The Top 100 Places to Eat Near Empire Roasters & Records
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Rank 1. Off Alley
European-Influenced
Twelve seats in a brick corridor, a chalkboard that changes daily, and a James Beard Award on the shelf. Off Alley is the kind of tiny, European-leaning dinner spot where the staff describes every plate like they genuinely can't believe you're about to eat it. The chef leans into organs, odd little fish, and the weirder corners of the PNW pantry, and somehow it all lands. Wear something nice but not stuffy.
- The New York Times 2022 · The Restaurant List
- The New York Times The 25 Best Restaurants in Seattle Right Now
- Seattle Met Seattle’s 50 Best Restaurants
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Rank 2. Archipelago
Progressive Filipino
Twelve seats, ten courses, and a tasting menu that treats Filipino food as a lens for Pacific Northwest history in ways that somehow feel personal rather than academic. Archipelago is one of those rare spots where the storytelling and the cooking are equally good, which has earned it a James Beard Award. Getting a reservation is notoriously hard, but the crowd that manages it tends to sit very still and pay close attention, which tells you everything.
- The Infatuation Infatuation’s Highest-Rated Restaurants In America
- James Beard Awards 2025 · Nominee · Outstanding Hospitality
- James Beard Awards 2023 · Nominee · Best Chef: Northwest and Pacific · Aaron Verzosa
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Rank 3. Lil Red's
Barbecue
- The New York Times The 25 Best Restaurants in Seattle Right Now
- Seattle Met Seattle’s 50 Best Restaurants
- Eater The 38 Essential Restaurants in Seattle
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Rank 4. Jackalope
Tex-Mex
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Rank 5. Billiard Hoang
Vietnamese
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- Seattle Met 2023 · Bozena Shero · The Best Things I Ate This Year
- Eater The 38 Essential Restaurants in Seattle
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Rank 7. Familyfriend
Guamanian
A casual Beacon Hill spot doing Guamanian food in a way Seattle hadn't really seen before, and it's a James Beard Best New Restaurant winner, so someone noticed. The smashburger went viral and briefly filled the room with TikTokers, but the regulars have reclaimed their pistachio booths and the shady back patio. The empanadas and corn soup are the real reason to linger.
- Esquire 2024 · Lola Martini · The Best Martinis in America
- The New York Times 2024 · The Restaurant List
- The Infatuation #10 · The 25 Best Restaurants In Seattle
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Rank 8. Soufend Cafe & Eatery
Vietnamese
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Rank 9. Bar Del Corso
Wood-fired Pizza
- The New York Times The 25 Best Restaurants in Seattle Right Now
- The Infatuation #11 · The 25 Best Restaurants In Seattle
- Seattle Met Seattle’s 50 Best Restaurants
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Rank 10. Musang
Filipino
- James Beard Awards 2024 · Nominee · Best Chef: Northwest and Pacific · Melissa Miranda
- The Infatuation #3 · The 25 Best Restaurants In Seattle
- Seattle Met Seattle’s 50 Best Restaurants
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Rank 11. Homer
Wood-Fired Mediterranean
A James Beard-winning chef runs this wood-fired Mediterranean spot in Beacon Hill, and the room feels like your coolest neighbor's dinner party, if your neighbor had a wood oven and a soft-serve window out back. The pitas come out of that oven almost too hot to hold, still puffed and blistered, and everything you spread on them earns its place. The lamb ribs alone are worth the trip.
- Seattle Met Seattle’s 50 Best Restaurants
- Eater The 38 Essential Restaurants in Seattle
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: Northwest and Pacific · Logan Cox
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Rank 12. Communion Restaurant & Bar
Southern
- USA Today 2024 · Restaurants of the Year
- James Beard Awards 2024 · Nominee · Best Chef: Northwest and Pacific · Kristi Brown
- The New York Times 2021 · The Restaurant List
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Rank 13. Phở Bắc
Vietnamese
- James Beard Awards 2024 · Nominee · Outstanding Restaurateur · Quynh-Vy and Yenvy Pham
- James Beard Awards 2023 · Nominee · Outstanding Restaurateur · Yenvy and Quynh Pham
- Seattle Met Seattle’s 50 Best Restaurants
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Rank 14. Ciudad
Mediterranean
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Rank 15. The Boat
Vietnamese
- Seattle Met 2023 · Seattle’s Best New Restaurants
- The Infatuation #17 · The 25 Best Restaurants In Seattle
- James Beard Awards 2025 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Restaurateur · Quynh Pham and Yenvy Pham
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- Wine Enthusiast 2023 · Forward 50 Restaurants
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Nominee · Best Chef: Northwest and Pacific · Aaron Tekulve
- Eater The 38 Essential Restaurants in Seattle
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Rank 18. Kilig
Filipino
Kilig is a bright, fast-casual Filipino spot in the International District where the room is splashed with color and the food hits harder than the price tag suggests. Chef Melissa Miranda built her name at Musang, and this looser, bolder follow-up shows her having more fun. The bulalo, a beefy shank soup, is the anchor, but the wings, lumpia, and punchy noodles earn their keep too. The New York Times agrees it belongs on your list.
