UPSCALE PICKS
Restaurant Week is a great chance to catch these normally spendy, high-end restaurants for a reasonable price.
BEST VIEWS
Feast your eyes on the marvelous waterfront vistas or lofty rooftop panoramas offered at these establishments.
RISING STARS
These restaurants command buzz and have been well-received.
LESSER-KNOWN FAVORITES
Venture out of your way for these underrated, under-the-radar gems.
POC-OWNED RESTAURANTS
Note: We have done our best to make this list as comprehensive as possible but may not have listed all of the applicable restaurants. If you know of a participating restaurant that should be on this list, please let us know and weâll update it as soon as we can!
Adana (Shota Nakajima)
Alcove (Emme Ribeiro Collins)
Beachhouse Bar & Grill (Maria and Ricky Eng)
Bar Dojo, Salt & Iron (Shubert Ho)
Baron's Xi'an (Baron Gu)
Chan (Heong Soon Park)
Crawfish King (Torrey Le)
The Grill from Ipanema (Marco Cazas Breaux)
Herb & Bitter Public House (Jesus Escobar)
Kisaku Sushi (Kyu Bum Han)
Kokkaku (Yuta Sugimoto and Yuki Tanaka)
Ma'ono (Mark Fuller and Marjorie Chang Fuller)
Mala & Satay (Di Chuc)
Marjorie (Donna Moodie)
Matsu (Steven Han)
Moksha (Lakshmi and Padma Thanhu)
Monsoon, Central Smoke (Eric Banh and Sophie Banh)
Nirmalâs (Oliver and Gita Bangera)
Pomerol (Vuong and Tricia Loc)
Soi (Yuie Helseth)
Teinei (Yasuharu Nojiri)
Tilth (Maria Hines)
Twisted Cuban Cafe and Bar (Julio Ortiz)
Yoroshiku (Keisuke Kobayashi)
WOMEN-OWNED RESTAURANTS
Note: Some of these restaurants may be co-owned by men. We have done our best to make this list as comprehensive as possible but may not have listed all of the applicable restaurants. If you know of a participating restaurant that should be on this list, please let us know and weâll update it as soon as we can!
Alcove (Emme Ribeiro Collins)
Ascend Prime Steak & Sushi (Elaina Herber)
Barrio (Tabitha Kurofsky)
Beachhouse Bar & Grill (Maria Eng)
Bitterroot BBQ (Hannah Carter)
Blueacre Seafood, Orfeo, Steelhead Diner, Zane + Wylie's Steakhouse (Terresa Davis)
Bottle & Bull (Jessi Waldher)
Calypso Edmonds (Jennifer Myatt)
Capitol Cider (Julie Tall)
Como (Leigh Canlis Greenwood)
Eve Fremont (Debra Russell and Jill Buchanan)
Frankâs Oyster House, Pair (Sarah Penn)
Harvest Vine (Carolin Messier)
Lecosho (Jill Buchanan)
Mala & Satay (Di Chuc)
Marjorie (Donna Moodie)
Moksha (Padma Thanu)
Monsoon, Central Smoke (Sophie Banh)
Nirmalâs (Gita Bangera)
No Bones Beach Club (MacKenzie DeVito)
Oddfellows Cafe + Bar, Queen City (Linda Derschang)
Osteria La Spiga (Sabrina Tinsley)
Pioneer Square D&E (Libby Aker)
Plenty of Clouds (Lisa Zack)
Pomerol (Tricia Loc)
Poquitos (Courtney Fox)
Revolve True Food & Wine Bar (Dr. Dusty DuBois)
Soi (Yuie Helseth)
Terra Plata (Tamara Murphy)
The Tin Table (Hallie Kuperman)
Tilth (Maria Hines)
Volterra (Michelle Quisenberry)
STRANGER PICKS
These restaurants have received positive reviews from Stranger staffers past and present.
