How to Cook a Wolf coming to Madison Park

After years of requests to open a restaurant in Madison Park, chef Ethan Stowell is answering the call and crying How to Cook a Wolf will have a sibling in the former Bing’s space.

The burger-and-cocktail spot abruptly closed in August, a decade after its opening as Bing’s Bodacious Burgers back in 1999.

“We’ve looked at spaces there before but it’s limited availability there because it’s so popular,” Stowell said about finding a restaurant space in Madison Park, “so when the opportunity presented itself, we just jumped at it.”

Stowell recently opened Wolf in New York, modeled after How to Cook a Wolf, which the restaurateur opened in Queen Anne in 2007.

Architecture group Heliotrope, which designed Wolf in New York and Cortina downtown, will work on How to Cook a Wolf in Madison Park with contractor Dovetail.

Stowell said he’s shooting for a late-spring or early-summer opening.

“It’ll be similar but not exactly the same as far as menu goes,” he said. “We like to let our chef have some level of flexibility and creativity.”

Chef Nicole Matson will oversee both Queen Anne and Madison Park locations.

“She’s looking forward to the challenge,” Stowell said. “There will be a head chef in both restaurants, and both of them will be reporting to Nicole.”

Stowell said creating a second How to Cook a Wolf outpost will allow for maintaining quality with a model he knows will work.

“It’s easier to operate three of the same restaurants than it is two different ones,” he said.

The restaurateur said he thinks the two Seattle neighborhoods are a lot alike in many ways.

“A lot of families, people who have a good income that want something close to eat at, that has good food and isn’t crazy expensive,” he said.

How to Cook a Wolf currently just offers dinner, which Stowell said the restaurant does best, but he hasn’t decided yet if the Madison Park spot could open for a weekend brunch.

“I don’t totally know yet,” he said. “We haven’t said yes or no to it.”

There will be inside seating for about 60 people, and then 20 on the patio.

“We’re just super excited about it,” Stowell said. “I think it will be a really good restaurant for us and the community.”