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Restaurants We have selected 25 restaurants, which we have divided into five categories: Gastronomic, Business, Trendy, Budget and Personal Recommendations. The restaurants are listed alphabetically within these different categories, which serve as guidelines rather than absolute definitions of the establishments. Sales tax is 8.6% and will be added to every restaurant bill. A tip of at least 15% is obligatory and 20% is often looked for. The prices quoted below are for a three-course meal and for a bottle of house wine; they do not include sales tax or tip. Gastronomic Canlis Seattle’s classiest restaurant since the Breakfast at Tiffany’s era never fails to impress. Diners enter through an antique Japanese door and find impeccable service, a stunning view across Lake Union and the house’s own venerable recipes (the Canlis salad and the shrimp Capri are recommended). It specialises in Northwest classics, such as steak, game, salmon and oysters, served in an Asian-modern atmosphere. There is also a piano bar and a vast wine list. No lunch. Closed Sunday. 2576 Aurora Avenue North Tel: (206) 283 3313. E-mail: canlis@canlis.com Website: www.canlis.com Price: US$50. Wine: US$30. Il Terrazzo Carmine This discreet, highbrow Florentine restaurant, with understated classical guitar music, has first-rate service. Waiters wear white tuxes and tables are set with white linen under shimmering chandeliers. Starters might include calamari padella or venison ravioli, while entrees could be beef filet in Barolo and grape sauce, ossobuco, veal with capers or cioppino. There is a spectacular Italian wine list and outdoor seating in summer. Closed Sunday. No lunch Saturday. 411 First Avenue South Tel: (206) 467 7797. Fax: (206) 447 5716. Website: www.ilterrazzocarmine.com Price: US$45. Wine: US$30. Lampreia ‘Simply elegant’ is a good way of describing the sophisticated but gentle hand of chef-owner Scott Carsberg, which lets natural ingredients shine in imaginative ways. The seasonal menu offers a range of ‘intermezzo’ specials, such as Dungeness crab in lobster stock, salmon cannelloni, or the pheasant with apple-champagne sauerkraut. The calm cream and gold interior is matched by light background jazz. Closed Sunday and Monday. No lunch. 2400 First Avenue, Belltown Tel: (206) 443 3301. Price: US$40. Wine: US$20. Le Gourmand The funky district of Ballard is one of Seattle’s best-kept secrets and this French favourite, set unprepossessingly in a shopfront, features local, seasonal produce in high style on a fixed-price menu. Starters include rabbit liver pâté or sole and shrimp mousseline. The organic beef tenderloin in Merlot-pressings butter is renowned, as is the rabbit in apricot sauce and the venison in elderberry and pinot noir stock. There is house-made ice cream, crème brulée or local cheeses to finish with. Closed Sunday-Tuesday. 425 NW Market Street, Ballard Tel: (206) 784 3463. Price: US$35 (fixed price). Wine: US$20. Rover’s Thierry Rautereau is one of the city’s most famous chefs and his imaginative take on traditional French cuisine is stunningly presented. Set in a small house with private gardens, Rover’s menu is fixed price, the sauces legendary and the seafood, such as lobster in Perigord truffle sauce, highly recommended. Also featured are game dishes, such as venison with green peppercorn and Armagnac. There is a superb wine list and garden dining in summer. Closed Sunday and Monday. No lunch. 2808 East Madison Street, North Seattle Tel: (206) 325 7442. Website: www.rovers-seattle.com Price: US$35 (fixed price). Wine: US$25. Business Dahlia Lounge This hip establishment, featured in Sleepless in Seattle, with Chinese red walls, industrial ceilings and low-lit lanterns, is also a contemporary business favourite, with banquet service for up to 45 and personalised menus available. The food is superb despite the notoriety, with heavenly crab cakes, Tuscan bread salad, foie gras with lavender-caramel and fig for starters and excellent steaks and grilled fish for mains. The coconut cream pie should not be missed. 