Crawfish King
Megan van Huygen wrote, "Crawfish King in the International District has been around for almost a decade, on 8th and Lane, up by the freeway. Itâs been carefully decorated to look like a Sea Galley, and their main thing is Cajun-style seafood boils. They offer all the usual shellfish charactersâlobster, a few species of crab, mussels, clams, headless and headful shrimp, othersâand you can pick one of their preordained shellfish combos or just assemble your own and pay per pound. They sauce it all up and dump it on the table (on a plastic tablecloth) and itâs a giant marvelous mess and will get in your hair and behind your glasses...We were dazzled by every single thing about this place and will probably be back for lunch, like, tomorrow."
Harvest Vine
Corina Zappia wrote, âIf only all visits to Madison Valley felt like a trip to Basque country. This restaurant may look small when you first enter, from the tiny tapas bar to the cluster of tables near the windows, but head down the stairs and sit amid the gorgeous stone walls lined with wine bottles and youâll feel like youâve left Seattle behind. All dishes are served to share, from the anchovy-stuffed olives to the gambas al ajillo. Order the Columbia City bread with the olive oil tastingâyou know youâre going down that road anywayâand save room for desserts like the Tarta de Santiago, a moist, dense olive-oil cake.â
Lecosho
Charles Mudede wrote, "More recently, I stopped by Lecosho on my birthday. I wanted to eat there all by myself. That is how much I dig this place. I thought that the best way to commemorate the day I was born was not with other people talking about this and that but in the silence of consuming this restaurant's rich foods and wines."
Lola
Tobias Coughlin-Bogue wrote, "One of the original outposts in Seattle restaurant overlord Tom Douglas's galactic empire, Belltown's Lola continues to stand the test of time. The theme is Greek, although significantly upscaled from your average neighborhood gyro joint. Think squid kebabs, spendy tagines, a savagely good lamb burger, and martinis with feta-stuffed olives. Their happy hour makes said martinis accessibly priced and also offers deep discounts on the kebabs. In a fun nod to neighborhood joint theatrics, your server pours a shot of ouzo over whichever kebab you order, although they thankfully do not put on a big, fake smile and shout 'Opa!'"
Maâono Chicken & Whiskey
Bethany Jean Clement wrote, "Yes, the fried chicken is really, really good. If it's not the best fried chicken you've ever had, you're a very lucky individual. It's burnished brown, with a thick, crunchy crust and lush, flavorful flesh... While Spring Hill is missed, the good news is that Ma'ono's food is just as impeccably sourced, and maybe even more unlike anything else in town."
Monsoon
Bethany Jean Clement wrote, "Monsoon's elegant Pacific Northwest/Vietnamese food is as good as everâthat is, very, very good. Standards like beef la lot and imperial rolls are elevated by great ingredients and great care; the la lot leaves are greener, fresher, and stuffed with Painted Hills flank steak plus a stick of pickled jicama for punch, while the bumpy-crispiness of the imperial rolls is extraordinary, and they're full of Carlton Farms pork and wild-caught shrimp."
Nirmal's
Tricia Romano wrote, "There's a dearth of good Indian food in Seattle; after eight years in New York, I was spoiled. But Nirmal's in Pioneer Square is nearly as good as what you find in the Big Apple, maybe better, even if the service can be a touch too friendly and the high ceilings make it a very loud experience (you'll be shouting at your fellow diner to be heard). While you can get your usuals (tandoori chicken, palak paneer), they don't taste like the usual thanks to namesake head chef Nirmal Monteiro. The food swerves leftâthere are dishes I'd never heard of (prawn phalnaire, goat roghni), most have strong distinct flavors, and the heat doesn't drown out the dish, only enhances it. Costly, but worth it."
No Bones Beach Club
Angela Garbes wrote, "At No Bones, you won't find any soy-rizo, mock chicken, or portobello mushrooms doing their best impersonation of hamburger patties. Instead, you'll find tacos loaded with beer-battered and fried avocados, sandwiches stuffed with sesame-seed-crusted taro cakes, and poke (Seattle's current favorite dish) made not with raw fish but smoked golden beets. DeVito describes her menu as 'Southern Californiaâstyle foodâfresh, with lots of vegetables, herbs, and great textures.' After just a few bites, you'll be grateful that DeVito, who adopted a vegan diet seven years ago, has spent all her time since developing such flavorful, satisfying, and surprising food."
