The Top 100 Restaurants Near Cafe Red
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Rank 1. 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. 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 4. Delish Ethiopian Cuisine
Ethiopian
- Seattle Met 2023 · Bozena Shero · The Best Things I Ate This Year
- Eater The 38 Essential Restaurants in Seattle
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Rank 5. Soufend Cafe & Eatery
Vietnamese
The fusion-forward Vietnamese cafe in South Seattle that actually backs up its aesthetic with serious cooking. The menu swings from stir-fried snails in coconut sauce to bún bò Huế tacos, and the bánh xèo arrives on a woven basket surrounded by a pile of herbs like it's making an entrance. The crowd is mostly locals who dress like they have a Substack. Order the matcha latte and something you've never heard of.
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Rank 6. Familyfriend
Hawaiian
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 7. 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 8. Tomo
American
Tomo is a sleek, stylishly dim upscale American restaurant in West Seattle where the kitchen does Japanese-inflected cooking that resists easy categorization, and honestly that's the whole point. The menu swings from fried chicken to chawanmushi with total confidence, and the wine program is genuinely outstanding, James Beard Award-winning if you need convincing. The crowd skews curious and adventurous, people who order the kakigori just to see if it'll topple.
- 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 9. Ciudad
Mediterranean
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Rank 10. 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 11. 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 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. The Boat
Vietnamese
A James Beard-winning team runs this Little Saigon all-day spot out of a literal boat-shaped building, and they've committed hard to a single dish: a garlic-crusted, fish sauce-glazed half chicken that arrives sticky-handed and deeply satisfying. The drinks list is surprisingly generous for a one-dish joint, and the pandan waffles with coconut fluff are reason enough to linger. The crowd knows exactly what they're doing here.
- Seattle Met 2023 · Seattle’s Best New Restaurants
- The Infatuation #17 · The 25 Best Restaurants In Seattle
- James Beard Awards 2023 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Restaurateur · Yenvy and Quynh Pham
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Rank 14. Billiard Hoang
Vietnamese
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Rank 15. 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 Infatuation The 21 Most Fun Dinner Spots In Seattle
- The New York Times The 25 Best Restaurants in Seattle Right Now
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Rank 18. Jackalope
Tex-Mex
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Rank 19. Maneki
Japanese
Maneki has been around forever and it shows, in the best way. This homey Japanese restaurant and bar in the International District runs on no-nonsense energy and seriously good food, with regulars who never bother opening the menu. Check the whiteboard for daily specials, that's where the real action is. The crowd skews young but the vibe is all old-school auntie-run institution, and the wait for a table is completely worth it.
- 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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- 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 21. Loretta's Northwesterner
American/New American
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Rank 22. Mezzanotte
Italian
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Rank 24. 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 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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Rank 26. Cafe Suliman
Middle Eastern
Cafe Suliman is a daytime cafe tucked inside a wine shop at Melrose Market, and it pulls off a trick that sounds chaotic on paper: Pacific Northwest ingredients filtered through an Arabic pantry, plated on dainty marble tables like a Parisian bistro that took a wrong turn somewhere wonderful. The crowd is the kind that lingers over toast on a Tuesday. A James Beard Emerging Chef is behind it all, so order freely and don't stress about what to get.
- Eater Best Counter
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Semifinalist · Emerging Chef · Ahmed Suliman
- Seattle Met Seattle’s Best Lunch Spots
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Capitol Hill's coolest dinner spot right now takes Vietnamese flavors and sends them on a world tour, landing somewhere genuinely surprising. The chef's team blurs the line between a neighborhood bistro and something more ambitious, with cocktails that hold their own and a menu that rewards ordering things you can't quite picture. The crowd is reliably stylish and curious, the kind of people who actually read the menu before they order.
- 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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- 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. Maripili Tapas Bar
Spanish
A Spanish tapas bar on Capitol Hill where the Pacific Northwest and Galicia quietly agree they have a lot in common, mostly seafood. The chef's pastry background shows up in desserts worth actually saving room for, and the sherry list is longer than you'd expect. The crowd tends toward people who know what they're doing, which keeps the vibe relaxed and the room from feeling like a theme park.
- 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 30. BOPBOX
Korean
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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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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 35. iconiq
Japanese, French
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Rank 36. Fogón Cocina Mexicana
Mexican
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Rank 37. Le Pichet
Parisian 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 38. Taurus Ox
Laotian
A casual Laotian restaurant in Capitol Hill that earned a New York Times shoutout, which tells you something. The food is bold and bright, the kind that built enough of a following to graduate from a tiny counter spot into a proper dining room. The crowd skews neighborhood regulars who know exactly what they're ordering. Come for the khao poon and the housemade sausage, but don't sleep on the smash burger, which sounds like a gimmick until you eat it.