2001 Fourth Avenue, Belltown Tel: (206) 682 4142. Website: www.tomdouglas.com Price: US$30. Wine: US$20. Georgian Room Seattle’s most opulent restaurant is also a splendid setting for power breakfasts, lunches and clinched-deal celebrations. Vast ceilings are hung with antique chandeliers and service is reminiscent of another era. The luxurious menu includes truffle and foie gras, as well as duck and veal, all gorgeously presented, and guests may afterwards take brandy and cigars on the terrace. The Georgette Petite room can be booked for business groups and private parties. Closed Sunday. Four Seasons Hotel Seattle, 411 University Street Tel: (206) 621 7889. Website: www.fourseasons.com Price: US$45. Wine: US$25. Hunt Club The Hunt Club offers a gentleman’s club atmosphere with mahogany and plush seating, as well as some of the most divinely marinated steaks in town. The seasonal menu tends towards the Mediterranean, such as saffron mussel bisque or scallops with truffle risotto. Dessert, coffee and cognac can be taken in the Fireside Room, which also features piano music and card games. Brunch is also served at the weekend. Sorrento Hotel, 900 East Madison Street Tel: (206) 622 6400 or (206) 343 6156. Website: www.hotelsorrento.com Price: US$40. Wine: US$25. Metropolitan Grill Appropriately situated in the heart of the financial district and famous for its power-sized, custom-aged mesquite-broiled steaks and antique sports bar atmosphere, this is one of the most popular stops for celebs, stockbrokers and other big-money clientele. Macho food and portions, from the oysters and caviar starters to the red meat and sea bass, are all washed down with no-nonsense martinis. No lunch weekends. 820 Second Avenue Tel: (206) 624 3287 or 343 6156 (reservations). Website: www.themetropolitangrill.com Price: US$50. Wine: US$30. Nikko This huge, chic sushi bar is one of the most elegant Japanese dining rooms in the city – with food to match. Dishes include sake-marinated cod and teriyaki salmon, crisp soft-shell crab and sukiyaki. There are all-you-can-eat sushi lunches on weekdays. Closed Sunday. No lunch Saturday. Westin Hotel, 1900 Fifth Avenue Tel: (206) 322 4641. Website: www.nikkorestaurant.com Price: US$30. Wine: US$20. Trendy Bandoleone Festive, neighbourhood atmosphere and an innovative menu inspired by Mexico, the Caribbean, Spain and South America. Tapas include Tequila-cured salmon and ceviche with pineapple salsa, with entrees such as grilled tuna with papaya black-bean salsa or lamb with plums and chilli negro. There is a lively deck in summer and the bar with cigars and tapas stays open from until 0200, with live jazz, blues and salsa. The place also does great weekend brunches 0900-1400. 2241 Eastlake Avenue East Tel: (206) 329 7559. Fax (206) 329 8053. E-mail: bandoleone@earthlink.net Website: www.bandoleone.net Price US$25. Wine: US$10. Café Lago A cheery, informal trattoria, which boasts some of the best antipasti, wood-fired pizza and house-made pasta in town. Worth every penny. Noteworthy lasagne con melanzane (aubergine) and ravioli, as well as an extensive list of Italian wines. Closed Monday. No lunch. 2305 24th Avenue East, Montlake Tel: (206) 329 8005. Fax: (206) 329 8053. Price: US$25. Wine: US$20. El Camino Fremont once declared itself an independent republic and the atmosphere from the hippie days still prevails at El Camino – with loud music and dynamite tequila cocktails. Cuisine is experimental Mexican with house-made salsa and mole sauces. The rock-shrimp quesadillas, chipotle-pepper and garlic sea bass or duck with tomatillo sauce should all be tried, but the marinated steak tacos are the best in town. No lunch weekdays. 607 North 35th Street, Fremont Tel: (206) 632 7303. Fax: (206) 632 9124. E-mail: elcidinc@earthlink.net Website: www.elcaminorestaurant.com Price: US$25. Wine: US$20. Flying Fish Exotic and photoworthy fish specialities are served at one of trendy Belltown’s most famous landmarks. Platter dishes are huge and meant to be shared by large parties – these are ordered by the pound weight and include novelties like barracuda. There is street dining in summer and the private dining room seats 36 or reception space for 70. 2234 First Avenue, Belltown Tel: (206) 728 1213. Website: www.flyingfishseattle.com Price: US$30. Wine: US$15. The Pink Door Famed for its off-beat cabaret bar as well as hearty Italian food, this fashionable hideaway also offers great views of Puget Sound and the Market from its festively lit roof terrace. Roasted garlic and tapenada are prime starters, and the cioppino and lasagna are legendary. Salads feature the Market’s organic produce. Closed Sunday and Monday. 