes, on Google images

Photos of entrances online:  No

Reservations taken:  Yes.  When you call to reserve a table, let them know that you will be coming in with a wheelchair.  Tell them Spoken Wheel highly recommended them!

What the wheelchair pusher has to say:   No problems.  It was smooth sailing all the way.