195 Best Restaurants in Seattle, Washington

Spinasse, focusing on the cuisine of the Piedmont region, is Capitol Hill's palace of pasta. The menu is short, simple, and elegant, and Spinasse pulls it off in true Italian style. The signature dish is tajarin con burro e salvia—thin-cut egg noodles with butter and sage. There are usually a couple of other pasta dishes sauced with meat ragu, and three or four antipasti and secondi; milk-braised pork is another specialty. Not surprisingly, the Italian wines and cocktails are top notch, and the ambience is as warm and welcoming as the food.

After decades spent earning a reputation as one of Seattle’s top sushi chefs, Shiro Kashiba opened his own spot in a location as notable as his skills with seafood. Diners in the simple-but-elegant Pike Place Market space can opt for the omakase (chef’s choice) selection of the best fish from around the world and just up the street, or order from the menu of Japanese classics and sashimi. Arrive early for a coveted spot at the sushi bar or reserve ahead of time for a table.

The main attraction here is the Lao burger: two meat patties—a mix of sirloin and pork belly—topped with provolone, pickled red onions, jaew bong (a spicy condiment), mayo, cilantro, and more pork belly. The menu also features Lao soup, salad, stew, noodles, vegetable curry, and sausage (the chef's mother's recipe)—cuisine with an Asian comfort-food vibe similar to Thai and Vietnamese, but its own distinctive spices. The warmly lit dining room is casual, lively, and a little hip.

Oysters don’t get any fresher than this: Taylor, a fifth-generation, family-owned company, opened its own restaurant to serve their products in the manner most befitting such pristine shellfish. The simple preparations—raw, cooked, and chilled—are all designed to show off the seafood with light broths, sauces, and a few accoutrements. This is the place to come for a true sense of the Pacific Northwest’s “merroir”—taste of the local waters, including the (in)famous local giant clam, the geoduck, which is mostly known for its unique, somewhat lewd shape. Proximity to the stadium makes this the perfect destination for Seattle’s local tailgaters, who often prefer a dozen fresh-shucked bivalves to chili or barbecue.

If Julia Child ran a restaurant in Seattle, this would be it. The menu is old-school: we're talking meat and potatoes (plus vegetarian options) done with elegant, pan-European flair. Dinner is lovely, but lunch or brunch is when you’ll find their signature dish: the Dutch baby, a crispy, custardy cross between a pancake and a soufflé, served with sweet or savory toppings. With only 11 tables and a four-day schedule, reservations are essential. The spot sits just a couple of blocks south of the Space Needle. Visit both in one go evening for a perfect contrast in Seattle experiences.

Local restaurateur Renee Erickson was inspired by the casual oyster bars of Paris when she opened this inconspicuous spot, located at the south end of Ballard Ave, behind Staple & Fancy. The result has been a lasting sensation. In town full of oysters, the freshness and selection here manage to be a cut above. Reservations aren't accepted, which is why every day when the doors open at 4, there's a line waiting to fill the tall tables and the seats at the zinc barand why at any time a wait is likely. The menu also offers refined small plates, mostly other seafood and vegetables, but oysters are center stage. If you love them, you'll love it here.

Westward singularly nails the dream of Seattle visitors and locals alike: serving high-quality, fresh local seafood from a waterfront location with a view. Lake Union laps at the rocky shore just feet from where diners look out toward Downtown as just-shucked oysters gleam from seafood towers. Owned by Seattle's seafood queen, Renee Erickson, Westward takes its mission to present pristine seafood in a simple fashion very seriously, starting with the splurge-worthy shellfish tower. The short menu focuses on chilled and raw seafood, but also includes a few small salads and larger dishes that come from the wood-fired oven. The wine list is excellent, but the full bar also offers a flight of mezcal to pair with the oysters.

Wallingford's strip of Japanese food holds sushi, grilled meats, and ramen for every budget, with this slip of a spot ranking among the best. Ramen comes in a wide variety, including high-end versions made with Wagyu broth and super traditional shio and shoyu options, plus vegan mushroom and gluten-free versions. A smattering of small plates rounds out the offerings, including a focus on zangi (Japanese-style fried chicken).  After your meal, head to the ice cream window, Indigo Cow, and try Hokkaido milk soft-serve from the first place to serve it in the U.S.

Baja California Mexican cuisine and a laid-back vibe define this casual spot, done up in bright, beachy colors, with a deck overlooking Portage Bay. Fresh fish tacos and mangodillas (quesadillas with mango and poblano chilies) are menu favorites; whatever you order, be sure to pay a visit to the salsa bar. In good weather, the lively deck is the place to be—and it's a challenge to nab a table. Agua Verde is perched waterside on a street surrounded by quirky boat-repair shops; in the warmer months, you can rent kayaks under the restaurant and paddle around Portage Bay. 