- 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 39. Altura
Italian
Altura is a fixed tasting menu spot on Capitol Hill where Northwest ingredients get the full Italian treatment, plated with moss and rocks in a way that somehow feels rustic and quietly refined at the same time. The chef has a real eye for elegant weirdness. Service is warm rather than stiff, the wine list is sharp, and a wooden angel watches over the whole room. Save it for a night that deserves it.
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Rank 41. Milk Drunk
Soft Serve, Sandwiches/Deli
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Rank 42. Bellwether BBQ
Korean
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Rank 43. Dough Zone
Chinese
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Rank 45. Paju
Modern 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 46. L'Oursin
French
A wainscoted French bistro that sneaks Pacific Northwest seafood onto the menu and describes its wines with phrases you'd expect from a group chat, not a sommelier. The bar is serious enough to have won a national award, and the food follows suit, with Dungeness crab and spot prawns doing their best Parisian impression. The crowd tends toward couples who actually dressed up and regulars who already know what they're ordering.
- 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 47. Lenox
Caribbean
Caribbean cooking with real roots and a serious rum list, Lenox feels like someone threw a backyard party in Harlem and somehow ended up on First Hill. The vibe is beachy and loose, the kind of spot where the bartender tops you off before you ask. The food honors the Puerto Rican diaspora without being precious about it, and the lechon is worth making a whole night around. Bon Appétit named it one of America's best new restaurants, which tracks.
- 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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- 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 49. Canlis
Northwest New American
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 51. 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 52. Ba Bar
Vietnamese
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Rank 53. 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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Sacro Bosco is the evening version of Temple Pastries, and it carries that same obsessive, beautiful energy into dinner. The pizza is long, rectangular, and focaccia-adjacent, piled with deli-worthy toppings like mortadella and pistachio pesto. But honestly, the whole menu is the point. The room feels like the kind of effortless Italian cool Americans are always chasing, and the crowd knows it.
- Seattle Met 2025 · Seattle’s Best New Restaurants
- The Infatuation 2025 · #9 · Seattle’s Best New Restaurants
- Seattle Met 2025 · Housemade Ricotta · The Best Things I Ate This Year
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Rank 55. Humble Pie
Pizza
The pizza here is genuinely good, which is almost beside the point once you clock that the owner built the whole place himself, including the stools, and raises chickens out back. It's a wood-fired slice spot in the International District with mostly outdoor seating, so summer is prime time, though the neighborhood energy and rotating ciders make it worth braving the cold too. Thin crusts with real chew, interesting topping combos, zero pretension.
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Rank 57. Thanh Son Tofu
Vietnamese
A Vietnamese deli that started as a tofu factory and apparently decided décor was an afterthought, then overcompensated wildly. The tofu is the reason to show up, fresh and sold by the pound, and yes you will eat it out of the bag on the sidewalk. Banh mi come on house-baked bread, and the dessert case is a chaotic rainbow of che options that rewards pointing randomly at things.
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Rank 58. Fat's Chicken and Waffles
Southern/Creole/Cajun, Breakfast/Brunch
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Rank 59. Bottega Gabriele
Italian
An Italian deli run by two guys from Italy, both named Gabriele, who communicate with each other at full volume and maximum hand movement. The focaccia sandwiches are genuinely excellent, piled with imported prosciutto, mortadella, and salami, plus house-made 'nduja from next door. The shelves are stocked with imported cheeses, Calabrian honey, and bottarga. Vegetarians exist here too, just ask nicely.
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Rank 60. Saigon Deli
Vietnamese
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Rank 61. Chu Minh Tofu and Vegan Deli
Vietnamese, Vegan
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Rank 62. Sichuanese Cuisine
Chinese
An old-school International District institution that was doing Sichuan homestyle cooking before Seattle knew what Sichuan was. Think big bowls, ropy noodles, and a menu that lists wontons as "Sichuan ravioli" with zero irony. The regulars here didn't need a trendy rebrand to know the food was good, and neither will you. Bring an appetite and maybe a friend to split the boiled fish, which sounds mild and absolutely isn't.
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Rank 63. Phnom Penh Noodle House
Cambodian
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Rank 64. Boiling Point
Chinese
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Rank 65. Szechuan Noodle Bowl
Chinese
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Rank 67. Jade Garden
Chinese
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Rank 68. Damn the Weather
Northwest, Cocktail Bar
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Rank 69. Tai Tung
Chinese
Tai Tung has been around forever, and the long counter alone is worth the trip: scuffed with decades of regulars and plastered with celebrity photos. It's a classic Chinese diner where the food is homey and honest, the service is quick but genuinely warm, and the owner will wave you off at the door like he's known you for years. Come hungry for something saucy and comforting, and leave waddling.