- Seattle Met 2024 · Seattle’s Best New Restaurants
- The New York Times The 25 Best Restaurants in Seattle Right Now
- The Infatuation The 21 Most Fun Dinner Spots In Seattle
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Rank 19. Tomo
American
- The New York Times 2025 · Dungeness Crab Rice · The Best Restaurant Dishes We Ate Across the U.S.
- Esquire 2022 · #30 · The Best New Restaurants in America
- The Infatuation The 21 Most Fun Dinner Spots In Seattle
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Rank 20. LTD Edition
Omakase Sushi
- The New York Times 2023 · The Restaurant List
- The New York Times The 25 Best Restaurants in Seattle Right Now
- Seattle Met Seattle’s 50 Best Restaurants
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Rank 21. Maneki
Japanese
- The Infatuation The 21 Most Fun Dinner Spots In Seattle
- Seattle Met Seattle’s 50 Best Restaurants
- Seattle Met 2026 · The Best Restaurants in the Chinatown–International District Right Now
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Rank 22. Spinasse
Northern Italian
- The Infatuation #2 · The 25 Best Restaurants In Seattle
- Seattle Met Seattle’s 50 Best Restaurants
- Eater The 38 Essential Restaurants in Seattle
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Rank 24. Cafe Suliman
Middle Eastern
- Eater Best Counter
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Semifinalist · Emerging Chef · Ahmed Suliman
- Seattle Met Seattle’s Best Lunch Spots
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Rank 25. Lark
New American
Lark is a fine dining room in Capitol Hill that's been around long enough to feel like a fixture, and the James Beard Award for Outstanding Hospitality tells you the staff genuinely means it. The four-course tasting menu is unusually forgiving, with real choices at each round so it never feels like you're just eating the chef's diary. The crowd skews date-night and special-occasion, dressed like they meant it.
- Seattle Met Seattle’s 50 Best Restaurants
- James Beard Awards 2023 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Hospitality
- Eater The 38 Essential Restaurants in Seattle
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- Seattle Met 2024 · Seattle’s Best New Restaurants
- Seattle Met Seattle’s 50 Best Restaurants
- Seattle Met 2025 · Tôm Cocktail · The Best Things I Ate This Year
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- James Beard Awards 2024 · Nominee · Outstanding Restaurateur · Quynh-Vy and Yenvy Pham
- James Beard Awards 2023 · Nominee · Outstanding Restaurateur · Yenvy and Quynh Pham
- Bon Appétit 2022 · America's Best New Restaurants
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- Wine Enthusiast 2023 · Forward 50 Restaurants
- The Stranger 2024 · The Lamb Mabo Pizza · The 10 Best Things I Ate in Seattle
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Rank 29. Taurus Ox
Laotian
- The New York Times The 25 Best Restaurants in Seattle Right Now
- Seattle Met Seattle’s 50 Best Restaurants
- Eater The 38 Essential Restaurants in Seattle
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Rank 30. Altura
Italian
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Rank 31. Maripili Tapas Bar
Spanish
- Seattle Met Seattle’s 50 Best Restaurants
- Seattle Met 2023 · Croissant Sobrasada Roll · The Best Things I Ate This Year
- Seattle Met 2024 · Flan de Erizo · The Best Things I Ate This Year
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Rank 32. Fogón Cocina Mexicana
Mexican
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Rank 33. Oriental Mart
Filipino
- The Infatuation #19 · The 25 Best Restaurants In Seattle
- Eater The 38 Essential Restaurants in Seattle
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Rank 34. Le Pichet
French
- The New York Times The 25 Best Restaurants in Seattle Right Now
- Seattle Met Seattle’s Best Lunch Spots
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Rank 35. Mezzanotte
Italian
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- 50 Best 2026 · #89 · North America's 50 Best Bars
- Esquire 2023 · Amis Martini · The Best Martinis in America
- Spirited Awards 2026 · Regional Top 10 Honoree · Best U.S. Cocktail Bar – U.S. West
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Rank 37. Paju
Korean
- The New York Times 2021 · The Restaurant List
- The New York Times The 25 Best Restaurants in Seattle Right Now
- Seattle Met Seattle’s 50 Best Restaurants
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Rank 38. Canlis
Northwest
Canlis is the kind of fine dining institution that's been around forever, perched on a cliff above Queen Anne Hill with views that make the prix fixe feel almost justified. The room fills with anniversaries, milestone birthdays, and people who clearly ironed their shirts for this. Northwest ingredients anchor the menu, the wine program has a James Beard win behind it, and the Canlis salad gets its own tableside moment.
