64 Best Restaurants in Seattle, Washington

One of the city’s neighborhood charmers, this beloved bakery churns out the best of French, British, and American pastry traditions, as well as their own unique treats. Mornings mean the espresso bar is busy and the croissants are flying off the shelves, while midday offers light salads, quiches, and their savory signature, the cretzel—a buttery, crisp, pretzel-knotted treat. Loose-leaf tea in the afternoon goes perfectly with their beautiful cakes, such as the stunning Victoria sponge, as well as on Friday when they offer a full tea service. 

An organic café with everything you need for a picnic to-go or a leisurely lunch, Deru Market has something for everything. The bright, modern space starts the day with excellent coffee and pastries, with filling brunches on weekends. Lunch brings pizza, sandwiches, and salads, plus a few larger plates, while dinner brings a few extra main dishes. Vegetable side dishes compete with excellent French fries for table space, and most diners save room for a slice of the layer cakes that sit temptingly on the counter.

When people walk by the Pike Place Market booth, they might think they’re passing a gelato stand from the artful display, but in fact Ellenos is serving up the best (and best-looking) yogurt in the city—and possibly the country. Thicker and smoother than most commercial Greek yogurts, the Australian-Greek family behind the brand uses local milk and a slow culturing process to create their nearly ice cream-like treat. They make their own fruit toppings, which are mixed in as the yogurt is scooped. The “walkaround” size is perfect for snacking while touring the market, but for those who fall in love and need to bring some home, many local grocery stores carry the brand.

The best view of Downtown comes at an affordable price: the brightly colored Adirondack chairs outside this Korean-Hawaiian fish shack offer a panoramic view of the entire Downtown area. Inside, you’ll find tacos filled with Korean beef or “sexy tofu,” Spam slider sandwiches, and a classic fish-and-chips—served with kimchi tartar sauce. For dessert, the Hawaiian shaved ice makes it the perfect place to begin or end a beach walk on Alki—and to order more drinks through the sliding cocktail window on the side of the patio.

The stained glass saint, holding wheat in one hand and a Japanese melonpan (bun) in the other, summarizes this eccentric but excellent bakery perched on the shore of the Ship Canal. Scandanavian-style cardamom knots, classic French croissants, and fried egg sandwiches with Thai-style turkey sausage exemplify the breakfast selection here. The grab-and-go counter displays pre-made salads and sandwiches, an equally intriguing array. While the counter and kitchen take up the entire indoor space, a covered patio on the side keeps diners warm and dry.

Lamb gyros, falafel sandwiches, and hummus platters are all excellent here.

The hipster and third-wave coffee dreams combine at this picture-perfect café on the Capitol Hill's west slope. Bright, light, and with big windows onto a quiet street, it invites coffee drinkers in to sit for a spell. As per the name, the music spins on records and they stock paper newspapers, but the coffee is decidedly modern. Beans come from a variety of local roasters, and brews include the standards plus cold brew on tap, pourover, and espresso tonics. 

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. One of Anchorhead's star menu items is the Quaffle: a cinnamon roll made of laminated croissant dough pressed in a waffle iron. Finding seating at the industrial-chic cafe can be tricky on busy mornings so you may end up having to grab-and-go. 

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.

Sidle up to the antique bar at this hot spot for students and faculty from nearby UW, for a good selection of suds and pizza.

When a pizza obsessive decided to turn his pop-up into a proper restaurant, he recruited an accomplished chef to help him out, and the result is this delightful and precise mini-market, pie counter, and wine shop. Parmesan-sprinkled crusts decorate each of the pizzas, and while the selection is small, chef touches like confit cherry tomatoes keep the toppings interesting. Colorful tablecloths and patio seating open up more space, and to-go pies make great options for eating in nearby Cal Anderson Park. 

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 the produce to make all their flavors directly from farms, 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. 

A popular neighborhood coffeehouse, Broadcast roasts its own ethically sourced coffee; many locals pick up bags of coffee beans here (purchase includes a free cup of drip coffee). 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 (try one of the croissant hybrids) from the Central District's 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.

Don't get distracted by the eye-catching decor: as cute as the lemon-patterned chair is and as striking as the plant wall is, the main attraction is the brightness of the flavors. Fresh squeezed orange juice (on its own or in a mimosa) goes well with the breakfast baguettes and flaky stuffed Balkan pastries for which the shop is named. Scrambles, pancakes, and hearty salads round out the menu, making this a good option for either a quick coffee or a healthful lunch. 

This rustic, brick-walled cafe is Seattle's oldest espresso bar.

This small, casual bakery gets patrons from across the entire city thanks to its "I swear I'm in Paris" croissants with buttery, flaky perfection. Weekend lines are long, but if you score a table, you'll be in heaven. You can also, of course, take pastries to go, which is perfect if you're en route to Golden Gardens. Apple turnovers, pain au chocolat, decent espresso drinks, quiches, and sandwiches round out the offerings.

