TV Restaurants

What Happened to Cantina Leña After Best Thing I Ever Ate? (Seattle, WA)

Best Thing I Ever Ate, Season 9 Seattle, Washington

Current status

Closed

As of October 2026, Cantina Leña has closed — confirmed via seattletimes.com, March 2021.

What the source shows: The Seattle Times' closures roundup reported that Cantina Lena, run by Tom Douglas Restaurants, would not reopen after the pandemic because doing so was, in the company's words, beyond 'a place of balance'; Yelp's listing for the Belltown address is separately flagged 'CLOSED,' updated April 2026. How we decide a status →

What happened after Best Thing I Ever Ate?

The Best Thing I Ever Ate episode 'Mexican Favorites' (S9E6) featured Cantina Lena's regional Mexican cooking and margarita program at the Belltown restaurant on 5th Avenue in Seattle. Cantina Lena was a Mexican restaurant operated by Tom Douglas Restaurants at 2101 5th Ave in Seattle's Belltown neighborhood. According to the Seattle Times, Tom Douglas's restaurant group said reopening Cantina Lena after the pandemic would take the business beyond what the company called 'a place of balance,' and the restaurant did not reopen. Yelp's listing for the Belltown address is separately marked 'CLOSED,' with an update dated April 2026. The address given in this record's original location match pointed instead to a different, unrelated Pike Street Hospitality Group catering business at 422 E Pine St, which this write-up does not describe.

The episode Best Thing I Ever Ate, Season 9

Episode 6
Air date not confirmed
Title: Mexican Favorites · What was featured: Regional Mexican dishes and margaritas at Cantina Lena

Also in Season 9 Best Thing I Ever Ate

Season 9: 57 of 85 still open · 6 renamed, moved or under new owners

All 13 Season 9 episodes →

Nearest open restaurants By distance from 2101 5th Ave

All 108 TV restaurants in Washington →

Before you go: Businesses change fast. Always confirm directly with the restaurant — call ahead, or check its own current website or social media — before making plans around anything on this page.

Sources we checked 2 references

  1. seattletimes.com https://www.seattletimes.com/life/food-drink/goodbye-forever-to-vitos-and-20-more-seattle-area-restaurant-closures/
  2. Yelp https://www.yelp.com/biz/cantina-le%C3%B1a-seattle
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Record btiea-0660 · checked by Cal Marchetti.