Dining Delights in the Greater Seattle Area
 Critics of every stripe have praised Seattle’s dining scene for its vitality, creativity and, most of all, its use of fresh, local ingredients. In a city once known only for generic “sea-food,” innovative fish and shellfish dishes frequently rule the day, with seasonal interpretations that make the most of the bounty from local markets and the restaurants’ own kitchen gardens and organic suppliers. The Asian influence is strong here, too, although restaurants aren’t pigeonholed by type of cuisine. Rather, chefs at a single good restaurant will often combine the influence of many of Seattle’s cultures into their cooking. Naturally, there are exceptions, as noted in the guide that follows. If there’s one good rule to follow when eating in Seattle, it’s don’t let appearances fool you. The simplest restaurant or café may offer the best treat. Likewise, the oddest-looking entrée may be the best you’ve ever tried. Be adventurous and you’re sure to be rewarded.
A note about pricing: For purposes of this guide, we defined inexpensive as less than $15 for an entrée with tip and tax; moderate as $15 to $30; expensive as $31 - $45; and very expensive as $46 and up. Only one restaurant scored in the extremely expensive category, and that was the noted Herbfarm Restaurant, where a single entrée can easily tally well over $100.
Catch Them If You Can
Flying Fish opened in 1995 with a promise to respect the Northwest’s species and habitats. Since then, it’s been serving fish from sustainable stocks. But that hasn’t stopped it from blending Northwest ingredients with Asian ideals into delicious dishes that have been praised by patrons and critics from the likes of the New York Times and Bon Appetit magazine. Recent entrees included wok blackened albacore tuna, sea scallops with parsnip puree, and Vietnamese seafood curry with shrimp, scallops and calamari.
Moderate to expensive
2234 1st Ave., 206-728-8595
Pearls
Gourmet magazine says Elliott’s Oyster House on Seattle’s Pier 56 is the place to go for oysters, and Fortune magazine says Elliott’s has one of the five best oyster bars in the country. After all, it has 30 varieties. It’s also known for its local Dungeness crab and other seafood dishes. Moreover, USA Today has said its deck, which overlooks Elliott Bay, is one of the 10 best outdoor dining spots in the country.
Moderate to expensive
1201 Alaskan Way, 206-623-4340
Ivar’s and Ivar’s
Ivar’s is a household word when it comes to family-style seafood dining in Seattle. The first Ivar’s—Ivar’s Acres of Clams—is still operating at Pier 54 on the downtown waterfront and is popular for its Puget Sound clam chowder, Dungeness crab entrees, fish and chips and other plates. There’s casual outdoor dining until 2:00 a.m. and take-out service as well.
Inexpensive to moderate
Pier 54, 206-624-6852
Ivar’s Salmon House on the shore of Lake Union offers a much less boisterous dining experience in a structure resembling a North-west Indian longhouse. The water views are pleasant and the menu extensive. This Ivar’s is so popular with the Lake Union boating crowd that there are two daily happy hours, from 3:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. and from 9:00 p.m. to closing. There’s a Sunday brunch from 10:00 to 2:00.
Moderate to expensive
401 NE Northlake Way, 206-632-0767
Crabby
Seattle is famous for its shellfish, but few places are as famous for one dish as Etta’s Seafood is for its legendary crab cakes. If you’re a crab cake fan, you won’t want to miss them. Ask for them if they’re not on the menu. Etta’s is in the Pike Place Market.
Inexpensive to moderate
2020 Western Ave., 206-443-6000
Also known for its crab cakes is Dahlia Lounge, whose stylish interior makes up for its rather stark outside appearance. Dahlia, a creative leader in the use of local ingredients, also features all kinds of Asian Pacific dishes at lunch and dinner, with essentially the same menu at each, but lower prices at lunch.
Inexpensive to moderate
20014th Ave., 206-682-4142
Last Tango in Paris
Place Pigalle sits at the end of a pier below the Pike Place Market, a romantic little French bistro whose starched white table linens, fresh flowers, candles and views make for a delightful lunch or a romantic dinner. The restaurant is known for its steamed “Mussels Pigalle,” but its kitchen also prepares excellent game dishes—just like you would find in Paris.
Moderate to expensive
81 Pike St., 206-624-1756
Pretty as a Picture
The Painted Table, a stylish place downtown in the chic Alexis Hotel, features a menu that high-lights local ingredients in a setting decorated with paintings by Washington state artists.
Moderate to expensive
92 Madison St., 206-624-3646
 Geography 101
Highly acclaimed Cascadia celebrates the cuisine and ingredients of the Cascadia region, which stretches from Northern California north into Southern British Columbia. Like other restaurants that offer regional ingredients, the menu here changes with the seasons, but there is always a seven-course vegetarian dinner, a three-course prix-fixe dinner and a seven-course prix-fixe dinner. The wine list is extensive and features regional wines. The bar offers 10 dishes for less than $10 each.
Inexpensive to very expensive
2328 1st Ave., 206-448-8884
Debutante
Make a meal from small plates of everything from steamed clams with goose sausage to sun chokes with brown butter and apples at Lark. The critics have raved and so will you. Prices are anywhere from $5 to $10 or more a plate, and you may need as many as four or five plates to make a meal.
Moderate to expensive
926 12th Ave., 206-323-5275
Ole!
Mama’s Mexican Kitchen in Belltown is a kitschy place that draws crowds eager for its traditional fare of tacos, enchiladas, fajitas and the like. Inexpensive. 2234 2nd Ave., 206-728-6262.
