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Readers' Choice 2026

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Best Happy Hour: Ray’s Boathouse

Four friends clink colorful cocktails at a waterfront Ballard happy hour, gathered over a wooden table at an outdoor restaurant.
Courtesy of Ray's Boathouse

This article originally appeared in the November/December 2026 issue of Seattle magazine.

Available daily from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m., the Ray’s Boathouse happy hour features $10 cocktails and wine pours, and specials on classic dishes like fried calamari, clam chowder, mussels, clams, and crispy Brussels sprouts. At Ray’s Café, happy hour is 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. daily. The food and beverage offerings are similar, but you have an extra sixty minutes to kick back and enjoy.

Runner Up: Hawks Peak Sports Bar & Grill

About Readers' Choice 2026

Once a year, we turn the tables and ask our readers about their favorite local spots. The neighborhood café with the best coffee, the restaurant you book for every special occasion, and where you send out-of-town guests for top-tier cocktails. Seattleites have opinions, and they shared them with us. This year, we received more votes than ever before, with some familiar favorites returning and plenty of new names making the list.

Best Coffee Shop: Drip Drip Coffeehouse

Best Coffee Shop: Drip Drip Coffeehouse

This women- owned and minority-operated coffee shop gained popularity for its Vietnamese-style coffee and matcha flights. The former is brewed with a phin—a Vietnamese coffee press in which hot water slowly drips through coffee grounds—yielding a bold, concentrated brew. Drip Drip’s phin-brewed coffee comes in sweet and savory flavors, including banana, salted egg yolk, coconut…

Best Brewery: Stoup Brewing

Best Brewery: Stoup Brewing

Like any good craft brewery, Stoup has a little chaos to it. Dogs tuck under tables, kids tear into snacks, food trucks hum in the background, and friends squeeze together at long tables. Husband-and-wife Brad Benson and Lara Zahaba opened the original Ballard brewery with their friend Robyn Schumacher in 2013, amid the neighborhood’s craft-brewery…

Best Bakery: Bakery Nouveau

Best Bakery: Bakery Nouveau

If one pastry can explain Bakery Nouveau’s appeal, it’s the twice-baked almond croissant, dipped in simple syrup, filled with almond cream, and sent through the oven twice. Co-owner William Leaman, who has more than 35 years of experience in professional baking, was named one of the country’s Top 10 Next Generation Chocolatiers and captained a…

Best Ramen: Ramen Danbo

Best Ramen: Ramen Danbo

It’s easy to spot Capitol Hill’s Ramen Danbo—follow the line snaking up East Pike between 12th and 13th Avenues. As the restaurant’s first United States location, it specializes in Fukuoka-style Tonkotsu ramen. Known for its thin noodles, Tonkotsu ramen has a base of rich broth made by simmering pork bones in an hours-long process that…