We are coming in town Friday for 4 days. We are staying downtown, but that should not restrict where we eat. Looking to find good eats with interesting atmosphere. Views help but not critical. We will try and hit Salumi Friday afternoon before the ballgame so you can see that the eatery does not have to be fancy. We have not been to town in 10 years but previous posts still say Ray's Boathouse Restaurant still serves great seafood. Also see recommendations to try dim sum in Chinatown- specific spots? If you were to take out-of-towners (without the need of a sportcoat)for breakfast, lunch, dinner...what would suggest? Thanks!

Richard

The Flying Fish is very good and we enjoyed the Dahlia Lounge. The views from Salty's are great and the food is good. I think you can take a water taxi to the restaurant which would be a fun thing to do. Have a great time in Seattle! ***kim***

'Seattle' magazine April issue, here's their list of the 10 "very best" restaurants of 2005:
Lark
Restaurant Zoe
Le Pichet
Rovers
Salumi
Union
Cafe Campagne
The Harvest Vine
Cafe Juanita
Palace Kitchen

Personally for out-of-towners I like Lowells or Athenia in The Market. They are old time almost divey places but that have view of the waterfront and interesting atmosphere to say the least.

I also like Emmett Watsons for excellent fish & chips or oysters. It's also in the Market but just a little hole in the wall cafe, no view.

Salumi closes at 3pm so make sure you have your watch on.

Rays has consistently gone down hill. And it's still spendy. I'd choose elsewhere.

Seven Star Pepper on Jackson and 12th is the best in the ID. They have handshaved dan dan noodles that are to die for!! and the green onion pancakes....mmmm, maybe I'll have to go tomorrow!

Zoe, Matt's in the Market, Marcos Supper Club, Palace Kitchen, Le Pichet, these are where you'll find locals.

Cafe Campagne for breakfast/brunch or Maximillens in the Market

We go to Wild Ginger everytime we're in Seattle. Fun atmosphere and incredibly consistent Asian Food with excellent service. If you've never been, give it a try. Just be sure to reserve.
cheers,
CC

Matt's is a favorite. We are planning a trip to Seattle next month with a quick trip to the market so we can have lunch at Matt's.You can also have dinner there.

Cafe Campagne is also good for lunch or dinner. You are right at the market. Think Croque Monsieur, frites etc.

You are wise to hit Salumi. Just know it is very small (maybe 5 tables tops). You order your lunch right as you come in the door. If you are lucky Mr. Batali will sit down with you and talk "cured meats". He's quite charming.

Harvest Vine is on our short list of places to try.

We've had some pretty good tapas over the years at Tango(very casual).

I agree the view at Salty's is wonderful as is the water taxi ride. The food is ok not great IMO.

Now I'm going to wrtie down the info on the place in the ID with handcut noodlesYUM.

I forgot to add the Coastal Kitchen on Capitol Hill for breakfast. If you go on a weekend, be prepared for a wait.

I was about to write a post just like stormygirl's, with the exception of Marco's which I have heard has gone downhill (I haven't been in ages). I'd pick Matt's as my favorite uniquely Seattle type place-make a reservation (it's tiny and popular). That Seattle Mag. list is great, too.
Thinking about views, Ponti would be fun-they have a deck overlooking the ship canal, near the Fremont Bridge, you can watch the bridge go up and down and watch the boats go through. I've only had the happy hour drinks and appetizers there (a good deal), never dinner, however.

Breakfast downtwown I'd do Campagne, Le Pichet and Macrina.

Unfortunately, the dim sum here is not special. People actually drive to Vancouver for great dim sum. There is one place, down in the southern suburb of Kent, called Imperial Garden that many people highly recommend. If you want Asian, I'd go with Szechuan (Seven Stars Pepper as already mentioned) or Vietnamese (Tamarind Tree, also in the ID near 12th and Jackson). Wild Ginger is pretty good, but you can get better in the ID for a fraction of the price (not with the same swanky atmosphere and cocktails, admittedly).

You might take a glance at the Seattle Weekly's restaurant issue:
http://www.seattleweekly.com/feature...iningintro.php
I read their 2005 Dining Guide on the bus today and it was packed with great places.

Thanks for all the input. We look forward to trying some of your recommendations.

Just returned from Seattle. I was a pastry chef, so good food is important to me. I did lots of research via chowhound.com, websites for the two newspapers and Seattle Weekly. The post about the new top ten is good. We went to Matt's at the MaArket for lunch very casual and good- sit at the counter. Went to Salumi for lunch at about 2:30- still a line. I was disappointed in the specials. The lasagna was dried out and the special sandwhich was just o.k. The best was the Salumi plate- the cheese was o.k Went to a neighboorhood- chef- owned place in Ballard for dinner- called Dandelion- good- sat at the counter. We also ate at Lark great except for the lemon- rhubarb tart, Harvest Vine- very good, Union- good, but service not great and too fussy for me.Went to Lola in our hotel- good, but overrated. Also went to new place that was pricey, but excellent called Crush. Most of these places you have to take one bus to get to- easy and cheap. Any more specific questions about food write again. I also wrote a report about my trip on this forum