2 Best Restaurants in Green Lake, Seattle

This outstanding sushi restaurant quietly nestled in Green Lake brings diners in droves. Fresh sushi is the mainstay, along with signature rolls such as the Green Lake variety, with salmon, flying fish eggs, asparagus, avocado, and marinated seaweed, or the Wallingford, with yellowtail, green onion, cucumber, radish, sprouts, and flying fish eggs. Definitely spring for the omakase (chef's menu), which can include anything from fatty tuna, shrimp, octopus, and albacore to salmon, yellow tail, hammer jack, and unagi. Straightforward decor and ambiance make it easy to concentrate on the delicious food in front of you. Regulars swear by the agedashi tofu. Non-sushi entrées are also available, including teriyaki and a tempura dinner with prawns. 

This lakeside location of a local dumpling specialist brings a wide assortment of Chinese cuisine to an area of town not normally known for big flavor. The sprawling menu has crowd-pleasing options like northern-style dumplings, dim sum, and American Chinese food, as well as in-depth dishes from Sichuan and Hunan for the spice-nerds out there. Extremely casual, with dark wood tables and a nice wraparound patio looking out toward the park, the restaurant is a pleasant place to sit—helpful since the kitchen is quite small, and thus sometimes requires patience from diners.