Favorite
From the people who brought us Bastille comes this glorious stageset of Colonial Mexico, dripping with wrought iron, Talavera tiles, and saturated bursts of color. A woman sits crafting tortillas on-site. As distinguished a place as this is to be—not to mention drink (there’s a fine an enclosed deck area)—it’s not quite as rewarding a place to eat. Unremarkable tacos Read more...
Favorite
The long communal tables make it easy to meet new friends at Grim’s, and the grilled cheese sandwiches are a perfect way to soak up beer (served in mason jars). For a more intimate conversation, head upstairs—where the walls are lined with jars of butterflies. Read more...
Favorite
The New York–style pizzeria slings slices and 18-inch pies seven days a week. And, hello beer munchies, it’s open until 2am Sunday through Wednesday, and until 4am the rest of the nights. Other perks: A full bar and a takeaway window. Read more...
Favorite
If they had meet-markets in Gothic times this dark, dark, dark lofted West Seattle joint is just what they’d have looked like. Wicked drinks, spicy Mexican standards (including good vegetarian selections), and lots and lots of young folks fill the place. Read more...
Favorite
Unfussy and urbane, Poco brings a bit of raw charm to the ever-more-stylish Pike/Pine neighborhood. Upstairs is comfy and intimate—great for a date—while the L-shaped bar downstairs hosts a new conversation at every turn. New to the wine world? The laid-back staff is happy to help find the perfect palate pleaser. Read more… Read more...
Favorite
Umi’s an impressive moderne setting, but only a few of its ballyhooed sakes are available by the pour, in incongrous tulip stemware (supposedly to concentrate aromas) rather than traditional masu. The fashionable clientele don’t seem to care, especially late at night when DJs start the party. Read more...
Favorite
For years, Vito’s on First Hill was a dingy dive of disrepute, frequented by a blend of irony-addicted hipsters and the truly down on their luck. Then the owners of the Hideout around the corner bought it, renovating the grisly kitchen and reupholstering the booths lining the lounge, and voila: the place is, well…not so different. The sexy-seedy atmo remains, Read more...
Favorite
It’s several restaurants in one at foodie darling William Belickis’s visual extravaganza at the threshold of South Lake Union. Enjoy a cocktail and a nosh in some of the most intimate private rooms in town; several carefully crafted courses in the quietly elegant back dining room, the Jewel Box; or—our favorite—an order-off-the-menu dinner of herb-bright scallops or mushroom-topped squash soup Read more...
Favorite
It’s far too chic and teeming, its wine list and bar pours much too notable for food to make up this much of its soul. But Belltown’s sleek Black Bottle wine bar, with its bare wood and blond tables—not to say bare arms and blonde beauties—has attracted a rabid following based on “blasted” broccoli and lemon curd-ricotta cake, and a Read more...
Favorite
This enduring spot just marked 120 years in operation, though it hasn’t been called Hattie’s Hat the whole time. (It was once a fine dining restaurant!) But much of the interior, including the grand mahogany Brunswick bar, is original to 1904. This hard-drinkin’ diner/dive has historically served Salmon Bay’s bluer collars, and although Ballard Avenue has gotten a lot cheugier Read more...