Among the several gyro shops along The Ave, Aladdin is the standout, serving succulent meats, crispy falafel, smoky baba ganoush, and silky smooth hummus. There's a dining room in the back, but this is primarily a takeout joint, with very late hours. Generations of UW undergrads have ended a long night here.

Walk into the dining room here, with its long bar and simple wooden tables, and you might not guess that this is one of Seattle's most indulgent special-occasion restaurants. Chef-owner Nathan Lockwood gives distinctive Northwest ingredients an Italian touch on his changing, nine-course prix fixe menu. The result is a mix of classics (grilled king salmon) and dishes you're unlikely to find anywhere else (pappardelle with huckeberries). When you eat here, expect to make a night of it—meals can last up to three hours. For a more casual experience, head across the street to Lockwood's a la carte spot, Carrello.

Analog is a classic, comfortable place to sip a well-made espresso drink. Inside there's something more: the kitchen of B-Side Foods, which makes simple, tasty breakfast and lunch—a rice bowl, toasts, quiche, and a first-rate egg sandwich. B-Side maintains its own identity, but you place your food order at the Analog counter and eat there (if you can nab a seat).

Anchorhead is serious about coffee: everybody raves about their smooth roasts that need no doctoring, from pour-overs to perfectly pulled espresso. They also serve unique milk-substitute creations, like the popular creamy-green pistachio matcha and the Shy Bear Fog Latte (oolong, burnt honey, and oat milk), along with a menu of pastries and breakfast sandwiches on biscuits. Finding seating at the industrial-chic cafe can be tricky on busy mornings, so you may end up having to grab-and-go. 

Artusi calls itself a bar, which isn't inaccurate—it specializes in craft cocktails and amari—but it shares a kitchen, and a chef, with much-heralded Spinasse next door, and most patrons are here to eat. Like its more sophisticated sibling, Artusi offers a short menu of antipasti, handmade pasta, and main courses, and everything is made with similar care, but the spirit of the food (and the place) is more casual, even playful. Meatballs and beef ravioli, two staples of Italian-American cuisine, are simply delicious. Prices are more casual too, particularly if you make it for happy hour or the Sunday and Monday pasta-and-wine specials.

Widely considered one of the best bakeries in the city, Bakery Nouveau has perfected many things, including cakes, croissants, and tarts. Their chocolate cake, in particular, might make you swoon, though twice-baked almond croissants are so good you might think you're in France when you take a bite—and owner William Leaman did lead a U.S. team to victory in France's Coupe du Monde de la Boulangerie. Sandwiches, quiches, and pizzas are also on offer if you need something delicious and substantial before a banana mousse, pistachio macaron, or chocolate éclair. Artisan breads round out the offerings. If you don't make it out to West Seattle, they have Capitol Hill and Burien locations as well.

The New Mexican-style breakfast burritos at this cozy counter-service spot have a cult following, thanks to a tasty homemade hatch chili sauce. Bang Bang also serves coffee, sweet baked goods, and a handful of lunch options, including tortas and vegan mac and cheese.

This lobster-roll specialist brings a breezy Maine-coast vibe to South Lake Union’s 400 Fairview complex. The star, of course, is the lobster roll. It's rich, buttery, and undeniably indulgent—but the menu also reels in more approachable options like crab and shrimp sandwiches, hearty chowder, and fresh salads. In summer, slushy cocktails join the lineup alongside local craft beers and wines. A long bar and communal patio seating round out the easygoing, waterfront spirit—more seaside shack than city storefront.

A staple in Seattle's food scene since it opened in 2003, Beecher’s is the city’s first artisanal cheese maker. Watch cheese churning and sample a bite or two of the establishment’s flagship cheese—a nutty, aged cow's milk—as you wait in line. Beecher's might attract much of the Pike Place crowd, but the decadent mac and cheese and gooey grilled cheese are understandably popular. As you wait for your lunch to be prepared, you might be tempted to purchase some of Beecher's cheese varieties to bring home. Snag a table along the waterfront to enjoy your cheesy bites.  

Located in the hip State Hotel, Ben Paris has become a neighborhood favorite for elevated classic American fare for brunch and dinner. Consider a fried chicken sandwich with spicy mayo and kimchi coleslaw, breakfast hashes, or mussels in a garlic wine sauce, dished up in a stylish space with graphic wallpaper and a bustling bar. Don't miss the outstanding braised octopus or the creative cocktail list designed by Abigail Gullo, a star bartender from New Orleans. 

Bubble tea shops exist around the world, but this just might be the only "farm-to-straw" boba shop. The owners source their tea and produce directly from farms to make all their flavors, and make all the boba in-house, too. The creative coffee and tea concoctions change seasonally, and once a month the line stretches down the block as people line up for the coveted boba-stuffed doughnuts. Other times, indulge in a croissant or kouign-amann from Bobae's sister company, Origin Bakery. Some drinks are offered in keto-friendly versions, using monk fruit for the sweetener. This Woodinville location is near the Woodinville wine district; there are also locations in Issaquah and downtown Kirkland.

