Octapas Cafe expands at former home of Waterstreet Cafe

Before COVID-19, downtown Olympia’s Octapas Café was known as much for the live entertainment it hosted as for the tapas that inspired its name.

Now, with live entertainment off the menu, owners Jamie Brayshaw and Rick Mullins have relocated the restaurant to the former home of the Waterstreet Café, a space that includes a covered patio with a view of the Capitol. Waterstreet closed this summer.

“The thing we’re most excited about is the patio space,” Brayshaw told the Olympian. “That is a game changer.”

For now, the new location is doing only takeout food, with options ranging from such classic tapas as patatas bravas to a family meal of chicken marinated in a mixture of yogurt, sumac, cardamom and shallots.

As soon it gets a liquor license for the new location, Octapas will offer both indoor and outdoor dining. That’s likely to happen by Oct. 22, Brayshaw said.

It’s been three months since dining in has been an option at Octapas’ original location at 414 Fourth Ave. E. A window was broken July 4, and the building was boarded up to prevent further damage.

“We are really missing the interaction with our guests,” Brayshaw said. “That’s what got us into this industry in the first place.”

Octapas regulars have been missing the interaction, too.

“Octapas is my favorite,” said Cynthia Norris of Olympia. “That patio is where you will find me once they get it set up.”

Like the original location, the new one has an attached event space, in a back room where Waterstreet Café hosted private events. But for the moment, Brayshaw and Mullins aren’t renting that room.

“It’s sitting there empty,” Brayshaw said. “It’s kind of separate from the rest of the place, but I would love to eventually add that into our lease and be able to present music back there.”

Meanwhile, she’s focusing on getting the restaurant ready to welcome diners. Inside, an array of octopuses share the dining area with a pair of silk-upholstered semicircular couches that were once fixtures in the now-closed Dillinger’s Cocktails & Kitchen.

And outside? “We ordered patio heaters,” she said. “And we have a little fire table. We’re going to do our best to make it cozy, so it can potentially be a four-season patio.”

Mullins, meanwhile, is working on the menu, adding soups and thinking about new entrée options.

“The kitchen space is four times bigger,” Brayshaw said. “There’s the space to do paella properly and braise oxtails, and as we get settled in, the crew is really excited to start coming up with more things to add.”

Octapas Café

• Where: 610 Water St. SW, Olympia
• Current hours: 4-8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday
• Want some? Food is available for curbside pickup only; the owners expect to open for indoor and outdoor dining Oct. 22.
• More information: 360-878-9333, http://www.octapascafe.com/

This story was originally published October 14, 2020 at 5:00 AM.