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.

mms, I will check out Ivar's, thanks for chiming in!

I didn't realize the Met was a steakhouse til suze pointed it out. I don't eat red meat, so that's out of the running...

Assagio is going to be a back up plan for us since it's right at our hotel. Or if we get there and fall in love with it we'll just dine there instead of one of the other picks...

Well, if you don't eat meat, I would skip the Met. They do have other things, but that is their specialty. I did go with a friend once who does not eat meat and she enjoyed it. So maybe check their menu first and then decide.

As far as Assaggio's...it is really good and while not PNW fare per se, it is one of the better restaurants in the city, IMO.

Not to talk you into it but they have seafood too www.themetropolitangrill.com

Ray's is a great Seattle tradition but quite a drive outside of town (1/2 hour at least). Etta's Seafood, Cutter's, Anthony's or anything down on the waterfront are all easy walking distance from your hotel.

I've not been to Matt's but have heard only rave reviews.

IMO, Matt's should be your first choice. I personally would not put Eliott's anywhere close to my top 10 but perhaps you have a particular reason for wanting to go there?

I guess the main question is, do you want places where the food will wow you, or do you want places where the food may not be quite as good as the "wow" places but it has other things going for it (such as a view)?

mms, the met may do well for non-meat eaters. i think i mentioned that i love ruth's chris in sf (a traditional steakhouse); you just can't beat their appetizers and lobster!

suze, it may end up winning out as it is closer to the ballpark...

my dad loves elliot's and i want to see what all the hype is about. now i'm torn since assagio's and matt's have slowly climbed their way up to the top of the list.

ideally, excellent food and ambiance/view would encompass at least one meal, but if that is impossible, i would have to vote for the food portion winning out.

it sounds like ray's may have both and we don't mind the drive since we'll have a rental car and most likely won't use it for anything else while in seattle proper (we'll be in cle elum and bonney lake prior), so that's not an issue.

I'd count Ray's and Elliot's as similar (though honestly I have never been to Elliot's so I probably shouldn't say that!) as nice tourist places but far from the best that's to be had, food-wise. Ray's got killer setting certainly, on the water, and the drive out there thru Ballard will give you a peak at some of Seattle's neighborhoods.

Assagios is unique and right where you are staying. Do try to fit it in somewhere, they are open both lunch and dinner.

Matt's is by far the best restaurant on your list. Have eaten there enough to become friends with the waitstaff and just love the food. Have never had anything I wouldn't order seconds of. Assagios, on the other hand, was terrible in our experience...bad service, food arrived cold and was lackluster even when we had it refired. There are 20 other restaurants I'd go to first in Seattle (Dahlia Lounge or Palace Kitchen would be my next 2 after Matt's downtown).

By the way, Etta's has a great brunch menu on the weekends...the best french toast of my life, the husband always gets the Eggs Benedict w/ Crab. Also the best bloody marys in town.

Concur with the negative reviews of Salty's...good for drinks with a view, skip the food and definitely skip the brunch.

If you feel like adventuring out of downtown, our favorite neighborhood place is Pair near UW http://www.pairseattle.com/. Never had a bad dish here either.

My advice would be go to the touristy places for the view and a drink and maybe some oysters (Elliots), but hit the chefs' restaurants for a real taste of the PacNW.

Wow, interesting to hear the bad comments about Assagios. Thank you for posting. That is my parallel experience with Flying Fish (everyone loves it, but it never seems to work out for me -lol!).

Hmm...I'd say that for seafood, Etta's, Flying Fish and Ray's all have at least the potential for the "wow" factor, whereas I wouldn't say the same for the food at Elliot's or Cutter's--not that it's bad at the latter places by any means, just not as great.

I think we locals tend to think of Ray's as touristy (which it certainly can be) and therefore that the food is just ok, but I was pleasantly wowed on a visit this past March (during the most recent 25 for 25), after not having been for a while--and the food was fantastic, as was the view.

And FWIW, I like Assagio's but I wouldn't put it among my favorites.

Anyway, you have an abundance of good places to choose from and I'm sure you'll have some good food ;-).

OK all, thanks for the excellent advice. I think I'm gonna go ahead and book Matt's and FF for dinner and play it by ear with Assagio's. If we seem really into it or it looks fantastic we may squeeze it in somewhere. But I have a fave Italian place in North Beach in SF and I am a creature of habit so other restaurants often don't have a chance of pleasing if I have that on my mind...So much so that I tried lasagna three times in Rome and Venice and nothing compared to the one at my place in SF!

Anyway, I am not so picky with seafood (except that it be fresh), and it sounds like that's what I'll be eating for the majority of our meals in Seattle, so I'm sure I won't be disappointed :)

We will most likely try to do brunch at Etta's just because I really want to try out a Tom Douglas place and none of them made it onto the lunch/dinner lists (unless you count grabbing a lunch to go from Dahlia Bakery)...

