I will be visiting Seattle, mainly the downtown area, and will be traveling by myself. Can you recommend some restaurants where a single, fiftyish person would feel welcomed and comfortable and not out of place? My budget is about $25 for dinner and I love seafood. Thanks

Matt's in the Market. Most of their seating is counter seating, so it's great for singles. Small menu, emphasis on seafood, everything is simple yet wonderfully done. Make a reservation.

Le Pichet, a french bistro also in the Pike Place Market, and Palace Kitchen (a Tom Douglas restaurant) would also be good picks. Both are casual yet have very professional service and good food, and both have small bars I often see solo diners eating at (though I would certainly feel comfortable any where in either restaurant). Palace Kitchen will have more seafood, but you should be able to check out all these menus online.

Etta's Seafood is my favorite. Excellent food and there are some small tables on the bar side of the restaurant which I feel most comfortable at. It's at the north end of Pike Place Market.

Not for seafood, but Assaggio's Italian on 4th at Lenora is very good and always welcoming.

If you want a fantastic view, there are two larger more tourist oriented restaurants on the waterfront north from the Market. Cutter's & Anthony's on the pier.

Since I work downtown my experience is only over the lunch hour, but I've eaten *many* times at each of these places and always enjoyed myself and felt comfortable alone.

$25 will get you an entree but if you want wine or more courses the bill will be more than that in any of these restaurants, I'm afraid.

If you go to Etta's for lunch, you can get out for $25. Halibut, a small serving of salmon, or the famous crab cake as entree are all about $14. The coconut cream pie is sensational, but it is also available at less cost from the bakery at Dahlia Lounge.

Il Fornaio is a lovely place where you can make a meal out of the wonderful antipasto, unbeatable bread, and a class of wine for under $25. (The menu says the antipasto is for two or more, but they will make it for one.)

If you want a light lunch, have a salad at the Il Fornaio café in the atrium at Pacific Place (7th and Pine).

At the Bell Street Diner on the waterfront, a nice bowl of Cioppino (fish stew) and Caesar salad is about $11. They have a full, reasonably priced menu which is the same at lunch and dinner, and a deck, too.

P.F. Chang’s is fun and reasonable.

Flying Fish is a very good place that serves lunch and dinner. Eating lunch there or ordering “small plates,” you could easily keep within your $25 limit. Wild Ginger is a fun place to eat for under $25. Ask for a table in the room that faces Union Street. These two places may be more comfortable for a single person at lunch rather than dinner, but I’m sure single diners are always welcome at all these places at any meal.

happytrails... EuroBound wants to have *dinner* for $25 (not lunch). That's why I made the comment I did.

Suze, I just wanted EuroBound to know lunch prices at places outside her budget at dinner time. Perhaps I should have added that if she likes calamari, Il Fornaio does a great job with it. HappyTrails

If it's a nice summer evening, it's fun to eat at the fish & chips places down along the waterfront (Ivar's and Anthony's are two).

Thanks so much for the suggestions, they all sound delicious! I'm aiming for $25, but know I'll probably go over...especially for exceptional crab cakes ;-)