Hey Readers!
Seattle is on the Puget Sound, so it makes sense that there is a lot of seafood for the city’s chefs to choose from. Plus, fish from Hawaii, Japan, and Alaska are easy to get to in this city in the Pacific Northwest. On top of that, the city has access to a lot of meats and vegetables from the surrounding area.
The best restaurants in Seattle use both local ingredients and flavors from the city’s many different cultures. These Seattle restaurants are a must for both tourists and people who live there. They have everything from fresh seafood to Asian flavors to Indian influences and more.
It’s not all coffee shops and rainy days in this city. The restaurant scene has drawn attention from all over the world. Chefs in the Pacific Northwest are rediscovering influences from their own cultures and giving old dishes new meanings. There are also popular and best restaurants in Seattle that aren’t fancy but are still worth trying.
At these Seattle restaurants, you can get fresh seafood, local produce, and food with a lot of different kinds of cultural influences.
No matter what kind of vibe you’re looking for, you’ll find the perfect place and a cool, friendly crowd to go with it.
From sushi to salmon to Filipino faves, put these restaurants on the top of your list of the best things to do in Seattle or staying at one of the best hotels in Seattle, check out one of the best hikes in Seattle so that you must plan your vacation to this exciting city.
Here is our list of the best restaurants in Seattle. If you enjoy our blogs, make sure to follow us on Facebook and Instagram.
We guarantee there is something on this list to satisfy your cravings. Honestly, try them all!
13 Best Restaurants in Seattle
The Pacific Northwest has a mild climate and is close to the ocean, so there is a lot of seafood, produce, cheeses, and wine made in the area. From fine dining to fast-casual, restaurants in Seattle take advantage of this abundance.
They care so much about food that they almost never follow dress codes or formal rules of behavior. So leave the high heels and heavy coats at home, but if you can, make a reservation. Seats at the best places go quickly.
There’s fresh seafood, noodles that everyone loves, and a mix of cultures. Use our list of the best places to eat in Seattle Washington as a starting point.
Get yourself to the best restaurants in Seattle for the best local food and lots of friendly Northwest service. The Pacific Northwest on a plate.
1. Bateau
Let’s just say it right away: Bateau is expensive. The steakhouse is a place for special events and business expenses. Chef Taylor Thornhill makes magic out of every part of the cow, like sautéed beef heart, liver mousse, and steak tartare with paddlefish caviar on top. One of the best places to eat in Seattle Washington.
This is a big part of the restaurant’s focus on sustainability. There are no bad options here, and that includes the day’s cuts, which come with a crispy crust and your choice of compound butter.
2. Sushi Kappo Tamura
There are a lot of great sushi places in Seattle, but it can be hard to get a table. Kappo Tamura, which is in the quiet Eastlake neighborhood, has almost always room, which is a pleasant surprise.
The staff knows everything about the menu and is happy to help shape the meal by suggesting drinks to go with it, how to serve it, or explaining what an ingredient is.
Gourmets have been coming here for a long time because of the creative omakase, rich black cod belly, and fat lobes of fresh uni. Sushi Kappo Tampura is one of the top restaurants in Seattle.
3. Musang
At Musang, it feels like coming home, and not just because the restaurant is in a house with modern touches like wood floors and a tiled bar. Melissa Miranda, the chef, grew up nearby.
After years of cooking Italian food in other places, she came back to this neighborhood and the Filipino food her family made. Get the short rib kare kare, a dish that’s both refined enough to let you know you’re in a nice place and hearty enough to make you feel at ease.
Beautifully braised beef swims in a peanut butter and bagoong sauce with okra and green beans. But you can’t go wrong with anything else, from pork and shrimp-filled lumpia to pancit canton.
4. Canlis
Canlis has been a big part of Seattle’s food scene since it opened in 1950. It still serves some of the retro-steakhouse dishes that put it on the map. A Caesar-style Canlis salad is made at the table, and for dessert, there’s a Grand Marnier souffle.
But most of the four-course meal here is made up of modern dishes made by chef Aisha Ibrahim, like a chilled Dungeness crab, tofu, and cucumber salad with an oil made from grilled cucumber skins.
5. Meesha
This is a place to go for a nice dinner out with the focus on creative cooking. The crowd tends to be a bit more dressed up, and Preeti Agarwal’s menu is smart in that it doesn’t have many dishes you’d find in U.S. Indian restaurants, like tikka masala or lamb vindaloo.
Instead, it has flavors from all over the subcontinent. A really good paneer dish might come with asparagus and pickled onions in a smoked tomato sauce. Even simple foods like bukhara dal stand out. One of the nicest restaurants in Seattle.
The list of cocktails is long and includes a few that don’t contain alcohol. The wine list has something for everyone, whether you want a big Washington state Cabernet or something light and French.
6. Bar del Corso
Pizza with a bubbly, charred crust and sweet globs of cheese is the main dish, but it’s the side dishes that really make this place special. One of the most popular restaurants in Seattle.
Tender meatballs, roasted asparagus with hazelnut sauce, and airy salt cod fritters. It’s a meal made up of small treats that will make you feel very full. Add a round of Negronis to finish it all off.
