Seattlite foodies, help!
 

OK, so now that all the logistics are taken care of for our Seattle trip, it's time to start the fun planning---aka restaurant reservations. We will be there for two dinners and three lunches and one dinner may be nice to do closer to the stadium since we're trying to see the Mariner's/A's game while we're there...

Just a quick question on whether to do lunch or dinner at Elliot's and the Flying Fish. Since these are pricier menus I'm wondering if lunch would be just as good (and a little easier on the pocket book), or if they are dinner musts. We don't need to save the $$$, but it's always nice to ;) That said, I'd never go to Ruth's Chris in SF for lunch just to save a few bucks so if that's the deal with these guys, that's fine too.

Here is the original list I came up with for dining: Ray's Boathouse, Lola, Etta's, McCormick and Schmick's (we have one in SF so this got knocked off), Cutter's Bay House. I also threw in Salty's since we'll have a car but my beau didn't seem too intrigued. Any opinions???

Elliot's and the Flying Fish ended up being top picks for us so those are the ones I'm most curious about, but any help is (as always!) appreciated :)

Oh, and Matt's in the market and Assagio (right at our hotel) were on the list too...

Without a doubt...Matt's in the Market. We also ate at Etta's and Ray's on our trip last year - and Matt's won for the best meal. But truthfully, we didn't have a bad meal anywhere!

Matt's and Lola. Either is fabulous. Make reservations.

Oh, tough choices! I agree with Matt's and I'd probably go with either Lola, Etta's or Flying Fish as my 2nd choice (but actually I'd probably go to Dahlia Lounge or Palace Kitchen above either of those). But you can't go wrong with Ray's either and if you time it for the sunset (and do a visit to the Locks and watch the on the way), it's an especially nice excursion.

I've only been to Elliot's and Flying Fish for dinner so I can't help you there. I would think either would be fine for lunch though (although the Salt & Pepper Dungeness Crab at Flying Fish is one of my favorite dishes in all of Seattle so check to see if it's on the lunch menu--assuming you like crab).

thanks all, it's good to know that we're on the right track. now if someone could just chime in about the lunch vs. dinner debate at elliot's and flying fish i'd be a happy girl :) nww, i LOVE crab, and ray's was looking good before you said anything about the sunset or the locks---which, if you could fill me in on, would be fantastic!

We took the ferry over to Salty's on Alki and we really liked it. The restaurant is not really "gourmet" but we had a table with a great view and the food was very good. Tacky? we didn't think so.

Elliot's was great; we had oysters and beer at the bar late one afternoon. DH actually had the oysters and he LOVED them and he prefers clams.

Anthony's Bell Street Diner was very good too.

Dimitrou's Jazz Alley had good food and GREAT jazz http://www.jazzalley.com/.

Debi

When we want to dine at a truly local "chef" restaurant that features fish, we go to Flying Fish or Etta's. Both have more reasonably priced lunch menus.

At Flying Fish, lunch selections of grilled fish are often smaller versions of what was on the dinner menu the night before.

The sunset view from Ray's is quite nice, so I like to make a reservation for about a half hour before sunset to enjoy it during dinner.

The Ballard Locks are on the way--it's fun to watch the boats go through but the best part is to walk all the way across to the far side and watch the salmon climbing the fish ladder. Here's a site with more info:

http://www.cityofseattle.net/tour/locks.htm

I love Etta's Seafood, a favorite of mine, speaking as a local. It is always superb. Consistent. I like the booths in the bar half, better than the dining room. I have never had a bad meal or bad service and I've eaten there a lot (I have a lunch punch card -lol!)

Lola's is too noisy for me (it has high ceilings, hard surfaces, tables way to close together). The food is good but I prefer Dahlia Lounge or Etta's, for a peaceful experience where you can feel cozy and hear each other talk across the table!

I do not like Flying Fish. It's a personal thing, but they always manage to bring the wrong food (3 out of 4 times I have been there recently!). It's way noisy as well, for my taste.

I'm a big fan of Cutter's. Though the decor is a bit 80's and clientele touristy or business... the food's very good, menu diverse, roomy with space between tables, comfortable booths, servers are well-trained and profesional, and the view is absolutely fantastic, sitting right on the waterfront, ask for a table on the outside edge, waterfront.

If you want a steakhouse, go to the Metropolitan Grill on 2nd @ Marion. That would work for your evening close enough to the stadiums. Not cheap, but excellent.

Oh yes, and I adore Assagio's. A little piece of Europe right on 4th Avenue Seattle. It's an "old school" style place.

We have a toss up for romantic and excellent Italian in that neighborhood. Assagio's, Il Bistro (in the Market), and La Fontana at 2nd and Blanchard. Tough pick between those three.

If you need a quick lunch to-go, Dahlia Bakery across the street has the most amazing pastries, sandwiches, salads, cookies, etc.

