Food & Drink
Best Brewery: Reuben’s Brews
During the summer, and after closing its Fremont location, Reuben’s Brews opened a shiny new downtown taproom, just steps from Pike Place Market. A family-owned and operated business, the brewery grew out of Adam Robbings’ award-winning home brewing career. In 2012, Adam and his wife, Grace, launched Reuben’s Brews, naming the brand after their son…
Best Cocktail Bar: Roquette
Behind its beautiful blue façade, Roquette finds balance as a chic must-stop lounge for special occasions and a neighborhood watering hole. Dark and moody, with green velvet banquettes and Art Deco-inspired lighting, this Belltown bar has received a number of accolades, including a nomination as a semifinalist for the 2025 James Beard Award in the…
Best Coffee Shop: Zeitgeist
It feels like every few weeks we’re hit with another list of Seattle restaurant industry closures, so it’s particularly meaningful that an old-school mainstay like Zeitgeist Coffee is still around. Opened in 1997 in Pioneer Square as a hub for conversation, creativity, and yes, coffee, the still-popular corner café serves up strong, European-style brew, pastries…
Best Special Occasion Restaurant: Canlis
Celebrating its 75th anniversary this year, Canlis is a Seattle classic. From its perch above Lake Union to its unmatched service, every moment in this restaurant feels special, which is why so many people choose it to mark life’s important moments. Lately, Canlis has undergone some transitions, with one of the namesake brothers leaving for…
Best Bakery: Petit Pierre
The brainchild of award-winning chef Pierre Poulin, Petit Pierre Bakery brings elevated French pastry to a casual Seattle café (or two). With locations in Magnolia and Phinney Ridge, the bakery is small in stature, but big in flavor. Born in Paris, chef Poulin spent summers with his grandmother in Brittany, where he first learned about…
Best Happy Hour: Donna’s
We’re still not over the loss of vito’s, but Donna’s, the moody bar on the corner of Olive and Melrose on Capitol Hill, brings a similar late-night vibe. The small watering hole operates on a first-come, first-served basis, with a few tables downstairs and another batch upstairs. Nostalgic touches include gold disco balls, a good,…
The Little Whiskey Brand with Big Ambitions
Embracing experimental blending, the team behind Doc Swinson’s believes that everyone—not just aficionados—should enjoy whiskey.
Last week, I found myself doing something I hadn’t done in a very long time: taking a pickleback shot with a group of strangers in Ballard. For the uninitiated—or those who didn’t frequent the bars in the 2010s—a pickleback shot is pretty much what it sounds like; a shot of whiskey followed by a shot…
Restaurant Roundup: Bubbly Brunch and Unicorn Reborn
Here’s what was served up recently in the Emerald City.
Soon, hordes of out-of-town relatives will descend on Seattle for the Thanksgiving holiday, bringing with them the usual uncomfortable questions and off-base perceptions. Maybe we’re just being cynical and they’re actually fantastic. Either way, whether you’re looking to impress them or get some fresh air when the small talk grows stale, there are plenty of…
5 Dishes to Try in November
Seattle’s halal dining scene is evolving and each plate tells part of the story.
Seattle has many foodie groups on social media, but I have a soft spot for Seattle Halal Foodies, started by Mehrab Shahriar in 2019. When Shahriar moved to Seattle nine years ago, the halal food scene was small compared to other U.S. cities. Perhaps because of its underdog nature, I found this group to be…
A Citywide Toast to Sockeye
40 Seattle-area restaurants are teaming up for the fourth annual Bristol Bay Salmon Week.
Seattle’s fishing culture is something to be proud of. Drive over the Ballard Bridge on any given day and you’ll see the fleet docked below. The weathered, working boats stacked with gear, waiting for their next trip north, are striking, aren’t they? It’s hard, dangerous work, and there’s something so compelling and fierce about the…
Restaurant Roundup: Turkey Day and Plant-Based Tuna
Here’s what was served up recently in the Emerald City.
It’s difficult to write (and likely to read) about eating in Seattle when so many people are about to be hungry after losing SNAP benefits. Toasted Bagel & Coffee, which made headlines last week with their plans for expansion, is doing its part to support the community by launching a free breakfast campaign called “Put…
A Masterclass in Endurance
On a leafy Capitol Hill side street, Single Shot’s chef, Antonio Palma, uses his global culinary chops to make the PNW’s produce shine.
When people talk about Capitol Hill, they tend to overlook its micro-districts. Folks usually think of the well-worn Pike/Pine Corridor first, although a decade ago, it was equal odds they meant the central part of Broadway. But a neighborhood spanning over 11,000 city blocks could never be a monolith. There are boroughs to the Hill….
Restaurant Roundup: Halal Bagels and Mario Party
Here’s what was served up recently in the Emerald City.
OK, we’ll say it—we love Seattle Restaurant Week, but it also gives us a little bit of anxiety and a lot of FOMO. There are just so many choices. Hundreds of restaurants, food carts, cafes, and bars can be a tad overwhelming, but 10? That’s a much more manageable number. Thankfully, Secret Seattle put together…
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