Ok, beer and wine aren’t technically food, but the brewery and wine scene are so strong in Seattle that it’d be unfair not to say anything.

Nutty Squirrel or D’Ambrosio for gelato.

Larsen’s for a traditional neighborhood bakery.

General Porpoise for doughnuts (get the vanilla custard!).

The Wandering Goose or Deep Sea Sugar & Salt for cakes.

The peanut butter cookie at Dahlia Bakery.

If pastries, cakes, cookies, ice cream, or other types of treats are your preference, here are some of my favorite treats in Seattle: At Fran’s, you must get the salted caramels.

Indi makes some of my favorite chocolate bars and offers classes in their Pike Place Market space. Theo was the first organic and fair trade chocolate maker in the US and offers a fun chocolate factory tour. Theo and Indi make chocolate, while Fran’s is a chocolatier that focuses on confections. You can find a ton of spots dedicated to pastries, cookies, cakes, doughnuts, and chocolate.įor chocolate, head to Theo Chocolate, Indi Chocolate, or Fran’s. Seattle has a pretty serious dessert scene. You can only get Dante’s on Sundays and Jack’s BBQ’s on Friday during their happy hour, but both are worth the effort. My two favorite places to get a Seattle dog are Dante’s Inferno Dogs food truck at the Ballard Farmers Market and Jack’s BBQ in South Lake Union. Hot dogs are the traditional way it’s served, but I prefer it with sausage. It sounds crazy, but the heat of the hot dog and grilled onions melt the cream cheese slightly and creates the most irresistible street food that is one of Seattle’s famous foods. However, I’d say the most famous use of cream cheese in our city is actually putting it on a hot dog. You usually see it on sushi menus around the US as part of the “Seattle roll” that has salmon and cream cheese. The Seattle DogĬream cheese has become a thing associated with Seattle. They have an extensive menu of appetizers, sushi, sashimi, and more, in addition to cocktails that pair well with them. You’ll want to make a reservation in advance for dinner, but it’s well worth it. It’s delicious but quite expensive, so I prefer Wataru slightly more for the cost-to-quality ratio.Īnother popular option for sushi when you’re downtown is Japonessa Sushi Cocina. Sushi Kashiba is owned by the previous owner of Shiro’s, chef Shiro Kashiba. Both source fish from Japan as well as locally, but they’re both authentic. There are some great sushi restaurants in Seattle, but my favorites are Sushi Kashiba or Wataru. I hadn’t had much black cod until I moved to Seattle, so if you haven’t tried it either this is a great place to get it! Sushi They have a lot of fabulous dishes, but their black cod entree is consistently excellent. RockCreek is a 2-story restaurant with a chic camping vibe. You’ll quickly see why these are some of the most famous foods in Seattle. Make sure to get the mussels on Sea Wolf bread (the amazing bakery next door) and the rockfish ceviche.

Manolin (pronounced “mawn-oh-leen”) has a Caribbean-inspired menu in a beautiful space designed around their grill where they execute a lot of their dishes. If you want a more traditional seafood restaurant, my two favorites are Manolin and RockCreek. I never had it until I moved to Seattle, so if you haven’t heard of it make sure to give it a try! I love the geoduck butter dish at Shiro’s, a sushi restaurant in downtown Seattle. Geoduck is a shellfish that’s basically like a monster clam with a sea slug-looking thing hanging out of its shell. Salmon and crab are our most obvious gifts to the world, but we also have a ton of geoduck. Oysters are in their own category, but Seattle has access to some of the best fish and shellfish in the US. If The Walrus and the Carpenter isn’t in the cards, other good options for oysters include Westward or White Swan Public House for views of Lake Union, Vinnie’s Raw Bar for a convenient downtown location, and Bar Melusine for Renee’s Capitol Hill oyster spot. Make sure to get there right for 4 pm so you can get the first seating or use their online waitlist if it’s available (sometimes it goes offline). They host a happy hour from 4-6 pm Monday – Thursday, which is worth going to because the oysters are cheaper. It’s a beautifully-designed French restaurant owned by James Beard-winning restaurateur, Renee Erickson. My favorite place to get oysters is The Walrus and the Carpenter. Keep an eye out for their name on restaurant menus around town (including Taylor Shellfish’s very own Seattle restaurants). If you’re looking for a foodie adventure that makes a great day trip from Seattle. Some of the most popular producers are Hama Hama Oysters and Taylor Shellfish Farms, both of which offer farm tours out on the coast. Washington farms the most oysters in the US, so getting this famous food in Seattle is a must.

Seattle foodie tours