Pair actually looks right up our alley, but since it is off the beaten track I don't think we'll make it there unless for some unforeseen reason. Maybe next trip...

Elliot's has been pushed off to drinks and appetizers. But is it worth going if we're not really into oysters? Seems like everyone suggests just grabbing some oysters there and I personally don't have a taste for them.

Again, thanks to all---and man, people are passionate about food! It's great :) I'm relatively new to Fodors but I think this thread is the one I've had the most hits on!

I would say Matts for dinner and maybe Salty's for drinks, but not the just so-so food, and forget Italian here--you have much better Italian in SF. The view and food at Cutters are good, but I think it's noisy.

Have a great trip.

I was at Cutter's on a Friday night when I visited and I thought it was great and not at all noisy. But maybe I didn't notice the noise once they brought the most incredible chocolate dessert to the table: kind of a volcano of chocolate with oozing creamy "lava".

Also did the picnic thing with food we bought at the Pike's Place Market. What I really wanted to buy was the flowers, never saw so many beautiful colors in my life.

Don't miss the dark chocolate covered dried cherries with pistachios mixed in the bag.

We are lucky to have so many great places to eat in Seattle. I too would skip Italian (although I mentioned it above).

The fresh seafood really is what we have to show off. Do try to squeeze Etta's in there somewhere. It is my #1 favorite restaurant. I always have great food and servie there. They just know how to do it right.

Hi there, Jake's Girl --

I'm a big time Seattle foodie, so your post screamed out to me. =) Hope these suggestions help...

I much prefer The Dahlia Lounge to Etta's. They're both Tom Douglas restaurants, but the atmosphere is better at Dahlia. I'd highly recommend trying his crab cakes if you can. They are melt-in-the-mouth delish. Another favorite is Coastal Kitchen in Capitol Hill. Yum, yum, yum. You can check out their menu at www.chowfoods.com.

Otherwise, we regularly frequent these more affordable options: Aqua Verde (U District), Tutta Bella (Columbia City or Wallingford) for perfect southern Italian pizza, and Red Mill (Phinney Ridge) for the best burgers in town.

For dessert, try Bottega Italiana for authentic gelato just outside Pike Place Market. Another favorite is Cupcake Royale in Ballard, Madrona, or West Seattle.

Enjoy!
Heather.

jakes girl,

I was in Seattle last week and had dinner at Cutter's Bayhouse. I am not a fish-eater, but the waitress assured me the Alaskan Halibut was delicious. It was served on a puffed corn kind of souffle bed. It was fabulous! I also had a couple of pretty good mojitos and the blueberry bread pudding a la mode was out of this world! :) The view was spectacular and it was not noisy at all. I conversed all evening with my dinner partner and it was lovely!

That being said, I also did happy hour at a place called "Barolo". It is about 1 mile from Pike Place on Westlake. We sat in the bar and the tapas was amazing. (The drinks were pretty good too and the house wine quite good.) The portobello risotto, cheese plate (w/brie that was like butter), steak and tuna tartare...all delish. They have a full restaurnt and if the food is as good as the bar, I will be going back on my next visit!

Heather, I'm so glad you posted even though this thread's not had any action in a couple days! We will definitely check out your gelato place---we've been on a hunt for over two years now trying to duplicate our daily pistachio and chocolate habit in Venice :) We also may do the Dahlia Lounge for late night appetizers and drinks after a ballgame. We've booked Etta's for brunch and I hope we'll be happy with that.

Sarge, I think we may have time to squeeze in your tapas place, but between mixed reviews of Cutters and limited nights (two) in Seattle, we're gonna stick with Matt's and the FF for dinner...Thanks for chiming in though!

jakes_Girl...hope you can squeeze in Barolo. I forgot to mention the happy hour prices were also amazing.

We shared four tapas plates (cheese/risotto/steak/tuna tartar), plus when we were seated they brought crustini with a wonderful kalamata olive tapanade, four glasses house wine, two mojitos, a bellini and a coffee. And the bill was 63 bucks! Happy hour I think is 4-6. I was there at 4:30 and friends joined me at 5. Highly recommend this place. Delish! :)

Have fun!!!

sounds great, i love places like that!

Another good happy hour place is Wann at 2020 2nd with a really interesting menu and nice atmosphere and good well-priced drinks. I think the Tuna/Tofu Tartar is a winner, as were many of the sushi plates and rolls.

You may also want to do a search for Salumi. That's Mario Battali's father's place. They do sandwiches and you can buy some sensational Salami to take home with you. I also liked Campagne in the Pike Place area next to the Inn at the Market.