Best Restaurants in Seattle
Looking for quality dining in Seattle? You’re in luck! Seattle has experienced a culinary revolution over the past decade and is quickly becoming one of America’s leading food frontiers.
Due to Seattle’s temperate weather and direct access to farm and sea, the restaurants here offer some of the best ocean, field, and stream food on the west coast.
From fine dining to casual eats, there’s something here for everyone. So tuck in your napkin, sip some wine, and get ready for your next culinary adventure.
MBar
A rooftop restaurant hiding out at the top of one of Seattle’s business highrises, MBar is a savory demonstration of Seattle’s open and welcoming personality. You’ll quickly notice that there are no walls here. Instead, MBar brings South Lake Union and the Space Needle into the dining room with floor to ceiling windows and patio seating. And don’t worry about chilly weather — the patio is equipped with outside heating and quilts.
That delicious aroma? A fusion of Lebanese, Greek, Italian, and American flavors. Look for the grilled trout served with caramelized onions and seasoned with fenugreek and za’atar. Or try the Lebanese-style fried romanesco small plate.
If you’re looking for the best restaurant in Seattle with a view, complimented by hand-made pasta, MBar deserves your dinner reservation.
Sharps Roasthouse
Operated by the same food geniuses who run Vonn’s 1000 Spirits (featured on our Gourmet Seattle Tour), Sharps Roasthouse serves classic, homestyle American food in a casual, gastro-pub atmosphere. And only a seven-minute walk from SeaTac, Sharps is the perfect location for people wanting a Seattle restaurant near the airport.
Step through Sharps’s front door and you’ll be greeted by the smokey fragrance of prime rib that has been slow-roasting for over 14 hours. Try the cold smoked St. Louis style ribs (smoked over smoldering Washington Applewood) or the Carolina Gold BBQ Sandwich served between the golden halves of Sharp’s famous homemade sourdough brioche. Chase dinner with one of the 25 beers on tap or sample your way through the curated small-batch liquours created by Sharps’s in-house bar scientist.
Canlis
Michelin doesn’t cover Seattle, but if it did, Canlis would have two stars. Called “Seattle’s fanciest, finest restaurant” by the New York Times and ranked as one of the top 20 restaurants in Seattle, Canlis is where you go to celebrate that new milestone, salve a loss, or to simply treat yourself.
The dining room is defined by its wooden, exotic interiors, formal dress code, and romantic views of Gasworks Park and the Cascades. Live piano sets the mood and conversation is hushed, which allows you to focus on the flavors making their way across your plate.
Canlis offers fixed-price, four-course meals, with four options per course. For table-side, salad-tossing action, start off with a fresh Canlis Salad before moving to savory courses, like the dry-aged lamb with cauliflower and sweet potato.
For a restaurant experience that rivals Michelin’s best, make a reservation at Canlis. Take advantage of the time between now and dinner to muse through their 80-page wine list.
Heartwood Provisions
A popular stop on our Private Food & Drink Tours, this contemporary American restaurant is 100% women-run and delivers a fine-dining experience at half the price and twice the fun. The house-made wagyu beef jerky and grilled sturgeon have cemented Heartwood Provisions’s spot as a culinary destination in Seattle. And don’t be surprised if you see fresh offerings each time you visit — the menu changes weekly, in step with local harvests and seasons.
As for drinks, you’ll notice that under every menu item there is a recommended cocktail. These unique drinks are invented by in-house sommelier and beverage director, Amanda Reed, who works with Heartwood Provisions’s chefs to craft a specialty cocktail for every dish.
Pike Place Chowder
Stop any Seattleite on the street, ask them where to get lunch, and 9 times out of 10 the answer will be “Pike Place Chowder.” Among its many accolades, Pike Place Chowder has been inducted into the Great Chowder Cook-Off Hall-of-Fame, won People’s Choice Award (twice) at the West Coast Chowder Cook-Off, and been dubbed the “Nation’s Best Clam Chowder” three years in a row.
Don’t be intimidated by the lines, they move fast and the chowder is worth it. Order the New England Clam Chowder (bread bowl is a must) to experience a true Seattle delicacy. Or, if you can’t decide which flavor to try, get the Sampler and savor 4-8 chowders.
Pro tip: seating at the Pike Place Market location is limited, so grab your order and walk next-door to Rachel’s Ginger Beer. Rachel’s has lots of seating and allows outside food as long as you order a drink.
Oriental Mart & Kitchenette
This Filipino lunch-counter is Pike Place Market’s best-kept secret, but since the prestigious James Beard Foundation has recently broken the silence by giving Oriental Mart the “America’s Classics Award,” we think it’s okay to let you in on the fun.
The dedicated Apostal family has been operating this kitchenette since 1980 and has built up a reputation as the go-to spot for Pike Place Market’s vendors, employees, and insiders. Oriental Mart’s self-taught chef, Auntie Leila, serves up a rotating menu of hearty mains like salmon tamarind soup and bangus (fried milkfish).
If you’re new to Filipino food and don’t know where to start, ask Auntie Leila for the “Can You Trust Me” plate. This combination platter earns you samples from everything on that day’s menu — a happy chaos that often includes Leila’s pancit fried noodles, longanisa sausage, and delightful adobo.
