Livbud's menu focuses on nutrient-dense ingredients, with coffee, smoothies, cocktails, taps, natural wine, and plant-forward/pescatarian offerings.
Provided to the QAM News
Livbud softly opened last week in the vibrant Fremont/Wallingford neighborhood.
Named after Heavy Restaurant Group (HRG) owners Larry and Tabitha Kurofsky’s two children, Olivia and Ethan (Liv and Bud), Livbud's menu focuses on nutrient-dense ingredients, with coffee, smoothies, cocktails, taps, natural wine, and plant-forward/pescatarian offerings.
This new adventure for HRG features a large community table and an open kitchen concept, allowing guests to connect with each other and the chefs. The goal is to inspire balance with a menu and relaxed environment that encourages healthy living and positive energy.
The menu is comprised of mostly plants, fungi, and fish, and is free from refined sugars, additives, chemicals, and processed foods.
A diverse offering of liquids is focused on moods for different parts of the day; the 25 taps feature local makers of cider, kombucha, and beer. Herkimer Coffee provides espresso, drip and nitro cold brew.
The open space is inspired by the natural environments of Southern and Baja California. Danielle Trofe of Brooklyn, N.Y., designed the mycelium and hemp grown pendant shades hanging in the cozy cocktail lounge. The ceramic terra cotta lights in the dining room and kitchen were thrown by local potter, William Duval. Splinter and Slag made custom furnishings and fixtures for the space, working with a number of materials, including reclaimed local lumber.
Livbud was designed by an internal team of Larry Kurofsky, Katherine Handziak, and Bethany Kersey.
Meet the chef
Sarah Hughes, 29: Sarah has been with HRG for several years, and quickly rose through the ranks at Purple Seattle with her thoughtful specials and attention to detail.
“My love for cooking and everything that surrounds it started early; picking fresh green beans and huckleberries in the yard and beating all the grandmas at family reunion baking contests,” she says. “Prior to entering the hospitality industry, I worked as an assistant to a naturopathic doctor and as a specialty grocery buyer for a small business that focused on providing goods for those with allergies and dietary restrictions. These experiences exposed me to a whole new world of foods, herbs, and ingredients. As cooking was already a passion of mine, I spent all of my free time cooking with and learning as much as I could about this new world of ingredients."
Sarah's love for these new homeopathic ingredients brought her back to the culinary world.
“At any point in my culinary career whenever someone would ask the age-old question, ‘If you could open your own restaurant, what would it be?’, I would answer functional food. Food that goes beyond what tastes good, beyond the nutrients it provides, but the interplay between the joy of sharing a meal and a dish whose ingredients work synergistically to affect the body's many functions in a positive way."
IF YOU GO
Hours: Tuesday-Saturday: 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Sunday: 8 a.m. to 9 p.m.; closed Mondays
Location: 3400 Stone Way N. in Seattle
Phone: 206-855-6117