Famed for its Caffeine Creations, the City Also Offers Exquisite, Uncommon Cuisine

Seattle is a city of many things: transplants, tech employees and, perhaps most of all, foodies. There is an endless selection of coffee and food options in this seaport city made up of unique neighborhoods. The many choices can be overwhelming in the most delicious way, but it’s helpful to have an insider’s guide.

Whether you’re in town for business or pleasure, you’ve probably been told to visit the Pike Place Market. This century-old haven for tourists and locals alike offers an opportunity to indulge in savory artisan foods, favorite regional dishes like clam chowder, and loads of ethnic cuisine  options. The Market is absolutely worth a visit, but you’ll want to venture into some of the local neighborhoods, too.  We’ve put together a list so you can seek out exactly what you need: a jolt of java, lazy brunch fare, savory mid-day bites, or gourmet dinner dishes.

COFFEE AND  CAFÉS

Milstead & Co.
With harbor views, friendly baristas, and delicious drinks like “a Theo dark chocolate mocha,” this Fremont-based café is worth a visit. Not sure what to get? Their staff is well-educated in everything coffee and happy (truly!) to give a recommendation or answer your questions. To get an idea of their vibe, have a look at their lovely, artistic-looking website, complete with calligraphed logo and foggy-ambience photo of Seattle. Note that the store is only open til 6 p.m. every day.

Ada’s Technical Books & Café
Ada’s is the place for “the cravings of the technical mind” — and anyone who can appreciate a beautiful environment and great coffee. Swing by for great books and geeky gifts, plus a selection of tasty foods from local sources (try the buttermilk biscuit with their ever-changing housemaid jam) enjoyed at one of their shadowbox-like tables with compasses, maps, and more inside. Need to hold a business meeting while in town? Check out renting their upstairs office with short and long-term workstations that include reliable Wi-Fi and conference rooms.

Macrina’s Bakery
For some of the freshest baked goods in the city paired with yummy coffee in a cozy setting – but with modern, space-enhancing high ceilings —  check out one of Macrina’s three locations (Belltwon, McGraw, or SODO). Try their carne or vegetarian quiche made with a rotating selection of seasonal ingredients.  They are also known for their classic, elegant wedding cakes.

Stumptown
Portland’s coffee darling is well worth a visit in Seattle, too. Serving coffee grown all over the globe, and with a strong and vital connection to its farmers, Stumptown ensures that imbibers have a brew that is both delicious and socially-conscious. Stop by one of two locations—their roastery on 12^th Street, with public coffee tastings held daily at 3pm, or their Pine Street location in the heart of Capitol Hill.

BREAKFAST AND BRUNCH

The Wandering Goose
Look for the lit-up goose waddling back and forth in Capitol Hill,  and find Seattle’s best Southern-influenced cuisine. From biscuits to hushpuppies to crock-pot grits, and Fried Chicken Friday, you can’t go wrong with brunch here. Also has its own rooftop beehives, from which the owners sell their own honey, and cooking classes with a cheery, take-home-what-you-make ethos.

The Crumpet Shop
A visit to Pike Place isn’t complete without a stop at The Crumpet Shop. Open for thirty-six years, this long-running spot makes fresh crumpets (and scones!) from organic ingredients daily. Try the wild smoked salmon with cream cheese and cucumber slices crumpet with one of their many teas. In the mood for something sweet? Opt for their crumpet with ricotta and almond butter, drizzled with marmalade — aka “The Ram.”

Ba Bar
This hip, modern-day Vietnamese restaurant serves breakfast Wednesday through Sunday from 8 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Rise and shine for pâté chaud, a housemade puff pastry with Carlton Farms pork, caramelized onion, carrot, gravy, and fried egg, or an assortment of other scrumptious options.  Lunch, dinner and Happy Hour hors d’oeuvres served as well.

HAPPY HOUR

The Whale Wins
The latest restaurant from award-winning super-chef Renee Erickson offers “a wood-fired, vegetable-focused menu” with local selections. Erickson, famed for her oyster bar, The Walrus and the Carpenter (named one of the 20 most important restaurants in the U.S. by Bon Appetit), here plies customers with food influenced from southern Europe and England in a bright, intimate space. Happy Hour runs from Sunday thru Thursday from 4-6 p.m.

Smith
A five-dollar Tom Collins or Champaign cocktail and a not-so-mini mini seven-dollar poutine with smoked brisket? Yes, please. Check out Smith’s Happy Hour daily from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. and — as they say festively — also “from 11 p.m. to closing” on Sundays thru Thursdays.

Bastille Café & Bar
This Ballard neighborhood restaurant serves up “damn good French cuisine,” plus some of the best cocktails in Seattle. Try their white rosé cocktail with gin, lime, maraschino, orange and egg white, or choose from their selection of 500ml carafes of $10 “Happy Wine.” The drinkable fun lasts all week from 4:30 – 6:30, and on Sundays thru Thursdays from 10 – 11 p.m. as well.

DINNER:

The Pink Door
This Italian-American restaurant and cabaret lounge offers burlesque shows, quirky indoor street performers, and trapeze entertainment with views of Elliot Bay. Located in Pike Place Market’s Post Alley, the lovely candlelit space offers diners straightforward-yet-distinctive fare like seared scallops in a zesty carrot sauce, alongside sautéed spinach and semolina gnocchi.

Tanglewood Supreme
This 35-seat intimate eatery with an open kitchen serves up market-fresh seafood with New American preparations. Practicing a “fisherman-to-table” philosophy, dinner comes from a handful of local purveyors who catch premium ingredients for your plate.

Canlis
In operation since 1950, and with awards from both Food & Wine (Ten Best New Chefs, 2011) and Seattle magazine (Best Service, Best Restaurant 2011), Canlis is one of Seattle’s relatively few fine dining destinations, serving contemporary Northwest cuisine and haute cuisine. Home to what is possibly the city’s best steak (kobe-style), it is strongly recommended that you make reservations.

Quinn’s Pub
With a sophisticated and unexpected take on traditional pub food, Quinn’s is more than beer and burgers. Sample their hand-cut fries or dig into a “wild-boar sloppy joe” with fried onion and sage, grilled Fresno pepper, and a brioche bun. Don’t miss their excellent selection of whiskey and draft beers to pair with your dinner selection.  Open til 1 a.m.