Mexico Cantina y Veracruz Cooking offers Mexican cuisine at its stylish establishment at the Pacific Place shopping complex downtown. The kitchen here updates traditional dishes, and is particularly proud of its fish. Ahi Tuna Flores, Acapulco Salmon and Shrimp al Mojo de Ajo topped one recent list of specials.
Moderate
Pacific Place, 6th Ave. and Pine St., 206-405-3400
Latin Fire
Fandango has been applauded for its new approaches to traditional Latin fare. Under the same ownership as the very “green” Flying Fish, listed above, festive Fandango offers 50 different kinds of tequila—and a terrific menu that Gourmet magazine and local reviewers have praised. Recent specials have included king salmon with grilled purple potatoes and plantain salsa and Brazilian seafood stew with sweet peppers in coconut broth.
Moderate to expensive
2313 1st Ave
Skewered
Across the street from Benaroya Hall, the downtown home of Seattle’s symphony orchestra, stylish Wild Ginger Asian Restaurant and Satay Bar is a special favorite of restaurant critics and music lovers.
Inexpensive to moderate
1401 3rd Ave., 206-623-4450
Thai One On
Thai Ginger offers dishes from all parts of Thailand. Among its most recent offerings were trout salad, a fried rice and Dungeness crab dish and ginger prawns. Staples include the traditional pad Thai and chicken panang.
Moderate
Pacific Place, 6th Ave. and Pine St., 206-749-9100
Shanghaied
You’ll find few familiar dishes at Shanghai Garden in the Inter-national District, where the dishes tend to be authentically Chinese. The place is a bit pricier than some of the other Oriental restaurants in this ethnic neighborhood near Pioneer Square, but locals say it’s worth it.
Inexpensive to moderate
524 6th Ave. S., 206-625-1689
 Serve Me Sushi
Todai Restaurant consistently serves up excellent sushi and Japanese sea-food to singles, families and the business crowd. There are also hot entrees every day, including made-to-order noodle soups. Dessert crepes are a specialty and also made from scratch for each diner. Todai serves sake, wine and a good selection of Japanese beers. Lunch, inexpensive, dinner, moderate. Pacific Place, 6th Ave. and Pine St., 206-749-5100. Other sushi establishments include Nishiro, moderate, 3130 Madison St., 206-322-5800; Shiro’s Sushi Restau-rant, moderate, 2401 2nd Ave., 206-443-9844; and I Love Sushi, moderate, 1001 Fairview Ave., 206-625-9604.
Lunch, inexpensive
Dinner, moderate
Room With a View
The fish is excellent, but it’s the stunning view over Puget Sound and the city that has people raving about Ray’s Boathouse, a North Seattle institution that offers both a refined dining room and a more casual (and less expensive) outdoors deck up-stairs.
Moderate to expensive
6049 Seaview Ave. NW, Ballard, 206-789-3770
Sparkling Water
One of the best views in Seattle isn’t from it, it’s of it—from Salty’s on Alki Beach in West Seattle, across Elliott Bay. At night, the lights of downtown Seattle sparkle, reflecting in the water as ships and Washington state ferries glide by. Salty’s is also a good place to eat, with delectable fish and shellfish preparations a specialty.
Moderate to expensive
1936 Harbor Ave. SW, West Seattle, 206-937-1600
Happy Hour
One of downtown’s most popular happy hours takes place weekdays at Oliver’s, the bar at the Mayflower Park Hotel, beginning at 5:00 p.m. 405 Olive Way, 206-382-6990. Another good place for drinks is the Georgian Terrace lounge at the fashionable Fairmont Olympic Hotel downtown. There are comfortable chairs and soothing live piano music starting late most afternoons and into the evening.
411 University St.
206-621-1700
If rock and roll’s your thing, you might want to take in happy hour (4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.) at the Liquid Lounge at the Experience Music project, the Frank Gehry-designed rock museum at the northern end of the monorail line. Live music is featured. Seattle Center, 325 5th Ave. N.,
206-770-2779. The Metropolitan Grill (listed above) also offers a happy hour in its bar with an inexpensive menu. Cigars are everywhere.
820 2nd Ave.
206-624-3287
Got a hot date? Intimate Shea’s Lounge, adjacent to romantic Chez Shea’s restaurant, listed above, may be the place for you. The lounge looks out over Elliott Bay and offers full meals as well as a sophisticated light menu that includes pizzas, salads and desserts. Shea’s Lounge is open 4:30 p.m. to midnight.
Inexpensive to moderate
94 Pike St., 206-467-9990
Night Owl Dining
Several Seattle restaurants offer late-night dining.The handsome, downtown Palace Kitchen focuses on a grilled menu, but its burgers, innovative cheese plates and desserts are especially good. Open until 1:00 a.m., its late specials and light fare are inexpensive to moderate in price.
Inexpensive to moderate
2030 5th Ave.
206-448-2001.
Trattoria Mitchelli, near Pioneer Square, serves excellent traditional Italian dishes. More to the point, it’s open until 4:00 a.m. Tuesday through Saturday.
Inexpensive
84 Yesler Way
206-623-3883
The 5 Spot Diner at the top of Queen Anne Hill, just north of Seattle Center (site of the Space Needle), changes its specials and its décor every few months to reflect a different part of the United States. It’s open until midnight.
Inexpensive
1502 Queen Anne Ave. N.
206-285-7768
Also near Seattle Center, Café Minnie’s, another diner, is open all night.
Inexpensive
101 Denny Way
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