The Best Places to Eat in Seattle

A cozy Capitol Hill restaurant serving authentic Northern Italian cuisine, Spinasse is a Seattle insider’s favorite destination for a friendly, unpretentious dining experience. Italian-trained chef Stuart Lane takes inspiration from Italy’s Piedmont region and uses the freshest produce supplied by small farmers in the Pacific Northwest. Notably, Food Network called the signature dish at Spinasse, tajarin al ragu, one of the “Top 5 Italian Foods in America.” It’s a rich ragu of beef and pork over hand-cut, house-made pasta. A vegetarian alternative is the tajarin con burro e salvia, the same pasta dressed with butter and sage. En excellent tiramisu is a great way to end any meal.

Dining on traditional Italian fare at Il Terrazzo Carmine, a family-run Pioneer Square establishment since 1984, is somewhat nostalgic experience. With the formality of white tablecloths and white-jacketed waiters, a pricey and comprehensive wine list, and great attention to quality ingredients, this is a destination for romantic meals, special occasions, and power lunches. Regulars say the risotto is always excellent, but pasta dishes are naturally the big draw. For a hearty, meaty option, try the ravioli di capriolo, stuffed with venison and spinach. The spaghettini ortolano with arugula, goat cheese, tomatoes, and pine nuts presents a lighter, vegetarian option.

Rural France meets the Pacific Northwest at RN74, named for a highway passing through the Burgundy wine country. In keeping with their moniker, the restaurant’s wine list is a tome, centered around Burgundy labels but also featuring many wines from Washington and Oregon. The upscale RN74 is one of celebrity chef Michael Mina’s restaurants, and their seasonally shifting menus reflect how a true master transforms Puget Sound seafood and the finest local organic produce into some of the most iconic dishes in Seattle. If it’s on the menu, opt for Mina’s signature dry-aged duck breast with Rainier cherries — a delicate showcase of regional bounty. Duck-fat fries with rosemary and garlic are always popular, as are warm, hand-cut beignets with butterscotch custard.

Shaker + Spear, inside the Kimpton Palladian Hotel, a circa-1910 landmark between Belltown and West Edge, presents seasonal, shareable, Pacific Northwest-centric dishes, along with creative cocktails. The 65-seat restaurant features a trendy interior by renowned Seattle architects, with large windows bringing in great natural light. Highlights include salt cod beignets with salsa verde and a whole grilled branzino with carrot puree and gingered Brussels sprouts. Rosemary popovers with whipped butter are a tempting side.

The Capital Grille in Seattle, a fine-dining steakhouse, is notable for their setting inside the 1910 Cobb Building, a Beaux Arts landmark downtown. Close to Benaroya Hall, they're a great choice for an unforgettable pre- or post-show meal. The Capital Grille specializes in dry-aged steaks, fresh seafood, and excellent wine. The steaks are dry-aged on site for over 18 days before being hand-carved by in-house butchers. Go full-Seattle by selecting the Kona coffee-crusted New York Strip steak. Precede it with the signature appetizer of pan-fried calamari with hot cherry peppers.

Andaluca has served Mediterranean-inspired small plates made using the finest Pacific Northwest-sourced ingredients since 1996. The signature dish is the Andaluca paella, generously packed with prawns, clams, mussels, chicken, and chorizo, enlivened by harissa butter and saffron broth. Also recommended are the artisan cheese selection and the za’atar rubbed pork chop, brined in tamarind and served with soft polenta, grilled pickled onions, and cherry mostarda. Liquid chocolate cake is the most popular dessert. Andaluca is next to the Mayflower Park Hotel and a stone’s throw from the monorail.

Wild Ginger opened in downtown Seattle in 1989, the result of the restaurant's owners' travels through Southeast Asia and their desire to bring such bold flavors back home. The restaurant, close to Pike Place Market, soon became one of the most popular in Seattle and spawned two more locations. The Vietnamese-inspired seven flavor beef — flank steak flavored with (count ‘em) lemongrass, peanut, chili, hoisin, basil, garlic, and ginger — comes highly recommended. Other popular dishes include Indonesian lamb, kom pot short ribs, and seven types of satay.

