We honor with gratitude our shared land and waterways, as well as the history and heritage of our indigenous neighbors. Spinasse on Capitol Hill is the best fork-up-your-money Italian restaurant in Seattle. Seattleites love the vegetarian fare and charming interior of Cafe Flora in Madison Valley. Head to Tat’s Deli in Pioneer Square to see what all the hype is about. Joule is a stylish Korean-fusion steakhouse using fresh Pacific Northwest ingredients. This upscale restaurant with a dress code is situated in a stunning mid-century modern building with a view over Lake Union.
Where to Eat (and Drink) on Beacon Hill
And unlike similar spots that are lonely and stuffy, the spacious 14-seat counter has the same chat-a-lot energy as a neighborhood diner. This little counter inside Melrose Market (a 2024 Eater Award winner) feels like a pocket universe. The food takes inspiration from all over the Arab world as well as whatever vegetables are in season; there’s always hummus and lamb on the menu, always a few dishes featuring something pickled and bright.
Bar Del Corso
All hail the city’s finest, with a scientifically precise balance between fat hunks and lean shreds. It’s all done in an effortless way that’s free of pretension, and worthy of bopping in multiple times a week. Erasto Jackson combines exacting barbecue with soul food staples and Jamaica’s tradition of seafood and jerked meats. (The latter honors his wife, Lilieth, and her heritage.) It’s nigh impossible to choose when a single menu might offer jerk spareribs, curry goat, smothered pork chops, plantains, spot-on brisket, a whole snapper, and seriously piquant mac and cheese. Jackson puts in long hours smoking meat, cooking, and mixing his own rubs—and it shows.
- And plump shrimp sauteed with onions and peppers rival the city’s top seafood giants.
- Much like Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours or season one of “Riverdale,” this all-day Thai spot in a Bitter Lake strip mall has no skips.
- There will be a waitlist if you’re too slow, and if you’re flexible on timing, there are last-minute bookings that pop up here and there, typically towards 4pm when they first open.
- This town has easily another hundred or so wonderful spots that deserve your time and attention, but, for now, these are Seattle’s 50 most indispensable restaurants.
- Every place on the list has been open for at least six months, proving its merit.
MariPili Tapas Bar
And plump shrimp sauteed with onions and peppers rival the city’s top seafood giants. Be sure to show up when you have nowhere else to be—partly because La Cabaña’s pace is relaxed, and partly because you won’t ever want to rush a meal here. You don’t have to be loud or boisterous to be a big deal—just ask a baby bat, Jake from State Farm, or Kamonegi. A meal inside this quiet soba-focused Japanese restaurant in Fremont can be reserved for a massively special night out that’s disguised as a tame one.
Bar del CorsoArrow
Whether redefining the cuisines their parents brought across oceans or bringing wry humor to the staid traditions of fine-dining, Seattle chefs combine creativity with the impressive bounty of local seafood, produce, and craft beverages. The best restaurants play with form, as in a taco shop inside a mini-mart making its own masa, a dockside, multi-cultural bakery with a stained-glass ode to bread, or a tiny hallway serving foie gras doughnuts and escargot popovers. Find the ideal cult-favorite noodles, freshly caught wild salmon, or multi-course feast on our list of the best places to eat in Seattle. ” Whether you’re a first-time visitor or a lifer, that question is seemingly simple but the answers are infinitely complex. Some of the main factors to consider are the type of food, price point, neighborhood, and occasion.
Main courses like scallops in brown butter and walnut sauce are sensational, but you can also trust the Corson Building to create unique, perfectly balanced salads. The drinks include Khmer ingredients like peanut fish sauce orgeat, Kampot pepper (the Cambodian version of black pepper), and clarified coconut. Any list of Seattle’s best restaurants might include one of a half dozen of the spots from Renee Erickson and her Sea Creatures group, each with European elegance, Pacific Northwest core, and a lively coolness. But Boat Bar, the seafoam and white ode to the French coast and its fruits de mer, marries the chilled oyster bar vibes of Erickson’s breakout star Walrus and the Carpenter to the hip, beefy Bateau right next door. Fresh-shucked shellfish, seafood platters, and clam dip share the menu with artful salads, steak tartare, and a burger. That Boat Bar takes reservations and offers the option to order a steak from Bateau makes it the most crowd-pleasing of the Sea Creatures spots.
On Thursdays and Fridays, the kitchen spins an elegant tasting menu out of humbler animal bits. On Saturdays and Sundays, it’s a steak bistro, where underestimated cuts of beef become tender showpieces. Smith’s philosophy that all cooks should be butchers takes the whole-animal ethos to enthralling new places.
- The ever-changing menu (mostly prix fixe, though you can get a la carte meals here on Thursdays) highlights seasonal vegetables while always having enough meat to satisfy carnivores.
- The former DJ cheerfully ditches the air of mystique some highly skilled sushi chefs seem to cultivate.
- These are the Seattle restaurants would happily eat at again and again.
- It’s a billboard for the Pacific Northwest and a meal that should be required by law for every resident.
- Rondo offers ramen, sushi, bento boxes, and delicious Japanese cocktails.
- This unassuming spot keeps limited hours and eschews delivery apps or even a website.
Seabird
And yet, each tortilla-wrapped gift at this place works together to makes a simple weeknight dinner feel like a national holiday. Fiery salsa sets the bar high, and chorizo-speckled queso fundido sets it even higher. Plump camarones mojo de ajo has us contemplating getting “chipotle butter” tattooed somewhere UV rays will never see.
The menu teaches diners how to pronounce waakye (wah-che, a rice and beans dish) and tells them to eat with their hands; they can use fufu, a starchy, almost mashed potato–like side to sop up the creamy, carefully spiced broth from the soups. The user-friendly experience here is a recognition that many Seattleites aren’t familiar with food from countries like Liberia (where Fahnbulleh was born) or Ghana (where she spent her early LuckyTrunk registration childhood). Come to Gold Coast Ghal, though, and you’ll soon start craving potato greens. This Greenwood strip mall Vietnamese spot is a North Seattle destination, whether you live around the corner or across the county. We can’t think of a better place to get taken care of by way of phở, vermicelli bowls, and fried snacks.
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