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Rank 70. Jin Huang
Chinese
Jin Huang is a slick, modern Cantonese spot in the former House of Hong building, run by a New York restaurant group and doing claypot dishes and roasted meats at prices that feel almost suspiciously reasonable. Most of the menu comes in under $15, which draws a crowd who clearly knows what they're doing. The catch is that it shares the space with Diamond Bay, whose full dim sum menu is also on offer, so good luck keeping it cheap.
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Rank 71. Hong Kong Bistro
Chinese
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Rank 72. Pasta Casalinga
Italian
A tiny pasta counter tucked above the Pike Place Market Atrium, where the menu changes every two weeks based on whatever's looking good at the market below. The chef rotates through unexpected combinations, pairing shapes with seasonal ingredients in ways you wouldn't think to order but can't argue with once they arrive. It draws the kind of lunch crowd that knows to check what's on before they show up. Go hungry, keep an open mind.
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Rank 73. Kau Kau BBQ Restaurant
Chinese, Barbecue
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Rank 74. Jeffry's
American
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Rank 75. King Noodle
Chinese
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Rank 76. Mike's Noodle House
Chinese
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Rank 77. Fort St. George
Japanese
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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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Rank 79. Fuji Bakery
Japanese, Bakery/Pastry Shop
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Rank 80. Chengdu Memory 蓉城老火锅
Chinese
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Rank 83. Byrek & Baguette
Balkan
The byrek are the reason to come. This casual Balkan café near Seattle U does baguettes and salads just fine, but the real draw is the Albanian pastry half of the menu: flaky coiled pies stuffed with leeks and feta or beef and onions, served with housemade yogurt for dipping. Save room for baklava from the counter case. The crowd is mostly students who look like they stumbled onto a secret, which, honestly, they kind of did.
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Rank 84. Vivienne's Bistro
Chinese
Vivienne's Bistro is an upscale Chinese restaurant inside the Sheraton that takes Cantonese cooking and quietly does whatever it wants with it, lobster rangoon and surf-and-turf kung pao included. The room is warm and a little dramatic, with wooden lanterns and colorful cocktails flowing freely. The crowd dresses up just enough to feel like a night out. The Forbidden Roast Duck, five-spiced with crackling skin and monogrammed bao buns, is genuinely worth the fuss.
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Rank 85. Red Bowls
Korean
Red Bowls is a no-frills Korean rice bowl counter that's been doing its thing long before rice bowls became a whole personality. Tucked into the ground floor of an office building on Third Avenue, it draws a steady lunch crowd of downtown workers who know exactly what they're getting. No website, no fuss, just a huge menu of bibimbap and rice bowls piled high, and a line that actually moves.
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Rank 87. Pelicana Chicken
Korean
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Rank 88. The Crawfish Hut
Seafood Cajun & Creole
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Rank 91. Skalka
Georgian
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Rank 92. Tamari Bar
Japanese Cocktail Bar
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Rank 93. The Pink Door
Italian
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This Southern-inflected breakfast and lunch spot on Capitol Hill is the kind of place where the biscuits alone justify the trip. Big, buttery, and served with fried chicken to people who clearly planned their whole morning around this meal, it has a warm, lived-in feel that makes you want to linger. The crowd runs toward flannel and good intentions, and nobody looks like they're in a hurry to get anywhere.
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Coché Valley is a bingsu spot on Capitol Hill that treats shaved ice like it deserves a seat at the fine dining table, which means your dessert arrives on an unlit portable burner and somehow that's completely correct. The milk base shaves into delicate ribbons, fresh fruit and cheesecake chunks pile on top, and a scoop of ice cream crowns the whole thing. It's gloriously messy and worth every napkin.
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Rank 99. Cafe Flora
Vegetarian, Vegan, American/New American
Cafe Flora is the kind of neighborhood restaurant that makes meat-eaters forget to miss meat, which is either a miracle or a magic trick depending on who you ask. It's a relaxed vegetarian and vegan spot in Madison Valley with a plant-filled atrium and a sunny patio where brunch crowds linger longer than they planned. The cinnamon rolls have a reputation that precedes them. Carnivorous friends will leave converted, or at least quiet about it.
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Rank 100. Matt's in the Market
Seafood, Northwest
Perched above Pike Place Market on the second floor, Matt's is a proper sit-down seafood spot with views over the rooftops straight to the bay, which is exactly as good as it sounds. The menu leans Northwest with a quiet Italian influence, and the ingredients are clearly doing most of the heavy lifting. Lunch is the smart play if your wallet needs a breather, and the catfish sandwich will genuinely surprise you.