James Beard-nominated Las Vegas chef will open Seattle restaurant

Seattle will soon welcome another James Beard Award-nominated chef: Oscar Amador.

Raised and trained in Barcelona, Spain, Amador will launch La Loba on the ground floor of the soon-to-open 1 Hotel in Seattle this spring. He led successful restaurants in Spain for more than a decade, then moved to Las Vegas, cooking at Le Cirque at the Bellagio before opening EDO Tapas in 2018.

In Spain, Amador worked in the Michelin-starred kitchens at El Bulli and El Raco de Can Fabes. In the United States, he was a James Beard finalist for Best Chef: Southwest in 2023 and a semifinalist for the national award for Outstanding Chef last year.

At his new 160-seat Seattle restaurant, Amador will combine Spanish culinary traditions with flavors of the Pacific Northwest, including dishes like mushroom al ajillo, with roasted seasonal mushrooms, pine nuts, miso kabocha squash and lardo, and octopus al olivo, with avocado, pickled red onion, masa fritters and lime. La Loba is set to open for dinner service this spring and brunch soon after.

In a news release, Amador said he feels a “natural connection” to Seattle’s landscape from his childhood in Barcelona, a city “embraced by both the abundant sea and the rugged mountains.” His family foraged for truffles and mushrooms and produced their own wine and olive oil.

“These experiences shaped my culinary identity just as much as the Mediterranean coastline did,” Amador said. “Returning to a place so intertwined with nature, where the land and sea are equally celebrated, feels like coming home in a new way.”

Located on the corner of Terry and Denny at the edge of Denny Triangle and South Lake Union, 1 Hotel is still wrapping construction, although room reservations are open for April. A firm opening date for La Loba has not been announced yet.