Omega Ouzeri
Rich Smith wrote, "I had some laudable toast points at Omega a few months ago. Besides that, this bright, casual spot on Capitol Hill offers up refreshing, semi-pricey Greek fare. The servers will non-pretentiously offer useful information about anise-spiked clear spirits that anchor their bar program, and the octopus is truly great. Go there with a friend, share a couple small plates and an entrée, and leave half-loopy in an ouzo cloud."
Soi
Leilani Polk wrote, "Specializing in the spicier, more aromatic flavors of the Northeastern Isaan region of Thailand, SOI has a rather intriguing menu of unexpectedly delectable offerings. But you want to hit the Capitol Hill restaurant during happy hourâwhen you can get a $6 tamarind whiskey sour or lemongrass rickey with your mealâor brunch. The brunch menu features dishes like the kai grata (two over-easy eggs served in a skillet with slices of pork belly, sweet Chinese sausage, green onions, tomato, and spinach) and cheat-on-your-GF-diet-worthy roti (the flatbread pastry seducer in my case was the phaya thaiâmade with banana and peanut butter, and topped with hazelnut whipped cream)."
Tankard and Tun
Tobias Coughlin-Bogue wrote, "As much as I love the Athenian for my Pike Place Market oyster fix, it's hard to resist the newfound allure of Tankard & Tun. The latest offering from Pike Brewing Company, it is their very Northwest version of a Parisian brasserie, and it's great. I've been consistently impressed with chef Gabe Spiel's dedication to oyster sourcing, and it seems like some new and interesting bivalve just got dropped off every time I drop in. If he's got anything from Drayton Harbor Oyster Company, get them."
Toulouse Petit
Leilani Polk wrote, "Seattle's other noteworthy Cajun-Creole restaurant has a more extensive menu than what you find at French Quarter Kitchen, minus the absinthe, and plenty of what you find on it is delicious (try the jambalaya). But their breakfast and brunch is where it's at: pork cheeks confit hash (which was featured on the Food Network show The Best Thing I Ever Ate), the Bayou Fisherman's Breakfast (shrimp, fish, crawfish, and tasso, served in a mini-skillet with grits and a fried egg on top), and Cajun meatloaf and eggs are just a few of the savory options. Plus, you can get the same menu, with discounts, during the weekday breakfast happy hour, from 9 to 11 a.m. After dark is also a fine time to visitâthe candles placed on the walls all around the room are lit, filling the place with a dreamy, flickering orange glow."
Yoroshiku
Angela Garbes wrote, "It was pouring rain the day I visited Yoroshiku, and as I slurped my way through a bowl of spicy miso ramen ($13), I couldn't think of anything I'd rather be eating. Every spoonful of brothâsalty, nutty, and just a little bit funkyâwas also fiery, but in a smoldering kind of way, building as I worked my way through the dish. Rich, buttery slices of chashu (braised pork belly) offset the heat, as did sweet yellow-corn kernels and a scattering of crunchy sesame seeds."
JAMES BEARD AWARD WINNERS
These restaurants are associated with James Beard award-winning chefs.
Jason Wilson (Best Chef Northwest, 2010)
Aerlume
The Lakehouse
Millers Guild
Thierry Rautureau (Best Chef Northwest, 1998)
LUC
Tom Douglas (Best Chef Northwest, 1994; American Cooking, 2001; Outstanding Restaurateur, 2012)
Cuoco
Dahlia Lounge
Etta's
Lola
Palace Kitchen
Seatown Seabar & Rotisserie
Maria Hines (Best Chef Northwest, 2007-2009)
Tilth
Tamara Murphy (Best Chef in the Pacific Northwest and Hawaii, 1994)
Terra Plata
NEW RESTAURANTS
These restaurants have all opened in the last couple of years.