- AAA Four Diamonds
- Food & Wine 2023 · Best New Chefs · Aisha Ibrahim
- Wine Enthusiast The Wine Restaurant Hall of Fame
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Rank 39. BOPBOX
Korean
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Rank 41. Lenox
Caribbean
- Bon Appétit 2025 · America's Best New Restaurants
- Seattle Met 2024 · Seattle’s Best New Restaurants
- The Infatuation The 21 Most Fun Dinner Spots In Seattle
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Rank 44. iconiq
Japanese, French
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Rank 45. Saint Bread
Japanese-Influenced Bakery
- The New York Times 22 of the Best Bakeries Across the U.S. Right Now
- James Beard Awards 2025 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Bakery
- Seattle Met Seattle’s 50 Best Restaurants
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Rank 46. Loretta's Northwesterner
American/New American
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Rank 47. Milk Drunk
Soft Serve, Sandwiches/Deli
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Rank 50. Bellwether BBQ
Korean
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Rank 51. Dough Zone
Chinese
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Rank 54. L'Oursin
French
- Spirited Awards 2026 · Regional Top 10 Honoree · Best U.S. Restaurant Bar – U.S. West
- Spirited Awards 2024 · Regional Honoree · Best U.S. Restaurant Bar – U.S. West
- Spirited Awards 2025 · Regional Top 10 Honoree · Best U.S. Restaurant Bar – U.S. West
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Rank 56. Ba Bar
Vietnamese
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- Seattle Met 2023 · Omakase · The Best Things I Ate This Year
- James Beard Awards 2025 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: Northwest and Pacific · Jun Takai
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- Seattle Met 2023 · Khao Soi Chiang Mai · The Best Things I Ate This Year
- Seattle Met 2024 · Pak Mor Yuan · The Best Things I Ate This Year
- Seattle Met Seattle’s Best Lunch Spots
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Rank 59. A+ HK Restaurant
Chinese
- Seattle Met Seattle’s Best Lunch Spots
- Seattle Met 2026 · The Best Restaurants in the Chinatown–International District Right Now
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Rank 60. Pasta Casalinga
Italian
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Rank 61. Jeffry's
American
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Rank 62. Onibaba
Japanese
- Seattle Met Seattle’s Best Lunch Spots
- Seattle Met 2026 · The Best Restaurants in the Chinatown–International District Right Now
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Rank 65. Sushi Kashiba
Omakase Sushi
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Rank 66. Vivienne's Bistro
Chinese
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Rank 67. Pelicana Chicken
Korean
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Rank 68. Bottega Gabriele
Italian
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Rank 69. Tamari Bar
Japanese Cocktail Bar
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Rank 72. Fat's Chicken and Waffles
Southern/Creole/Cajun, Breakfast/Brunch
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Rank 74. The Pink Door
Italian
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Rank 77. Damn the Weather
Northwest, Cocktail Bar
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Rank 78. Cafe Flora
Vegetarian, Vegan, American/New American
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Rank 79. Byrek & Baguette
Balkan
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Rank 80. Cornelly
Italian
- The Infatuation #21 · The 25 Best Restaurants In Seattle
- The Infatuation The 21 Most Fun Dinner Spots In Seattle
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- Seattle Met 2025 · Seattle’s Best New Restaurants
- Seattle Met 2025 · Housemade Ricotta · The Best Things I Ate This Year
- The Infatuation 2025 · #9 · Seattle’s Best New Restaurants
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Rank 82. Humble Pie
Pizza
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Rank 84. Red Bowls
Korean
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Rank 85. Thanh Son Tofu
Vietnamese
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Rank 86. Saigon Deli
Vietnamese
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Rank 87. Chu Minh Tofu and Vegan Deli
Vietnamese, Vegan
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Rank 88. Sichuanese Cuisine
Chinese
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Rank 90. Phnom Penh Noodle House
Cambodian
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Rank 91. Szechuan Noodle Bowl
Chinese
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Rank 93. Jade Garden
Chinese
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Rank 94. Jin Huang
Chinese
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Rank 95. Boiling Point
Chinese
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Rank 96. Skalka
Georgian
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Rank 97. Tai Tung
Chinese
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Rank 98. Hong Kong Bistro
Chinese
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Rank 99. Kau Kau BBQ Restaurant
Chinese, Barbecue
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Rank 100. King Noodle
Chinese