With a handful of locations throughout Seattle, this local roaster gets coffee just right: smooth, bold, and full of flavor. Breakfast items at the laid-back café include same-day-fresh Seattle Bagels with schmear and bagel (or pita) egg sandwiches, while the lunch menu features gyro and falafel sandwiches as well as a signature Persian rice bowl with house-made yogurt, pickled vegetables, and a choice of beef or eggplant.

Attached to Serious Pie, this fragrant bakery will make you reconsider cookies as a valid breakfast choice. The coffee, fresh pastries, and breakfast sandwiches here are delicious, but Dahlia is particularly famous for its peanut butter sandwich cookies. The decadent coconut cream pie is also a local favorite. Lunch items including sandwiches, soups, and salads are served until 3 pm.

According to lore, the late director Nora Ephron was such a fan of the peanut butter cookies while filming the iconic rom-com "Sleepless in Seattle" that she requested the recipe and briefly even had the sweet treat named for her.

This local chain of hamburger drive-ins with iconic orange signage has changed little since the 1950s. The fries are hand-cut, the shakes are hand-dipped (made with hard ice cream), and the burgers hit the spot. The most popular burger, the Dick's Deluxe, has two beef patties, American cheese, lettuce, and onions, and is slathered in Dick's special sauce, but many folks swear by the frill-free plain cheeseburger. Open until 2 am daily, these drive-ins are particularly popular among students and late-night bar-hoppers.

You won't find a quicker or more affordable snack than a few burgers and a milkshake at this Seattle classic. The only location of the local chain (dating back to 1954) that offers indoor dining, its bargain-basement prices and late-night hours make it an enduring favorite. 

This hypebeast destination calls itself a concept store and sells sneakers and streetwear, but the lines stretching out the door are for its popular bubble tea and soft-serve stand. Eye-catching three-color beverages, bear-shaped takeout bottles, and "designer blend" smoothies show off creative combinations of fruit, boba, syrup, and ice cream. For the full experience, order the soft-serve in the bear-shaped waffle pastry, called "bearyaki," too.

Vivace is widely considered to be the home of Seattle's finest espresso. The long, curving bar and a colorful mural add some character to a space in the upscale Brix condo complex. The place definitely has great energy—it's lively and bustling, with Hill residents tippity-tapping on laptops and students holding study groups. Pastries are a bit lackluster, but the espresso beverages more than make up for it.

If the weekend line is too long, there's also a Vivace sidewalk stand just south of here at Broadway and Harrison Street.

Sample gelato in seasonal flavors like honey lavender and fig vanilla at this small, sweet family-owned shop. Locals in the know skip the big lines at other local chains and come here instead for a quick and delicious frozen treat.

For a nice pastry or quick lunch, pop by this street corner window for passionfruit malasadas or a chicken katsu sando. A Japanese artisan bakery at its core, Fuji happily (and expertly) dabbles across cultures and styles, making everything from twice-baked almond croissants to bacon-and-cheese breads, plus stunning desserts such as filled cream puffs, fruit tarts, and souffle cheesecakes. The beef curry-stuffed kare-pan paired with a hojicha tea latte makes an excellent afternoon perk-up. 

This update to the classic American burger shop manages to be both an ode to the Northwest and an example of how fast food can be done right. Organic, grass-fed beef is broken down and ground in-house, organic milkshakes are made from local ice cream, and the crinkle-cut fries feel like a nostalgic nod to childhood. Local sodas and beers flow from the taps. The bright colors, well-lit space, and service speed take cues from the fast-food industry, but the flavor is a cut above.

In a time when many of the corner-store style shops serving Seattle's unique signature teriyaki are fading into the rapidly modernizing city, Grillbird keeps it classic as it hopes to show that the affordable plates of chicken in sauce, rice, and salad, still matter to the city. Stop by for a quick lunch and for a taste of the city's typical workday lunch dish. Though teriyaki exists all over, the specific serving style and sweet sauce used at most Seattle joints was developed here and once dominated the menu of every lunch counter and mini-mart. 

Try the fried plantains and pupusas (corn pancakes stuffed with meats, veggies, or beans).

Hiroki makes wonderful Japanese desserts like soufflé cheesecake and matcha tiramisu along with some standards like gateau Basque and almond custard brioche. There are a few outdoor tables and even more inside, and the Tangletown location makes an easy stop during a stroll around the lake or a quick detour to pick up dessert afterward. 

Autumn Martin, formerly head chocolatier at Theo Chocolate, specializes in creative, high-quality desserts (including vegan options) such as a s'mores molten chocolate cake with house-made marshmallows and caramel, and cookies with house-smoked chocolate chips. Thick, rich milkshakes come in gourmet seasonal flavors like Meyer lemon with lavender, or grownup boozy shakes like smoked chocolate and scotch. Hot Cakes is open late night, too. A few long communal tables make for casual dining. The company's take-and-bake mason-jar desserts make a great gift.

For a lighter bite, head north to Martin's plant-based ice cream shop, Frankie & Jo's at 1411 NW 70th St.