7 Best Restaurants in The Eastside, Seattle

There are many ways for a pricey "destination restaurant" to go overboard, making itself nothing more than a special-occasion spectacle, but Café Juanita gets everything just right. This Kirkland space is refined without being overly posh, and the food—much of which has a northern Italian influence—is perfectly balanced. One bite of lauded chef Holly Smith's tender saddle of Oregon lamb with baby artichokes, fava beans, and lemon emulsion and you'll be sold. The multi-course tasting menu comes in omnivore, pescatarian, vegetarian, and vegan versions. The restaurant is extremely accommodating for gluten-free guests and other special requests. To top it all off, the restaurant has an excellent wine list.

An organic café with everything you need for a picnic to-go or a leisurely lunch, DERU Market has something for everything. The bright, modern space starts the day with excellent coffee and pastries, with filling brunches on weekends. Lunch brings pizza, sandwiches, and salads, plus a few larger plates, while dinner brings a few extra main dishes. Vegetable side dishes compete with excellent French fries for table space, and most diners save room for a slice of the layer cakes that sit temptingly on the counter.

The xiao long bao, or soup dumplings, are the famous attraction at Din Tai Fung, a U.S. branch of the famed Taipei-based chain. Watch dumplings being pleated by hand through the large glass windows in the waiting area; it's a good thing the sight is so entertaining, because there's often a long wait. The rest of the lengthy menu is nearly as enticing, from shrimp-stuffed wontons to fried rice. Shaved snow with fresh mango is a refreshing end to your meal, a cross between ice cream and shave ice. The large restaurant is busy and brisk, but a fun experience and worth the wait. There are additional locations in Seattle's University Village, Pacific Place Mall in Downtown Seattle, and Southcenter Mall in Tukwila.

Luxury touches take the hot pot experience upscale with personal broth bowls, an extensive sauce buffet, and high-end ingredients like A5 Miyazaki beef, live prawns, and house-made noodles. This local outlet of an international chain that began in Macau knows that you eat with your eyes first, and everything here comes out looking straight out of a glossy magazine photo shoot. The fancy ingredients can make the a la carte orders add up fast, but customers can either order judiciously and save room for the free ice cream at the end, or go all-in on a feast.

This homegrown chain lives up to its name, serving freshly made carb-filled delights of many types: noodles, flatbreads, crepes, and dumplings. The signature steamed juicy pork dumplings and fried jian buns, both filled with a meat and soup filling, have earned it a reputation and helped it expand to locations around the city and along the entire West Coast. This flagship location opened in 2021, not far from the original in the Crossroads neighborhood.

Come for the giant dosas, stay for the sweet service at this delightful South Indian restaurant tucked into a suburban strip mall. Many of the specialties come from the state of Kerala, but the deep vegetarian menu and exciting seafood options bring in dishes from around India. Rich colors adorn the walls and the plates, the latter in the form of vibrantly flavored chutneys, masalas, and curries. Waits can get long on days that don't take reservations, so either come earlier in the week with a reservation or earlier in the evening on a weekend. Or order takeout and enjoy a picnic at nearby Juanita Beach Park.

The Eastside sibling of Capitol Hill's darling Vietnamese eatery is utterly polished and sleek—much fancier than the original restaurant. But the favorites remain the same; diners love the bo la lot beef, crispy drunken chicken, catfish clay pot, and barbecued hoisin pork ribs, and all go impressively well with the specialty cocktails. In signature Bellevue style, diners dress up a bit more than in, say, Capitol Hill or Ballard, though the weekend dim sum brunches draw more casual diners. The free parking in the garage behind the restaurant is a boon on busy Main Street.