7. Xi’an Noodles
This small storefront in the University District has a few tables set up like a cafeteria. Don’t let yourself be fooled. Some of the best noodles in the city are the ones that the restaurant is named for. The house-made, hand-ripped biang biang noodles here are both chewy and soft.
They can easily stand up to the pastas, ramens, and sobas at Seattle’s more expensive restaurants. Get the spicy cumin lamb version, which goes well with the perfect dough and has flavors that are just as strong. Make a garlic cucumber salad to cool down the heat.
8. Lark
Crudo, charcuterie, sandwiches, and dishes that change with the seasons are now served in a huge, cool new space on Capitol Hill. Chef John Sundstrom serves crispy pork trotters and a main dish with venison loin to show how much he likes organ meats and game meats.
There are also lighter options on the menu. Don’t miss the beautiful hamachi crudo with fennel, preserved lemon, and green olive, or the bright pink wild salmon with orange spheres of ikura roe.
9. Champagne Diner
When a restaurant tries to make classic comfort foods more interesting, it takes a chance. Why change the deliciousness of a grilled cheese or egg breakfast sandwich? But at Champagne Diner, chef Fernando Martinez manages to keep the best parts of classic greasy-spoon dishes while adding new and exciting ones.
For example, he adds swiss and brie to that grilled cheese to make it more interesting. Order a six-ounce burger on a toasted bun with cheese and house sauce for a more traditional diner meal. One of the most popular restaurants in Seattle.
10. The Walrus and the Carpenter
Hipsters in Ballard are their own brand, and they’re all at Renee Erickson’s charming oyster bar. (Notice the young adults with shaggy hair at the bar.) Renee Erickson is one of the most well-known restaurant owners in Seattle.
She has won a James Beard Award, but you won’t find any snobbery here or at any of her other restaurants. Simple dishes, like a frisee salad with thick strips of pecorino and a scallop crudo with preserved lemon, are served in a pretty way.
Then, of course, there are the oysters: Bay Water Sweets, Blue Pools, Hama Hamas, and more, all of which are carefully sourced and served with the bar’s signature champagne mignonette.
11. Sawyer
The stylish tiling around the bar and beautiful blue-gray color scheme keep Sawyer’s industrial-chic décor from looking too old. Evenings, the room is lit just right, and it feels both cool and grown-up.
It’s a refuge from the loud bars that line this once-quiet Ballard strip. Even though Sawyer is a serious restaurant, it knows how to have fun. Chef Mitch Mayers’s menu is full of fun things like tater tots made with duck fat, cheesesteak tartare, and Korean fajitas. Oh, and for dessert, we can’t forget the S’more Choco Tacos.
12. Kamonegi
Great Japanese food amazes people all over the world with its attention to detail in seemingly simple dishes. The idea is shown by Mutsuko Soma’s hand-cut soba noodles. This nutty pasta is earthy and chewy.
It tastes great when topped with seaweed and a sous vide egg, duck breast and leeks, tomatoes and kimchi, or vegetable curry and mozzarella cheese. Soma is a master of both soba and tempura, and she also has a sake sommelier certification, so she can also help you find a good junmai.
13. Carmelo’s Tacos
Step up to the sidewalk window or sneak through a small grocery store to the indoor walk-up window to wait in a constant, but quickly moving, line with some of Seattle’s most loyal taco fans. You can get burritos or quesadillas, but for a great price, these are some of the best tacos in the city. One of the best restaurants in Seattle.
They are made in the style of Mexico City, with tortillas made from freshly ground masa and salsas that pack a lot of acid and heat. You should try as many as you can, but the campechano (with chorizo, steak, and potatoes) and the vegan mushroom and guajillo chile are especially good.
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FAQs About Best Restaurants in Seattle
What food is Seattle most famous for?
Everything You Need to Know About Seattle’s Well-Known Foods
Oysters.
Seafood.
Sushi.
The Seattle Dog.
Coffee.
Pho.
Teriyaki.
Desserts.
What type of food is good in Seattle?
Seafood.
Pho.
Cream cheese hot dog, AKA the Seattle Dog.
Patisserie, Dessert, Pastries, Coffee.
Café, Chinese.
Coffee.
Cupcake Royale.
What drink is Seattle known for?
The “Old Pal” is the most popular rye drink in Seattle right now. With Aperol liqueur, freshly squeezed lemon and orange juice, and rhubarb bitters, the Enzo is a fruitier version of it.
What is the staple food of Seattle?
Shellfish is a big part of the Seattle food scene, from the many places to slurp deliciously salty oysters to the places that serve geoduck (pronounced “gooey duck”), a huge, prized clam whose strange appearance can catch newcomers off guard.
What sweets is Seattle known for?
Aurora Donuts.
Dona Queen Donut and Deli.
Good Day Donuts.
Mighty-O Donuts.
Raised Doughnuts.
Rodeo Donut.
Top Pot Doughnuts.
Tell Us In The Comments Your Best Restaurants in Seattle!
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