Seattle city guide
Neighborhoods: Downtown
The Pink Door
Restaurants Downtown
Italian restaurant with burlesque shows & trapeze entertainment plus terrace with Elliott Bay views.
Location: 1919 Post Alley, Seattle, WA 98101
Ivar's Acres of Clams
Restaurants Downtown
Local chain dishing up fried fish & chowders in casual quarters with nautical accents.
Location: 1001 Alaskan Way, Seattle, WA 98104
Heartwood Provisions
Restaurants Downtown
Comfortable, modern space offering posh New American dishes matched with cocktails.
Location: 1103 1st Ave, Seattle, WA 98101
Din Tai Fung
Restaurants Downtown
Wildly popular Taiwanese-based soup dumpling and dimsum chain with 3 locations in Seattle.
Location: 600 Pine St #403, Seattle, WA 98101
IxD19 Team Favorite
Oddfellows Cafe & Bar
Restaurants Capitol Hill Downtown
Linda Derchang's stylish American eatery is perhaps Seattle's best option for a light lunch. (You know, the French kind, which includes maybe a glass or three of wine?) Oddfellows is right next door to Elliott Bay Books (inside of which you'll find "Little Oddfellows" and offers a variety of seasonal fare & craft drinks to a bustling crowd. Once again, nobody captures that special Seattle flavor of laid-back sophistication quite like Ms. Linda.
Location: 1525 10th Ave, Seattle, WA 98122
Pike Place Chowder
Restaurants Downtown
Local seafood institution serving traditional & specialty chowders in a counter-serve setting.
Location: 600 Pine St, Seattle, WA 98101
Caffe Ladro
Coffee Shops & Cafes Downtown
Contemporary local coffeehouse chain featuring sustainable beans, pastries, and baked goods.
Location: 801 Pine St, Seattle, WA 98101
Cherry Street Coffee
Coffee Shops & Cafes Downtown
Original location of this iconic Seattle coffee roaster who now has 12 unique locations around the city.
Location: 700 1st Ave, Seattle, WA 98104
Monorail Espresso
Coffee Shops & Cafes Downtown
The Seattle espresso stand that started it all is no longer in its iconic location literally under the old Monorail station (which no longer exists). But it's still bringing the rocket fuel with strong espresso-based beverages & homemade cookies. Cash only, but well worth it.
Location: 510 Pike St, Seattle, WA 98101
Storyville
Coffee Shops & Cafes Downtown
Local coffee roaster chain with locations downtown, in the Pike Market, and in Queen Anne.
Location: 1001 1st Ave, Seattle, WA 98104
Biscuit Bitch
Coffee Shops & Cafes Downtown
Funky coffeehouse & biscuit specialist serving Southern-inspired fare in cozy, cheery digs.
Location: 1909 1st Ave, Seattle, WA 98101
Anchorhead Coffee
Coffee Shops & Cafes Downtown
Minimalist coffee shop featuring nitro cold brew on tap, infamous for their signature "quaffle" pastry.
Location: 1600 7th Ave #105, Seattle, WA 98101
Zig Zag Cafe
Drinks & Late Night Downtown
Pioneering craft cocktail space, one of the ones that started the craze back in the 90's. Also features gourmet snacks in a hip space tucked away in the Pike Street Hillclimb near Post Alley. Don't tell anyone.
Location: 1501 Western Ave Ste 202, Seattle, WA 98101
IxD19 Team Favorite
Cloudburst Brewing
Drinks & Late Night Downtown
A pint-size taproom in a high-concept brewery dispensing craft suds to beer connoisseurs.
Location: 2116 Western Ave, Seattle, WA 98121
Showbox
Drinks & Late Night Downtown
Opened in 1939, this iconic music venue has hosted legends ranging from Duke Ellington to Pearl Jam. Recently, a developer purchased the building and attempted to close the Showbox, but the music community rallied and forestalled it's demise for the moment. So you might want to take in a show there before it's gone
Location: 1426 1st Ave, Seattle, WA 98101
Seattle Art Museum (SAM)
Culture & Landmarks Downtown
A center for world-class visual arts in the Pacific Northwest since 1933, with rotating exhibitions.
Location: 1300 1st Ave, Seattle, WA 98101
Pike Place Market
Culture & Landmarks Downtown
Established in 1907, it's one of the oldest continuously operated farmers' markets in the US.
Location: 1st Ave & Pike Ave, Seattle, WA 90101
Benaroya Hall
Culture & Landmarks Downtown
Home of the Seattle Symphony. It features two auditoria, the Auditorium, a 2500-seat performance venue, as well as the Recital Hall, which seats 536
Cortina
Restaurants Downtown
At the base of Seattle's second-tallest skyscraper, the garish Two Union Square, nobody could make this spot work. Until finally local culinary wizard Ethan Stowell set up shop to gvie us his unique take on Italian cuisine. Cortina has finally figured out how to use the odd space well, and become a local favorite.
Design Dinner Host
Nirmal's
Restaurants Downtown Pioneer Square
If Indian food is your favorite... you might have a new favorite after you try unassuming Nirmal's in Pioneer Square. At the foot of Cherry Street adjacent to where Seattle pretty much started, you can take the Underground Tour steps away before or after dinner.
Design Dinner Host
Purple
Restaurants Downtown
Wine bar with upscale small plates in a lofty modern space with a central wine tower & staircase. The tower in the middle is very impressive. Lots of Washington wines available.
Design Dinner Host
Urbane
Drinks & Late Night Restaurants Denny Regrade Downtown
Urban in the Olive 8 hotel complex is yet another local/seasonal culinary wonderland and exemplar of the Farm to Table movement. It also features a sophistocate bar with sleek modern design and great cocktails. They might even tell you the name of your chicken. (You know, like in that Portlandia episode?)
Near IxD19
Jack's Fish Spot
Restaurants Downtown
In the heart of the Pike Place Market you'll find Jack's an unassuming little fish & chips place, where you can also get fresh salmon, halibut and Dungeness crab. Of course it's greasy, and if you like fish & chips, of course you won't care, because it's piping hot and soooo delicious. Try the fried oysters.
IxD19 Team Favorite
Wild Ginger
Restaurants Downtown
A Seattle classic in the truest sense of the word, Wild Ginger is the original synthesis of local and seasonal with Seattle Asian fusion cooking. This has been one of Seattle's iconic culinary leaders for around three decades now. Lately the tourist hordes have discovered it, but the food is still outstanding. The attached Jazz Club Triple Door is also top notch. Quintessential Seattle.