1919 Post Alley, Pike Place Market Tel: (206) 443 3241. Fax (206) 443 3341. Price: US$30. Wine: US$20. Budget Alibi Room This young, artsy spot attracts film industry wannabes and has a view of the Puget Sound sunset. Diners can smoke all they want and linger over Mediterranean-style salads, crostini with tapenade, ravioli and excellent vegetarian lasagne. Script-readings, film screenings or live music occur some evenings. 85 Pike Street, Post Alley, Pike Place Market Tel: (206) 623 3180. Price: US$15. Wine: US$10. André’s Eurasian Bistro The French-Vietnamese ownership of this bistro caters for sophisticated Bellevue in a sleek contemporary environment. Recommended dishes include Phnom Penh-style beef or pork, crab ravioli, Bombay coconut curry prawns or the chicken Parisienne, and, for dessert, the warm banana bread pudding with ginger sauce. Closed Sunday. 14125 NE 20th Street, Bellevue Tel: (425) 747 6551. Price: US$15. Wine: US$10. Emmett Watson’s Oyster Bar This unpretentious bolt-hole specialises in live oysters direct from the Market, served au naturel, fried, baked or stewed. The beer (Guinness included) is fresh and cold and cosy booths face a small flower-filled courtyard. Excellent salmon soup and fish and chips. No cards; no dinner Sunday. 1916 Pike Place (Pike Place Market, Soames Dunn building) Tel: (206) 448 7721. Price US$10. Wine: US$10. Shanghai Garden Restaurant Everything from the conventional to the bizarre can be found in this top Chinese family restaurant, which is large, airy and bright pink inside. It features mu shu pork, as well as fungus soup and ostrich meat. Highly recommended are the house special hand-shaved green noodles and the fried ice cream dessert. 524 Sixth Avenue South, International District Tel: (206) 625 1689. Price: US$20. Wine: US$10. Siam This tiny, authentic favourite is the closest Seattle comes to a Bangkok street stall and is widely credited with the best tom kah gai (spicy chicken, lemongrass and coconut milk soup) in the city. Diners can state their preference for chilli-heat from one to five stars. No lunch weekends. 616 Broadway, Capitol Hill Tel: (206) 324 0892. Price: US$20. Wine: US$10. Personal Recommendations Andaluca This dimly lit, European-inspired restaurant is quiet and sophisticated enough for private business meals and sexy enough for a tête-à-tête, serving light but satisfying Spanish-inspired food, like towering full-meal salads, as well as excellent paella, zarzuela, rack of lamb in Rioja, steaks and a selection of fine sherries. Mayflower Park Hotel, 407 Olive Way Tel: (206) 382 6999. E-mail: ghalpin@andaluca.com Price US$30. Wine: US$20. Café Flora Vegetarian food so exquisite carnivores won’t notice the difference, served in a sophisticated Asian-style atrium with fountain and natural stone. The tacos stuffed with spicy potato and cheese or the Portobello mushroom Wellington must be tried. Weekend brunch features berry and ginger cream beignets and breakfast quesadilla. Reservations can only be taken for eight or more. Closed Monday. No dinner Sunday. 2901 East Madison Street, Madison Valley, North Seattle Tel: (206) 325 9100. Website: www.cafeflora.com Price: US$25. Wine: US$15. Cassis One of Seattle’s best-kept secrets: a small French country-style bistro for hearty eaters set in a stark, 1930s Art Deco atmosphere. Pâté and sausages are house-made. Recommended are the no-nonsense, wine-drenched steak frîtes or sautéed calf’s liver and, for dessert, the serious tarte tatin. 2359 Tenth Avenue East, Capitol Hill Tel: (206) 329 0580 or 325 9100 (reservations). E-mail: reservations@cassisbistro.net Website: www.cassisbistro.com Price: US$25. Wine: US$20. Izumi This is a true Japanese suburban family restaurant with a simple menu and friendly service, but it is so popular that it is not unusual to have to sit by the door watching children and their grandparents practising origami before a table comes free. The sushi bar is superb, the teriyaki salmon delicate and the tempura perfect – the house special has all of the above and more in a big lacquer box. Closed Monday. 12539 116th Avenue NE, Kirkland Tel: (425) 821 1959. Price: US$25. Wine: US$10. Sazerac This quirky and inventive restaurant invites excess with a nod to New Orleans cathouses and mammy’s southern cookin’. Killer cocktails are served in plush deep poison-purple booths surrounded by velvet drapes and huge chandeliers and there is sherry-laced pepper mayonnaise swimming over the crab and shrimp cakes. The ‘sexy’ grits and sinful desserts are recommended. Hotel Monaco, 1101 Fourth Avenue Tel: (206) 624 7755. Price: US$30. Wine: US$20. |
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