Welcome to the year-round beach party at this Caribbean barbecue and sandwich shop located in an old gas station—even though the water is only Green Lake and it's across a six-lane highway. The neon-green building with hot pink and blue graffiti sets the tone and the enormous covered patio drives the message home that no matter the weather in Seattle, Bongos brings the island sunshine. The menu of sandwiches and casual plates includes Jamaican, Cuban, and Trinidadian flavors, like the Desi with citrus braised pork and caramelized onions, or the shrimp po'boy with chili sauce and mango slaw, while plantains and yuca fries are must-order sides.

Set in a largely residential section of eastern Ballard, this place has everything you could hope for in a neighborhood restaurant: a comfortable, warm setting, attentive service, and creative comfort food made from local, seasonal ingredients. They’re known for their bread; often a restaurant afterthought, here it’s given star treatment—cut thick, grilled, and topped with butter as though it were a ribeye. Everything on the small menu gets that same kind of care and attention, whether it’s a steak, a fish, a vegetable, or a cocktail. If the weather’s nice, try for a table on the garden patio.

A popular neighborhood coffeehouse, Broadcast roasts its own ethically sourced coffee; many locals pick up bags of coffee beans here. Choose from well-made standard espresso drinks or more creative options like the Disco Pony (espresso with Perrier, half 'n' half, and a lemon twist over ice) as well as seasonal offerings. Broadcast also carries tasty pastries from Temple Pastries, along with a few other light breakfast and lunch items. If there's no seating, check out the nice park right across the street.

This inconspicuous cafe, on an alley between The Ave and campus, is a piece of coffee history. It's Seattle's first espresso bar, opened in 1975. The original owner, Dave Olsen, came up with the espresso roast that Starbucks still uses today, and Starbucks used this place as the model for its interior design. Despite that connection, things haven't changed much over half a century--it's small, a little scruffy, and pours delicious classic coffee drinks.

This upscale vegetarian diner near the Arboretum is a Seattle institution, serving satisfying classics—black-bean burgers, pizzas, salads, polenta, succotash—since the 1990s. Weekend brunch draws lots of families for the tasty pancakes, waffles, and tofu scrambles. Prime seats are in the atrium, which has a stone fountain, skylight, and garden-style café tables.

Don't let the modest digs dissuade you: the Ethiopian cuisine here is delicious. Open all day, Cafe Selam serves specialties like beef or lamb tibs (cubed meat sautéed with onions and spices) and ketfo (steak tartare), but is particularly known for its ful, a spicy breakfast dish of lightly pureed fava beans topped with eggs, onions, peppers, and feta cheese, served with two fluffy French loaves.

Enjoy traditional Italian-style espresso, pastries, and paninis at this full-service wholesale roaster and flagship retail location for the local brand. Set in a historic brick building with indoor and sidewalk seating, the café also serves Italian beer and wine, as well as gelato. 

Canlis has set the standard for fine dining in Seattle since the 1950s. The prix fixe menu includes a choice of appetizer, entrée, and dessert, plus a few elegant surprises between courses. The food is consistently excellent—creative and carefully composed without straying into showiness—but the real draw is the experience. The service is famously attentive, and the mid-century-modern dining room, with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking Lake Union, feels like a step back in time. This is the only restaurant in town with a dress code: jackets are “recommended” for men (they’re happy to loan one), and casual attire won’t fly. To soak in the atmosphere without committing to the full meal, grab a seat at the bar but still make sure to dress the part.

Nestled on the ground floor of an inconspicuous apartment building between Ballard Ave. and the National Nordic Museum, this little café is a one-of-a-kind hybrid. The co-owners are German and Chinese, and the menu mixes those two cultures in unique, surprising ways. Along with familiar espresso drinks and five varieties of Chinese tea, there are specialty drinks that border on the surreal: seaweed latte (with soy sauce caramel) and yuzu vanilla espresso tonic are prime examples. The food choices—mainly pastries and breakfast bites—are equally daring.

The 16th-story, panoramic views of Downtown, Elliott Bay, and Smith Tower make Charlotte one of Seattle's top special-occasion destinations. While dinner service is definitely a splurge—Charlotte offers a la carte options but the four-course prix fixe menu of creative Pacific Northwest fare is their calling card—the restaurant also serves a lovely breakfast with dishes including Dungeness crab toast and kimchi grilled cheese. On the top floor of the luxury hotel Lotte (Charlotte is pronounced "Char-lot-tay"), the blonde-wood-heavy, mid-century-inspired dining room has a handful of spaced-out tables right by the floor-to-ceiling windows, making for a spectacular perch at sunset if you're lucky.