Prelude at McCaw Hall knows exactly who their customers are and what they need. The restaurant in the lobby of the renowned venue coordinates their opening hours with performances by the Pacific Northwest Ballet and Seattle Opera, and invites you to pre-order appetizers, dessert, or drinks for intermission. Brunch is available before matinees. The brief menu changes seasonally and showcases locally sourced ingredients. Examples of substantial entrees include pan-seared black cod, prime rib, and braised pork shank. The Prelude Restaurant Harvest Table is a selection of fresh items from local artisans and farms.

Barking Frog is an upscale bistro inside Willows Lodge, a luxury resort in Woodinville just outside Seattle. The award-winning wine cellar and cuisine inspired by the Northwest wine country, plus chef Bobby Moore’s close collaboration with local farmers and artisans, results in a truly locavore menu that changes with the seasons. In summer you can dine al fresco on a leafy patio with scenic views. Grand Marnier prawns are a favorite dish often featured on the menu, as is the grilled Mediterranean octopus with olives, chorizo, and hazelnuts. Indulge in brunch at the Barking Frog and look for the huckleberry pancakes, doused in fresh huckleberries from the Northwest along with vanilla butter and Vermont maple syrup.

The Metropolitan Grill, a high-end steakhouse classically adorned in wood, brass, marble, and velvet and housed in the circa-1903 Marion Building, specializes in dry-aged steaks with classic sides. Regulars rave about the mashed potatoes as well as the bananas Foster dramatically flambeed at your tableside. An extensive wine list won the Metropolitan Grill the “Wine Spectator” Grand Award, and their Smoky Met martini won Seattle’s Annual Martini Classic. Enter and admire available cuts of beef in a glass display. USDA prime cuts come from a Washington state ranch, the American Wagyu hails from Idaho, and other outstanding examples fly in directly from Japan. The cooks sear all to perfection over mesquite charcoal.

True to their name, over 30 varieties of world-class oysters grace the menu of Elliott’s Oyster House, called “America’s No. 1 Oyster House” by Food and Wine magazine. A waterfront setting on historic Pier 56 adds salt-scented air and stunning views of Elliott Bay to a dining experience understandably popular with tourists and locals alike. Happy hour means the best deals on oysters — on the half-shell, pan-fried, or Rockefeller — along with cocktails, beer, and wine. More substantial seafood offerings, all sustainable and mostly local, include king crab legs, cioppino, steamed Penn Cove mussels, and clam chowder in both white and red incarnations. On a sunny day be sure to get there early to score a table outside.

Cutters Crabhouse boasts panoramic views of Elliott Bay from their prime location a stone’s throw from Pike Place Market. Crab dishes are the stars of the seafood-centric menu, which also features steaks, sushi, and pasta dishes. Substantial crab entrees include steamed red king crab legs with a succotash risotto, whole Dungeness crab, snow crab legs, and a Crabhouse sampler with all three. There’s Dungeness crab atop the signature Louie salad, which also includes salmon and jumbo prawns, and stirred through the spicy jambalaya.

Matts’ Rotisserie & Oyster Lounge in Redmond serves steak and seafood in a casual, comfortable setting. The menu represents its Seattle-native owners’ culinary ethos that emphasizes simplicity and makes best use of the kitchen’s wood-fired grill and rotisserie. Take a cue from the restaurant’s name and start with fresh-shucked oysters, then move on to prime rib or chicken cooked in the 600-degree applewood-fired rotisserie. Both feature in salads, sandwiches, and tacos as well as stand-alone entrees served with seasonal vegetables and mashed or roasted potatoes.

McMenamins, a family-owned group of hotels, entertainment venues, craft breweries, and gastropubs across the Pacific Northwest, revitalizes historic properties like the circa-1931 Anderson School in the Seattle suburb of Bothell. The old school-turned-hotel hosts Tavern on the Square in its one-time cafeteria, a farm-to-table family restaurant decorated with antiques and stained-glass panels inspired by a Grateful Dead song. They're open daily for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and late-night dining, and regulars will tell you that pizzas and salads are the highlights of the menu. There’s a classic minimalist Margherita, and original creations like the fig and prosciutto pizza with red wine-poached mission figs and blue cheese. The ice cream on the dessert menu comes from the Anderson School’s own creamery.