I've only heard good things about Salty's, so I'm thinking I need to push for that. But there are so many excellent choices I just don't know! What a dilemma, huh?

DebitNM, great fun tip with the Jazz front :)

Happytrails, I think your comments on the Flying Fish have me wanting to do lunch there...

NWW, thanks again for all the great info you dish out!

Suze, I'm revisiting Cutter's (it fell through the cracks earlier) b/c of what you said about it. I'm not a huge fan of noisiness or feeling crowded in restaurants, so you pointing out that select places have those problems is really helpful.

Also, is the Metropolitan Grill you're talking about Elliot's??? And your thinking is right on track with mine: we'll be grabbing lunch one day from Dahlia Bakery and another day at Pike Place Chowder.

Can't wait!

Oh, I forgot this -- our absolute best lunch in Seattle: We went to the market, got some wonderful fresh tomatoes and peaches. Then we went out to the street [the actual Pike Place]. We bought a lovely bagguette from the bakery shop [Three Girls Bakery?]; a chunk of triple creme cheese from the cheese store [Quality Cheese?]; a huge fresh bunch of basil from a vendor that was set up on the street on Pike and finally we bought some gourmet jerky made with tenderloin beef {Sorry, cannot remember name it was a small shop and I am pretty sure it was all they sold. They handed out samples and a lot of different flavors] I had never had jerky before and always thought of it in disdain and in those "slim jim" things. I magine my surprise - it was wonderful - tasty, not to salty and not tough.

We put all that stuff in a backpack and had the most delish picnic. We took this on the whale watch trip that afternoon and everyone around drooled with envy!!

We did it twice, it was as good second time. The basil is something we still talk about and everytime we smell fresh basil, it instantly transports us back to Seattle {We were on our honeymoon, so lots of great memories}.

Debi

Nope, different. "Metropolitan Grill" is the name and it's at 2nd and Marion.

Oh yum... Pike Place Chowder is wonderful! I go there sometimes (I work right by the Market) and get the huge size soup containers to-go, then invite someone to my house for dinner.

Funny, I never heard very good things about Salty's, except for the view. It a place where offices have their Christmas parties (is how I think of it). But I've never been so can't give personal opinion.

I live in West Seattle so near Salty's. I go there pretty regularly for drinks/dinner in the bar (and I've eaten in the restaurant quite a few times over the years) and it's fine but it's just not in the same category, food-wise, as most of the other places you're considering, IMO.

I went to Cutter's with some out of town visitors recently and it was fine, but other than the view, there was nothing about the experience that really stood out.

Jakes Girl,

Lunch at Flying Fish is a real treat for us. We haven't had the kind of problem suze and others have reported.

We have given up on dinner at FF because the place is too noisy and crowded at dinner time.

However, at noon there are only a few diners. We are not in a rush to get back to work. We sit in one of the booths in the bar area and nibble the delicious bread while we wait for our entrées.

I have found it is best to order one of the grilled fish items which come with whatever accompaniments were offered the night before.

We recently ate at Cutter's Bayhouse after not having been their for several years. The food was extremely fresh, prepared with care, and served graciously. From where I sat, I could see Mt. Rainier and my dining companion had a view of the Olympic Mountains. However, the food was not--how should I put it--"exciting" as it usually is at Flying Fish.

I used to be a fan of McCormick & Schmick's, but I have given up on them. We go to Ray's Boathouse (Cafe) or Salty's if we want to show out-of-town visitors a view.

Otherwise we prefer Etta's or Flying Fish prepared better than we do it at home.

Flying Fish does some really good soft shell crab, it's a fun place. We also enjoyed our meal at Salty's, great coconut prawns here. We have only had dinner at these places. :)

Haven't tried Etta's yet, but the Dahlia Lounge was really nice for dinner. Have fun! ***kim*** ((f))

DebitNM, I love lunches like that! We did the same thing in Paris and it was our best lunch there---totally know what you mean with the memories thing too :)

Suze, so glad to hear a rave about Pike Place Chowder! We settled on them for a lunch because they most resembled our favorite place on the Piers in SF. I think with our limited amount of time (and your and NWW's passive comments) we won't do Salty's...

Happytrails, you've sold me on lunch at the FF as long as they do the soft shell crab then since that's what the bf is dying for there!

Otherwise, I think I need to revisit the Dahlia Lounge's menu based on comments here and Cutter's may be good for dinner too. Or Ray's. Too many options! Those of you who have done all, what's your vote? We have McCormick & Kuleto's in SF, so we won't do it there...

OHHH, I forgot about Matt's. Should I scrape the three in the running for the second dinner (the first is Elliot's) and just do Matt's???

I agree with Suze on both the Met and Assaggio's. Both are very good!

When we lived in the area, and even for return visits, we really like Ivar's Salmon House. Not the usual Ivar's around town...but this place is good and it is fun to watch the the float planes and boats come and go.

We have also always had good meals at Anthony's and Queen City Grill.